Lexapro

Barack

Hi all,

I have just started on Lexapro in order to deal with severe periods of anxiety I was having trying to finish up my PhD. I'm still in the adjustment period and so I'm not worried yet, but I've found that my concentration levels are not great. I find it difficult to hold thoughts in my head to enable me to write as well as usual (i.e. when not stressed out). Has anyone with experience of anti-depressants found this to be a problem? Or will it just go away in time?

Trinity

Barack wrote: »

Hi all,

I have just started on Lexapro in order to deal with severe periods of anxiety I was having trying to finish up my PhD. I'm still in the adjustment period and so I'm not worried yet, but I've found that my concentration levels are not great. I find it difficult to hold thoughts in my head to enable me to write as well as usual (i.e. when not stressed out). Has anyone with experience of anti-depressants found this to be a problem? Or will it just go away in time?

I was prescribed them but didnt take them.

I think you might find this forum more helpful.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=862

Your concentration would be shot when you are suffering with anxiety, i cant remember my own name half the time and i can no longer do crosswords or play brain training

unhappycamper

Yes I took them for a good 6 months. Anxiety destroys concentration, I couldn't even focus on a program on the television. Exercise as much as possible and eat really well. They work for anxiety.

peanuthead

Barack wrote: »

Hi all,

I have just started on Lexapro in order to deal with severe periods of anxiety I was having trying to finish up my PhD. I'm still in the adjustment period and so I'm not worried yet, but I've found that my concentration levels are not great. I find it difficult to hold thoughts in my head to enable me to write as well as usual (i.e. when not stressed out). Has anyone with experience of anti-depressants found this to be a problem? Or will it just go away in time?

Hi

I took them for a while alright too, and while they did clear up my anxiety, I felt that I was left devoid of any other emotion also, and I completely lost my sex drive too. I came off them after one week, because I felt they were doing more bad than good really for me.

I did try acupuncture though, and I have to say, although I didnt find the therapy itself to be healing, it is good therapy to be in a room on your own for 40 minutes where you cant move, all you can do is sit there and think.

You get a nice massage afterwards which is nice and relaxing too.

jessbeth

Anxiety can play havoc with your concentration and I had a friend who tried that particular anti-d for a while and couldn/t stop playing with her tongue, couldn't sleep right, and couldn't stop trembling. Anti-d's will affect your whole body and your brain. They usually take about 6 to 12 weeks to start working properly.

deadpoet

I had to withdraw from a Journalism course due to anxiety and its effects on my concentration. I couldn't even say hello to people at one stage.

I took lexapro for two months, and while it didnt work, it didnt have any adverse effects on my already low attention span, albeit I dont think I gave it enough time to properly take effect. I generally have an abnormally high tolerance to psychotropics as it is so I probably should have given it at least 4 months as opposed to the reccomended 8-10 weeks.

Its an SSRI though, and we're still not sure wheither the cause of anxiety is a direct relation to seratonin or not. Benzo's were always the best bet, personally.

If it doesnt work out, consider Cymbalta. Its a relatively new anti-depressant that targets both seratonin and norepinephrine. Ignore the withdrawl horror stories you'll undoubtable read strewn throught out the net; you'll get these's from stopping most medications cold turkey anyway.

Best of luck, and sweet jesus do I understand the predicament...

Lone Stone

Hay im on those and they can make you a bit spaced out so i just take it before i go to bed so im relaxed when i wake up and not as spaced out in class
also stick with them they worked wonders for my anxiety attacks

LegacyUser

Hi

I'm in the same boat. Was supposed to have the PhD thesis finished earlier this year, I had problems sleeping at the time. Between the lack of sleep and running past my deadline the anxiety built up and the attacks got more frequent. I've been on Lexapro for 7 weeks now.

It has helped with the anxiety, instead of frequent panic attacks I get the occasional one now which is less intense but lasts a little longer. That said I got the mother of all attacks yesterday, but that was due to some external influences. The first few days of taking the meds I was quite spaced out, after that I was no longer spaced out but was groggy, I would wake at 9, take the meds and then have to nap around 3 or 4 pm. As a result I've started to take them late in the evenings which means I sleep better and no longer need to nap. However don't rush into taking them at night-time, my GP said that most people should take them in the morning as they are supposed to give you a boost then.

Eating well and exercise are very important as mentioned above. Even if its just getting out of the house and going for a walk. A solid nights sleep is also v important. I've also noted a drop in my sex drive but it took a few weeks for that to happen.

I had gotten to the stage that I would not answer my phone and could not bare to check my email for fear of reading PhD related emails. Eventually I had to and both the college and my adviser were extremely helpful and understanding. I started seeing a counselor in college and a few weeks after that started the Lexapro. I can't recommend seeing a counselor enough, you should be able to see one for free through your university.

One thing that has helped me when I start to feel an attack coming on is to breathe deeply and clench one group of muscles then relax the muscle slowly as you breathe out. focus on how the muscles feel as you relax them. start at the bottom and work your way up (feet then legs the ass then stomach then chest the arms etc)

I hope it works out for you. I'm still having difficulty writing but the anxiety has lessened. I'll check back on this thread during over the next while if you want to discuss anything further.

