I just started on Lexapro 5 days ago. The doctor prescribed 10mg but told me to break it in half and take 5mg for the first week. She told me I could take it in the morning, but that it might make me feel tired and if it did I could just take it at night. So I actually just began by taking it at night since I didn't want to feel sleepy at work. I'm also taking Vyvanse for ADHD, but I've been taking that for years. My question is how long until I start to feel better? I'm feeling anxious and worried pretty much all the time, but I notice it gets especially bad in the afternoons and evenings. By around 2:30pm every day it gets so bad all I want to do is go home and lay in bed. My relationships are suffering and I really just want to feel normal. I'm trying to be patient and give it time to work (I know it can take up to six weeks to be fully effective). I just wanted to hear from someone who had been there and maybe could give me some advice. I know what works for some people may not work for others. Help?
How long until Lexapro starts to make me feel better?
Question posted by dc0311 on 22 Oct 2013
Last updated on 14 March 2025
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59 Answers Page 2
Hi all,
Adding my two cents and looking for advice and/or encouragement. I'm on my third time of fighting off anxiety and going on my usual dosage of generic escitalopram. Previously my therapeutic dose was 10 mg and it has worked well for me for at least a year.
This time it's been a bit over 4 weeks since I resumed medication. I started on 5 mg, mixed with clonazepam 0.5 mg and then lorazepam 0.5 mg when the clonazepam stopped working. I was stable and improving on 5 mg, then increased to 7.5 mg five days ago. In the past doing this 5->7.5 increase was nothing, but this time I'm getting the worst depression and increased anxiety. It also doesn't help that it's the thick of winter and there are some personal issues to deal with.
Prior to the two weeks on 5 mg, I was on 7.5 but backed down to 5 mg due to worsening sleep. This time I intend to stay on the dosage.
I'm reading the 6-8 weeks is the full duration to expect for an almost full recovery. Anyone experience similar issues by stepping up the dosage by such a small amount?
Adding as a followup...
The past few days have been pure hell during the daytime. I'd be too tired, too demotivated to do anything when I wake up. My mind is so cloudy that I'm unable to do any work, and my anxiety is surging again.
Strangely I'm calmer during the night, and taking a bit of clonazepam ensures a fairly calm sleep. But dealing with the side effects is so nasty. I think it's because my body was already used to 5 mg before, so going above 5 mg is causing me issues.
I know 10 mg will work for me when it does work. But I don't know how much more suffering I can tolerate. It's been over a month already of off and on...
Are you feeling better now? How long did it take? Did you have anything else prescribed to you while taking Lexapro?
To me it started in a week I felt much better no panic attacks
I started taking it at night for the first week for the same reason you did then switched to mornings. I started to feel better after a few days and have stayed on the 10mg dose since March. I haven’t had any issues.
"Sleep, energy, or appetite may show some improvement within the first 1-2 weeks. Improvement in these physical symptoms can be an important early signal that the medication is working. Depressed mood, anxiety, and lack of interest in activities may need up to 6-8 weeks to fully improve.
Escitalopram (Lexapro) | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness"
Just started lexapro today doc said she was giving me 20mg take half “10mg” for a week then 20mg. Sounds normal. Thank you I’m just trying to get back to “normal “ my anxiety/depression started about 2 months ago, just woke up with this, and get bad anxiety that I didn’t knew existed . Just thinking of leaving the house. I do Rideshare For a living I started New Year’s Eve and work 6 days with no problems, and woke up with this out of nowhere. So I’m hoping lexapro works for me. I want to drive, I like driving, I think I just have a lot going on in my head? I don’t know how anyone can just wake up with this? If someone told me my story , I would roll my eyes and say just man up and go to work, it’s like there’s 2 of me , one saying go one saying you can’t, and can’t wins,
I have been on Lexapro 20 mg for quite some time. I think you are starting out on a low dose. You may need to work up to 10 and consider adding on up to 20 mg. This has been the best for me by a long shot! Don’t give up!
Thank you for this information ... is anyone able to tell me if Lexapro made them gain weight? I am about to start taking 5mg of it everyday but I am beyond nervous of gaining weight
There are some pretty distinct differences from your situation to what mine was such as my depression was really bad and it sounds like at least half of your struggles are from anxiety. However, I have experience with getting on this drug and waiting for results. It took 4-5 weeks for me to get out of the darkness I was stuck in. I did have a lot of external and internal motivation and was pushing myself to be active in the process.. I found a good therapist can be extremely helpful before, during and after this process.. I had grown pretty discouraged a few times because I thought I should have felt better than I did, quicker than I did, but what I learned is this is a slow process. The best tool I've learned to help myself is to be as educated as I can on my diagnosis, medications, symptoms of my issue, thought processes, emotional patterns, ANYTHING! The better I understand myself and my problems the easier it is to identify and correct things. I was amazed at all I learned about myself!
