Posted by bozeman on February 3, 2003, at 22:28:49
In reply to Re: lexapro need help,users » nhg, posted by mikal on February 3, 2003, at 11:24:57
> > NHG- It took me 2 weeks to really feel the benefits of Lexapro. It sounds like you've had some very traumatic events in your life recently, for that I'll send you some positive thoughts.
> >Like Mikal, I felt better in some areas immediately but it took several weeks before I felt full benefit. (6 to 8 weeks at least)
> >
> I'm on 10mg of Lexapro, and like I said it took around 2 weeks to really kick in. The first couple of days(5) were really topsy-turvy. I had trouble sleeping, and was extremely tired at the same time. I woke abruptly and had trouble falling back asleep. I have found that over time my body has adjusted and I feel ALMOST no side affects and the benefits are incredible. But that is only my case. I concider myself lucky. I didn't suffer to horribly from Depression, but Anxiety and Panic had really taken hold in my life. This has really helped release me from the thinking that has perpetuated an awful cycle.
> >I had exact same experience (fell asleep easily, woke too early, too easily and couldn't go back to sleep, was both more rested and very-sleepy-could-lay-down-and-nap-right-here at the same time)
I was a lot more depressed than I knew until it lifted due to the Lexapro, and didn't think I had anxiety at all (but luckily my doctor knew better and gently persuaded me to try the medication :-)
Still-Lingering side effects: calm and alert but soooo relaxed (can still go to sleep any time any where, have to just NOT CLOSE MY EYES!! <chuckle>)
Sex drive has returned but not as much "wild creature of the serengheti" as before (but that's probably a good thing, keeps me sane :-) Delayed orgasm kind of a bummer, but it's getting better.> >
> Much of what we go through is chemical, however, it is a combination of un-healthy thinking. We get caught in loops of traumatic/debilitating thinking and we cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's like looking at a rock, but we are holding it right up to our eye, and it looks like a massive boulder - we can't see anything but the problem. We need to hold our arm out and see the rock at arms length and realize that it's not as bad as we are making it. Then if truly successful we can set the rock on the ground and it becomes merely a pebble and we can walk right past it with out noticing it anymore. But getting to that point takes a myriad of actions. Some of us need a drug for balance, some need a cocktail of drugs, whatever works. But we should also not underestimate the power of ourselves to see change and to accept change. The part I am struggling with the most with Lexapro is the realization that my Panic is gone, my anxiety is subsided, and now what? When you deal with a problem long enough it becomes incorporated into your dail survival mechanism, many of us do not like to admit it, but relief from this burden is often frightning in it's self. We need to see this as an opportunity, an opportunity to live better, and yes differently.
> >Absolutely. I've spent most of my adult life in the shadow of the "disease" I denied I had. Now I'm having to "remember" how to be, who I really am without it, and it's a struggle to remember at times who I was, and how to react to things without blowing them out of proportion, or freaking out about things that used to make me "freak out".
> >
> I'm a firm believer that drugs are a necessary part (for some) of getting back on track. But we have do some work too. We have to live differently and embrace change. Only then can we really seperate ourselves from our disease.
> >I tried therapy, analysis, hypnosis, prayer, meditation, you name it. The plain truth is, none of it was enough without the medication. Everyone will (sad but true, as Mikal so poignantly noted) have to find their own unique path through this maze of neurotransmitter hell, but at least there are others of us to offer encouragement and support. Keep trying to find what works for you, and best of luck in your search.
Be well --
bozeman
poster:bozeman
thread:109458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030130/msgs/139233.html