Escitalopram

[Notsurewhattodo98]

So after months of resisting ive gone back on antidepressants for anxiety, ocd, overthinking.
Trying escitalopram this time - only just started but hoping this will work in a few weeks.
Anyone else got any experiences to share of taking escitalopram for anxiety, ocd, overthinking?
TIA 😊

For me I had loads of side effects with citalopram and they just made me feel numb but not in a good way I had no emotions. As escitalopram I have no side effects and I still feel things just not as strongly or negatively.

My OH is picking up my prescription of this today. I'm a bit of a mess as the moment and after years of putting it off, I've decided to give it a go. My GP has offered sertraline in the past but I've been too scared to take it so we are trying this one as I believe it has a lower side effect profile.

I think I will start tomorrow as it will be a bit late in the day by the time I get it today. I'm really hoping it helps.

I've increased to 12.5mg as I've had annoying anxiety since I got back from holiday last week 🫣 lightheaded and over breathing everyday. Hoping to get it all sorted before getting to maximum dose!

@Midnightlove i hope the increased dose helps. I've decided to start tomorrow now when the kids are at school just in case I get side effects. Nervous but desperate to feel better.

I’ve been back on Escitalopram since June. It’s worked well for me - for me health anxiety was my biggest issue. Caused by stress in other areas of my life.

It’s the second time I’ve been on them - tbh should have just stayed on them the first time! I was and am on 5mg.

I did get side effects - they lasted 2-3 weeks for me.

The worst ones for me were feelings of apathy / zero motivation, didn’t even want to speak!! Absolutely no appetite and some nausea. In addition to this I had shaky legs, was very very sweaty and yawned a lot! I also had a very dry mouth.

Has anyone tried Propranolol
I'm currently taking that 3 times a day ,with no side effects,
I just can't bring myself to take the escitalopan

Yes they really helped when I was having panic attacks all day!

Just start really slow with the escitalopram if you decide to try it

@AnxiousAnnieeeeeeeeee did all those side effects subside after 2-3 weeks? I forgot I had a prior commitment this morning so couldn't start this morning :/ tomorrow will be the day! Did you find the initial side effects lasted all day or did they wear off throughout the day?

@Honeybunny75 i can only have the occasional tiny 5mg of propranolol otherwise it makes me feel very odd, like sort of heavy and uncoordinated and like I can't get enough air. It's like it builds up too much in my system or something. So I only use it if my heart rate is going mad and I can't get it to come down.

@RealLifeClanger I mentioned upthread that I take Escitalopram just before I go to bed rather than in the morning. It really helped me with the initial side effects as by the time I woke up, the nausea had passed. You might want to try that. 💐

Take before bed, with a little food x

I take it a lot when I have anxiety..up to 3 a day .
That and a bottle of lucozade..which also helps bizarrely

@BruFord I'm a bit paranoid about side effects so don't really want to take the first one at night. I would hate to wake up feeling grim, if you know what I mean. It would make me more anxious I think. Although, if I have the first one or two in the morning and it's not too bad, I may well switch to night time. Then at least I'll know what to expect.

@RealLifeClanger You see I feel fine when I get up, any side effects seem to have worn off. Although I’m used to them now, of course.

I never get side effects right when I first take them, it's usually something that comes when the drug starts to build up in my body. Not sure about anyone else? Like nausea or increased anxiety isn't caused because I've just then swallowed the pill x

@Midnightlove Yee, we’re all different. I usually feel sick about an hour after taking it and also after taking my daily vitamin. No idea why!

Yes by week 3 they were mostly gone except for the sweating!! I’ve now realised that this has also gone too (4 months in)

Sorry I didn’t answer your question fully - no, to be honest they didn’t really get better throughout the day and it didn’t seem to matter when I took them.

What I do find was that they improved over time. Probably didn’t fully kick in for a few days and then as I approached two weeks the symptoms got better every single day.

For context I went on holiday on day 11 and by then was feeling significantly better.

Thanks, that's good to hear. I'm hoping I can stick it out. Will see how the side effects go today and report back. Only starting with 2.5 mg for 1 - 2 weeks, so low and slow.

Is this the same as citalopram ? if so I have been on it for years and it’s really helped me

Has anyone else had issues splitting the 5mg pills in half? Mine crumbled in my pill cutter and was completely uneven. I called the chemist to ask for advice and they said not to take it as I wouldn't know how much I was getting. So have asked the Dr for a different prescription strength but I don't even know if they come in 2.5mg doses. I think it's 5mg or 10mg. I was totally prepared to start taking them this morning as well!

Yeah mine are the same! I end up licking half the crumbs up 🙄

My GP said to just take 5mg 😬 oh well, hopefully it won't be too bad.

I am on 5mg

I tried it yesterday but unfortunately it wasn't a good experience. Definitely not something I want to repeat in a hurry so I'll be waiting for a while to try something else. I think I'm the anomaly here as I react badly to a lot of meds. I'm going to query why this might be with the gp next time I see her. But yeah, no more ssri's for me for the foreseeable.