# Lexapro for social anxiety?



## gecko606 (Jul 10, 2013)

Lexapro for social anxiety?

Hello guys+girls,

I’ll try to make this post concise and to the point.

I am thinking about taking meds for my anxiety.

I’ve had SA since I was a teen (I’m now 30). I took Lexapro for a couple of years in my early 20’s and found it helped my anxiety a bit (didn’t get rid of it totally).

In the past few years my anxiety has come back quite strong, accompanied by chronic blushing which has been quite debilitating.

I use beta-blockers, but they make me tired, and I’m not a huge fan. They are good for anxiety that can be anticipated, but what about stuff that pops up spontaneously. Not a solution for me.

Taking meds is not my preference, and it’s not a decision I’ve taken lightly. I’ve done 15 months of CBT, tried Yoga/meditation/Qigong (which are all awesome, but don’t solve my problem).

Lexapro is the only anti-depressant I’ve ever taken, and I’m leaning towards taking it again because last time it didn’t screw me up.

I still had emotions+creativity and felt like myself.

(Coming off it sucked though. I felt ****ty for a couple of months).

Recently a doctor wrote me a script for Pristiq, saying it would help with the blushing, but I’ve heard bad things about this med.

As I said, taking meds is not my preference, but my anxiety has turned me into a bit of a hermit in the past year or so, stopping me from holding down a job and making friends/meeting girls.

I don’t want to be on meds forever, but I could really use a boost for the next 6 months or so. Just to get back out there and create a functional life again.

I want a med that will help me without screwing me up too much.

Is Lexapro my best bet? Will it help with blushing/social anxiety?

Any thoughts/advice most appreciated.

Thanks for reading


----------



## lisac1919 (Jul 20, 2013)

Lexapro is the only medication I have experience with. It was terrible for me, absolutely will never go on it again. I literally had every SINGLE negative symptom and some that doctors had never even heard of...I even had the ever scary suicidal thoughts symptom. I seriously don't know what would have happened if I stayed on them. 

Anyways, sorry I pretty much contributed nothing towards helping you, but I just know I would never take Lexapro again.


----------



## gecko606 (Jul 10, 2013)

Well I definitely appreciate your honesty. I'm sorry to hear about your experiences, that must have sucked!

Did you find any thing else that helped?


----------



## lisac1919 (Jul 20, 2013)

gecko606 said:


> Well I definitely appreciate your honesty. I'm sorry to hear about your experiences, that must have sucked!
> 
> Did you find any thing else that helped?


Well after that experience naturally I was scared to try any anti depressants again so no, my psychiatrist told me im probably not the type that is going respond well to medication. She did give me Xanax though...of course that helps but only for on the spot panic type situations. The only thing I would like to try in the future is some sort of ADD medicine, I have a feeling it could help with all sorts of problems related to anxiety/ocd/ptsd and of course add itself...but I don't know, I havnt tried it yet so don't take my word for it lol


----------



## Dylan2 (Jun 3, 2012)

If Lexapro only helped "a bit" in the past, maybe you should try something different. I think you should go with the Pristiq. It seems to be one of the milder social anxiety medications in terms of side effects. I think the side effect profile for Pristiq is even milder than that of Lexapro, if you stick with a relatively low dose.


----------



## cbtodacb (Aug 13, 2013)

lexapro was useless for my SA


----------



## Chris John (Jul 4, 2013)

lisac1919 said:


> Well after that experience naturally I was scared to try any anti depressants again so no, my psychiatrist told me im probably not the type that is going respond well to medication. She did give me Xanax though...of course that helps but only for on the spot panic type situations. The only thing I would like to try in the future is some sort of ADD medicine, I have a feeling it could help with all sorts of problems related to anxiety/ocd/ptsd and of course add itself...but I don't know, I havnt tried it yet so don't take my word for it lol


I have pretty severe and ga that often drives me into depression. Also, I've got adhd (though i dont think adhd is anything other than anxiety) and always find myself hungry. I've taken lexapro and citalopram before both of which made me emotionally numb. If this is the response a person has to SSRIs I'm pretty sure their problem has to do with dopamine. And in that case maois, amphetamines (adderall, Dexedrine), and benzos are the best path to take. Or at least the best path to take that many people know of. Stimulants like ritalin give me energy, but I can't focus and have a lot of anxiety.


