Scarred to start Lexapro after reading reviews . Anxiety and panic attacks getting worse?

Hey there!
Reviews you read do tend to be scary because the majority are written by people who have had a negative experience. Overall, users gave Lexapro an average rating of 7.5 - 8.3/10 for anxiety disorders!
Did you get a chance to read the User Reviews here?
https://www.drugs.com/comments/escitalopram/lexapro.html
Remember too that these potential side effects on average affect 10% or less of all users. They generally resolve within a couple of weeks,
https://www.drugs.com/sfx/lexapro-side-effects.html#professional-info
I'm not saying that you will do well on it. You may not and there's no predicting it because everybody responds differently but I think the odds are in your favor. For what it's worth I've taken escitalopram (Lexapro's generic) for almost ten years now with no problems or nothing serious enough to be worth remembering. It literally has given me my life back.
Hope this helps. If you have more questions or concerns we'll be happy to help with our own experiences.
Best regards and good luck in whatever you decide to do.
Wildcat