Hi awilson,

Welcome to the Anxiety board!

20+ year anxiety sufferer here...

Question. When you said you increased the Lexapro, did you do this through your psychiatrist? Or on your own?

Also, it can take a few weeks for the new dosage to start working to where you see the improvements. Maybe even one month.

Medication, in combination with therapy, is the "usual" treatment for anxiety. Do you also see a therapist who specializes in anxiety?

I have also found that reading books about anxiety has helped me. And watching free YouTube videos about anxiety. And listening to podcasts.

Keep writing it out, keep a journal, to help deal with anxious thoughts. I say *thoughts* because from what I have learned, anxiety is our thoughts getting the best of us. That we are not in any real danger., even though an anxious thought tells us we are in some imminent danger. If we can change our thoughts, the anxiety will lessen. I have learned all this through reading anxiety books.

There is help out there. You can get better. And when you have a panic attack, know that you survived it many times before, and you will survive this panic attack too.

You are not alone.

Hello Awilson. Welcome to DS.

In my own lifelong dance with anxiety, I, too, have found my anxiety shifting wildly from one specialty to another. When I get my social anxiety managed, health anxiety, waiting anxiety, test anxiety, or any one or three of the specialized dishes from the anxiety smorgasbord rush in to fill the void. In my case, I gave up trying to find a medication strong enough to hold my anxiety in check for any great length of time. I don't feel alone with this phenom. I have many brothers and sisters-in-healing who have also experienced this phenom.

The current end result of that phenom is that I take the focus off the subject of the anxiety and focus on physical symptoms. Is my breathing ragged? Breathing exercises. Am I clenching muscles? Stretching and/or relaxation techniques. Am I eating? Eat, whether I want to or not. Anxiety manifests quite allot of physical manifestations. Keeping the focus on those physical symptoms helps keep me from spinning off into the more ethereal/word based anxieties. Been using this approach for quite allot of years now and so far, so good. It works when I work it.

But that is me and every case is unique.

Gentle support while you find what works for you. Welcome aboard. Hope you find stabilizing companionship here.

Welcome to the anxiety board at DS.

You've taken the important first step in writing it out.

Keep writing it out, expressing words, thoughts, emotions, feelings, and it will give you a way to see how anxiety is your helper. To find your better balance, knowing what works and what doesn't work will make it easier to explain what you need from the medicine as a temporary balance tool.

Anxiety is natural. You are not alone.

Hi GirlinCalif,

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond! It’s been helpful reading everyone’s approach on dealing with the anxiety monster.

As far as the medication, when I first switched from Lexapro to Prozac and back to higher dose of Lexapro that was under the guise of 2 psychiatrists / and a therapist as well as my primary care physician. They told me I could take myself up to 20mg but I felt like I was doing just fine once I reached 12.5 and stopped there. I am all about using the meds to get over the “hump” and am hopeful I will eventually be able to function normally without anything. However right now as the anxiety is so much worse, I did make an appt (it’s tomorrow AM) to discuss with my primary care about upping meds. But I felt like I kept waiting and nothing was improving so I went ahead and chose to up the medication (very slightly) myself. I will speak with her about it tomorrow and see what the next steps are. I normally would always wait and do everything under doctor supervision but given I already had permission to take myself (slowly and over time) up to 20mg, I felt comfortable starting the transition as long as I had an appt on the books to fully discuss with my doctor.

Yes - been on Lexapro for a long time and I agree it can take weeks to see any effects. That was especially true for me when I first started taking it but now I feel like I am seeing some effects more quickly (even in the first week). Who knows - could just be the placebo effect ;) I look forward to discussing this with my doctor tomorrow and I’ll be staying on the lowest dose possible for a while to see how that works with my body.

Hoping and praying that over time I can slowly taper off this med for good and use more natural ways of dealing with anxiety. But I’ve truly tried it all and right now feel like I need something more to assist.

I was in therapy for years / psychiatrist as well. As I now work full time I haven’t been able to meet with a therapist that has hours that work with my job. My insurance stinks right now too so hard to find a therapist that takes it. I am working on it!

I am also an avid anxiety reader and am currently reading “unwinding anxiety” and downloaded the available app on my
Phone as well. It offers modules on dealing with anxiety and daily check ins, etc. It’s been moderately helpful so far but I’m not in too deep yet. Definitely recommend giving it a go!

I am also on Ativan as needed for panic. I try extremely hard to not take it as I know how addicting it can be. I only take it when I feel myself on the verge of panic for an extended period or in panic. And I always start small at the .5. If things are bad I sometimes need a full 1mg or even 1.5 for really terrible anxiety but that’s rare. I can usually take a .5 and deal with the rest of the anxiety through breathing exercises / distraction, etc.

Currently working on changing my anxious thoughts but they have definitely been getting the best of me (especially health wise) lately. It seems like that is the big thing for me right now and it is absolutely terrible. Could be brought on by the Covid situation but I actually did well anxiety wise handling myself during the pandemic. Proud of myself for that. Celebrate the little wins right?!!

I’ll get there! I look forward to speaking more with everyone and hoping I can help others too along the way. I have a lot of experience. Wish I didn’t!!

Thanks again for your words.

Hi Arfie,

That is great advice - thank you! I do work with deep breathing when I notice anxiety coming on but I’ve never fully taken the load off the anxiety train and focused completely on the symptoms I am feeling and unwinding those. I am going to try that for sure! I do find distraction is my
Best friend when I’m in panic and so I try not to linger on things. But I don’t feel like that works long term. I’d rather turn towards how I’m feeling and work through each symptom.

Thank you for your words! I hope one day I can slowly taper off my meds. That has always been my goal.

Hi Mid,

Thanks so much for your response. It is helpful sometimes to hear I am not alone. And I KNOW that, but just hearing it and realizing how many people deal with this is helpful. Power in numbers!
I’ll keep fighting and sharing my experiences during this battle. Hoping I can help others while also helping myself with everything I learn and experience.

Thanks again.

Awlison,
I Have the same Issues, I always feel like something else is wrong, lately I feel like I have Parkinson's disease, I have been shaking alot.

I get it, You always feel like something else is wrong, But, You just can't put Your finger on It.

I am on Lexapro too. I feel like my meds work at first then later they start to feel like they don't work. I also have GAD and ADHD and cyclothymia. I also feel like every time I beat something with my mental illness that something else new comes up.

I am so sorry you are struggling through this. What I like is that you haven't given up and that you've taken your issues seriously. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right combination of meds that works. Hang in there and give yourself a lot of room for trial and error. Do you have a counselor that you are working with to help with the anxiety? My counselor really helped me determine rational vs. irrational fears, and that has helped me as I move forward. Hugs to you!

When you said your anxiety seems to be taking different forms I thought it was me speaking. That is EXACTLY how I felt in the beginning. It was from one to the next. First horrible panic attacks and heart palpitations that seemed to last all day and night. Then I started noticing a bounding pulse in my neck which I probably always had but it freaked me out I thought my artery was going to rupture or something. Then I started having skipped beats regularly (even now I have them occasionally, some times stronger than others), then I went to the doctor because I had a visible pulse in my abdomen. Then I started to feel a pulse behind my ear. A TOTAL NIGHTMARE. Every time one of those things would go away or I would get reassurance from my doctor another would start. It is so frustrating so I know how you feel. My anxiety is not nearly as bad as it was at first however and only comes up when I feel the occasional skipped beat or some other bodily sensation that sends me into a spin. I see all those symptoms as stepping stones to eventually getting much better. But I get that it is very frustrating.