View Full Version : up or down?
Sober2000june
28-07-13, 11:13
thats' me been on escitalopram for 6 weeks now. 1st week 2.5mg, weeks 3 to 5 on 5mg and last 11 days 7.5(well more like 6 one day and 8 the other due to my accuracy in cutting the pill). I am staring to wake early again in the 7.5mg and really starting to toil again:weep:. I consulted my shrink a couple of weeks ago and she agreed to the increase to see if it'll help. I'm stating to think maybe i should've given 5 mg a bit longer. the other part of me is thinking, do i go upto 10 mg as it may have a more therapeutic effect??
just don't know what to do:shrug:.
any encouraging feedback greatly appreciated,
Paul
Hi Paul,
just don't know what to do:shrug:. I don't know how many times I've said that to myself on the medication merry-go-round :). I took Escitalopram for 6 weeks and I'll never know that if it would of worked at a lower or higher dose, I took 5mg for 2 weeks and increased to 10mg over 2 weeks ending up at 10mg for the last two weeks. The first two weeks were horrible with nausea and panic, the middle two weeks were OK - less anxiety and felt more hopeful and week 4-6 were awful with depression and hopelessness. Should I have gone back down to 5mg, should I have increased to 20mg, should I have stuck it out another week? I still don't know the answer and sadly, only time will tell for you.
How do you feel compared to 7 weeks ago? Can you see any improvement generally? I found week 5/6 very challenging, maybe that's just the meds effect. If I were you I would try to stick with the same dose for another week and not rush to increase/decrease, let your poor brain try to adjust to the dose you're on. In hindsight I wish I'd been a little more patient and stuck it out, without increasing or decreasing.
As another poor responder to meds you know I can't tell you if, what, how much or when medication will work. Hope and time are the two factors we need to recover and we have both. I know you have family to give you focus and hope and we all have time, we will not be like this in 5 years time. We are survivors, keep living in today and survive another day, this nightmare will end as nothing lasts forever.
I think you're doing really well, I read about you taking your family away - that's bloody amazing given how you're feeling. Give yourself some credit.
Take care
Sam
Sober2000june
28-07-13, 19:58
Thanks Sam,
feeling a bit more human in this evening. i guess I'll just have to plod on with the 7.5mg(ish).
Paul x
Hi Paul
Hope you enjoyed your holiday in France? Can't imagine driving that far very easy! I imagine it was very hard work,trying to be happy and normal when inside you feel crap! Really hope you enjoyed it I'm sure your kids did.
I would try to give it a bit more time for your head to get used to that dose,let it settle and start working for you. We are all different as you know, and I think it took a good 12 weeks for ven to start picking me up. I still today have blips and prob think I always will with GAD but it still freaks me out when the blips happen
Glad you feeling slightly better this evening.
Quick question clio51... how long have you been on ven? How often do you get blips? I"m on year 2 of cipralex and am in the midst of a heck of a blip this past week. Doc suggests upping from 10mg to 15 mg.
Jmac
I've been on venlafaxine for a year! I get quite a few blips still but nothing like I was this time last year, I had no motivation,depressed couldn't face food losts 2 stone,was a nervous wreck with anxiety.I started on 37.5 then went to 75mg in about a month then 150mg about 3 months later I think.
I think I'm always going to get ups and down due to high anxiety. I use diazepam at these times.
I think I would try and see if it settles in the next week or so. If not then think about upping might just be a blip.
Thanks clio. Things seem to be settling down somewhat so I'd say you're probably correct. It's a blip... just the worst blip so far in the past two years. I guess it happens especially during or follow times of stress which is most certainly the case right now.
Stay well.
I'd def go to 10mg Paul, that is when I truly started to feel a difference but had too many blips on that dose too so now I am on 15mg I am just about perfect!!!! NORMAL in fact xxx All the best of luck and I had no side effects as such going up xxxx
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Sam how are you darling??? xxxxx
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