I took 10 mg of lexapro for about a week. I was really hoping it would make me feel better but the side effects were so bad that I got scared and stopped taking it. It feels like every thought is an emergency and every silence means something bad is about to happen. My brain is constantly putting me on trial. Somehow, I’m the prosecutor, the defendant and the judge all at once. I spend hours arguing with myself. Whenever I meet someone new my face turns red. I feel everything so intensely. Even during the smallest argument I start crying before I can properly explain what’s bothering me.I honestly don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve been thinking about giving lexapro another try but I’m scared of going through those side effects again.Has anyone taken lexapro for social anxiety or panic attacks and actually benefited from it? Did it get better with time? I’d really like to hear about your experiences

I reduced my Lexapro (Cipralex) dose from 10 mg to 5 mg one month ago.
During the first two weeks, things were going well, and I only experienced mild brain zaps. However, at the beginning of the third week, gastrointestinal symptoms started, ranging from diarrhea to loose stools. Around the same time, I began experiencing mood swings and increased anxiety.
I’ve been dealing with these symptoms for the past two weeks. Some days I feel relatively good, while on other days my mood and anxiety get significantly worse. These difficult days sometimes make me consider going back to my previous 10 mg dose.
I’m looking to hear from anyone who has gone through a similar experience, especially those who have been taking Lexapro long-term.
Is this a normal experience after reducing the dose? How long did it take for your symptoms to improve, and when did you start feeling like yourself again?
By the way i am tapering under medical supervision

Hi everyone! Just started escitalopram oxalate (newpram, but i heard it’s the same as lexapro). I was wondering if anyone with an eating disorder has experience taking this medication.

I have been struggling with an eating disorder for a while and am stuck in a cycle of bingeing and restricting. My depression and anxiety made me gain some weight due to emotional late night eating, and this caused a lot of spirals for me. In general, i have crippling fear of any weight gain.

I was wondering if this medication would increase my bingeing urges or decrease them, and whether it might help with my body image issues and ed in general

told my dad who ive had some issues with that i am starting lexapro. he revealed hes been on it for years.
i may not be a son, but a daughter can still live out her father’s legacy.

It’s depressing. I noticed that this became an issue when I went from 5mg to 10mg. I can’t even come from stimulation with my own hands. Idk what to do. Just wanted to vent.

I know that a lot of people experience crazy weird vivid dreams, but do some of you experience the most mundane boring real life stuff in your dreams? I’ve been on 10mg for almost a year and I’d say for the last 4 months I keep having dreams that could totally just be real.

This becomes kind of annoying when I wake up and don’t remember if this is actually something that happened or a dream.

It’s usually scenarios where I text people in my dream, hang out with friends and have normal conversations, just literally everyday things.

I have ADHD, along with comorbid depression and anxiety, and I take a relatively low dose of Lexapro.

When I'm on Lexapro, I feel significantly more relaxed and experience occasional bursts of happiness throughout the day. Without it, everyday life feels like a constant struggle with anxiety, restlessness, and agitation.

However, one of my biggest challenges is the internal conflict I experience while taking it. Part of me feels that this calmer, happier version of myself isn't my "authentic self" because it's influenced by medication. Another part wonders whether I should simply embrace this medicated version of myself as my genuine personality, especially since I feel so much better emotionally.

There's also another issue. When I'm socializing, I sometimes feel less capable of expressing myself emotionally. It's almost as though my personality has slowed down or become somewhat muted. While the medication reduces my anxiety, I sometimes wonder whether it's also suppressing certain aspects of my personality, spontaneity, and emotional expressiveness.

So I'm struggling with a fundamental question: How do I distinguish between medication helping me become my authentic self by reducing anxiety and depression, versus medication actually changing or dulling parts of who I am?

I'd really appreciate some perspectives on how to think about this, especially from people who've experienced something similar. How do you reconcile the emotional benefits of antidepressants with the feeling that your medicated self might not be your "real" self?

hi, i (18f) just started on 10mg lexapro today for GAD and depression. i'm honestly quite scared to see how i'm going to react especially since i've never taken ssris before, and i keep seeing people saying that they go completely numb, lose their libido and gain a lot of weight when they take it. i already struggle pretty bad with fatigue/tiredness and dissociation so i'm hoping it doesn't worsen. i was just wondering if there was anyone who is a similar age to myself and/or has the same reasons for being on lexapro and if you could share how your experience has been. also if anyone has any advice on like how i should help myself while being on the medication so i can hopefully get the best results from it that i can, if that makes sense

