u/mpamatatas

Two months ago, health anxiety took over my life.

Today, I finally feel hope again.

I’m writing this for anyone who is going through severe health anxiety right now and feels like they’ve lost themselves (espesially for bowel issues).

Two months ago, my life changed.Health anxiety slowly became the center of everything.I started monitoring my body constantly. Every sensation could become a threat. Every small change could send my mind searching for explanations. I would analyze symptoms, look for reassurance, feel better for a little while… and then find something new to worry about.

Eventually, I wasn't really living anymore.

I was watching myself live. Checking how I felt.

Checking my appetite. Checking my weight.

Checking physical sensations. Trying to predict how I would feel tomorrow. I just wanted certainty.

And health anxiety always had another “Yeah, but what if…?” waiting for me.

There were days when I genuinely couldn't imagine feeling normal again. I remembered the person I used to be — relaxed, spontaneous, enjoying ordinary things without analyzing them — and wondered where that person had gone.

I started escitalopram (Cipralex) and therapy.

And then came one of the hardest parts:

waiting.

I kept wondering whether the medication was working. I compared good days with bad days. If I felt better, I questioned whether it was real. If anxiety returned, I thought I was back at the beginning.

But recently, something has started changing.

Not in some dramatic movie moment where I woke up completely cured. It happened quietly.

I started having periods where I simply… forgot about anxiety.

I started listening to music again. Singing. Feeling genuinely hungry and enjoying food. Going out.

Working. Playing with my son and actually being there with him instead of being trapped inside my own thoughts. Laughing again.

Then a trigger would come and anxiety would return.

At first I thought that meant I wasn't recovering.

Now I'm starting to understand that recovery doesn't necessarily mean never feeling anxiety again.

Maybe recovery is feeling anxiety and discovering that I don't have to solve it. A trigger can happen. My brain can scream “What if?” I can feel uncomfortable.

And I can continue my day anyway.

Then, eventually, the wave passes.

I'm still not where I want to be. I still have difficult moments. I still seek reassurance sometimes. I still catch myself checking my body and trying to predict the future. But something is different now.

Life is starting to become bigger than the anxiety again.

There is music again.

There is food I actually want to eat.

There are moments of peace that don't feel forced.

There is work, laughter, going out, playing with my son.

There are moments when I suddenly realize:

“Wait… I haven't thought about my health for a while.”

And those moments are becoming more frequent.

Two months ago, I desperately wanted someone to tell me:

“You will never feel anxious about your health again.”

Now I think I'm learning something much more valuable:

I don't need that promise in order to live.

I don't need absolute certainty about my body.

I don't need to know how I'm going to feel tomorrow.

I don't have to solve every sensation.

And perhaps the biggest realization of all is this:

The old me wasn't gone.

He was still there underneath all that fear.

And little by little, I'm starting to meet him again.

So if you're reading this, searching Reddit for reassurance because you can't imagine ever feeling normal again, I won't give you another guarantee. I know now that guarantees are exactly what health anxiety keeps asking us to chase.

Instead, I'll tell you this:

Two months ago, I couldn't imagine writing a post like this.

Today I can.

I'm not finished.

But I'm moving.

And for the first time in a while, I'm genuinely excited to see where I go from here.

I restarted Lexapro (escitalopram) about 5 weeks ago for severe anxiety/health anxiety.

I’m currently on 10 mg (3 weeks), and overall I had definitely started seeing improvement — better appetite, functioning more normally, going out again, and handling my anxiety better.

One of my biggest anxiety triggers is my bowel movements.

Over the last few days I suddenly had a pretty bad return of anxiety. Today was probably my worst day in a long time — crying, constantly worrying/checking, reduced appetite and feeling like I had gone backwards after making progress.

There is one thing that makes me wonder though: I was taking 1 mg lorazepam daily as prescribed while the Lexapro was settling in. On Friday night I decided on my own to reduce it to 0.75 mg, and took 0.75 mg again the following night. The next morning I already felt noticeably anxious even though my bowel movement was completely normal. After I told my psychiatrist what I had done and how anxious I had become, he told me to stay at 1 mg, so I’m following his instructions and won’t adjust it myself again.

Has anyone experienced a noticeable increase in anxiety after a relatively small lorazepam reduction like 1 mg → 0.75 mg? And for those taking Lexapro for anxiety/health anxiety, did you still have occasional really bad days around week 5 despite having clear improvement beforehand?

27 days on lexapro – good improvement followed by a sudden 3-day setback. Is this normal?

