Anxious about Starting Lexapro for Anxiety
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Anonymous
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As you can tell from the subject line, anxiety runs in our family. DD has struggled with it her whole life and we are finally at the point where she is willing to try Lexapro. It took years of failed therapy to reach this point and now that we're here, we're all having cold feet. I'm a pretty anti-medication mom favoring alternative non-pharmaceutical therapies and DH has watched his family members struggle with prescription drug addiction and misdiagnoses. DD is afraid medication will change her personality, make her lose ambition, or cause depression or suicidal thoughts (she's been reading about this).
I've had mixed success with anxiety meds myself and opted for therapy, mindfulness, diet, sleep, etc. But DD has refused all these supports, and I feel like medication is the best option to treat her debilitating performance and social anxiety. She's a junior and she's wilting under the strain. I'm feeling the pressure to get her more help at least during this very stressful time. But I'm doubting my anxious self. Anyone with helpful advice or experience to share concerning anxiety medication in general and/or Lexapro specifically? TIA |
Anonymous
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Sometimes going on meds serves as a reset that is necessary in order to make other treatments possible. If she's refusing other changes, then the meds could help get her to a point where she doesn't refuse them anymore.
I gook Lexapro for anxiety about 8 years ago and didn't respond well to it -- even lowest dose, I just felt catatonic, plus it gave me night sweats and terrible stomach issues. BUT it did reduce my anxiety. And I was in a bad state before it. I didn't stay on it long and when I decided to stop, they offered me alternative meds but I decided to try stopping altogether and trying some other treatments (CBT, more exercise) and that worked a lot better and I haven't taken meds since. I really wish we talked more about the value in taking medication to treat acute anxiety or depression but then finding ways to move on from the meds once the acute issues are addressed. I know some people need to take meds all the time and that's fine too. But the options should not be no meds or meds forever. You can take Lexapro for a year and then move on. If it helps get her to a better place, it's worth it. Sometimes you get in a position where just everyday functioning is too hard and you need a bigger intervention than just talk therapy. Sometimes you need meds in order to make talk therapy work. It will be okay. She does not need to take it forever. Make sure she knows that. |
Anonymous
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https://www.chrispalmermd.com/
https://www.metabolicmind.org/ https://www.diagnosisdiet.com/ Take a look at these sites above if you are looking for an alternative to medicine. Search their videos on YouTube as well. Good luck. |
Anonymous
| She can always stop right? She’s not required to keep taking it if she doesn’t like it. |
Anonymous
| watch out for weight gain. |
Anonymous
| Lexapro caused activation syndrome both times it was tried for my son. Both times he engaged in serious self harm. It was horrifying to watch. There is good reason for caution and to be well educated before trying this (and other) medications. |
Anonymous
| She’s 5’7” and 110 pounds. Weight gain would be a blessing. |
Anonymous
OP, I’m sure you already know this, but don’t take medical advice from YouTube videos. And no, no one is impressed that there is an MD in the first URL. There are many, many quacks and charlatans who successfully completed medical school. |
Anonymous
That’s terrible. I’m sure it was scary. Had he ever exhibited those tendencies before? How long did they last? Was he being treated for anxiety or depression or both? |
Anonymous
I wish this were true but all of these medications have terrible withdrawal symptoms. |
Anonymous
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I started taking a very low dose of Prozac 6 months for anxiety, when the anxiety started getting unbearable and I had tried everything else. I did not want to take drugs, which is why I tried everything else first. But, once I did start taking the meds, I was shocked with how quickly and effectively they knocked back my anxiety. There were some side effects, mostly that I had near-zero motivation for 2-3 weeks, and completely lost my taste for alcohol, but they mostly wore off. The one side effect that has persisted is a diminished libido, but in a teenager that might not be a bad thing....
They don't work for everyone, but when the meds work, they can really, really work. I am in a better place now, and considering |
Anonymous
NP. I assume you are an adult right? I think OP is more interested in knowing about the experiences of teenagers. Very different than adults imo |
Anonymous
I'm the PP who took Lexapro for a short time to treat anxiety and then went off it after experiencing severe side affects. It's true that there are withdrawal symptoms, but if you taper off slowly, they are not that bad. For me, the withdrawal was not as bad as the side effects, so I didn't mind them as much because I was getting rapid relief from side effects. The biggest withdrawal symptom, and the one that surprised me, was the "brain zaps." I had no idea this was a thing and was no one told me, and it freaked me out. Turns out it's very common! I found it extremely distracting and it went on longer than I expected. But even having said all that, I would do it again. I had severe anxiety and was completely non-functional. I had no social life and struggled with going to work. I was too anxious to go to therapy. Medication was the thing that gave me that first big push I needed to get better. It disrupted my anxious thought patterns enough to make it possible for me to sleep and go to work. I didn't like the meds and was happy to go off them, but I'm not sure I would have gotten to the other, longterm solutions had I not done a stint on Lexapro to get me to the point where I could even engage with talk therapy and lifestyle shifts. |
Anonymous
| OP. Thanks for the insights so far. I appreciate the experiences of adults who’ve tried meds (I have too) but I’m especially interested in experiences of parents who medicated their teens, or adults who tried meds as teens. The warnings about teens and SSRIs are giving me palpitations. |
Anonymous
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My DD14 is on Zoloft for anxiety/depression and we started with lowest dose possible (25mg) and moved to 50mg week 2. She is so much more calmer on it. She had some mild zombie like effects week 2-3 and after that she was fine. We know all meds can have problems. You need to tinker with them. My DD in college tried lexapro has side effects, went on Prozac, also side effects and ended up on Wellbutrin and did really well. She graduated college and tapered off.
My DD14 also takes a multi vitamin with extra B, magnesium glycinate, iron, and in the winter Vit d and zinc. And keeping her off most processed and high sugar foods makes a big difference. And sleep. 8-9hrs. Anything less and the anxiety is worse. That is where Magnesium glycinate REALLY helps. 1 hour before bedtime. But OP do NOT feel guilty for meds. Teens are hard to do alternative options because they are already struggling and can’t focus to work well with you. She is a junior. You don’t have time for alternatives. Try that once she is back to baseline. Good luck! |