Ironic part is that I am having anxiety about taking the meds. I can't seem to talk myself into taking the pill. I am the type of person who pretty much never takes pills etc. and am pretty nervous about the side effects etc., and the loss of control.. once I take it I'm stuck with it til it wears off. This might seem silly, but I have been sitting here for almost a week, with the meds in my possession, dealing with my anxiety and not taking it. I guess I don't really believe that it will help me either.
I just mean that once I take it, I am stuck with potential side effects... I can't undo taking it etc. Maybe the term loss of control was a bit dramatic... lol
Answers :Lexapro helped my anxiety some, but i still had to take xanax as well. 20mg Lexapro and 2mg Xanax 3 times a day. Idk what you mean by "Loss of control" but lexapro doesn't sedate you or anything. Talk to your pharmacist about it. The fact that your anxiety is so bad is a good sign that you need the medication. I also take Escitalopram (the working ingredient in Lexapro) and it's helped me alot. It's not a miracle drug, your personality doesn't change. You just become more balanced, you still have control over everything. The drug actually puts you in more control because your anxiety doesn't determine everything you do anymore. Keep in mind that if you have side effects these will lessen over time, so stick with it. If it doesn't help or your doctor determines your side effects as being too severe then it takes about 2 days to stop experiencing the medication and about 5-6 until it's completely out of the system. If you do decide to stop it then don't do it abruptly, talk to your doctor about reducing dosage first. Why don't you try therapy instead? Specifically cognitive-behavioral therapy? If you are already in therapy or it isn't an option, then you can tell yourself you are sick and need to pills to correct an imbalance in your brain. Also, the side effects are pretty minimal and you do have the options of going off them if they don't work after a couple of weeks and trying something new.
Also, I was told to stop taking Lexapro, abruptly if I wanted, after taking it for 6 weeks. Although my psychiatrist said I could take it every other day for a couple of days. I never experienced any withdrawal effects. I was on the lowest dose though. So it's not like taking it at a low dose for a couple of days will mean you have to take it for a long time. Also, if you have bad side effects you can stop it before 2 weeks, but you just won't know if it'll work for you. lexapro is an anti-depressant. it is an SSRI, once you start taking it, you should not abruptly stop taking it. also, you have to take it for 2 weeks or so before it reaches its full potential in your body. do you think that when you are thirsty you can handle your thirst without drinking water. just understand that you have to take medicines and it will cure your disease.
just try to be happy and relax yourself by thinking positive.
try to increase your social cycle and involve yourself in healthy activities
thanks Effective natural treatment for panic & anxiety attacks is shown at http://your-mental-health.8m.com/blank_25.html and pages h, & i respectively.
View http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/08/robert-whitaker-interview.aspx & http://curetogether.com/depression/ig/treatment-effectiveness-vs-popularity
From Y!A: "I haven't tried zoloft, but since the very first lexapro tablet I ever took, I have never had an orgasm again. And I came off it a year ago". I took half what they prescribed me and It seemed to work. The pills were scored in the middle so I just broke them in half. I think that probably made it easier to stop taking it when I was ready to stop taking it. I have read the SSRIs are really addictive and you get more side effects when you stop taking them. All that said, taking half a Lexapro a day really took the edge off and I would do it again if I needed to. On a full tab per day I had moderate insomnia and my libido did feel "off." On a half tab a day I did not experience those side effects. I didn't take Lexapro very long, maybe about three months or so and I stopped abruptly from 1/2 tab a day and did not experience side effects upon quitting. I take 20 mg of Lexapro and I am doing great with it... It took me about 2 weeks to get arid of the stupid side effects but they went away, it just felt like I had the flu.
I feel so much better than I did before!! I can walk into Walmart and not have a panic attack. I dont care what people think about me anymore. I am sooooo glad that I took it. 