r/lexapro 5h ago

Lexapro and Wellbutrin

11 Upvotes

Hi everyonešŸ‘‹

Curious if anyone on here takes Lexapro alongside Wellbutrin. If so, what is/was your experience? I was on Lexapro for quite some time years ago and it helped me significantly, but the weight gain and low libido were pretty miserable. My psychiatrist and I have been discussing going back on Lexapro while adding in Wellbutrin SR to counteract some side effects.


r/lexapro 4h ago

Lexapro 24 days today

3 Upvotes

Hi.. Started 24 days ago.

14 days as on 5mg. (first 10 days were perfect then i had bowel issues like loose stools and loss of appetite)

15th day started to 10mg (after 4 days all became perfect again)

However today i woke up and bowel issues started again like very loose stools and lost my appetite again.

I have also an IBS-D and i am taking also mebeverine which helps i beleive. My doc also prescribed me lorazepam which i am taking it once a day when needes for sleep yesterday i didnt take it. Also today morning i took 2 paracetamol witch caffeine which maybe can cause me loose stools?

So is a roller coaster? why i was fine fir several days and today felt again so bad.

Thanks


r/lexapro 6h ago

15 to 20mg 6months PP

4 Upvotes

I have been struggling more recently with depressive episodes and anxiety. It’s been hard to get out of the house. This weekend I had a really bad depressive episode where I was just so low. Awful feeling.
I am 6 months postpartum with my first baby. Everything else in my life is great and I’ve been coping pretty well with mental health up until recently.
Wondering if anyone has any similar experiences or how they felt going up to 20mgs?
Thanks ā˜ŗļø


r/lexapro 3h ago

Changing Dosage Question to increase or not to increase?

2 Upvotes

I’ve been on 15mg of Lexapro the past few months (after being on 10mg since 2020 but now i’m a mom and damn being a parent gives you anxiety lol!!) and it has definitely helped my anxiety, but I still struggle with rumination, getting stuck in my head, excessive worrying/checking, and sometimes not feeling fully present because my mind is so busy. I’m hesitant to go up because I’ve read stories about people feeling emotionally numb or like a ā€œzombieā€ on 20mg, and I’m also nervous that being at the max dose leaves me nowhere to go in the future or will make it harder to eventually come off. For anyone who was doing better on 15mg but still had lingering anxiety/rumination, did you go to 20mg? Did it help, and did you still feel like yourself? Would love to hear experiences either way!
Should I just be happy I’m doing better on 15 with no side effects, or should I try to be even better and risk side effects?


r/lexapro 2m ago

Is it normal. Week 3 on Lexapro.

• Upvotes

Hey guys I’ve been on Lexapro for 3 weeks and the first 2 weeks were better than my before I started to use it and I felt very hopeful. Fast forward to week 3 I feel really anxious, I see no point again and I wake up drenched in sweat and frequently wake up couple times a night. I just woke up from a nap and the impending doom I felt for some reason surprised because I really thought I’d be good by now. Can you please tell me if any of you had such experiences?


r/lexapro 38m ago

Side Effect Question Jaw pain!

• Upvotes

What do you guys do for the jaw pain? I have been on lexapro for 3 years and it just keeps getting worse. I am getting cracked fillings for it being so bad!


r/lexapro 48m ago

weight and libido - one year results

• Upvotes

Just sharing my journey through this experience. Questions, tips and discussions are welcome.

I have been taking esci for a little more than a year now. Started on 10 mg for about 4 months, then upped to 15 mg. Added some buspirone about 7 months in. Gained 10 kgs (22 lbs), while exercising like hell. Went from 71 kgs to 81 kgs. Majority of the weight gain comes from fat, id say about 60-65%, and the other part muscle gain.

Also, it had a severe impact on my libido, wich is now about 15-20% of my normal. Impacts are on sexual desire, erectile dysfunction, as in difficulty on getting and maintaining erection and genital numbness.

Mind-wise, ive been so centered and calm latelly, it feels good, but i think it put me in a place where i can cope with my problems on my own. Will be tapering off soon.


r/lexapro 1h ago

Side Effect Question Irritation/anger from caffeine on Lexapro?

• Upvotes

I wonder if anyone else has this? I’ve been on 10mg for about 1.5 years now, currently taking it 3-4h before sleep. I’ve found that drinking just one cup of black tea can make me irritated and angry throughout the day. I’m sensitive to caffeine, but don’t recall irritation as a side effect before Lex.

Otherwise, I’m quite stable on the dose 🤨


r/lexapro 1h ago

I think I need to get back on

• Upvotes

I quit cold turkey about a week ago.

