Lexapro for agoraphobia

Common Questions and Answers about Lexapro for agoraphobia

lexapro

Avatar n tn Saw a Psychiatrist who put me on Lexapro, now this really stuffed me up. For the first 4 or 5 days I felt great, but by the 2nd week I was slipping and by week 6 I felt worst then I ever felt in my life. I had constant anxiety, depression My arms and legs felt strange and out of coordination and it felt like my entire frontal lobe was disabled. I was unable to think to myself, like my head was empty, and totally lost all emotions except fear and dread.
Avatar f tn I was on Lexapro for 3 years (for panic attacks & agoraphobia) and also weaned down slowly until I was only taking 2.5 mg for a few weeks, then I quit taking it. I did NOT have any seizures - just increased anxiety, flu like symptoms and some dizziness when weaning off. Do not quit cold turkey or you will probably be very miserable. Wean off slowly. My panic attacks did come back after about a year off of Lexapro.
Avatar f tn I never wanted to be on drugs but in the hospital I was desperate for relief. I took the lexapro for 2 months and actually got more palpitations from it so I started to wean off and am now off of it for 2 months. The klonopin I managed to wean down to only .25 mg each day and am now having a hard time getting off that small dose. I also started developing agoraphobia this past month, I was better last month and now it seems like a downward spiral.
Avatar f tn Pass on the Cymbalta for now -- and if you do want medication see a psychiatrist, not a general doc. Cymbalta is a stimulating antidepressant, not a treatment for agoraphobia as a first resort. Doctors just throw out the latest thing the pharmaceutical company reps told them about too often. It's unlikely an antidepressant such as an ssri, which is more for anxiety, will alter your mind, but you're right, it might.
Avatar m tn yeah this is classic signs of how agoraphobia starts... having a panic attack and then avoiding the place you had it. I don't blame you for feeling anxious about it happening again, trust me. But to over come this i feel the best thing to do is take baby steps... if you don't feel ready to travel lets say 5 miles, travel 3 then next time travel 3 and half until you feel comfortable to travel and stay in your truck....
Avatar f tn I've dealt with anxiety for years and haven't had much success with medications to help. Tried Lexapro but it made panic attacks way worse. Tried Zoloft and loved how quickly it helped with depression but made my heart race by the end of the day. Now I'm dealing with not wanting to leave home, feeling dizzy while driving, can't go into grocery stores. These are new symptoms and scary. I have gone through a recent separation and move that I feel is what triggered new symptoms.
Avatar n tn I had to stop taking Mirtazapine last night as the side-effects I was getting from it are apparently rare and will not go away. I have already taken Citalopram, Sertraline and Mirtazapine for my anxiety but didn't get on with them. I have a phone appointment with my GP this evening and would feel better knowing I had an idea what medication might work best for me. I don't want to take Prozac or anything that will make sick/vomit, dizzy or mimic other anxiety symptoms.
Avatar m tn Im currently taking lexapro 10mg for my panic attacks and anxiety..lately I've been feeling kind of strange for example sweating a lot and dizzy little..and I a numb feeling in my facial area I called my doctor and he told me that it wasn't a side effect to the lexapro he surgested maybe I was over heated...please help becuase my anxitey level is very high because im worried that it could be something deadly...
955569 tn?1255489680 Question; why have you been on lexapro; for anxiety? What are you being hit hard w/ again, anxiety? I have anxiety; in fact, I'm just now slowly getting over agoraphobia-a chronic anxiety disease. I have symptoms similar to what you listed, daily. I continue to wonder if it's my heart because of the over all feeling of "not feeling good" and the mainstay of nausea.
Avatar m tn It is so debilitating that I cannot stand noise or even function - again, from the second that I wake up. For 5 years I was on Lexapro and Klonopin, which really helped with anxiety, but never completely cured me. I just recently had blood tests for thyroid which came back good. My question is - could I have a catecholamine problem? I was put on Ixel, an SNRI, which absolutely unexpectedly removed my anxiety from scratch.
Avatar f tn s up to you. The normal dose of Lexapro, at least as I was told when I was on it, is 10mg for anxiety and 20mg for depression. For me, it didn't work very well, but in very different circumstances than most people have. I kept going up until 30mg, when it got very weird, and then I tapered off of it. For you, time will tell and it's the only thing that will tell. Starting on 5mg is the right way to do it but then you usually go up to the 10mg mark.
Avatar m tn In the past I had good results for severe depression and anxiety with prozac. I have just started back on it after being on Lexapro for 3years (it pooped out) and effexor for 3 months (didn't work and raised BP). I am hoping it works as well this time as it did before.