I’ve been taking lexapro for 27 days in total: the first 14 days at 5 mg, followed by 13 days at 10 mg.

I initially had a pretty difficult adjustment period, mainly involving anxiety, gastrointestinal symptoms, appetite changes and sleep issues. However, things then improved significantly. I had around 7 consecutive days where I felt genuinely very good — my appetite was better, my bowel movements were more normal, my anxiety was much lower and I felt happy and optimistic again. I was planning a trip to Rome, thinking about my finances and future, and generally felt like myself again.

Then, very suddenly, over the last 3 days, I seem to have had a setback.

The biggest problem right now is honestly the anxiety caused by the GI symptoms and reduced appetite. When my gut and appetite are normal, my anxiety drops dramatically and I function normally. When I get a soft bowel movement, I immediately start worrying about my appetite, how I’ll sleep, what tomorrow’s bowel movement will look like, whether something is physically wrong with me, etc.

What confuses and scares me most is that I was doing extremely well just a few days ago, after having about a week of feeling almost completely normal, and then suddenly had these three difficult days.

For people who have taken escitalopram: did you experience this kind of “waves and windows” pattern around weeks 3–5, especially after increasing the dose? Did you have several genuinely good days followed by a sudden few bad days before things eventually became more stable?

Hello.

This is my 18th day. 15 days on 5mg 2 days on 7.5mg and today started 10mg

For the first 13 days everything was fine. However on the 13th suddenly i felt very anxious and lost my appetite. It became very challenging as every time i am going to eat a meal i am really stressed and i can not eat! Late at night when i am relaxed i start eating other things like biscuits fruits etc with very normal way and feeling a different person. And also every time i wake up my belly start to pain and only relax is when inuse the bathroom (no diarrhea issues). i have also IBS

Any experience with this or any reccomendation? Will the 10mg help me with this?

I’m 34M and currently on day 14 of escitalopram (Cipralex) 5 mg for anxiety. Took it also for 2 years amd stopped 4 months ago due tk feeling fine.

My main anxiety symptom has always been gastrointestinal. When I’m anxious, I tend to get intestinal cramping, urgency, softer stools, reduced appetite, and I become very focused on my bowel movements.

The interesting thing is that from around days 4–12 on Cipralex I was doing really well. My anxiety was much lower, my appetite was good, and my bowel movements were mostly normal and well formed.

However, for the last two mornings (days 13–14), I’ve suddenly started waking up with anxiety and a strong intestinal cramping/urge to have a bowel movement. The discomfort improves after I go to the bathroom. My stools are still formed, not watery diarrhea, but they have been noticeably softer than during the previous good days.

During the day I also sometimes feel some bowel urgency or movement, which makes me anxious again. Once the anxiety starts, I begin worrying about my appetite, my next bowel movement, whether I’ll get diarrhea, etc., and it feels like a vicious cycle.

My psychiatrist prescribed lorazepam temporarily while waiting for the Cipralex to fully kick in. When I take lorazepam, my anxiety improves significantly, although obviously I don’t want to rely on that long term.

I had basic blood tests recently (CBC, CRP, electrolytes, kidney function, glucose), which were normal.

Has anyone experienced something similar during the first 2–3 weeks of escitalopram — several really good days followed by a couple of days where anxiety and GI symptoms suddenly returned?

Did things eventually stabilize as you continued treatment? And for anyone who started at 5 mg, did your doctor eventually increase you to 10 mg?

Hey people.

As my title says.

I was on lexapro for 1 year and 6 months. Stopped 4 months ago. 10mg (5mg monring 5mg evening). It was a life saver.. Really it was, it gave me back happiness family, my son.

What took me to start the lexapro was a bad health anxiety which was mainly for instensines and toilet uses (shape, color, smell everything). Every single minute my only agony was how i will be in the toilet hoping for the best results that will not show cancer chrons etc..I was convinced i have everything even if i visisted many times Emergency Hospitals with blood work done.

Then lexapro came. I remember some bad adaption to the pill. First weeks anxiety was extreme and caused me also diarrhea and lack of appetite( the reason i started them 😀😶)). Please note that my doc gave me also lorazepam in case of extreme anxiety and i used it mainly at nights for the first month. I was a father of 2 years old and husband only as an entity. But hopefully after a month all issues resolve and felt like i was born again..

So my question dear friends, as all of my bad habits returned, how bad will be regarding side effects to adopt again to the pill? After 4 months of quiting.. (sorry for my spelling)