A Lexapro diary might be considered pretty weird content for a fitness blog, but if you’re a reader of mine, you know depression and antidepressants play a role in my family and my life. For me, fitness isn’t just physical, it’s mental too. If my mental health is well, I’m usually doing pretty well overall….and vice versa.
I’ve been on antidepressants in the past and I was recently prescribed them again due to a multitude of unfortunate events this year that I’m struggling to deal with. After experiencing scary side effects my very first night, I hopped on to visit my good friend Google to check out what other people’s experiences have been with the medication I’m currently on.
This is a very long post but I think the people that are looking for this type of information will find exactly what they’re looking for. When I was looking myself, the more info the better. Please read the disclaimer below.
Disclaimer: This is MY Lexapro diary. It’s a very personal experience that I’ve decided to share. Please keep in mind that everyone is different and may have an entirely different experience! I feel like it’s a good thing to track and be aware of how I respond to the medication and the easiest to do that by tracking my progress/feelings daily.
I’m sharing my experience because I enjoy reading other people’s experiences so why not share my own in case it helps somebody else? Always remember that each person responds differently to any medication.
Now that that’s outta the way, here we go:
Clinical Diagnosis: Depression and Anxiety
Prescription:
- 20 mg Lexapro (escitalopram) tablet taken once daily.
- 50 mg hydroxyzine capsule – take 1-2 as needed for anxiety.
- 25 mg Seroquel – take 1-2 as needed for sleep.
I got my prescription and also started taking these meds on a Friday so I could see how they affected me without necessarily needing to leave my home. Just in case. I’ve chosen to take the Lexapro at night because it’s known to cause drowsiness.
Background: Family history of depression; endless cycle of depression/depression “remission” first brought on after sexual abuse in 1998 (age 15) and very much so again after a very rough 2015.
My goals: Work through the issues/situations that I’m dealing with (grief, anxiety); give antidepressant medication the attention it deserves (brave the side effects and give it long enough to have some type of effect before giving up) given past experience and history of close family members; and keep fighting. My husband and children deserve a present wife and mom and that’s what I’m working to achieve again.
*****
Day 1: 17th Fri/Sat
- 20 mg taken at night just before bed + 25 mg Seroquel for sleep
- Woke up abruptly from sleep with a panic attack 5 hours after ingesting (never had them before and honestly thought I was going to die on my bathroom floor.)
- Symptoms experienced: rapid heart rate (felt like my heart was gonna pound out of my chest); chest felt hot; arms and legs were cold and felt ice cold to the touch; lightheaded; dizzy; mild diarrhea; weak; racing thoughts; panic.
- I’m wondering if Lexapro was a huge mistake… I’ve never reacted to any medication this way and I’ve been on Lexapro before (when a generic wasn’t yet available)
Day 2: 18th Sat/Sun
- Contacted doctor about the panic attack last night and told her I was going to take half the dose for awhile to see if that helps – she okay’d that and didn’t seem super concerned about the panic attack ??
- 10 mg at night (cut pill in half) + 25 mg Seroquel for sleep
- Slept through the night
- Exhausted. I woke up feeling pretty tired but got ready to go grocery shopping with the fam and was home by about 9:30 am. By about 10:00 am I felt like I needed to lay down so just hung out on the couch for awhile. We watched a pretty boring Vikings game (yay they won!) and then I took my first 50 mg hydroxyzine capsule around 2 pm and then napped from about 3:30-5:30 pm.
Day 3: 19th Sun/Mon
- 10 mg at night (cut pill in half) + 25 mg Seroquel for sleep
- Slept through the night
- Brain felt foggy; that’s all I can really say
Day 4: 20th Mon/Tues
- 10 mg at night (NO Seroquel)
- Was feeling tired and didn’t feel like I needed Seroquel for sleep. I had no trouble falling asleep but ending up experiencing two less severe panic attacks. First started about 5 hours after ingesting and the second one was about an hour after the first (didn’t feel as sick or severe with these two)
- Mania? Mind was racing but body wanted to be still.
- Kind of felt like I had a lump in my throat all day and breathing seemed pretty shallow.
- Noticed I was clenching my jaw quite a bit
- Tried 50 mg hydroxyzine again and it completely knocked me out (annoying because obviously I feel anxious during the day and can’t just sleep it off all the time)
Day 5: 21st Tues/Wed
- 10 mg at night + 25 mg Seroquel
- Slept through the night
- Felt pretty great today. Pretty mellow and more “normal” feeling.
- My cheeks are pretty damn angry today though. A few lovely cystic acne bumps sprouted and they hurt like a bitch. Also my face seems very sensitive and feels like it’s on fire tonight (warm to the touch).
Day 6: 22nd Wed/Thurs
- 10 mg at night + 25 mg Seroquel
- Slept until about 5am; woke up feeling like my chest was very warm but my skin felt cold to the touch.
