Posted by JenStar on July 6, 2004, at 1:21:24
In reply to Lexapro/Vertigo/Dizziness, posted by captain on June 23, 2004, at 15:53:07
Hey Captain,
hang in there! You haven't really been on the Lex very long - my doc says it can take up to 4 weeks for the drug to really 'learn' your system and reach a steady state action in your brain. And it can take several months before you and the Lex "become one".And everyone is different. I will say that the Lex helped me greatly with my hypochondriac tendencies (I've also been worried about MS..brain tumors...cancer of all kinds...heart problems...the list is too long to give.)
From the research I've done I know that anxiety can do odd things, and it does different things to different people. Maybe your 'thing' is dizziness. The times you cite -- presentations & restaurants -- could def. be anxious-causing situations.
I remember that when I'd go out to eat with new people from my new job, right out of college, I'd get so anxious sometimes that I sort of lost the swallow mechanism. I would chew food and something would go wrong and I would not be able to swallow. It sounds odd but it was frightening -- the food would stick in my throat, I'd panick and quietly cough the food into my mouth, sweat in relief that I hadn't choked, and then sit there with the food in my mouth debating what to do. Try to swallow again? Run to the bathroom and spit it out?
Over time this went away but it was so strange. My doc has tried to convince me that the MS I was SURE I had was merely my anxiety (he was right, it turns out.)
Hopefully your dizziness is just your anxiety coming out, and if you've been an anxious person all your life, it's not surprising if you've had these episodes before.
However, if -- after being on Lex for a while -- you still feel that the dizziness is due to something other than anxiety, work with your doc to check it out and find a way to get you peace of mind. If you're a hypo. I'm sure you know ALL the horrible possible causes of dizziness!
But take heart - chances are it's just the anxiety. Give the lex a chance & see what happens.
Take care! JenStar
> Hey all - I was just wondering what your experience has been with Lexapro and vertigo like symptoms. One of the reasons I actually started taking lexapro (about 16 days ago, 10mg) is because I have had off and on vertigo and it has sky rocketed my anxiety (because i think something is really wrong with me that the doctors don't recognize yet or won't look for because i am a hypochondraic!) and I have been getting dizzy really easily. I have noticed in the past few days that during the evening I get a little dizzy. I also get dizzy when I go out to a resaurant or am about to give a presentation. I don't know if it is just adrenalin and I am vertigo prone, or the lexapro or if I am just making things up! It almost feels as if I have been on a boat all day and got off and still feel a little weird.
>
> THoughts on this? I sure hope so - you guys help a ton!
>
> Captain
poster:JenStar
thread:109458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040704/msgs/363372.html