Escitalopram

[Poppyguest]

Hi. Ive been on 30mg escitalopram for 4 months and my dc has recommended upping the dose to 40mg after ive been having anxiety attacks again. Is it just a blip or do i need to increase? Also worried about side effects of coming off. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[monica]

Hello and welcome

Tbh it's hard to say whether it's a blip (which are unfortunately pretty standard occurance with PNI ) or whether you need to increase your meds.

In my case I started on a different drug , seemed to be doing well and then wobbled badly after a source of stress so my dr upped my meds. I found out later that my original dose was actually a low dose which often isn't high enough to be effective. But saying that everyone is different and some people need a higher dose to work.

Maybe a silly question on my part but did you ask your dr why he'd decided to increase meds? Also do you know what caused these anxiety attacks?

As I mentioned blips are common and can be caused by pmt even if you've not had it before , specific events in your life (arguments, other causes of upset), being ill tired etc.

Sorry I've not really helped you but it might be worth speaking to gp even if it's over the phone .

Re anxiety it's definately looking into techniques to learn how to manage this. Have you considered this? I can give you some ideas of you like?

Coming off meds should be done in conjunction with dr and done slowly. So for instance I halved the dose every other day for a week then a week on half a dose daily and so on. I wobbled a couple of times so extended the dose I was on for longer. I think generally the longer you've been on meds the slower you should come off them but I'm not medically qualified so it's best to get advice first.also a cpn recommended taking vit b/evening primrose oil supplements to counteract any wobbles due to med decrease.

Hope this helps. Please keep talking

Monica