Hi,
Brand new to the forum and as a fairly new user of
Lexapro, who has so far been a lifelong “Social Anxi-etite” (sounded good), I wanted to share a little about what I have experienced, and been told by my doctor.
Having started with
Prozac, which initially did alleviate the symptoms for about 2 months, I asked about trying Lexapro, after hearing about it from a friend of mine, and doing some more research on it. My doctor started me off on 10mg a day for the 1st week, to be increased to 20gm per day the second week on, based on my own self titration. I honestly noticed nothing at all @ 10mg. The increase to 20, saw a little effect, but was still short of what I last felt on Prozac. The 4th week I increased it to 30mg a day and there was a dramatic difference by the 3 day.
A little about me, as body composition can make or break any med:
Male - 5'8" 205lbs at about 8% body fat.
I note that because obviously, if you’re a 115 lb woman, 30mg may "shake your noodle" a bit. So to speak.
I have also and still routinely see a therapist as to not rely just on the meds.
I have NOT, noticed any weight gain, but here's the thing. I am fairly active and before starting Prozac, was 235lbs. I decided to lose a "couple" pounds because of BP and cholesterol issues. I lost 9lbs, and remained steady, UNTIL I began taking Prozac. I went from 224 down to 195 lbs in a matter of 4months without trying to! I was honestly a bit bummed about it as I prefer being a bit heavier, and my co-workers, were worried that I had a serious illness because of the sudden, rapid weight loss. Anyway, the doc said it was normal and can affect everyone differently, so I’ve just taken it for what it is and am working with it. So far, on the Lexapro, no weight loss, no weight gain (not from the meds anyway).
Other side effects:
Memory issues!!! I absolutely HATE it. What I mean by that is that at times, it's as if your brain just doesn't “fire” right. It could be the commonest of things that you just can't remember or grasp.
Jaw Clenching: This one was odd. Having seen it reported by other users in my research before trying Lexapro, I thought "ok. it's probably just psychological." - After the 1st 4 days I was a believer. It's a weird sensation, as you catch yourself biting down, as if in the dentist office. Now and then I can catch myself doing it and consciously have to "un-lock". Now it's been 2 + months and I thought again that I may have just imagined it. That is until I was shaving this morning and noticed how much more prominent my jaw muscles are in my face. It was a little bizarre to say the least.
Other Thoughts:
As far as my anxiety, I’m dealing with it and it IS getting better.
I did notice what seemed like a drop off in the effect of the Lexapro a few weeks ago and began taking it with a good
folic acid capsule. That really seemed to make a difference. So much so, that I will remain at 30mg another month or so rather than try an increase to 40gm.
Dosages… According to my doc, there were no studies she could find that actually supported an increase in efficiency, or effect at a dosage over 20mg. Thus, 20mg IS the “recommended” maximum dosage. Because of that, insurance companies will sometimes refuse to pay for anything higher than that.
Regarding what maria7591 said back in 2007, I agree that you can often increase the benefit of the meds if not eliminate them altogether with natural supplementation, which I am doing now. Unfortunately in my case, there was really nothing I found that would provide strong enough physiological assistance that was maintainable enough to stay off of meds altogether
Good luck everyone!
Lexapro dosage--how high is too high? 
well i shouldnt of done this i was on 10mg but increased it to 60 or 50 i cant remember but i feel strange and now my shoulder keeps twitchin and feel wide awake eyes wide open like i just drank an energy drink n i feel and i feel a slight weakness and my heartbeat is going fast i think i need to vomit to get it out of my system and by the way if anyone takes a dose of 50 or 60 or 40 if they are on 10 either u vomit or keep drinking liquids do not stop then or keep drinking or wen ur done drink liquids vomit cause itll stick to ur stomach lik thatr time i drank poison, if i were u i would drink a a lot of milk and not stop thats how i got help when my dad caled the doctor he said keep drinking milk and not stop i cant even think thats wut i remember drink liquids then vomit then drink milk constantly without stopping 
Give me a break, get a life. 
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