r/lexapro

Has anyone gotten pregnant while on Lexapro? I’m currently trying and on 20mg. I met with my obgyn yesterday and she said it’s completely fine to take Lexapro during pregnancy but on the bottle it says not to take it during the third trimester.

I was just prescribed Lexapro today by my PCP. I have a feeling it’s going to be very helpful for me, but I’m a bit nervous about the gastrointestinal side effects…

For context, I am a professional musician —

I have several gigs coming up the next few weeks that are 1hr + performances where I can’t be leaving stage during that time (for example, if I’m about to shit my pants).

In y’all’s experience, is the lexapro diarrhea the kind that’s like, oh, this is happening now whether I like it or not? Or is it manageable?

Trying to decide if I should wait for a more empty week to start…

Please help. I’m absolutely losing my mind. I’m 4 weeks and 2 days into lexapro (5mg for the first 2 weeks, 10mg since then) and I genuinely am not sure I can’t take this anymore.

I have crippling health anxiety that has just been heightened by the lexapro. I feel like my body is shutting down. I’m having stomach pain, chest aches, back pain that aches and burns and stabs. I’ve had to go to the emergency dentist for the tension in my jaw causing bruxism. Headaches. I’m going through hell and I’m so scared.

I’m genuinely fearing for my life at this point. I’m panicking every day, I couldn’t stop crying yesterday, my entire body is in pain and I cannot see a light at the end of this. No anxiety relief methods are helping and I even have propanolol prescribed (10mg) that I’m taking 3 times a day. I’m having to drug myself to go to sleep at night with so much melatonin. I can’t go to work, I can’t be at my house, I can’t even relax. This anxiety and these symptoms are lasting from the second I open my eyes in the morning to the second I shut them at night.

With the mixture of my anxiety and the back pain I’ve been afraid to use the bathroom because I’m scared I’ll see blood because I’ve convinced myself all of my organs are failing. I haven’t eaten a meal in over 24 hours. I’m seriously suffering. Have any of you felt this way??

EDIT/UPDATE:

I messaged my doctor and she told me I should not be feeling this way. Per her instruction I will be going back to 5mg throughout the rest of this week and then starting Mirtazapine at the end of the 7 days. No more SSRIS, and hopefully that’s what I need.

Thank you for all the kind words and support, I needed to hear it 🫶🏻

Hello, I just took my first dose of Lexapro (5 mg). A big part of my anxiety is digestive system related, if I have anything crampy or approaching diarrhea I really spiral. I almost just want to take a daily low dose of Imodium to go along with the Lexapro to prevent problems… idk. Anyone here who got diarrhea right away when you started?

Hey all, just starting the lexapro journey, 5mg first week. Side effects possible, yes. Could help, also yes.

Some positive stories are welcomed here to assist others in their journey 😀

Tia.

So I’m exactly 21 days on 5mg Lexapro and after a week and a half I was starting to feel like myself again. Little anxiety here n there. Was able to eat and was sleeping better. Well today I woke up a couple times middle of the night heart racing little anxiety feeling in my chest. I started my period. And all day today I’ve kinda just been anxious and having that anxiety feeling in my chest and body. Probably doesn’t help that I’m home alone and just ruminating in my thoughts and coming to Reddit for reassurance 😔. I debating if I should up my dose to 7.5 mg but I have work and I’m scared those initial side effects of heightened anxiety will come back. What’s everyone’s experience of upping from 5 to 7.5mg

Hey everyone. I lost a family member recently and it kicked off my anxiety bad. I was prescribed lexapro (escitalopram) by my doc after a discussion about not wanting the libido side effects of celexa. I was told is is an almost identical molecule and so chances are I will tolerate it well.

I was on celexa for 10 years with virtually no side effects except for some libido related but manageable ones.

I took lexapro for 10 days at 5mg. Oh boy. It was HORRIBLE. I had:

- Horrible anxiety

- Suicidal thoughts

- Vivid and terrifying nightmares

- Waking up sweating and with nausea at all hours of the night

- Dizzyness and difficulty with my vision

I've since stopped completely and am currently taking nothing. I discussed with my pharmacist before stopping.

I am curious if anyone else has had the effects that I am still feeling. I have been off for about 5 days and this is still going on:

- Weird blind spots/occular migraine spots in my field of vision

- difficulty focusing close up

- Trouble tracking objects in movement

- Discomfort around my left eye

- Headache in forehead

Would be great if someone could corroborate some of these as it's not helping the anxiety to be suffering these symptoms not knowing what it is.

Thanks guys!

These dreams are unreal... Had a scary dream last night I was being stalked, and it felt like it lasted forever. I woke up heart racing and took me and hour to relax. I realized I didn't take my Lexapro on time. Anyone else get scary dreams after missing a dose?

Anyone have this experience? I increased my dosage from 10mg to 15mg 15 days ago. I have been on lexapro for 4.5 months and started at 5mg.

I was so afraid of side effects ( I'm the most scared about increased anxiety) and was shocked that I really didn't have any. My anxiety has been at an all time low and some days nonexistent. I was really starting to feel like my normal self. Then the past few days, I have gotten increased anxiety. I thought the 15mg was finally doing its job. Is this just part of upping the dose? I just didn't expect it after 2 great weeks.

I just started lexapro a little under 2 weeks ago and the past 4 days have had these itchy blotchy red patches on my neck going up to my jaw. They’re not intense or super red or swollen or anything but enough that it’s not letting me ignore it and uncomfortable. The only change I can think of is starting lexapro. I’ve never really remembered having these rashes before.
Has anyone else experienced this??

Please any POSITIVE stories would be greatly appreciated ! And what time of the day is best to take it???

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.

Hey everyone,

I’m on day 49 of Escitalopram (10mg) and recently started taking Rexulti (1mg) at midnight (00:00).

I've noticed a crazy pattern and want to know if anyone else experiences this. Every single morning, from 8:30 to 11:00 AM, my brain throws absolute garbage at me. But the worst part is the illusion of truth. During these 3 hours, the thoughts feel so heavy, convincing, and uniquely "real" that it takes all my energy not to panic. I also feel physical tension and pressure in my head.

Then, exactly at 11:00 AM, it just stops. A switch flips. The physical tension completely vanishes, and those exact same scary thoughts instantly lose all their power. For the rest of the day, I feel totally fine, and if those thoughts pop up again, they feel completely empty and fake.

I read that this morning window overlaps with the cortisol spike, which basically glitches the brain into treating random mental noise as a real, urgent threat.

Has anyone else experienced this clockwork precision? How do you deal with that overwhelming feeling of "truth" before it randomly disappears at midday? Does this get better?

I just started 5mgs and I'm looking for support a bit because being the Health Anxiety nut that I am, I of course am worried and nervous. I feel Okay so far but I've heard side effects don't really kick in quickly for most. Can I get some Encouragement ? maybe some good stories about your experiences ? I am also a trans woman and I'm about to start HRT soon So a lot of change is on my already full Plate lol. Please help ? <3 ^_^