u/LazyRazzmatazz801

After waiting 18 weeks on 20mg of Lexapro alone I've decided that it's not quite enough, the anxiety spikes are still awful and I can't get enough good days to say that it's effective on it's own.

The doctor recommended/prescribed Quetiapine (I think commonly known as Seroquel) today, but I've never heard much about it. She prescribed 37.5mg once a night, wondering if anyone else has used this together and what if any side effects they had?

I found some old threads but looks like several years since anyone posted there and was hoping for a more recent experience. Thanks all

As requested, here’s our day to day check in thread for random conversations, comments and support.

Hopefully this can be a place for those random days when you just need to shoot the breeze with folks who get how challenging this journey can be ❤️

I often find myself having a wobble, a bad day or week or just feeling like I'd love to chat with someone who knows the journey & struggle but it doesn't really warrant a new post, or fit into a category of a dosage issue or side effect etc

I was wondering if there's anyone in a similar boat who would like a running thread where we can pop in, see who's online, give support, help and chat on a daily basis - even if it's not Lex related, but more a thread of people who are on this journey and maybe need an outlet just to shoot the breeze without a specific new post on a specific problem they have.

As the title suggests, I'm 16 weeks in, I'm a lot better than I was in week 1 but I'm definitely not feeling how I think I should be.

I still regularly get morning cortisol spikes, which then only makes the anxiety worse as I stress something is wrong.

Google/Chat GPT says I should be 'well past' the adjustment phase by now, and if not, it's not working but I don't want to give up on it. I'm already on 20mg which is the max dose they prescribe here. It has worked for me before at this dosage so I really hope there's a chance it still can.

Has anyone had later success at 16 weeks or further on?

I’m a first time poster here, but I’ve long suspected that a lot of my anxiety crosses over into OCD.

My husband jokingly teases my ‘quirks’ but honestly he doesn’t know the half of it- no one does.

I’ve half heartedly skirted around it with my doctors but it’s never been officially confirmed but my most recent anxiety incident which put me back on lexapro was the worst one yet & my triggers/compulsive tendencies are as bad as they’ve ever been to the point that I can’t hide them as well as I normally do.

For anyone who has been diagnosed later in life can you help me understand how to discuss this with my physician and whether or not I’m right to think that this is in fact OCD? I’ve had so much of this behaviour for as long as I can remember that separating what’s normal and what’s not is hard for me

I got given Xanax and diazepam back in April for the initial tapering on period but even though I have some left I’m reluctant to keep going back to using benzodiazepines.

I get to sleep okay but getting decent and consistent sleep is impossible.

I wake with cortisol spikes at 6am daily & getting through the morning is hard going.

Is there anything I can take (like Nytol or Kalms) that is over the counter but not known to cause issues with SSRIs?

I’m going through a bad flare of anxiety and the morning cortisol spike is wrecking me.

It gets better as the day goes on, I get up, try stay active, eat as well as I can even if I don’t feel like it but I’m finding the longer it goes on, the more I’m dreading bedtime because I know once I open my eyes in the morning I’ll have to deal with the crawling skin, shaking hands, churning guts sensation all over again.

Does anyone have any tips that have worked to break the cycle?

I changed all my bedding today, I’ve avoided too much caffeine and I’ll have a warm shower before bed to try physically get into a clean/new bed space but I’m literally terrified to go to bed because each morning I reset to this horrible state.

I’m really at a loss. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts this is my third stint on lexapro and I never had this side effect the other 2 times so I feel out of my depth tbh

I’m supposed to have an interview tomorrow morning first thing with a panel of senior management at the company I’m interviewing with.

The time was specifically selected to coordinate with the calendars of all attendees.

I’m just going to bed now and checked my email to see a mail from one of the individuals who is asking to reschedule to sometime next week because he has had a client issue arise. He also adds that the the other people were also not attending anyway so he was always planning to take the call solo, which has honestly pissed me off because I spent my day preparing for a panel interview tailoring everything to equally address each interviewer.

They’ve suggested times a week out, but I’m not available next week due to commitments in my current position so unfortunately I can’t just chalk it up to one of those things & move the call.

Emotions aside, how should I respond? For context I’m not job hunting and these guys effectively head hunted me.

As the title suggests I’m wondering if anyone else can relate?

I’m on vacation right now and honestly it’s hell. I wake each morning with an upset stomach & the rush of adrenaline that just has me shaking. I get through the mornings by taking a diazepam and trying to at least rest until the rest of the family wake up, but it’s like the early weeks of starting medication all over again.

I did feel an improvement up as far as about a week ago - right before we left for this trip - but the last week is so hard, and only got worse after we flew out.

