I have emotional instability while I'm doing EMDR therapy for PTSD the therapy and what we're talking about makes my moods unstable.
After a bad mood swing episode I went to a psychiatrist in urgency and he prescribed escitalopram 10mg he warned me of the side effects (anxiety and such) and informed me I would not feel any noticeable change in mood until 1-4weeks minimum. Today I took the first dose 5mg and felt first in the clouds and depersonalized, then the anxiety he warned me about this doesn't concern me as I'm aware its normal later in the day... the thing is I felt so... happy, I felt so so happy, I didn't have that dragging feeling I always did, I sat down and did so many things and felt very happy and almost felt like I couldn't feel sad.
I know I shouldn't complain it felt amazing to feel happy and I felt like superwoman BUT I'm also concerned it acted that fast when I was told it would take time.
I'm afraid even the 5mg is too much and next week I should double the dose which I am NOT
I unfortunately don't see him until next month and I dont feel that much happiness from that dose is okay so im thinking of not taking the second dose or any other until I see him in a month just to be safe. I think its better to stop if its only one dose rather than continue and have it be harder after many doses. Will it affect in any way that I already took half a pill? Can I stop it?
I took just one 5mg escitalopram dose can I stop?
Question posted by Questions21 on 2 April 2021
Last updated on 3 April 2021
Answers
As a pharmacist the answer is yes but I agree that you should stick to the same dose for a few more weeks. You report that you feel happy and you were very productive getting things done so those are positive effects so that sounds like a good thing. Also the dose is low so that's a plus as well.
Yes if you keep taking it, it will help. Trust me I know from my journey. I was giving the lowest dose as well, and the side effects comes on 1st, but it vary from person to person. Keep your doctor posted on how you're feeling. It will get better :-) !!
Yes it is true that it varies from person-to-person. 5 mg may work for one while it may not for another. There are many reasons for this.
Yes that's true!! Some may need higher doses, that's where your doctor comes in, updating him/her is key.
Based on my personal experience, (not medical advice) I would say keep taking it and maybe call and ask about not doubling up as quickly. 5mg really isn’t much and you should be fine on it. I tend to feel effects early too, but it never greatly intensifies. But I would give the 5mg a week or two. If you really want to come off after that It still won’t have been in your system long and shouldn’t be too bad to come off of based on my experience.
Why do you feel you want to stop? If you feel some type of way, call your doctor and let them know what's up. I'm on the same dosage and my doctor said keep taking it that it will help me and he was right. If you feel it's not strong enough let your doctor advise you. Hope this helps... feel better.
Okay thank you for sharing your input and experience
And I felt like stopping because of the huge change in mood like I felt happy but you know that happy "dumb" like you want to laugh at nothing. And the side effects have been terrible I feel worse nit mood wise but just depersonalized a bit, sweating, just weird in the head, I know some are normal.
I actually was able to get a hold of him (thankfully) he said it wasn't normal i felt that happy or efficient that fast. He said I can keep trying 5mg a few days and if I feel like this then I can stop or even try half of that, so I tried that today
No problem, I can understand that! I too had those kind of days. I wanted to stop after 6 days. I still had xanax half pill to help which the doctor was tapering me off thar pill. It was a roller coaster for me, then when I got to every other day of xanax I just stopped. At that point it seem like the escitalopram was starting to help me. After 3 weeks I got my appetite back and I wasn't so anxious but everyone is different on the time frame. My understanding is it takes 2 weeks to see anything and 4 to 6 weeks to feel the full effects of escitalopram.
I'm glad you talk with your doctor they would know. Hang in there the brain zaps will calm down too. Or foggy Ness feelings. I learn from you and others from this site, it's very helpful especially Wildcatvet posts... you'll get better!!! :-)
Related topics
m o s, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, escitalopram, dosage, borderline personality disorder, mood swing, therapy
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