Shown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Tosca on September 14, 2008, at 14:51:11
I started taking 10 mg of Lexapro on Wednesday night. 4 nights so far. The first couple of days I had some jitteriness, but not much more (aside of course from the usual feeling like crap of depression and anxiety).
I had been hemming and hawing over whether to take it in the morning or night- I have had lousy sleep patterns for months, and the last thing I need are more sleep issues. I did a very unscientific poll and found that a lot of people found Lexapro to be a bit sedating, so I decided to take it at night.
I have also been taking zopiclone on and off for the last few months to help with my sleep. I've been taking it probably 4 of 7 nights in any given week. I also take 1 mg ativan prn when the anxiety is getting bad, maybe a few times a week. So my nightly routine is 10 mg Lexapro and 7.5 mg zopiclone at bedtime. Even on the days that I've taken an ativan, I doubt there's any in my system by the time I get to bed, as I tend to take it during my roughest times, which are earlier in the day.
My current thing is, I have been falling asleep like a rock, exhausted- which is great- but then I wake up early, at 5:00. I hate early waking, it just exacerbates my anxiety. Mornings are by far the hardest time of day for me.
So, some questions:
1. Is this early waking part of the early, 'riding it out' phase of getting used to the Lexapro? Do I put up and shut up?
2. Or, should I switch taking Lexapro to the morning? Maybe this would help with the early rising? Or, once it all levels out, given the half life of this stuff, will it even make a difference?
3. Is there something better than zopiclone I could be taking to make it all the way through the night? I'm starting to wonder if I have a bit of a tolerance now to the zopiclone.
I know, all questions for my doc, who I will call when he's in the office tomorrow. But, I thought asking you sage people might give me some more experienced, comprehensive answers...
Thanks so much...
Posted by Hygieia's Bowl on September 14, 2008, at 22:01:50
In reply to Riding out my first few days on Lexapro...advice?, posted by Tosca on September 14, 2008, at 14:51:11
> So, some questions:
>
> 1. Is this early waking part of the early, 'riding it out' phase of getting used to the Lexapro? Do I put up and shut up?
>~~~ My startup on Lex was intense. The stir-up of the cerebral stew was an exercise of getting thur the getting thur for me. The routine use of a benzo helped during the edgy period - it did not remove all the pesky problems but did file down the edges a bit. Getting thur was worth it for me. I've been on it for 3 1/2 years with excellent results for GAD and unipolar depression. The anxiety leg of the combo being the worse and most life impacting.
> 2. Or, should I switch taking Lexapro to the morning? Maybe this would help with the early rising? Or, once it all levels out, given the half life of this stuff, will it even make a difference?
>~~~ Initially I dosed in the AM and kept this for about the first 6 months or so. I now dose PM as it is a little sedating for me.
> 3. Is there something better than zopiclone I could be taking to make it all the way through the night? I'm starting to wonder if I have a bit of a tolerance now to the zopiclone.
>~~~ I'm sorry to not be able to help you out there. I do not recall using any sleep meds during startup but, as I said before, I was well-benzoed up during that time. I rarely have difficulty with sleep presently but if I do 25 mgs. of Benedryl does nicely for me.
> I know, all questions for my doc, who I will call when he's in the office tomorrow.
~~~ Yep, a talk with your doc is a good idea.
Posted by azalea on September 14, 2008, at 23:23:23
In reply to Riding out my first few days on Lexapro...advice?, posted by Tosca on September 14, 2008, at 14:51:11
> I started taking 10 mg of Lexapro on Wednesday night. 4 nights so far. The first couple of days I had some jitteriness, but not much more (aside of course from the usual feeling like crap of depression and anxiety).
>
> I had been hemming and hawing over whether to take it in the morning or nightPerhaps you could ask your doctor about breaking the 10mg pill in half and taking 5mg in the morning and 5mg at night. Although I don't know of any scientific evidence to suggest Lexapro should be taken twice daily, it would be easier in the sense that you wouldn't have to decide AM or PM. SSRIs can cause some side effects initially, but these should diminish in the 1st few weeks of treatment.
This is the end of the thread.
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