----------



## Chris John (Jul 4, 2013)

lisac1919 said:


> Well after that experience naturally I was scared to try any anti depressants again so no, my psychiatrist told me im probably not the type that is going respond well to medication. She did give me Xanax though...of course that helps but only for on the spot panic type situations. The only thing I would like to try in the future is some sort of ADD medicine, I have a feeling it could help with all sorts of problems related to anxiety/ocd/ptsd and of course add itself...but I don't know, I havnt tried it yet so don't take my word for it lol


Also, if Xanax worked for you but you just found it didn't last long enough, try klonopin. It lasts far longer than Xanax but supposively has similar effects. (I've never taken Xanax, just klonopin.)


----------



## Chris John (Jul 4, 2013)

I don't get why your so averse to medication. Life is about enjoying your time while you have it. If taking a pill makes your life better, take the pill!

If lexapro only helped slightly (not really sure what you mean by this) then try uping the dosage. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Personally, I think most SSRIs are a joke and should be prescribed for a small group of people who have depressive disorders. I don't think they should be prescribed to people who are just going through an unpleasant expierience or have an anxiety disorder because they tend not to work.

If I were you I would get on Nardil. Its like an SSRI. It takes a little bit to kick in but then stays in your system constantly if you continue to take it regularly. Otherwise adderall + klonopin hasn't been working bad for me. But you have to be careful about how many times a week you dose with these drugs to prevent tolerance, and their effects are temporary.


----------



## gecko606 (Jul 10, 2013)

_I don't think they should be prescribed to people who are just going through an unpleasant expierience or have an anxiety disorder because they tend not to work._

Not the most helpful of comments. My social anxiety has existed for a long time through a number of jobs that I worked. I don't think that 14-15 years of social anxiety counts as as something temporary such as an 'unpleasant experience'.

What I am saying is that it has gotten considerably worse lately and I am looking for something to alleviate that while I get back out there.

I'm looking for constructive advice, not people talking out their ***.


----------



## lisac1919 (Jul 20, 2013)

Chris John said:


> I have pretty severe and ga that often drives me into depression. Also, I've got adhd (though i dont think adhd is anything other than anxiety) and always find myself hungry. I've taken lexapro and citalopram before both of which made me emotionally numb. If this is the response a person has to SSRIs I'm pretty sure their problem has to do with dopamine. And in that case maois, amphetamines (adderall, Dexedrine), and benzos are the best path to take. Or at least the best path to take that many people know of. Stimulants like ritalin give me energy, but I can't focus and have a lot of anxiety.


Oh yeah, ive been curious about klonopin. So that's basically a benzo that lasts for a longer time than Xanax?

Yeah I agree with you I think a lot of mental things, like ADD, OCD, SA, MD (maladaptive daydreaming), PTSD, sleeping problems etc. are just anxiety...I'd really like to try something that could knock em all out. So Ritalin did not work for you? I always thought because it was a stimulant it would give me more anxiety. Is Adderall different than Ritalin?


----------



## calliopes (Aug 14, 2013)

Lexapro did absolutely nothing for my anxiety, and it barely helped with my depression. When they put me on a higher dosage to see if it would help, it actually made me have awful suicidal thoughts and I had to stop taking it right away.
There were times that I would forget to take it, and the withdrawal symptoms were horrible. I was constantly lightheaded and my anxiety worsened A LOT. 
I definitely would never recommend it to anyone, but that's just me.


----------



## BudBrownies (May 4, 2013)

I'm not trying to flame your thread but I hated Lexapro, that drug made me feel like ****, it was awful, my eyes where as big as sacours, it made me super depressed! I had to get off that drug so quick. 

I can't do antidepressants, only Stims and Benzos.


----------



## gecko606 (Jul 10, 2013)

Well I appreciate everyone's thoughts and honesty. Lexapro is definitely not for everyone.

Nardil sounds good, but from my research so far people seem to say it stops working after 6 months or so.

I know very little about MAOI's (I'm not sure they are prescribed that often here in Australia, most docs seem to prescribe SSRI's).

I will keep looking+researching. I don't really need anything for depression, more the social anxiety+extreme self consciousness. 

Thanks again for everyone's feedback.

Peace,
M.


----------