I’ve saved & looked forward to this trip and now I both feel like I’m ruining it for everyone and I cannot wait to go home

I’m just at the week 10 mark and I feel this week like I’m back at square one- anxious from morning to night, upset stomach, 2 panic attacks and several more that I managed to nip in the bud before they really started. . . Dr Google has a track record of terrifying me so I’m limiting my research on the reason behind it

It seems that whilst it can take 8-12 weeks to fully kick in, a regression at 10 weeks is less common

I’ve also read mixed reviews on periods affecting the medication and for every person who says it did impact them there seems to be another group who had no issues.

I’d really love some insight & reassurance- I genuinely feel like I’m losing my mind tonight

Tomorrow will be week 10 on 20mg of Lexapro (third time taking it) - and as I've mentioned in a few other posts, I really feel like my experience has been quite different this time around. 

I had a rough start, maybe 4-5 weeks of bad side effects, then started to get more days of clarity and improvement. Weeks 7-8 have been okay, to the point where I thought I was on the up . . .  week 9 has felt tough again though.

I had no issues with my periods on month 1, last month I believe I was a little late but only maybe 1 day and now today I am also a day late for this cycle and although I'm cramping I'm also not seeing any typical signs of actually starting my cycle. . .  I also have the worst anxiety the last 24 hours, similar to earlier weeks if I'm honest and feeling so disheartened. I can’t tell you how desperately I just want to be well and happy and healthy

I saw some other threads where people have said that they've found a reduction in the effectiveness around their period, but I never had this on previous times where I was on Lexapro for extended periods, so again, I feel like it's catching me offguard somewhat. 

Is anyone else on about week 9/10, female and similarly starting to feel a bit hopeless?

My dad passed away a long time ago when I was a child, I rarely dream of him in proper full dreams but last night I had the most vivid dream, in the sense that I ‘knew’ I was asleep but I also knew I was looking at my dad.

I don’t know if the context matters, but in the dream I was colllecting one of my children from school and it was really crowded. As the kids came out I briefly saw my child with a friend, but the crowd moved, I lose sight of him and I could feel myself becoming panicked and worried that he’d wander off and get lost.

Just then, the crowd moved & across the stone schoolyard wall was my dad. He was staring directly at me, in as vivid detail as I can imagine - to the point where I can visualise it still now. The image is nothing like any of the photos I have of him, but I’m in no doubt it was him. I could see the shirt he was wearing and the flick of his hair where it met the collar, his gaze never left mine & even though I tried to talk he just held my gaze and smiled back, just a small but calm & steady smile.

In the dream I was afraid to look away but I also had this pull to go find my child, I also tried calling out to who I felt was my husband in the dream, to my left to say ‘look it’s my dad!’ but I couldn’t get him to hear me.

The next moment my child came running up to me and I looked down at them and my dad was gone, I saw his face as he turned sideways and went into the crowd but I was so sad when I woke.

I never dream like this - I can have nonsense vivid dreams where nonsensical things happen that I find funny or interesting the next day but I cannot describe the feeling that came over me, it was a certainty that I was absolutely looking at my father, not a photo or a memory or something that reminded me of him but actually him.

I’d love insights from anyone who has any kind of experience with interpretation of dreams etc

I’m wondering if anyone has noticed significant differences in brand versus generic?

I’ve been on lexapro before (twice) but as mentioned in a few posts and previous comments I’m really struggling this time around to get back on an even keel and I don’t know at this point (8 weeks) if this is going to be as good as it gets or if there’s any point in trying to move from the generic to the brand version?

Where I live the brand version is a lot cheaper but honestly I’d pay more if I thought it would make a difference- however I’m wary of switching just in case it had negative side effects because as mentioned a few times in my earlier posts I seem to have had a much harder time either side effects this time around & I’m dreading any of those returning - I’m only ‘just’ about getting over the nausea and insomnia and I’m still dealing with morning anxiety and cortisol spikes

Anyone got strong opinions either way?

Long story short I had an operation as a 3 year old, unbeknownst to me, they damaged a nerve which indirectly feeds the vocal cords.

It left me with a weak voice & inability to project my voice or speak for long periods of time- sadly this went unnoticed by doctors & for whatever reason my parents just never seemed to acknowledge it.

Growing up it wasn’t spoken about & indirectly I was told it was just how my voice was. . .

Fast forward 30 years and I see an ENT for one of my own kids. Upon hearing my speaking voice when I’m speaking about my child, he starts asking questions about me, and within minutes he’s asking if he can put a camera down my throat because he’s sure I’ve got an issue.

