Should I continue taking this new prescription, or should I stop and call my doctor on Monday?

So you only took one dose?

@Judi yes, one 10mg dose.

I was looking at the website of this medication http://www.lexapro.com/isi.aspx which is an antidepresant, it looks like nausea and sweating and drowiness are all possible side effects I would call the doctor before you discontinue taking your medication. Your doctor prescribed this for a reason and sometimes side effects of a drug either go away with time once your body gets used to the medication. Do not stop unless your doctor tells you to stop taking it and I would call them immediately decide stop taking it.

Heart palpitations and suicidal thoughts are also side effects, I don’t think you should necessarily keep taking a drug just because it’s possible that the side effect you’re experiencing is known.
I’m thinking this feels like a hell of a reaction to one dose. I’m not sure how severe is severe enough to stop taking it. In my mind, the akathisia and increased anxiety are enough to make me question whether or not this is a good choice.

How depressed were you before taking the Lex?

It seems to me that the side effects are worse than the depression.
I’d stop taking it unless your depression was actually worse.

If you can’t get a call in to your doctor, at least check with a pharmacist.

@Brian1946 the side effects. In fact, I was just thinking that. I’d rather deal with the anxiety than this. This feels horrible. I don’t like this one bit.

@ANef_is_Enuf

Yeah, it seems like the anxiety you’re feeling now is worse than what you were feeling before ingestion.

I get anxieties too, but I get by with yogic breathing and implanted ear seeds.

With any medication like this you need to CALL YOUR DOCTOR. Your doctor needs to know what you are deciding to do regardless of how you feel, they prescribed this medication for a reason. You need to call the doctor even though its the weekend the doctor has on call doctors that can speak to you regarding this issue you are having. They will be able to look at your chart and be able to give you the best advice to keep taking or stopping the medication. This is important to do.

I’m thinking I asked this question the wrong way.

Personally, I see absolutely no reason why I can’t stop taking it after 1 pill without consulting my doctor first. I’m not going to go through withdrawals, and I’m not treating something like a heart condition. I don’t think this is an emergency, either, where I need to contact my doctor immediately.

My question was more or less – for those who have taken Lexapro or similar medication, do you remember having side effects like this when first starting medication? Do these side effects seem extreme?

I, personally, wouldn’t take any further doses and make an appointment to see the doc first thing Monday (obviously I don’t know how bad your symptoms were or what other meds your taking). What you describe sound like the usual side effects for the drug but seem on the extreme side of things. There are enough SSRI’s out there that I’m sure they can find one that doesn’t effect you so badly. While it’s important not to suddenly stop some meds, as you’ve only had one dose i doubt it that’s an issue here. Continuing to take something that’s make you feel so bad without isn’t in your best interests.

Lexapro is in a class of drugs called Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors. It makes changes to your brain chemistry that are believed to give relief for generalized anxiety disorder. Once you start taking this medication there will be some side effects. Some of the ones you mentioned are not uncommon. Still I would write them down with the time, and the activity you were doing just prior to the onset of the symptom. Make an appointment with your physician or counselor and discuss these symptoms as soon as is practical. I take Effexor, which is similar in many ways to Lexapro, and had a pretty wild ride starting out. But I was also undergoing chemotherapy at the time so my whole body was pretty messed up. If you are really concerned after the first dose, I would discontinue taking the medication and make an appointment as I mentioned a moment ago. Perhaps a smaller dose combined with counseling will give you relief from your symptoms.

@majorrich SSRI’s are not new to me. I do see a therapist. I had a very bad experience with meds in the past, so I was/am extremely wary and I have avoided them for almost a decade. All in all, I just wanted to know how normal this reaction was to the medication, because I can’t remember from the last time I took something similar.

I think a decision on whether to discontinue a medication should be based to a good deal upon what the med is supposed to do.

In the case of an antibiotic or blood pressure med where stopping it for a few days could have life-threatening or health-threatening consequences, that would be very unwise.

But in this case, it seems to be worsening things overall while not relieving the condition for which it was prescribed.

I would certainly put in a call to the Dr. but if you don’t reach him directly, it’s doubtful that whoever is covering for him would know you as well as the prescribing Dr. so if he tells you to continue taking the med, I would take it with a grain of salt.

Look at it this way. You’ve lived for years without this medication. A few more days without it couldn’t do that much harm, considering the side effects.

In all likelihood, you’re Dr. will switch you to a different one anyhow so continuing to take this and being miserable all weekend would serve little purpose IMHO.

Your health is your own responsibility as well as your Doctor’s. Since this med is for anxiety rather than a life-threatening condition, if it were me, I wouldn’t take another dose until I spoke with the Dr. who originally prescribed it.

I’d still put in a call, however just to keep communication open.

BTW

There have been times in my life when I’ve had to do this for myself. Granted, it was different categories of meds from which you are describing, but the basic principle I outlined still applied. I’ve never had a Dr. be critical of my decision to stop taking whichever med was involved.

Every individual’s body differs in how it handles various chemical combinations and Drs. are very much aware of this. Most don’t expect their patients to be like dumb sheep without a rational brain.

@ANef_is_Enuf What about calling up the pharmacist who dispensed the medication? They’ll be able to give you some advice regarding side effects and what not. I understand your weariness re medication. I’ve had terrible experiences with them myself in the past. I can’t imagine that discontinuing after one pill would be harmful all the same.
Good luck. Sounds like a terrible night.

yeah… since you just started, I’d say go ahead and wait to talk to your doc before continuing to take it. it’s too risky.

@ANef_is_Enuf I would not take another dose. I would call the doctor’s office right away though to report the side effects and see what they want you to do from there. Most offices have someone on call to handle things that come up after office hours and on the weekends. If there isn’t anyone on call for your doctor’s office, I’d call first thing Monday morning.

Call your doctor’s service and see if you can speak to a physician after hours.

I called the doctor’s office, and they recommended calling the pharmacist first. I called the pharmacist and explained, and she said to stop taking them and call the doctor on Monday. So, that’s the plan.

Some people are more sensitive to drugs than others. What you are experiencing is probably a drug side effect, magnified by a susceptability to this particular medication. Call your doctor and see if he can prescribe a different drug.

@ANef is Enuf: I took both Lexapro and Effexor each for two days. I had the same violent reaction (over the week-end, of course). The nurse on both occasions said to stop immediately. There will be no withdrawal symptoms.

Glad you stopped .

You know your body best. I can’t believe so many people said you have to see the doctor! After 1 pill?! Of course you can stop, after 1,2,3,. It’s not crystal meth. As a matter of fact, you’d be foolish not to stop.

Thanks everyone. That had me incredibly loopy this morning, I was having a hard time gauging whether or not my reaction was normal. Feeling much better now, although pretty sleepy. :)

I took an anti-depressant that gave me the same side effects. I was in the hospital at the time and I flatly refused to take any more. That crawling feeling is so awful I remember it 8 years later. I don’t blame you for not wanting to take it again.

If I was you I would book an appointment with your doctor and ask for some alternative medication. No one should be expected to put up with a side effect like that.