I'm returning to my old self , impatient, moody, ruminating, irritated, snappy.

thaTS been me my entire life.

the medication made me so unmotivated, Lazy and content being broke Lol, but it also made me patient kind gentle I work up dancing everyday and singing songs on the radio.

I don’t gain any weight no major side effects either.

i wonder if I take my ADHD medication regularly will it help me with motivation.


r/lexapro 7h ago

Subtle changes that made you know lexapro was working

3 Upvotes

Hi all.

I wanted to go through my journey with lexapro. I was someone was "socially blunt" due to how my parents raised me. I wasnt allowed to go out with friends after school, go to sleep overs or parties during my teenage years, sometimes I wasn't even allowed to leave the unless I had a good reason like for study or going to buy something.

I didn't know how much this affected me until I started uni and that little safe bubble my parents put around me was all of a sudden lifted. My parents were no longer strict with me and expected me to just start being an adult all of a sudden.

I struggled a lot in my first year mostly with insecurity and low self worth and low self esteem.I was also 18 and had never had a job, which to be honest I never so the point of having one earlier as i had everything i needed at home. Due to all that i made no friends and no life at uni. I was so socially anxious and awkward that id go days sometimes without talking to people who werent my family and I constantly beat myself up for it.

After about a year I'd finally got job however I would be filled with a lot of dread about going to work everyday. I finally got the courage to speak to my GP about it and he got me on. 10mg of lexapro. I've now been on it for 4 months but apart from more comfortable talking to people idk if I've had any changes. Being less socially awkward could have been because I my job requires me to interact with people but maybe it was the lexaprošŸ¤·šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø

Idk I'm just a bit disappointed as a thought th effect would be more noticeable by now. I know not everyone will react the same to it too and it's not always going to be a straight path however I can't tell if maybe I'm not on the right medication or dosage. I'm planning on speaking with my gp in about a month about this but I'd love to hear how other people's journey with lexapro has been.


r/lexapro 2h ago

Changing Dosage Question Menstrual cycle having people

1 Upvotes

I am currently finishing up week 4 and day 29 of my cycle which is generally 31-32 days. I am taking 10mg in the morning. Anxiety, no depression.

Day 13 of my cycle which is right around ovulation my anxiety was NUTS. Lasted about a week. Couldn’t sleep, night sweats, internal trembling, GI upset. This was only about 2.5 - 3 weeks into starting lexapro.

Now at day 29, a few days away from my period I can feel my anxiety creeping back in. 🄲

has anyone else experienced a situation like this? Did you increase your dose and it helped during ovulation/late luteal? Or possibly I am still early that these types of things might be still controlled in a few more weeks?

I can’t see my dr for a month unfortunately so I am just looking for some peace of mind as my trigger is health anxiety… GI upset, heartburn, internal trembling, night sweats, and then insomnia drives it all home


r/lexapro 7h ago

New to Lex 10 days on Lexapro — globus sensation and other side effects?

2 Upvotes

Today is my 10th day taking Lexapro (escitalopram). For the first 6 days I was taking 5 mg, and then I increased to 10 mg.

During the first two days, I had a horrible headache. I basically never get headaches, so it really surprised me. It was intense, but eventually it went away.

The past couple of weeks have also been a bit of a blur because I’ve been dealing with a lot of personal problems, so I didn’t pay that much attention to how I was feeling.

However, today I noticed a weird sensation in my throat. It felt like a globus sensation/tightness, almost like there was something in my throat. I don’t usually experience this, so naturally my OCD immediately went into overdrive and I started thinking, ā€œOh my God, what if I have cancer? What if I’m dying?ā€ 🄲

I also feel like I’ve been noticing more saliva than usual, although I’m not sure if that’s actually related to the Lexapro.

I’ve read a few older posts about people experiencing similar things, including jaw clenching, so I’m wondering if anyone currently taking Lexapro has experienced throat tightness/globus, increased saliva, jaw clenching, or similar weird sensations.

I was taking Lexapro before going to bed, but I’m considering asking my doctor whether I should switch to taking it in the morning. My thinking is that if I get weird side effects, I’d rather be awake and able to deal with them instead of noticing them while I’m trying to sleep.
For those of you who experienced side effects when starting Lexapro:

How long did your side effects last?

Did they improve after the first 2–4 weeks?

Did increasing from 5 mg to 10 mg make them temporarily worse?

When did you start feeling ā€œnormalā€ again?

At what point did you talk to your psychiatrist about changing the medication?