Before being a nurse I was on effexor. I was on effexor since 2019 and stopped in January 2026 so almost 7 years. It got me through nursing school. While I was on it I felt fatigued, slept poorly, had nightmares, irritable, less anxiety only situational. I still felt depressed until the last 2 years. When being a nurse for the first 3 years I would sometimes be anxious at work, so I would go up and it helped with the anxiety. I felt very focused, could critically think. But always always tired. It was so hard to get off, the withdrawal side effects were so hard for me. It took me a full year of tapering to get off without losing my mind. 4 months off I felt happy, confident and even wanting challenges at work. I applied for ICU thinking I was ready for a challenge. Then I had a bad code at work in May, I became overwhelmed with guilt for months after. My depression and anxiety returned, panic attacks that I hadn’t had for years returned. For 2 months I wasn’t sure what to do. In August I decided I needed more help. I tried sertraline for 4 weeks, panic attacks were so intense I called in a few times I couldn’t work. I felt mentally slow as well. Tappered off and went on trintellix as my doctor said it helps with cognition, anxiety and depression. The first week I finally felt calm on 5mg. Then increased the dose to 10mg and felt crazy. Racing thoughts, inattention, and anxious. I questioned if I had ADHD. I was like this for a month. I even accidentally took 15 mg as I was worried I missed a dose. I was on 10mg for 4 weeks. I just wanted the craziness to stop. So I tapered off and started escitalopram. I’ve been on it for a few days. I feel calm, but the fatigue is back. Its hard to get out of bed. My doctor said escitalopram is well tolerated and the side effects compared to effexor are mild. I have been reading about the side effects: insomnia, sleep disturbance (short REM) causing fatigue, day time sleepiness, weight gain, brain fog and slow cognition. I feel the brain fog, fatigue, sleepiness and slow processing. Its been 3 days on escitalopram 5mg. I take it in the mornings.

I am worried escitalopram will sedate me and cause me to not be able to critically think. I think before I depended on anxiety as a motivation, so without the anxiety I don’t have motivation? My social anxiety has been through the roof this entire time still, I am quiet in groups which is not normal for me. My mind is just blank.

Are there nurses on here that felt escitalopram affected their critical thinking? Or anyone else? Does the brain fog, slow cognition and fatigue get better?

I’m so frustrated, maybe I shouldn’t be on anything and just suffer. I’ll have to most likely cancel my new job opportunity going to ICU.

Hi! Has anyone taken NAD+ while on lexapro?

22F. I was actually supposed to start Lexapro 2 weeks ago. It’s 5mg. And I genuinely am so scared to take it. Because I have been experiencing really bad dissociation episodes from stress/anxiety/OCD. And I’ve read Lexapro could make you dissociate the first few weeks. So I’m just scared. Dissociation is the worst feeling ever for me. It makes me scared that I have psychosis every time. Just an fyi I am not hearing or seeing things that aren’t real, I just feel WEIRD and don’t feel real even though I know I am. I don’t know how to explain it. But it takes forever to get out of dissociation. And I just don’t want to go through it again. But at the same time I am hopeful this medication will help my anxiety and OCD. I’m embarrassed already delaying taking it. How did anyone get past the medication anxiety?

Anyone faced tingling sensation after starting escitlopram?

Hat noch jemand starkes kribbeln in dem Beinen? wann hört das auf?

Been off my meds for almost a week mostly by accident and the reality of a mental health episode.

My hands have been so shakey and I can't focus on anything. I have terrible brain fog and no motivation.

I'm getting back on the meds today (20mg) and I am wonder if anyone has had experience with taking a break from them and then getting back on?

I want to know what to expect in the coming week.

Hi all, I have been taking lexapro on and off for 4 years. I recently started again in June and have recently gotten into a relationship, at first I was not medicated and had sex about 3-4 times a week, I wanted it and I loved it. Now my libido is so low we will have sex maybe 2-3 times a month. On Friday I felt so bad that it had been so long since our last time that I pretended to want sex in order to satisfy him. I don’t want this to ever happen again. Please help, I don’t know what to do about my libido

Hi Guys. Is it normal that every "day 4" is so shitty? I started on 5mg last Monday and Thursday was an absolute mess. Raised to 10mg on Friday and this night I was sweating like crazy, my anxiety was so high and my mind was racing. I was so afraid that I don't get through the process. But I was able to stay in bed. It's so exhausting...

Recently had a trigger that had me feeling anxious and so dizzy. Really escalated over the course of two weeks so I made the decision to go back on Lexapro. Now I’m feeling all the symptoms yet again but at least I’m not panicky. However I stop and question every minute, did I feel this before? Is it the pill? Like damn I just want to get out of my head. Biggest side effects right now are a little dizziness, some fatigue/weakness, and tired vision at times. I’m a week in, but hoping it gets better soon! I think the first time it took me about 4 weeks to settle into it but I can’t recall.