- Felt some mild nausea for most of the morning
- Cheeks are still angry (right side specifically)
Day 7: 23rd Thurs/Fri
- 10 mg at night + 25 mg Seroquel
- Treated myself to 16 ounces of coffee this morning (brewed at home) and felt like I was gonna lose my mind! Hands were shaky all morning and I felt completely wired. Definitely not drinking that much coffee any time soon.
- Felt pretty good most of the day
- Cheeks are still angry and skin looks blahhhhh today
WEEK 1 NOTES: Definitely more anxious, very little appetite and side effects were rough.
***Lexapro Week 1 is Done***
Day 8: 24th Fri/Sat
- 10 mg at night + 25 mg Seroquel
- Slept through the night and felt pretty good during the day today
- Had plenty of energy to clean the kitchen and do some laundry
Day 9: 25th Sat/Sun
- 10 mg at night + 25 mg Seroquel
- Took about an hour later than usual so I could stay awake to watch Jurassic World with the fam. Didn’t work. Crashed on the living room floor towards the end!
- I was pretty mellow today; just did a load of laundry and watched football most of the day
- Pretty constipated today
- Had a pretty big appetite for dinner… finally
Day 10: Sun/Mon
- 10 mg at night + 50 mg hydroxyzine (NO Seroquel)
- Was up from 1-3 am with stomach cramps (my 7-year-old had mild ones this morning too so could’ve been from eating Dominos Pizza for dinner)
- Very tired today
- Cheeks seem to be calmer today – I hope that trend continues
- Pretty depressed mood today
- Napped for 3 hours after work, felt like I needed to go to bed around 8:30 and slept all night
Day 11: Mon/Tues
- 10 mg at night + 50 mg hydroxyzine (NO Seroquel – stopped it)
- Slept great – yay!
- Feeling pretty good today; not overly happy or sad but not feeling any bad side effects either
Day 12: Tues/Wed
- 10 mg at night + 50 mg hydroxyzine
- Slept great again (I can get used to this)
- Very similar to yesterday; feeling okay
- Surprised with 3 new pimples on my left cheek while my right cheek seems to have calmed down a lot
Day 13: Wed/Thurs
- 10 mg at night + 50 mg hydroxyzine
- Slept great again
- Had energy for most of the day; became pretty exhausted after getting home from work – about 4 pm
- Was in bed by 8:30 pm
- No new acne, trying to stay hopeful that this won’t be a long-term side effect (period is coming soon also which seems to be my main breakout time)
Day 14: Thurs/Fri
- 10 mg at night + 50 mg hydroxyzine
- My period started this evening
- I fell asleep pretty quickly and woke up around 4 am with bad menstrual cramping (GRRRRR) Feels like the meds may have impacted my period because they normally aren’t too bad. Bleeding seems to be a little more than normal but I’ll be starting a new-to-me birth control pill on Sunday which should help
- Fell back asleep around 5 am and woke up for the day around 6:30 am
- Felt pretty energized through the morning
- I’m thinking about starting a vitamin A supplement to help with acne. I’ve been doing research and it seems to help those who are deficient and have a lot of inflammation with their acne (Hello! That’s me!). I feel like I’ve tried everything for my acne but I haven’t yet tried a vitamin A supplement. It’s cheap and it’s worth a shot.
***Lexapro Week 2 is Done***
WEEK 2 NOTES: Appetite started getting a little better towards the end of the week but still not where it was. Maybe that’s a good thing? ;) I’m not sure what kind of impact the meds are having on my brain lately but I know I don’t feel worse, just not sure I would say “better” yet either. I’m remaining hopeful since side effects seem to be subsiding.
Stay tuned for part two!
Updated: You can find part two here.
XO
Mindi
Valerie says
Thank you so much for this diary review I started mine today and after an hour I already felt my brain raising and it’s only 10 mg I hope this works for me I’m going through a rough break-up and a lot of anxiety at work I’ll be waiting for your next post thank you
Mindi says
Hi Valerie,
You can find part 2 here http://liftingmakesmehappy.com/my-lexapro-escitalopram-diary-part-two-weeks-3-and-4.html. I recently added Wellbutrin XL into the mix so I plan on posting that experience very soon. Thank you so much for your comment. I hope things get better for you!
KM says
Thank you so much for posting this. I started Lexapro five days ago and it feels like my anxiety has been way worse. My doctor diagnosed me with PMDD, premenstrual dysphoria disorder, which falls in line with normal PMS. My period is supposed to start in two weeks, so that could also be a factor. But I feel like I’m going insane and I am so exhausted from waking up in the middle of the night panicking and not being able to go back to sleep. My doctor hadn’t mentioned my symptoms getting worse but I knew the first week would be hard. I just hadn’t anticipated how hard.
Mindi says
You are very welcome. I felt super crazy the first week. I thought Lexapro was supposed to help with anxiety (which it eventually did) but that first week felt like panic. The first two nights I think were the worst. I began to take half a sleeping pill so I could stay sleeping. I no longer do that but anytime I start the medication or change the dose I do. I’m not saying you should of course, but that did help me get some sleep the first couple of weeks. It does take some time even if it’s going to help you so I hope you have a good experience with it. :)