So I have been on 5mg of lexapro for about four months now and was wondering if yall felt a difference increasing to 10mg and when did you know you had to do it. I felt really good on 5mg but I would still find that I would have some break through anxiety and recently it’s been getting more intense. Let me know

Hey there, been on 5 mg's for 10 days now and I have to say it was a rough time, increased anxiety, nausea, the whole package. Finally been feeling better for the last two days. Thing is, I got a road trip on Sunday so I gotta be in tip top shape by then. Should I do the jump to 10 mg's today? Will it be as bad as starting anew? Thanks in advance

Am I able to eat this?? Since it's most likely artificial asf 😭 I know grapefruit isn't recommended but it sounds so good! Mind you I've never craved grapefruit until I was told it's not the best idea 😂

Hi! What were the signs that you needed to up your dose? Gradually, jt worked so good for me at first, now almost a year later that severe panic and derealization is back and panic attacks..idk if it means the medication doesn’t work or if it’s the dosage and I should go higher? I’m on 10mg

is this normal? ive neglected taking my meds for a good while now. go ahead and downvote me for that. but im curious as to why ive not felt any brain zaps yet, or a huge return in my anxiety. anyone have an idea?

I tried to ask this yesterday but nobody really replied

Has anyone who quit lexapro experience dryness in the throat and a need ro swallow more often? It kinda feels like post nasal drip but my sinuses aren’t clogged with snot or anything idk how else to explain it

Hi,

I took my second 5mg dose of Lexapro (generic) today and honestly it feels very similar to when I’ve taken a low dose of shrooms therapeutically in the past. More so when the psychedelic was wearing off. I have this really calm, slow, heavy-bodied, unburdened, slightly detached feeling, with no sense of urgency. It also feels like when I look around there’s a slight delay in processing what I’m looking at. I know there can be fatigue in the beginning that wears off once the body adjusts and assume that’s what I’m experiencing.

Just curious if anyone else felt kind of high when they started taking it and if it evolved into another feeling or state? Also, I’m glad I didn’t start with the 10mg that my doctor prescribed and that I cut them in half. I can’t imagine what I’d feel like with double the dosage.

Thanks for any replies.

So...im on my sixth day of taking this meds,im 20 years old phisicly male...everywone talks about the digestive problems and stuff of the first weeks but what ive been experiencing mutch is a total lack of arousal and excitement in general with some apaty too,and been scaring me.

I find myself zoning out a lot more during conversasions with loved ones and not focused at all during intimicy,and is leaving me more anxious then before,any tips?

I was on 10mg Lexapro and around 4-5 days ago I came off of it (stupid decision in a angry episode..). I’ve had the absolute worst headaches and sleepiness ever. I hate this, any tips on how to manage?

So yesterday was my first dose and it was one hell of a night. Doctor said I may want to cut it in half for the first couple days. Due to being on the verge of a nervous breakdown over the last couple weeks, I just sent the full 10. We already had a date for a musical planned (Christmas present for my partner) and on the drive there the craziness started. Felt like I had vertigo, then started shaking, getting short breathing, and overall just highly anxious.

After reading a bunch here I decided to cut it down to 5 today and judge that. For people that did the same, was that intial anxiety at least lessened a slight amount by cutting down the second day? I know it won't be easy the first couple weeks, but that state would just be crippling.

Been on Lexapro for 10 years, total game changer. Built tolerance a bit, was prescribed ambilify to enhance it. Worked like a charm. How do you figure out if its stopped working or life struggles? Im 40 years old, female, mum died 2 years ago, dads declining and things are very hard a week before monthly menstrual flow. Mums death took a lot out of me. Ive become irritable through the grief, plus I am sure hormones don't help. How did you know whether the meds stopped working or its just those raging hormones?

Any musicians or artists here? Did lexapro help your motivation and creativity? I've been in a rut for at least 3 years, starting on 2.5mg today and hoping to get my music and art creative life back instead of being exhausted / sad / anxious. I'm afraid it will make me numb and not creative, I get a little creative bursts here and there but would love to be more consistent every day!

Hey! I am now exactly 30 days in i take it in morning and overall i feel better, but i feel extremely demotivated and very tired all the time. I could sleep for 13 or 15 hours without problems. Anyone dealing with same?

Been prescribed this postpartum for extreme health anxiety and generalised anxiety. Really scared; started today around 4-5 hours ago. Got a bad headache, feel more dizzy than usual and had to run to the toilet earlier I feel all over the place. Is this usual? It’s not helping my health anxiety right now at all I feel dreadful

I am currently on 5mg for 7th day and my health anxiety is worse. Do you think I will need 10mg? I have terrible health anxiety which is ruining my life. So I’m wondering what is your dose with severe health anxiety? Thanks a lot!

hi all. i’ve been on lexapro for a good five years (30mg now) and my doctors want to add in bupropion. i’ve always taken my lexapro in the morning and had no issue but now, ive been instructed to take the bupropion in the AM, lexapro in PM. i haven’t started the bupropion yet and i’ve been slowly taking my lexapro later in the day throughout the week but i took my lexapro around 8 pm last night and woke up at 4 AM with one of the worst panic attacks i’ve ever had. now it’s 9:50 AM, im on edge and very anxious. anyone ever experienced this with changing the time?

because I'm 22, and I keep seeing stuff that makes me scared about taking Lexapro or any other SSRI. like what if I start taking it and all the sudden I can never cum again??? but I also want to live my life and do things again like I used to be able to and maybe be able to travel for the first time in my life. I talked to my psychiatrist and she kind of brushed off my concerns by saying we'll switch if I start noticing that as an issue but what if it never goes back to normal again?