Turns out I’ve a completely paralysed left vocal cord and tracing back my medical history he believes the operation I had in childhood is responsible because of the area involved & where it runs along that nerve pathway.

Looking online I know the statute of limitations is 2 years or when the child turns 18, they then have 2 years to make a complaint but there’s also a stipulation that you can also have 2 years from ‘the date of which you became aware of the issue and potential negligence’ - which in this case, was a few weeks ago.

I’m wondering if I have any recourse here? The ENT has recommended surgery to potentially help restore function but it’s not guaranteed and if it works it might only be temporary. In such a case I would either need multiple repeated follow ups, or a much more detailed surgery to put in a permanent implant- which I’m guessing my insurance won’t cover because once I claim for anything in regards to this issue, they will surely claim it’s therefore ‘pre-existing’ in any future claims.

I cannot believe that this was not noted at the time or corrected in any way, surely someone had a responsibility?

In short, I’ve been asked my whole life ‘do you have a cold?’ Or ‘have you got a sore throat?’ - I don’t, but my voice is low and quiet & even if I wanted to, I can’t shout or scream loudly.

My parents always just told me that it was like this after a tonsillectomy and alluded to it being something that was just acccepted/no follow up was necessary

I recently brought my own child to an ENT & immediately upon speaking he asked me if my voice is always like this. I says yes, since my own tonsillectomy- which he immediately dismissed and said that would be highly unlikely and asked me more about my own medical history. I had heart surgery as a toddler & apparently there’s a nerve which runs very close to the heart which also impacts the vocal cords

He thinks this is where the issue stems from. He did a nasal scope and my left vocal cord is indeed paralysed 😞

My parents deny this, saying no one ever mentioned it. I feel so disappointed and lost and let down and after all this time, could I even pursue the hospital?

As the title suggests we're booked in for tonsils out tomorrow, he's woken up with a runny nose and sounding a bit bunged up. No temperature and in good form otherwise. There's no info on the letter we received about what to do in the case of any illnesses etc.
Just wondering if it will still go ahead, or what others have ben told?

I'm on day 22 of 20mg of Lexapro and I pretty much had an awful first week, not so great second week, and then started to feel okay every other day on the third week. 

For context I've had 2 previous stints on Lexapro, and I don't remember ever feeling like this or waiting so long to feel 'better'. 

I had a great day yesterday, some of the more irritating side effects were gone for the first time in 3-4 weeks (awful muscle cramps and dihorrea) and I really thought I'd reached that magical point of the medicine being built up enough to bring stability. However today has been awful - partly because of an awful nights sleep I woke up sore and cramped, likely just due to a poor sleep, but of course I panicked that the muscle aches were back and it's been a downward spiral all day since. 

The reason for the Lexapro is GAD and this time, also health anxiety. In the past month I've had several doctor visits and a clean bill of health from extensive bloodwork and a scan (to rule out fibroids, as the only bloods to come back low were my iron and B12 levels) - so 'logically' I should be super reassured that all is okay, but I've gone from being functional again last week, almost cheerful some days this week to a complete 360 change today where I cannot even eat, sit still or stop my racing thoughts. 

I would be the first to tell someone else on here that it can absolutely take 4/8+ weeks to get a good build up of meds into your system, however I've never had such a mood swing in any of my previous experiences with this medication - so far as I can remember, once I got those 'good days' where it worked I never regressed as badly as I seem to have today. Sure, I would have good and bad days overall, but on a normal scale - like everyone does. Today though it feels like I've been set back 3 weeks and everything is fucking hopeless. 

Has anyone had this happen to them? I really REALLY need to hear that there's still a chance this medication will work for me again. Because if not my GP will only recommend moving to another medication, and after trying Sertraline (4 weeks ago for 8 days) I can 100% say it is NOT suited to me and I would not try it again. I've also heard her mention Bupropriol (not sure I'm spelling that right) but again, because of my experience with Sertraline I said no way I was trying anything else 'new' at this time. 

I also have Anxicalm to use 'as needed' up to 2x per day, and yesterday I actually didn't need it at all - today I had to take one at 8am and catnap on the couch while it kicked in enough to just calm my shaky breathing.

If anyone has had a similar good run, then seem to go backwards I'd really love to hear how it went for you. Should I expect another few days of this shitshow? Or is there a chance more good days will come back sooner? 

Added info: I've been more active this week, racking up 3-5km walks each day, my fitness feels better, I've been managing to sleep more, I've doubled down on an iron rich diet, and added vitamins and supplements as needed, I also track cardio fitness on my watch and I can see my VO2 max stats improving, so it seems like I'm addressing the iron deficiency at least, and at minimum that should all be helping??!