Forgot to mention, I felt a difference in my mood after 4-5 weeks, but then a couples weeks later I began getting depressed again. The doctor upped the dose to 20mg and I've done pretty well on that for a while now
It was 3 weeks on Thursday that I have been on Lexapro for anxiety/depression and very scared it hasn’t kicked in yet. Your comment that it took a while to work for you gives me hope.
Don't give up yet, and you might need to get the dose increased for it to be effective for you. And I strongly urge anyone to find other avenues of help to combine with medication. Medication helps make the feelings be tolerable, but the other stuff is what helps to LIVE with these issues. For me, the more I learn about my issues the more I understand when it's happening. Also seeing a therapist and believe it or not groups lol.. when I hear other people talk about their problems it helps me identify my own problems.. Try something! Worst case scenario, you're still dealing with the same stuff anyways lol.
I started taking 5 mg 4 weeks ago, after coming off paxil, and I had one full panic attack and I am feeling anxious and on edge ever since. I don't get to see my doctor till next month and I am hoping he increases it to 10 mg, and that it takes the constant anxiety away. Paxil worked great for me but the weight gain really bothered me. Since starting this new drug my memory is improving but my moods are all over the place.
Never. It didnt work for me at all. And expensive
Selective Serotonin and/or Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors take about 4 to 12 weeks for optimal effectiveness. You might start feeling changes fairly soon if you have been very depressed. The med will begin to help right away to a better degree than not taking anything. But, about 4 weeks some people will have noticeable differences with 12 weeks being the optimum for most people. The important thing is to take the med daily as prescribed. Talk or psychotherapy is also recommended along with meds for mental health recovery.
It took me a very long time about 6 weeks and I hope this doesn't put you off but for me it was hell. I got worse before getting better. I finally decided to take it at night and for me it worked better because I find it makes me tired. I found my anxiety was worse when i started this medication BUT IT DID GET BETTER>
However, I have been on antidepressants for 20 years and have tried over 10 medications this one has been the absolute best. i find it has less side effects and I am very sensitive to side effects.
All I can say is stick with it. just remember it is just temporary.
I also was on ADHD tablets for about 3 years and stopped it on my accord. I also changed my diet. i think many times we can be diagnosed with ADHD when we are in fact only anxious. I feel better than ever. Yes I still suffer from anxiety BUT it is controlled.
This is very encouraging! I'm on Day 3 of lexapro after having severe anxiety issues arise in the last week. I know that I need to give it longer but the desire to feel better, as everyone knows, is the hardest part! You saying that it does get better and to stick it out is really hopeful!
For me star working for like a month full work but you probably star feeling better in two weeks minimum
I started Escitalopram 13 days ago at 10mg. The anxiety is better in the evenings. How long did it take for the morning anxiety to get better. I need some hope.
I believe all should be careful when seeking everyone else's experiences.
We are all dealing with mental issues because of different reasons. Could be stems from an experience like guilt or shame, it could be from suppressed memories, chemical disorders etc.
The reason why there are so many different medications on the market that do the same thing is because one works for one and the other day not. I've tried the mall and had every side effect unfortunately. I do contribute that to my control issues that I have, and taking a pill is a control that I don't like. So most of the side effects are self-induced.
It is true any SSRI will take about two weeks plus to get your mind used to the drug. Within a month you will definitely know if it's working. Usually around that time you will feel moments of bliss enjoy feeling great. That is when you know it's working and do not stop it because you might think that you're cured.
If it's not working then you will feel sad, maybe worse than you were before. If the headache never goes away that's another sign.
The most important part however is cognitive therapy. We really need to fix the way we think and react. So if it is a mental thinking pattern that is off, maybe medication isn't the answer. Except an occasional Xanax LOL
Going through this phase also what helps is some audiobooks on depression or anxiety. I prefer Mark Williams, John Kabat-Zin, Danny Pennman. These really help me think better each morning, because I welcome usually problems and anxieties.
At this very moment I'm not on medication, I feel OK for the most part, but my doctor is looking into trying another medication. I only have two left in the list LOL to try. However cognitive therapy has been helping greatly.
Related topics
lexapro, depression, anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, doctor, prescription
Further information
- Lexapro uses and safety info
- Lexapro prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Lexapro (detailed)
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