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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by vic80 on April 3, 2010, at 13:08:55
Rx - escitalopram 20mg (upped 2 weeks ago from 15mg)
Past 2 weeks experience with my dosage increase has been:
* A general feeling of being disconnected from the world around me.
* Mental tiredness - inability to read anything without feeling utterly tired and fatigued
* Constant songs, words, phrases repeating in my head - worse rhyming words in my head running involuntarily
* Dizzyness - especially while getting up to stand, or while making any "whole body" physical movement.
* Hypersensitivity to light and sound - sunlight seems blinding, sounds seem to be louder and in my head.
* Blurred vision - distorted vision.
* Eyes - dry and weary - like I have not slept in days - BUT I HAVE BEEN SLEEPING FOR 9-10 HOURS EVERYDAY
* Spells of mental numbness - when I feel unable to talk or participate in any social gathering.
* Sudden change in emotional state - mainly flattening out emotionally almost instantly - Example - getting bothered about something and brooding over it for a while and SUDDENLY I am in the ZOMBIE ZONE - mentally and emotionally numbed - blank.
* Feeling drugged - almost like some subtle marijuana trip.
* Physical fatigue - unable to do even sedentary work without taking rest-breaks every hour.
* Almost a delirium like state - constant flashes of old memories - deja-vu and jamais-vu
* Slow thinking - like there is a few second lags in my thoughts
* Lack of Visual/Mental imagery - Visual imagination has become lessened and vague
* Psychic anxiety - Inner restlessness and mental agitation.
* Angry with my own 'thinking process' - not just thoughts - but the way I am thinking - creates extreme distress - as though just want to numb out by sleeping constantly.
* Feeling unreal - cannot call it derealization though - just a feeling that I am in a dream/bubble.
* Sweaty palms and feet
* Increase in dysphoric mood spells.
* Increased Suicidal ideation
* Feeling mind is blank - or lack of thoughts\
* Aware of my own thoughts - depresonalization-like - but not as much a disorder
* overall feeling like one mentally/psychologically feels when down with high fever accompanied with flu (dont have any flu like symptoms or fever though) - dreamy - disconnected and spaced out.
Suicidal Ideation increase with dosage increase is something I am not well understood about - IS IT NORMAL? (I was definitely not feeling like this before the dosage increase - and I am not taking any chances and keeping myself around people all the time.)
I wonder if the REM sleep supression caused by SSRI action causes one to feel fatigued and mentally tired - which in turn causes one to feel unreal/disconnected - something like what happens when one is sleep-deprived for a few days - everything seems to be happening in a dream-like state.
Plus the cortisol levels increased due to the enhanced serotonergic activity means INCREASED STRESS - which in turn adds to the fatigue and perhaps causes more anxiety and perhaps even inner restlessness and agitation.The gloom-doom is over - but these side effects are as though causing a secondary depression in me.
Is all this just side-effects of dosage increase - I did not feel much of these symptoms before the dose was increased.
Help!
Posted by linkadge on April 3, 2010, at 14:50:47
In reply to Escitalopram(Lexapro): Feeling unreal - REM sleep?, posted by vic80 on April 3, 2010, at 13:08:55
Dude, lower the dose.
Add something else instead. Sounds like you are on an acid trip. High dose SSRI's were like that for me too.
Linkadge
Posted by herpills on April 3, 2010, at 15:10:58
In reply to Escitalopram(Lexapro): Feeling unreal - REM sleep?, posted by vic80 on April 3, 2010, at 13:08:55
With all of those nasty side effects, I would say lower the dose ASAP and find something else to add to it, or get off it completely and try something else. have you had similar reactions to other SSRI? 20mg of Lexapro is a very high dose...
herpills
Posted by Justherself54 on April 3, 2010, at 19:18:19
In reply to Re: Escitalopram(Lexapro): Feeling unreal - REM sleep?, posted by herpills on April 3, 2010, at 15:10:58
It is a high dose. As you started experiencing the side effects with the dosage increase, it only makes sense to drop the dose back down and call your pdoc right away. Let us know how it goes.
Posted by Phillipa on April 3, 2010, at 21:17:55
In reply to Re: Escitalopram(Lexapro): Feeling unreal - REM sleep?, posted by Justherself54 on April 3, 2010, at 19:18:19
I agree with above posters get ahold of your doc ASAP and lower the dose or switch meds. Phillipa
Posted by linkadge on April 4, 2010, at 7:15:52
In reply to Re: Escitalopram(Lexapro): Feeling unreal - REM sleep?, posted by Phillipa on April 3, 2010, at 21:17:55
You're probably getting zero rem sleep and hence a greatly disturbed serotoninergic / cholinergic ballance.
Linkadge
This is the end of the thread.
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