Avatar m tn I take a 1mg tab before bedtime and don't take any during the day. I always feel better at night and worse in the morning while I am having my episodes. I also went up on my Lexapro from 10mg to 15mg within a couple of days of trying to decrease my Clonazapam. So really I'm not sure if I am feeling withdrawal still from the Clonaz or the up in dosage from the Lexapro. Or maybe both!? Anyway, thanks for the comment and hope you are doing well!
Avatar m tn ve tried Celexa, Paxil, Effexor, Zoloft, and Lexapro, and Lexapro was by far the most expensive. I take the generic now and it is still over $100. I disagree with the above poster who said that "shrinks" don't know what they are doing. I have struggled with anxiety for nearly a decade and just recently began seeing a psychiatrist for my medication and she is far more knowledgeable than general practicioners about the matter.
1048488 tn?1253627894 I have been tried on Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, and now they gave me a prescription for Zoloft. I have read some posts, which are encouraging, but if you had any idae the degree of anxiety when I take these things.... I feel like someone has held my throttle wide open, and I can't come back down. It makes me sick to think of trying another drug. I suffer agoraphobia and emetephobia, and my doctors are grasping at straws. I just want to be normal again.
Avatar f tn i am bipolar and i take lexapro. the meds work well with the disorder but i cant seem to get myself out of the house to go find a job. i say im going to do it the morning i wake up and ill get ready but i never make it out the door. if i do manage to get into town ill fill out one or two applications and call it a day. when i get home and a few days pass i try to pick up the phone to call them but it just doesnt happen. its almost like im scared because i dont know what to say.
Avatar f tn The above post doesn't appear accurate to me -- Pristiq is not usually prescribed as an adjunct to another antidepressant. It is the newer version of Effexor, is very strong, is a very stimulating antidepressant so isn't usually used if anxiety is the primary problem unless all other meds have failed to work, and can be very difficult to stop taking.
Avatar m tn ve found that Xanax really helps for the most difficult days. Also, Lexapro saved my life for several years in terms of anxiety, but recently stopped working for me. Perhaps an SSRI can help you, too? Good luck to you!
Avatar f tn ve been so dizzy and have had such a bad headache. im coming off of lexapro but was only on it for a week, could that have something to do with the way im feeling or do you think it can be the klonopin? i've been on klonopin for 2 months and havnt felt this bad yet, but then again i was always on something else along with the klonopin :( i dont know what to do!
Avatar f tn Okay so Hi! I have been battling a panic disorder with agoraphobia since 2013. It all started randomly and honestly, I still do not know my triggers or how this even came on. I'm looking into seeing if maybe it is from my thyroid medicine but who knows, you learn to live with it right? So lately ever since day light savings time, I have felt off. I feel way more tired and less motivated. I have taken some control over my anxiety and agoraphobia but i still need help!
Avatar f tn There have been 96 responses to the discussion started May 13 about agoraphobia in the anxiety forum. My gut feeling is that there are a lot of lurkers on that forum who read some of the discussion who could see themselves in the responses. I started that discussion because of a friend who has been housebound for seven years.
938592 tn?1245082015 Not wanting to be housebound any more. It was far from easy. The thing is that you have to want to do it for yourself. Not for others. It was a long slow process. Putting myself out there were it hurt the most. But I took baby steps. After spending so many years in the house, what was the hurry now? Used to stand at my hall door to begin with. Until I got comfortable with that. May sound silly. But it is all about the body getting used to feelings all over again.
Avatar f tn Thinking about trying Lexapro for generalized anxiety. Any advice or experiences? I have previously tried Buspar (had no effect) and Zoloft which made me constantly nauseous.
Avatar f tn I have had anxiety, panic attacks, GAD and fear of vomiting since late childhood. Recently i have realized i think i have agoraphobia as well- avoid travel with others incase i get sick and cannot escape- and just my luck i get motion sickness easily. As i have got older, i have felt a stronger urge to not stay anywhere long as i need to get home, I am scared something- like a storm or earthquake will stop me from getting back to my house.
Avatar m tn Thanks for your help. Therapy is gonna be hard for me to get based on money issues, but I have read about what's involved with CBT, which is mainly exposure in the case of agoraphobic people. Do you think if I work on my own CBT and keep pushing myself that this would be an adequate substitute for a therapist? After all, all a therapist can really do is tell me to go out and do the CBT. It's up to me to actually go out and do it.
Avatar f tn this is a question for your doctor not us. I would say, not to take medication while being pregnant. thats my opinion. good luck to you. sounds like you are getting a grip on this anxiety stuff. thats great.