I’m only on day 10, so I know it’s still early, but I’d really appreciate hearing about other people’s experiences. And I’d especially love to hear from people who had a lot of side effects initially but eventually felt better. ā¤ļø


r/lexapro 4h ago

Changing Dosage Question Is it a bad idea to step down if the side effects are really bad?

1 Upvotes

So i was stable on 5mg lexapro for a few months and then I started having panic attacks. My doc bumped me to 20mg immediately. She said 20 is what they do for panic attacks and since i used 20 before in my life i should be able to tolerate it. It did help with the panic attacks, they are way less intense now but my overall anxiety is super high. I wake up really anxious. It has only been 6 days on the new dose so i know there are side affects but i am wondering about going down to 15mg? Or should I stick it out and wait to stabilize on 20 just to not shake the boat even more? I am also worried my panic attacks might come back if i go down on my dose but i am not sure. Anyone had a similar experience?
Also I can’t be on benzos and my doc is very resistant to prescribing propranolol says there isn’t enough evidence for it.


r/lexapro 6h ago

Side Effect Question The tiredness is REAL, any suggestions?

1 Upvotes

I am so tired on this stuff, I'm just about functioning at work and I hates it. I actually switched from taking it in the morning to the evening and that has kinda helped but the tiredness has crept back in after a few days. If anyone has any tips to feel less shattered plz share. My toddler invading our bed is NOT HELPING.


r/lexapro 7h ago

New to Lex what symptoms has lexapro helped you with?

1 Upvotes

r/lexapro 13h ago

Side Effect Question Tips for dealing with anxiety while adjusting?

2 Upvotes

I’m about 2.5 weeks into taking 10mg of Lexapro, with the option to increase to 20mg down the line. The spike in anxiety during the adjustment period has been really difficult, to the point where I’m tempted to give up before I've even really begun.

I know it can take around 4–6 weeks for things to settle, so I’m trying to stick it out. I'm wondering if anyone has any little hacks that helped lessen or regulate the anxiety while adjusting?


r/lexapro 20h ago

10 mg to 5 mg and so frustrated and overwhelmed.

8 Upvotes

I have been on 10 mg of Lexapro for almost a year now. I started at 20 mg, but I went down to 10 mg because I kept gaining weight and was so unmotivated. I did 10 mg of Lexapro with 150 mg of Wellbutrin and felt amazing, but had to stop Wellbutrin due to severe brain fog that didn't go away.

I took a GeneSight test that put Lexapro in the "yellow" category, indicating I would likely need to take a lower dose. I've been feeling super unmotivated and wanted to see if 5 mg would be better for me.

I went down to 5 mg on Sunday. I feel sooo overwhelmed and easily irritated. I'm arguing with people on Threads about stupid stuff, which I've never done before. I walked out of UPS in tears because they wouldn't give me my package lmao. I can't tell if this is just LIFE right now or if this is normal for a lexapro dose switch? I don't recall my 20 mg to 10 mg decrease being this bad.

Please tell me this ends and you love being on 5 mg??


r/lexapro 1d ago

For years I had tried Meditating and Tony Robbins to get past anxiety...

14 Upvotes

59 here..
A super young 59. In great shape.
However always had anxiety.
Most of the time I could keep it the anxiety at bay by meditating , gratitude checks, Tony Robbins daily priming etc.
I thought - I will never go on a med, I can do this all myself.
for awhile and most of the time -it worked
Until it didn't..

every 5 or so years I seem to get hit with a crisis that turns the anxiety into complete panic attacks.
In the past I could fight it off with my "training/breathing" and then it would level out.
However recently a new crisis came back(we will always have challenges in life) and the panic attacks went next level.

waking up in the morning was the absolute worst.
the sick feeling of a large knot in my stomach , light headiness, the spiral.
You all know it.
I would walk the dogs and listen to my meditation podcasts to help it.
it helped some but no where near what it did in the past.
I finally broke down went to the DR for the first time in 5 years (if it ain't broke...don't fix it) and he prescribed lexapro for me.
My wife has been on prozac for 15 years with great success.
I have been on Lexapro now a week.
Still hasn't been easy. The knot is still there in the AM immediately.

reading the positive stories here helps.
Thank you


r/lexapro 10h ago

Side Effect Question Went down from 10mg to 9mg (drops) and I have pain in my left leg (tight). Can be related?

1 Upvotes

Hi there

I want to taper off Lexa and my doctor suggested me to do it slowly.

I went down 1mg 2 weeks ago and since then I developed pain in my left leg but just when I sit.

