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Avatar universal

First Day on Lexapro

I split the 10 mg pill in two halves and took 5 mg at breakfest and lunch.  Almost immediately my heart was beating faster and I felt more energy.  My mood was significantly improved during the day, but at night I got a panic attack!
WTF?  I also take Klonopin 1mg/day so didn't expect any anxiety but quickly popped another 0.025mg and went to bed.  Had some strange dreams and woke up at 3 am feeling restless and unable to fall back asleep.

Are these common side effects?  I'll give it a week but I thought it was supposed to suppres anxiety not worsen it!

Thanks.
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1390847 tn?1344657468
I used to take Lexapro, not anymore.  However, I just started Pristiq which is just a different drug that does the same thing as Lexapro and when i started it i kept having really REALLY strange dreams...to the point where id wake up with really bad anxiety just because they were so strage.  It is a very common side effect for Lexapro to mess with your sleep patterns.  Sometimes it makes you extra sleepy and in other cases it makes you restless.  Restless is something it did for me.  It all just depends on how your body reacts to the meds.  Id say dont worry about, it seems everything your experiencing are common side effects
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Avatar universal
The Lexapro makes me very sleepy and tired, but it controls anxiety very well.  I couldn't sleep the last two nights, kept waking up so that could be why I feel extra dizzy today.

I was taking 10 mg/day but will only take 5mg today. Can't afford to fall asleep at work :)

I also take Klonopin which works very well, but doesn't do anything to lift depression.

Good luck and keep in touch!
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Avatar universal
have just rec'd samples of Lexapro from my doctor yesterday to treat panic attacks. I've been taking Xanax when I get an attack and they seem to be coming a bit more frequent than I'd like - so I was prescribed 5mg for the first week, then 10mg of Lexapro from my doctor.

I'm trying to be optimistic here...

Last night I actually slept pretty well, better than previous nights -- wasn't up and down like I normally am. I awoke, semi-rested... I experienced a lot of night sweats last night.

Tonight I've taken 5mg and here I sit, sorta tired, but not ready to go to bed yet.
I feel a bit chesty after taking the medicine.... I'm not sweaty tonight.

I'm hoping this works for me -- unsure why I'm experiencing panic at all.. but it happens.

Good luck with the medicine... Hope it works for you. I'm working it works for me :)
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Avatar universal
For me, the side effects weren't very severe but the ones I had lasted 7 - 10 days.  Lexapro worked well for me for about 8 years until I went off of them and for some reason going back on them doesn't seem to be helping as much.  Also, if you feel good after taking only 1 5mg pill then you probably were just feeling what they call the "placebo" effect.   I would have thought your dr would have explained some of that to you.  If your symptoms get a lot worse, you need to call your dr again and talk about it.  Insomnia can be a side effect.    In some cases, anxiety can get worse so medical professionals may try another med.  This is what ***** about meds as it is all about trial and error.  Good luck and blessings to you,

Mike    
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Avatar universal
In my experience with the SSRI's they all made my anxiety worse. I couldn't make it past 4 days. The anxiety was unbearable to me and I couldn't tolerate feeling worse before i got better not knowing if i was going to get better on a medicine that was making me worse. I wish you the best in trying to stick it out with the med.Maybe it will help you~!
Helpful - 0
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