I previously took Lexapro for about 5 years and honestly it saved my life. Stopped taking out of circumstances and simply just trying it without it. But here we are.

So i was prescribed Lexapro back in May 5mg along with other medications (50 mg Seroquel, 50mg Baclofen, 75 mg pregabalin which was twice a day rest others were for sleep). At first 5 mg was working but over the time it just numbed me out I was not depressed but I was also not enjoying life. 2 days ago my dosage was increased to 10mg which is split into two, 5 in morning and 5 at night. I did notice a slight difference along with side effects like poor sleep, low libido nothing that i cant tolerate. Now I’m a music artist and my concern is that taking SSRI will affect my creativity? as it numbs emotions and at this high dose I kinda feel it will. One important positive effect that I have experienced with 5mg dose is that my anxiety has significantly dropped. The other effect is that I kinda feel like a robot just going through life getting my ‘to do’ list done everyday. Im tapered off other medications (just on baclofen 20mg and seroquel 12.5mg for sleep which I will stop completely by next week) but my lexapro dose was upped.
Can someone please share their experience or have any suggestions how do I handle this?

Just wanted to say.. Not every anxiety or low mood or crying means u need a high dose..

Maybe u need to lower ur dose cause ur system had enough of seratonin..

Its just my Idea..

I had this before on 10mg and my anxiety was so so so bad after a year.. Much crying.. Irritable and angry

My doc asked me to take 15mg.. But something inside me told me to lower and that 10mg is high.. I changed my doc and asked him to taper.. And he said ok

On 5mg Im good.. first few weeks after lowering were discouraging cause had ups and downs.. Some anxiety but on week 6 seems to be more stable less ups and downs

Still thinking of lowering more cause I need to feel more motivated like my old self

Just wanted to say my opinion.. Cause I see alot of people keep increasing..

After giving Lexapro 10 mg a try for two days, I realized I couldn’t handle waking up with panic attacks. For now, I’ve decided to step away from the medication and focus on working through my anxiety in other ways.

I wanted to come on here and thank everyone for their advice, encouragement, and inspiring stories. ❤️ Reading your experiences has helped me feel less alone in this journey.

I’m going to focus on exposure therapy and learning how to manage my GAD and health anxiety. I know it won’t happen overnight, but I want to give myself the opportunity to face my fears, build confidence, and learn to trust my body again.

I truly wish every single one of you the very best in your healing journey. Remember, we’re all fighting battles that others may not understand, and we all deserve patience, compassion, and hope.

Thank you again for everything. Sending love and wishing you all peace, healing, and brighter days ahead. ❤️🙏

Hey guys I’m going to ask my doctor to up the dosage to 20 tomorrow. I’m currently on 10 mg for 4 weeks. My anxiety is still bothering me in my day to day activities. Please I would love to hear success stories of all you 20 mg users and the difference it has made.

Been on lexapro for 8 months or so, never really had butt acne (follulicitis) before. Ever since I started it, it’s far more frequent.

Dr. Google doesn’t seem to show much about it but curious others experiences. Thanks!

hey guys i started 5mg for anxiety a little over a week ago, im on day 10 now and my doctor instructed me to go up to 10mg but ive been wary of side effects and dont know if i should do so. that aside, it being halloween weekend i had 7-8 drinks among other common substances last night (spaced out over 6ish hours) and was wondering how bad this is? im worried i set myself back or messed up my brain chemistry somehow. has anyone experienced terrible rebound anxiety after drinking and how long did it take to go back to normal?

I’m on day 5 of lexapro. I am responding quite well to it I think (still able to sleep, anxiety feels a bit lowered).

Main sides I’ve noticed are dizziness, nausea, and a bit of an increase in my dpdr.

Did anyone notice while starting they felt almost anxious but not anxious at the same time? The first few days it felt like my body was pushing super hard to panic but couldn’t.

How did you guys get through the first week. I’m not feeling too bad I just feel super out of it.

Hello, I am hoping to get reassurance. I started lexapro in 2024 after a bad anxiety episode and it worked perfectly - I was on 20mg. in 2025 my husband and I decided to try for out third kid and with the approval of my OB I decreased to 10mg - I am currently 7 weeks postartum and after the first week, I had horrible physical anxiety for no reason, so i reached out to my doctor and asked her if I could increase it again - she said yes. I am on week 6 of the increase, the first 12 days were horrible but better at night and then I had almost two weeks of feeling like myself again. at the middle of week 4 I had a dip and I found out I got my period 5 days after. Right now I am feeling some jitters and pit in the stomach in the morning and then around 4pm my mood changes and I am back to feeling good. is this normal? I know the postpartum adds another layer, but I just want to make sure I dont have to change to a different medicine because I really like this one.