I went through a long bougt of panic many years ago and one of the things that helped was getting my stomach settled. At that time I was also dealing with pretty bad acid reflux and a mild ulcer. It...
I tried 5mg and it also made me feel worse over a few week period. Although it was counterintuitive, when I jumped to 10mg it made me feel a lot better in about a week. Now it really calms me...
Hey Everyone, It's been a little while since I posted but I have been reading content and seeing how supportive everyone continues to be here. It's really nice to see. Recently I left a job that had...
This is a great share. Thanks!...
I was on both for a while and didn’t have any issues but check with a pharmacist as they are experts like others have said....
I’ve had varying degrees of dizziness for much of my life. In fact as a young kid I got dizzy a lot and after some tests they figured it was something in my inner ear. While I think that may still be...
GERD and anxiety for me go hand in hand. I realized that several years ago when I randomly started taking Nexium for some stomach discomfort and lo and behold my anxiety dropped significantly in the...
Thanks SC, I do have much better coping skills these days and it goes a long way in lessening the anxiety when it hits hard. I used to let it consume me, now I focus on letting it run its course and...
OK, hours long panic episode over. Strangely I always feel very relaxed after they pass, especially when they are intense. Almost like my brain just needed to break the logjam. Thanks for looking at...
Welcome CarlyRose, long-time anxiety sufferer here (that has a bad habit of drinking a bit much to boot). This really is a nice place to discuss this thing called anxiety with others who share this...
Hey there everyone, it's been a while and my anxiety has been largely under control. However, I had started drinking wine again...one glass a night for the longest time, but lately it's been 1/2 a...
I would say my anxiety used to be off the charts bad. I have suffered from it since my early teens, but in late 2014 it was horrible and adding to that was coming off alcohol which I was using to...
My resting is anywhere from upper 50s to low 80s and when I walk runs between 90 and 110. While doing cardio or a nice vigorous bike ride it runs around 150 to 160. When you say yours goes up to 80...
When I was on 5mg about three years ago I was struggling. Like you I was reluctant to go higher but once I did things got a lot better. I don’t recall much, if any, additional side effects. My doc,...
I think the issue is that a benzo acts on the exact same neurotransmitter as alcohol, so if you mix the two you are basically drinking a lot more or taking a lot more of the benzo, depending on how...
I have a pretty high stress VP level insurance job with my company and like you over time it has gotten harder in many ways. I think because my overall excitement and enthusiasm has waned over the...
Anxiety is such a horrible thing...makes so many physical symptoms come out and generally make one's life miserable. I've been dealing with it longer than I care to! Anyway, I think blood can be in...
The reason you may be having digestive issues is that some 80% or more of your body's serotonin is in your digestive tract. So when you take Cipralex/Lexapro it will rev up the speed of your...
Anxiety can cause you to lose your appetite and weight. All that nervous energy can also make your digestive tract go into overdrive, causing loose stools / diarrhea. Try not to worry about your...
As strange as it sounds...upping the dose to 10mg very likely won't cause twice the side effects. In fact it may actually help you. I started with a dose of 2.5mg then tried upping to 5mg. This was a...
Hi Megan, In late 2006 / early 2007 I was in a caretaker role for my significant other who was dealing with cancer. I don't think people realize how hard it is for caretakers. There is a wide range...
Will have to check what dose I was on...some days I was taking a few to several pills per day, especially early on, so it was a decent amount initially. I guess the thing I did was to be deliberate...
Hello and welcome to the forum...there are a lot of nice people here who know a lot! I’ve certainly learned a ton over the years. My thought on your benzo usage is that right now you shouldn’t be...
I started out at 5mg and It wasn’t helping too much. I had to jump up to 10mg to start feeling better. It was strange and a bit counterintuitive since I was having increased anxiety at 5mg, but once...
That’s the med I take too...great stuff! It does have some initial side effects (incl. increased anxiety and the others you describe), but once things settle my thought is you’ll feel a lot better. I...
I’m a big fan of antihistamines to calm the nerves. Zyrtec completely relaxes me, and stops the allergy symptoms including itchy skin which used to be somewhat of a trigger for me....
