Escitalopram start up

[Elliejane]

Hi
I have posted a few times on here in last 6 mths . I suffer from health anxiety for a long time . Went on citalopram in 2014 and has mixed results . Decided to come off last year as was on such low dose anyway and had been good in 2020 and 2021. Following a health scare in dec 21 I have been the worst ever with health anxiety. Worrying every day about something . Main thing is cancer in particular leukaemia in my or my children . I constantly check my son for bruising . He has had lots of petachie in past few weeks months but plays football and rough games like rugby with his friends.

Anyway I decided to go back on medication and gp and a psychiatrist I can see via work said to try escitalopram as it might be better for me .

I struggled to go on citalopram to start so they advised me for escitalopram to do a week at 2.5mg then go to 5mg and I think eventually 10mg .

I have done a week on 2.5mg and 2 days on 5mg now . Today I am very on edge and almost ocd like with checking things and can’t settle . Teary and scared I won’t ever feel normal again . No appetite at all either .

Anyone had health anxiety and anyone been helped with escitalopram? I know it will take a while to have any benefit and maybe need to go to 10mg .

Just feel very scared today .

Ellie

Hi Elliejane

I am completely with you my Health Anxiety is really bad at the moment and I am on day 2 of Citalopram which is just making everything a whole lot worse!

I have fell back into the OCD checking behaviours! I am also struggling to eat I've manged a bowl of cheerios!

I know you replied on the previous post thank you, yes Citalopram and CBT did help me last time so I am holding on to the hope that it does again! I've spent today crying that I'm never going to feel like myself again such a scary place to be. My family keep reminding me I've done it before and I will do it again I just need to believe it and I want to the fear just grips me.

I know the tablets make everything that bit worse before it gets better. I think Covid has caused me to relapse tbh!

A bit more context I started Citalopram back in 2011 and started CBT did this fortnightly for 6 months for Health Anxoety I eventually came off Citalopram in 2014 and I've been ok until 2020 and it's slowly started to creep in!

So deep down I have hope for both of us anyone going through this I'm just scared to be back here

@Sara1235 Health anxiety is really grim . Do you have health anxiety just on yourself or your family also . Mine is both which makes it much harder to control .

I have paused cbt until medication starts to work as it was having no benefit

Do you know what started your health anxiety. Mine was loosing a pregnancy with rare chromosome condition . However I had it under control after that for ages with no medication then it started again in 2014 after a chronic health issue .

I am 50 too so probably peri menopause so that won’t help .

Anyone had success please really need positive stories on escitalopram. Day 4 for me at 5mg . Long way to go still

Ellie

Really struggling today . Need a hand hold
My health anxiety bad and on day 5 now of 5mg . (6 days of 2.5) .

Just overthinking everything and worrying that my son is poorly etc .

Checking increased . Have zero appetite.

So anxious this medication won’t work

@Elliejane

You got this nothing bad is going to happen you know this deep deep down i know its scary ive had an equally S**t day been no let up.

The medication will work for you it's just making things heightned at the moment which shows it is working you have got this your 💪try and eat something to keep your strength up for you and your family!

Thank you so much for replying. It means a lot to have even one person help you xx

I had worst night my son 15 came home from being out with mates . When he changed I noticed all red petachie down his spine in 4 areas . Just had major panic and said what happened to your back and he said nothing at all .

He went out to get hair cut and I had breakdown and phoned my parents . Just thinking blood disorder leukaemia etc etc . When he came in I asked again and he said he was lying on ground grass I think after football and one of his mates dragged him down the hill with his legs then gave him birthday bumps and dropped him . So I hoping it from that that he got the red broken blood vessels on spine .

what do you think ?

i so anxious

Hi Op, i have been using Escitalopram for few years now and it has kept my anxiety in check. I'm taking 5mg,used to take 10. I was mainly suffering with panic attacks. I do feel though that you are very much on edge and could benefit with therapy not just meds. Hope you feel better soon

@Elliejane

I would say after being dragged down a hill and given Birthday bumps no surprise he has some marks on his back bless him maybe even bruise a little in the next day or 2 but I'm sure that fully explains it just keep your eye on it but I'm sure it will all clear up and it's boys being boys xx

@Winter2019 thanks for replying . I was doing therapy but I was too bad so we paused it to go on meds and plan is to go back once I get more stable. I just could not take in anything at all they were saying . I had good results years ago with therapy and saw same lady every 6 mths but she moved away. This new lady has a different approach and just could not get my head around it

Struggling today . Today I feel really low instead of on edge and anxious . Like I lost hope . Very flat

is that normal too ? Day 5 take tablets at lunch so day 6 ok 5mg .

anyone or should I stop ?

It's gonna take about 2 weeks to kick in if I remember correctly. Keep going, tomorrow will be a better day :)

To be honest I straightaway started on 10mg so that might be an option too but speak to your doctor first

It takes couple of weeks for the effect to be noticeable. My gp prescribed smallest dose xanax to take as and when I felt overwhelmed while waiting for escitalopram to kick in. Maybe worth discussing this with your doctor?
I felt very queasy for a few weeks when starting the course but taking it at bedtime helped a lot.

@Elliejane Hi Ellie,

I am so sorry you are going through this. I wanted to share my experience with ADs.

I was on escitalopram for 2 and half years following a major depressive episode. I can't remember much and I didn't keep a diary, but I remember feeling quite good after a few weeks. The only notable side effects were excessive tiredness and loss of libido, but the mood was okish, however I do remember there were some days when I kept crying constantly. I stopped them because I was trying to TTC.
The most recent experience is with sertraline which helped me a lot with the mood, but I had to stop them because the side effects were brutal. Anyway, it took a while to get used to them, a month perhaps and the symptoms worsened in the beginning, but improved later.

I think you should give your body and you mind a little more time to get used to them, keep a diary of your syptoms and check whether they are improving. If not, ask for different ones.

I forgot to mention that both time I was also on benzos (diazepam) to help with the anxiety and they did. They helped me take the edge off.

Hugs!

Thanks for replying . It’s so helpful to hear people have experienced similar . I def at feeling more anxious , more intrusive thoughts , more health anxiety , since I started tablets . Also appetite gone totally . Day 7 today of 5mg I take at lunch time .

Had days of feeling tired too but not always .

Just hoping for an improvement soon

@Elliejane

How are you today?

Still on edge and that butterflies feeling . Managed to eat more today so far . Day 8 now .
Just want to feel relaxed not on edge all time .
How are you ?

It's good you have been able to eat a little more. The mornings are the worst for me from 7-12 yesterday and todays afternoon have been better I have had some anxious free periods and been able to eat better.

It will settle I'm sure of it so many people have had good success we just need to ride the wave!

Did it end up working for you op? X

Hi
Yes it did make a big difference. I am not 100% better but at least 50-70% improvement. It took about 2-3 mths and even now my gp would like me to try 15mg . I am happy with 10mg though as I have put on weight with it

recently I had a recall for abnormal mammogram and I was really anxious but not to the extreme I would have been pre tablets.

I find escitalopram works much better for me than citalopram ever did. So it is worth trying different medication. I don’t like it that I need to be on a ssri but the alternate was just horrible and I am in no rush to wean off .

Hope that helps . Happy to answer any other questions

Ellie