Escitalopram, anyone with experience of this medication?

[Friendlyfire222]

Just looking for people who have taken this medication, prescribed primarily for anxiety but hoping it might help with depression as well.
5mg dose to start off with but stupidly have been reading loads of reviews by people who have suffered some pretty severe side effects. I suffered really badly when prescribed sertraline and couldn't continue.
Would really appreciate if anyone could comment who has taken this medication. Thank you

Hello op. I think everyones experiences are different. I was on citalopram for years and had lots of side effects (nausea etc). I tried sitalopram and lasted 2 days as the side effects were horrendous. Ecitalopram was my saviour. I was on 10mg and has zero side effects and it really helped me out with my anxiety and depression. I say give it a go. X

Sorry it was the sertraline I didn't get on with. I wish you could edit posts. Xxx xxx

Yes I have taken it. It’s the only anti anxiety / anti depressant medication that I can tolerate. I don’t have any side effects.

I could not tolerate Sertraline or Venlafaxine - both made me sick and very drowsy.

I'm on escitalopram now and had it 15 years ago too - the doc was going to prescribe sertraline this time but when she saw I'd had ADs previously she switched.

5mg is a low dose, I'm on 10mg currently and have been 20mg previously. You might feel a bit nauseous for a week or two but I was certainly feeling improvement after a month - if you're not, then you might need to up the dose but speak to your GP first.

Aargh, it doesn't help my brain fog! I had mild side effects for a couple of weeks, but my anxiety / depression improved after a month (is what I meant to say!).

Hope you're feeling better soon OP x

I was on it for a while. No side effects other than it made me a bit sweaty. My psych says that it's one of the best tolerated ADs and that was certainly my experience compared to almost every other AD I've tried. In the end, we decided that it wasn't really doing quite enough so I switched to another type of drug.

I was on it, 5mg is very low. I had a bit of extra tiredness and mouth dryness.
I have found it very effective but i was on 15mg

It has been a life saver for Dd. No side effects and she is very sensitive.

Thank you so much for the replies, feel much more comfortable in starting taking it. So many horror stories about side effects that I read previously elsewhere. Anxiety Sucks!

I thought I would do an update on this, just in case anyone may search and find it useful in the future.
I've been on this medication for almost 4 weeks, first week or so I did feel a bit rough, nausea, headaches and cold like symptoms. I also didn't drive for the first few days because I felt a bit out of it.
Today I went to the city centre with my dd by train. I actually cannot remember the last time we did this. We shopped, it was busy, it was hot but I enjoyed myself and so did she.
I haven't got that permenent pit of doom feeling in my stomach all the time now, life feels ok and hopefully will continue to get better.

That's great, OP. I've been on it for more than 10 years with no side effects. Other than times of real stress, I haven't felt the feeling you described in a decade.

I take escitalopram. Started on 10mg and recently went up to 20mg as my symptoms returned due to external circumstances. I feel much better and no side effects unlike Sertraline which made me feel very unwell.

Thank you for starting this post OP and the update. Glad all going well for you.
Escitalopram / sertraline or citalopram have been suggested as possible options for me. Interesting that a few people have said side effects with sertraline very difficult. Do you mind saying more about them please.

I take 20mg a day ans just get night sweats. I take it last thing as otherwise it spaces me out.

@Friendlyfire222 So glad to hear it's working for you! I had a bad response to citalopram in the past and have been on escitalopram (15mg) for over a decade now. It's the one I tolerate the best and barring some night sweats I am fine.

Good luck with it

@ThreeImaginaryBoys what was the difference in your response to citalopram and escitalopram ?

The main one was the night sweats. I'd been waking up in a puddle.

Also, to achieve the effect on my anxiety I was taking quite a large dose and felt zombie-like.

Escitalopram has been a huge improvement.

Thank you @ThreeImaginaryBoys

You're welcome @kizziee
I hope it works for you.

Hi OP
Hope you don't mind me asking - did you stay on 5mg or did you have to up the dosage?
I start this on Monday but have a check-up in a fortnight.
I was unable to tolerate Seroxat many years ago now, so am anxious just thinking about it tbh. The only thing that ever worked for me was diazepam but that was short-term use only.
I am pleased you are feeling better x

@kizziee I could not tolerate sertraline, this was a few years back but I really could not function, extreme tiredness mixed with insomnia and constant nausea. However know many people who have either had no side effects or have been able to manage them. This experience on escitalopram has been a walk in the park for me ,compared to that time. Good luck and I really hope you find something that works well for you.
@ SequinsandStilettos GP wants me to stay on the 5mg for 3 months and i'm happy to see how that goes, i've been very reluctant this time round to even consider medication so am happy to take it slow and stay on the lowest possible dose that may work for me. Half the battle for me was even starting taking it because I was just so riddled with how bad it might may me feel but in reality it was just a few days of feeling a bit rough and I was able to take it easy. All the best and I really hope it goes well for you
Thanks for all the other lovely responses, much appreciated!

I love it. Didn't st first but the side effects didn't last long. It saved my life.

@Gettingbysomehow what mg do you take?