Barack wrote: »

Hi all,

I have just started on Lexapro in order to deal with severe periods of anxiety I was having trying to finish up my PhD. I'm still in the adjustment period and so I'm not worried yet, but I've found that my concentration levels are not great. I find it difficult to hold thoughts in my head to enable me to write as well as usual (i.e. when not stressed out). Has anyone with experience of anti-depressants found this to be a problem? Or will it just go away in time?

Zirconia

I've been taking Lexapro for four months now. I was also on them before, but stopped taking them after a week because I was feeling spaced out and thought I couldn't think straight; I was actually so spaced and confused that I couldn't drive.

However, I changed doctor since the first time I took them, and when I told my new doctor, she explained that it could take a few months before Lexapro would re-balance your brain chemistry, and I needed to trust her and give it longer. She did also say that the effects I experience would dissapear as the treatment began to take the correct effect.

I stuck with it, and after about two or three weeks, it caused a huge improvement, and all the concentration problems and spaced out feelings were completely gone. I suspect these effects are due to the initial changes taking place. In my case, they've completely changed my life, and if you are suffering from depression or serious anxiety, and have been prescribed Lexapro, I would encourage you to stick out the course.

Of course, if you are worried about the effects, you should go back to the doctor and describe the effects you are experiencing. There are always people who react badly to certain medication, even when it works for many others, so make your decision based on what a doctor tells you (get a second opinion if necessary) and not on opinions posted here.

Barack

Thanks for the messages so far. It's the middle of the night and I've just woken up feeling very anxious and shaky. Was glad to read of other people's experiences.

Part of the problem is that I'm not sure if I'll be better on the anti-d's than off them, and I'm worried I made the wrong decision. Before going on Lexapro I'd been having periods of anxiety lasting 3-4 days every three weeks or so, and was getting sick to death of them and starting to fear them a little. But I was having much longer periods of normality when I could write ok and feel grand. I pushed to get the meds when I went to my GP - I think I've underestimated their power - I thought they would be easy to adjust to and helpful. The doctor made them sound like a picnic to be honest.

Now I'm wondering if they really are for me - if I was really bad enough to require them in the first place. I'm going to see a counsellor on Monday - I suppose I'll stick with the drugs until then. But apart from anything else, I don't feel I can afford to lose vast swathes of time on the PhD front. That's the core worry I think - both before and after taking the meds,

Trinity

How do yo u normally deal with your stress?

I've never been to college but is there a campus counsellor? Could you take a break from college, is that possible? You sound under enormous pressure and its a vicious circle, the more stressed you get the worse your concentration is the harder you try to get more done the more stressed you get.

Is there anyone to help lift the burden a little?

When my doctor was recommending the lexapro i was worried about the stigma but she said in fact it was mostly professionals, or a lot of professionals take them, even doctors themselves. I feel this is due to the nature and pressure of their jobs and i dont think we should need medication to get through life, there has to be other ways of relaxing and reducing stress levels.

Wibbs

deadpoet, regardless of good intentions, specific medical advice like the one you posted is not allowed nor welcome on this forum for obvious reasons. Please read the charter and the standalone sticky to clarify.

Barack

Once again, thanks to everyone who responded. The support is very helpful.

After my last post, I decided to stop taking the Lexapro, at least for the moment. It was making the anxiety worse at night, while I was spaced out during the day. I'm aware that, as most people said, it takes a while to get working, and you have to go through a period of adjustment, but with a new uncertainty as to whether it is the right thing for me, I feel that it would be wrong to commit fully to it at the moment. I have to say the withdrawal symptoms are bad even after a tiny bit of use, so I feel I've made the right decision for now. At the moment my stomach is fairly constantly in knots, but my head is not as bad as it has been - I'm working hard to keep positive and find a renewed strength.

I'm visiting a college counsellor tomorrow and I'm going to try to turn the conversation less into the umpteenth dissection of my problems (keeping things buried and not talking to people is not one of my problems - in fact I may be too open and go too far the other way, talking about it too much and making it more and more real - who knows?), and try instead to concentrate more on being proactive and finding natural things I can do to relax and ease my anxiety. I'm considering things such as yoga or meditation of some kind, so it will hopefully be about discussing options and getting a plan in place.

Trinity1: you're right when you say it's a vicious circle with the PhD and stress, but I'm aware at the same time that almost all the pressure (in my case at least) is internally created. In that sense I think it's almost a natural thing to be going through at the end of a research project, but because I've never suffered from anxiety or depression in my life before, I haven't known how to deal with it or committed properly to finding coping mechanisms. In my naivete I thought medication would be a straightforward way out, but I have discovered that is not as simple as that. It's a good lesson to learn. I agree with you that it's best to exhaust non-medical options first if at all possible. I'm going to work hard to do that and learn from my mistakes.