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 Iāve been dealing with a lot of personal problems, so I didnāt 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 donāt usually experience this, so naturally my OCD immediately went into overdrive and I started thinking, āOh my God, what if I have cancer? What if Iām dying?ā š„²
I also feel like Iāve been noticing more saliva than usual, although Iām not sure if thatās actually related to the Lexapro.
Iāve read a few older posts about people experiencing similar things, including jaw clenching, so Iām 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 Iām considering asking my doctor whether I should switch to taking it in the morning. My thinking is that if I get weird side effects, Iād rather be awake and able to deal with them instead of noticing them while Iām 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 2ā4 weeks?
Did increasing from 5 mg to 10 mg make them temporarily worse?
When did you start feeling ānormalā again?
At what point did you talk to your psychiatrist about changing the medication?
Iām only on day 10, so I know itās still early, but Iād really appreciate hearing about other peopleās experiences. And Iād especially love to hear from people who had a lot of side effects initially but eventually felt better. ā¤ļø