I get those sometimes...in my case they are either an infected hair follicle or just a "good" ole zit. They can make the area overall a bit swollen and the pain seems to be deeper (i.e. a lymph...
Escitalopram and other SSRIs take several weeks minimum to start to work, but once they do it's great...Lexapro (escitalopram) has been a lifesaver for me. Your anxiety might actually be a bit higher...
That’s great! I’m only mildly jealous, hehe......
Sometimes I feel that I have heart palpitations too, but when I told me doc he thought it might actually just be muscle spasms in my esophagus given that I have occasional issues with Acid reflux /...
Anxiety can amp up your blood pressure in a matter of minutes, and calming your mind can lower it in an equally quick timeframe. My BP is always higher when I am stressed or at the doc (white coat...
It sounds like anxiety / panic to me. Especially since your doctor and ER visit cleared you medically. There are a lot of great resources here, including awesome people to talk to. Maybe check out...
Yeah, as strange as it sounds, seeing that my body has a physical response to (or perhaps the cause of) my anxiety is somewhat comforting. Guess it helps me realize that I just have an oversensitized...
This is something new to me so thought I would share...I was alerted to it when the new OS in my Apple Watch came out last month. In addition to checking my pulse periodically, it provides this...
I've always had a bit of health anxiety but even more so general OCD tendencies (checking crap, making sure stuff in my home is all "lined up", etc). I found that Lexapro has been helpful with...
Have you been checked for any digestive issues such as acid reflux / GERD? In my personal experience that can definitely cause chest pains and spasms in your esophagus. I’ve struggled with anxiety...
I'm with you OG...had a pretty bad panic episode this week after running myself ragged with work. But like SC said, these episodes fade and it did in my case. In some ways I'm calmer now than before...
I think magnesium can help, my person experience was that it did calm my mind and nerves a bit. Just be sure to take the citrate version as it's absorbed better. Also keep in mind it's a fairly...
Lexapro made me more anxious as well as a zombie when I first started taking it. What a crazy combo right?? However after I got used to it, those strange zombie feelings went away as did the anxiety....
Just give it time. If you're like me, your serotonin levels were very low...taking a med to increase them will cause the other neurotransmitters to rebalance. This takes time but as you start to feel...
I'm on Lexapro, another SSRI and it has been a great med for me. However, at first you may feel worse with more anxiety, maybe some dizziness and digestive discomfort. The reason for the last thing...
I've taken Cipralex (Lexapro) for almost three years now. At first it was rough (worse anxiety, dizziness, having to go to the bathroom all the time, etc)...I think because my serotonin levels were...
I've also struggled with lots of odd and unsettling symptoms like dizziness, wobbly legs, strange feelings, itchy skin, sudden weakness, etc... Taking Lexapro has helped a lot, although it was...
Hey Rich, I'm with ya sometimes feeling weird. In those situations can you get out of the office and walk to a nearby green space or find an empty conference room? I like to get away from the office...
Well I got my blood test results back and my a1c is 5.3%. Actually back in late 2014 it was 5.7% so some improvement looks like. Back then my doc wasn't too concerned, and now even less so. I do...
Hey Rich, I agree with others who say focus on your health in making this weighty decision. I'm 43 and already thinking about retirement...although it's at least 15 years away. I'm socking away money...
Thanks again for the good info and insight. My stress level has gone way down this week and my blood sugar has also gone down a bit too. Another reason to keep stress in check (blood sugar and blood...
Hey there Lanie, thanks for the detailed response. Yes my anxiety is mostly under control (it wasn't for a long time, but finally found some good coping skills and on a lower-dose SSRI that works)....
Hello everyone, I'm an active member over on the anxiety forum and was recently informed that I may have pre-diabetes. I'm also a coffee drinker with about 1 tall Starbucks drink consumed per day....
Hey there SB...I'm right there with you as a long-term anxiety sufferer. Have you tried reducing your carb / sugar intake? I've started doing this as of late and it seems to keep my blood sugar more...