Horrible reaction to one 10mg of Lexapro

[cassieks]

My doctor prescribed me Lexapro for stress and stress-related anger.  I noticed the past year that I was becoming more and more stressed over the smallest things.  So, I took just one 10mg Sunday afternoon and I woke up at 11:30 pm in a panic.  I felt like I was going crazy.  My head, ears and arms felt like they were on fire, I had a cold sweat, my pupils were dialated, I was nauseous, couldn't sit still, had extreme anxiety and was panicked.  I woke up my roomate and was able to calm down after about an hour.  I didn't sleep the rest of the night and called my doctor first thing Monday morning.  I went in and saw her and she told me I had a hypersensitive reaction to Lexapro.  Told me to immedately stop taking it, which I obviously did.
It's been 3 weeks since I took that pill and I still don't feel right.  The first week was the worst, I had extremely bad headaches, foggyness, and I felt very anxious and nervous over nothing.  I had to force myself to leave the house for fear that I never would if I didn't make myself.
Prior to taking the Lexapro I had NEVER had any type of anxiety or panick attack.  My symptoms have gotten somewhat better, but they seem to come and go.  I still get occassional headaches, and I feel nervous and anxious most of the time, and I have no apetite.  After the first week I felt almost like myself again, then I got a slight headache one day and took an excederin (which was a mistake) because later that night I started to panick about going to sleep and have felt all the symptoms come back again.  I honestly don't know what's wrong with me but I'm scared.  I know this is all from the Lexapro but I just want to know when I'll feel like myself again.  It took me 2 weeks to be able to sleep in my own room again.  I'm not sure what that's about, but I felt terrified to sleep by myself (maybe fear of having another reaction).  The only other reasonable thing I can think of is that the Lexapro created excess Serotonin in my brain and that's causing all these problems.  My dr. told me that the serotonin was the cause of the burning sensations, but how long will it take to go back down to a normal level?

If there's anyone out there who has suffered similar symptoms from only one dose of Lexapro please share your experience and how long it took to feel like yourself again!  

Cassie

[cassieks]

I was thinking that I could also be suffering from some type of post traumatic stress from the reaction.  I did make an appointment with a therapist and a phsychiatrist just to be on the safe side.  Any extra help I can get at this point I'm willing to take!

[cassieks]

Thank you so much for your input!  I think I definately have anxiety and panic due to the reaction I had.  I'm praying the Lexapro is out of my system soon and my serotonin levels go back to normal in a few weeks.  I read that it can take up to 8 weeks for your body chemistry and levels to normalize themselves again, so I'm hoping to recover soon.  My dr gave me Klonopin to take to help relax me, but I'm terrified to take it.  I just want to feel like myself again!

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Actually you could now be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder as the first time the reaction was due to Lexapro. The next time it was due to panic on eating a medication (a different one this time). Due to the first attack you have developed a fear for your well being. This can be over come by counseling and psychotherapy. Hope this helps. Take care!

[mstanfordrn42]

I am a nurse and I have taken Lexapro.  For a short time. Until I was almost fired for falling asleep at work.  It was horrible.  Not a drug I would take again.  The lexapro should be out of your system soon.  Sounds like you might have some anxiety (me too) going on with this.  Ask your physician if you can have a mild sedative like xanax until the symptoms wear off.  Good luck.  The depression med road is a hard one to go down especially if you have weird reactions. (me too).