Posted by wendy b. on June 7, 2003, at 23:14:10
In reply to Re: Anyone out there to talk to??, posted by Felicity on June 5, 2003, at 11:13:15
Felicity:
The symptoms you're describing are related to anxiety and depression, of course, and an anti-depressant like Lexapro may be the right thing...
> I've always felt that I've had a bit of a "mental" problem. I've terribly shy, scared of everything and very anxious. Recently, I had a blow to my world that completely shook everything up and I found myself depressed. I went to my regular doc and he put me on Lexapro. But, I'm not seeing much change. I'm VERY moody, extremely high one minute then the next I just want to cry.
... but the question I have is this: did you have these mood swings BEFORE you started taking the medicine? If not, there could be a problem, in that you may be having a bipolar spectrum disorder reaction to the Lexapro. Sometimes anti-depressants can send individuals with bipolar into a "cycling" episode, which can be a real problem. The huge changes you describe, from minute to minute, where you can feel quite different, are not a good sign.>I wish this stupid medicine would do more. I don't know if I need more or maybe it's making things worse. I had my first real panic attack while I was on the med.
This is also not good, because it might be part of an "up" cycle, or your body's inexperience with an up cycle (and thus eliciting the "fight-or-flight" response, i.e., the panic attack). If your GP prescribed you the Lexapro, he/she might not know too much about bipolar disorder (which is not a put-down, many general docs don't), and not realize that he could have put you into a cycling pattern with that med, and, as you can feel: something is not quite right. I don't mean to scare you, but I would seek the help of a real shrink (M.D.) if you can afford one, or if your insurance covers it. If not, it's sometimes worth spending money out-of-pocket in order to get at least an initial "official" diagnosis (at least to rule out bipolar, or if it is bipolar, to get the right meds).
Not to worry, though, you'll be ok, and please keep posting about your reaction to the drug. The meds board is probably a better place to do it, though, because the people over there are pretty darned smart and it is a question about meds (or am I railroading it into a discussion about meds?? can't figure this one out...) so I'll try to "redirect" your post...
Best of luck,
Wendy
poster:wendy b.
thread:232300
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030604/msgs/232300.html