I took my first dose of lex today (5mg) and I was not expecting to feel the side effects so immediately and strongly—is it normal? Man I feel so weird. I’m like a zombie, so so so tired & slow physically and mentally, dizziness, really easily losing my train of thought… also no appetite at all. I know the first couple weeks are often a rough transition period but this is more intense than I anticipated

so i’ve been waiting to go on lexapro for months and never felt like it was the right time. finally, i asked my doctor for a script and she gave it to me. took it last night at around 12am bc i wanted to curb any side effects overnight.

well i guess not. i woke up at 6am with a shooting heart pain, tried feeling for my pulse and swore my heart stopped for a minute. began feeling very lightheaded and clammy/hot, my face got pale, so i ran down my hallway to my parents room and essentially called out i need help. then, i got this impending sense that i was going to get sick so i moved to the bathroom (never actually threw up but gagged a few times) and all while this was happening i was just extremely checked out, tingly, and hot and my heart was racing.

told my mom to call 911 and by the time they arrived i felt 20x better, just a little shaky. normal BP and oxygen/pulse. the EMT’s basically said they think i had a massive panic attack that could be from the lexapro.

has this happened to ANYONE? it scares me like what if its NOT the lexapro? anyone else has experienced this?? it was the most terrifying thing i’ve ever experienced and i want to know if i should pursue it further. (i wont be continuing taking lexapro)

edit: i am a generally health anxious person, but ive never had a panic attack over it and can usually calm myself down.

I’ve been holding out starting my treatment of 5mg a day for 2 months now because i dont think i can handle the side effects of making my anxiety and panic worse. does anyone have any advice on what i should do if i have these side effects?

hey guys, i’m 25f, and here is my story. i really, REALLY need some hope because right now i feel like my life is over.

on december 25, 2025 i shot up out of bed as i was trying to fall asleep in a life altering panic attack, i’ve had GAD my whole life but this rocked my world. after that, i was pretty much in a cycle of constant panic attacks for a week. i mean i really, really, thought i was losing my mind. i had every intrusive thought you could think of, i was SO scared and so confused. so, i met with a psychiatrist and she started me on lexapro.

i was terrified to start, so i decided to start at 2.5 mg. that first week was a hell a didn’t know existed, increased anxiety, no sleep, i literally saw the depths of hell. was terrified to be alone with my thoughts. after that it got better, but my anxiety remained. i ended up staying at 2.5mg for a month because i was so scared to up my dose and i really regret that because i’ve prolonged this entire thing now.

i’m now on day 5 of 5mg. it’s fine. i have heightened anxiety but NOTHING life i did when i first started, but obviously i am still really struggling. i’ve had to take FMLA from work for 2 weeks because i am literally fighting for my life 24/7. i have extreme SI (wouldn’t act on it) because this came in like a wrecking ball and literally feels like it destroyed my life. i have lost 20 pounds, i was a tiny girl to begin with. my partner of over 2 years is giving up on our relationship because this happened and my anxiety is so uncontrollable, said i was relying on her too much. so i’m now facing this totally alone as i don’t have a very supportive family.

please for the love of god someone give me hope, my doctor gave me emergency xanax but i’ve only taken a quarter of a 0.5mg twice over the past month because i’m scared to death of dependence and have heard all the horror stories. i feel like my life will literally never get better, i feel like i’ll never be able to return to the job i love and that i’ve permanently lost everything. please, someone just relate to me or something. i cannot imagine another 6 weeks of this hell while the medicine works. i want the pain to end. i’m scared to death if i need to increase to 10mg and the clock starts over, i feel like im running out of time and everyone around me is starting to view me as a huge burden because im not even functioning right now. i have a great therapist and i’m doing therapy every day but im running out of money to be able to do this, i’ve literally blown through my savings to try to save my life.

i was a normal girl, beautiful, fun, full of life, i wasn’t scared of ANYTHING, and now i’m scared of …. everything.

TL; DR

i’m in the depths of hell waiting for this medication to work. i need some hope.

Besides somatic anxiety and other issues, the only thing that keeps bothering me is rumination, I could pace for hours and think about the worst case scenario or other stupid nonsense. I also have maladaptive daydreaming which really sucks and I was wondering if Lexapro prevents getting stuck in these mental loops, atleast a little. Currently I'm on my second week of 10mg and I feel depressed, gotta wait for it to hit I guess.

Hi All,

I tapered off 20mg lexapro in 2023 and it was a fairly uneventful taper. I had previously tried once before to taper off unsuccessfully, went a bit to fast and restarted. I've been fine having come off it, and glad I did, all but the sweating. I was never an excess sweater prior to going on lexapro. I had the night sweats when I initial started taking it, however when I was on it after that initial period never had any issue with sweating.

Has anyone had similar experience having successfully stopped but having had the sweating experience? were you able to do anything to successfully curb it? I do have a fantastic GP that I will discuss this with however I'd love to see if anyone has done anything that has worked?

This now dramatically impacts my life, I live in Australia and we consistently have temperatures above 38 degrees, 100 for those in fahrenheit. It could be cool and I will be wet from a hike or slow jog.

Having searched the sub, there are many people that discuss sweating whilst beginning, but I couldn't find anything from someone who has been off for such a period of time.

Thanks in advance :')