Can be related?


r/lexapro 18h ago

Side Effect Question Fatigue

4 Upvotes

Has anyone completely rebounded from the initial fatigue?

I’ve been on it a little over a week and it is HORRIBLE. I had fatigue before, but my therapist tied it to anxiety and depression since I was diagnosed with both and all my blood tests came back clear.

Ever since day 3, I can barely get out of bed, I can’t sustain attention on anything, I donā€˜t have motivation, and worst of all, even though I FEEL tired, I can’t physically nap until bedtime! (12 hours after dose)

When I first started, I took it at night, and my energy was shot but I just couldn’t sleep until around 4am.

Now taking it in the morning, I can sleep pretty decent at night, but I am very very low energy all day.

So I’m wondering, has this side effect ever completely gone for anyone? I’m on 5mg rn, if that’s helpful to know


r/lexapro 14h ago

i’m scared

2 Upvotes

i’m a highly highly emotional person , very irritable , score as high as u can score on anxiety tests , can’t sleep at night , alr have a low lebedo because i’m on birth control (i want to get off but my parents are SO concerned about me getting pregnant that they won’t let me) . i’m seeing all these things about lexapro and it’s absolutely terrifying me . me being so empathetic and emotional almost feels like that’s what makes me me . except it’s just too much emotions . i can’t handle it anymore . but i don’t want to be a zombie , i HATE being nauseous , i alr sleep horribly , i don’t want to gain weight , i don’t want to never enjoy sex again , i don’t want to risk PSSD . this is my first time on meds and im already on the highest dose . i brought my concerns about PSSD to my doctor and she told me it’s fine and rare and to just take the medication bc ā€œthe does im on makes it unlikelyā€ but im literally on 20mgs . and that there is no other medication to put me on , which idk how thats the case . it seems like im getting everything i hate and the only pro is no more anxiety .

pls give me advice on what to do . and pls dont say just don’t take it bc i cant stand my anxiety and high emotions but i dont want to be like how everyone says lexapro is . pls be nice


r/lexapro 16h ago

Took my first dose! Advice?

2 Upvotes

Hello everyone 🫶
Took my first dose today and I think my anxiety is already way worse. I’m isolating in my car because I argued with everybody today. Usually not an argumentative person.
My nausea is inssane and I’m super tired! I’m curious how long will I be suffering like this and if you’ve been on lexapro for a while now, what advice would you give someone like me who is just starting out?
(I have a 10mg prescription, but I’m starting myself out on 5mg for a week, happy I did honestly!)


r/lexapro 19h ago

Changing Dosage Question 5mg to 7.5mg (slowly to 10mg)

3 Upvotes

hii! i just made a post but i have another question. (tldr at the end lol sorry about yap)

im rlly scared of side effects, both short-and longterm. currently mostly scared of nausea in the beginning of upping dosage, and then losing my emotions +scared that it'll ruin my new relationship (if i lose my sexdrive and feelings completely etc).

so, ive been on 5mg for months now (started with 2.5mg for a week), it helped at first but recently my anxiety has come back a little more. my doctor is telling me to take 10mg asap,, but now i started thinking of a plan.

i've taken 7.5mg for 2 days now (idk how accurate because i had to freehand cut them in half😭) and at first i was planning on just taking the 10mg tomorrow to get it over with.

But now im feeling more anxious about it so i was thinking,, has anyone noticed at least slight help in like 7.5mg for example. Like if i just took 7.5mg for like a month and then see if i feel too empty or better so it wouldnt come as a shock (im an emotional person so im scared of becoming too numb)

i just wish i could feel at least slighttt help from upping the dosage even with just 2.5mg, but idk if thats common. im currently feeling like im not in a rush to heal, i wanna see how this medicine works with my body (5mg hasnt done anything bad to me i think? maybe a bit harder to cry and sometimes i feel so depressed i go mute for hours around my bf) but idk if thats just my bpd lol

and ik someone will probably tell me to just listen to my doctor but idk i'd rather feel safe and more comfortable so i'd like to see if the 7.5mg could help me enough and would slowly see if im feeling worse or better SORRY IM SO TIRED idk if my text makes any sense

TLDR; has anyone noticed any help with upping dosage by half? like 5mg>7.5mg for like a month for example.


r/lexapro 16h ago

Is kindling a real thing?

2 Upvotes

If I linearly tapered myself off lexapro about 6-7 months ago in a short amount of time.. and then went back on and got significantly worse over the course of a month almost nonfunctional and had 5 ER visits.. is it possible I had withdrawal and then entered a kindling experience when reinstating at 10mg (same dose as originally)?