Matryoshka Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 My best friend's daughter has just headed off to college for the first time, and is having a really, really difficult time adjusting. She's from New England, going to school in DC, so fairly far from home. She was so, so excited to be going to this University, she's excited about her major, and they even gave her a lot of merit aid. She called her mother in a panic before classes even started saying she wanted to come home, and go to the local State University, which she had previously not wanted to touch with a ten foot pole. The problem is that she doesn't have a car to drive her to said University, and it would actually be much more expensive because she doesn't have any aid at all, to the point where it's not even clear she be able to take a full course load, no less have the money to finish four years. It doesn't seems she's really thinking clearly at all. She says she's really scared and can't sleep all night, but she can't really pinpoint anything she's scared of. Her mom got her at an appointment to see a psychiatrist, who gave her a prescription for Lexapro, which I think is classified as an antidepressant? Her mom did want a prescription for something for the anxiety, but she's not sure about it also being an antidepressant. I told her I'd come here and ask if anyone had any experiences and Lexapro for anxiety. Anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Yep. I've taken it two times. The first was . . . . ten years ago? Something like that. And again about 18 months ago. My issue each time was strictly anxiety, triggered by particularly stressful things that were going on in my life but totally out of my control. IMO it's a miracle drug. It quieted my monkey brain and alleviated the anxiety. I won't hesitate to use it again if needed. Best wishes for your friend's DD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Yep. I've taken it two times. The first was . . . . ten years ago? Something like that. And again about 18 months ago. My issue each time was strictly anxiety, triggered each time by particularly stressful things that were going on in my life but totally out of my control. IMO it's a miracle drug. It quieted my monkey brain and alleviated the anxiety. I won't hesitate to use it again if needed. Best wishes for your friend's DD. were you able to take it for a short period of time? What was it like going off of it (did you have to slowly come off - or cold turkey?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Changed Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Yes, lexapro works great for my anxiety which I suddenly started having in February. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymilkies Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 It is supposed to be great for anxiety. However, it has a REALLY bad record of being difficult to stop, so make sure she knows to only discontinue under doctor supervision. It can be brutal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 were you able to take it for a short period of time? What was it like going off of it (did you have to slowly come off - or cold turkey?) The first time I took it for about a year, and the second time for four months. I weaned off it both times over the course of a couple of weeks. I had no problem at all weaning off of it either time. The first time I took it I did get headaches for the first week or two. Not horrible, though. My doctor had told me that happened to a lot of people. Weirdly, the second time I took it I never got a single headache. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 Lexapro is excellent for anxiety. Good she is getting treatment. It is very typical to use SSRIs / antidepressants to treat debilitating generalized anxiety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted August 28, 2014 Share Posted August 28, 2014 I took Lexapro for depression and anxiety. I think I took it about 2 years total. And yes, it worked great for me. I was able to wean off without too much difficulty. I just did a slow wean with doctor recommendation. My first few days off totally felt a little weird, but it wasn't awful at all. I find for me clean diet with some good supplements, good sleep, regular exercise, and some general stress management techniques have helped me quite a bit since then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted August 29, 2014 Author Share Posted August 29, 2014 Thank you so much, guys! This girl's like another daughter to me, and I really hate to see her suffering like this. She's had some issues with anxiety in the past, but they've all been able to be handled without meds. I think being so far away from home and the familiar for the first time is just too hard to manage on her own. I already called my friend and she feels much better. The power of the hive!! She has one follow-up question. Anything she should know about side-effects, especially in regard to adolescents? (She's only turning 18 next month, so she's also young - she made the cut-off for her grade in her town by a few days). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppy Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Decreased libido and slight weight gain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 It is effective for anxiety, but it can take time to reach full effect for anxiety, as opposed to being faster acting on depression. IMO, it it Paxil which is brutal coming off. All SSRI's have the possibility of negative side effects upon ceasing, but Lexapro is not a particularly bad one. Many factors enter into this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisbeth Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 It gave me weird ticks, so I stick with mild herbal treatments like mimulus. I am such a lightweight regarding meds. My ADD meds nearly killed me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofsbandeg Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 It gave me weird ticks, so I stick with mild herbal treatments like mimulus. I am such a lightweight regarding meds. My ADD meds nearly killed me. What kind of ticks?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 She's doing something really big and new. It's absolutely natural to be anxious. I would encourage her to visit the college counseling center. They deal with this on a regular basis. She needs to feel she isn't alone. I'm not anti-meds, but it's all brand new. Talking to someone at the school who understands may be a huge help. She will also find that there are many new students feeling lost at first. I would encourage her to speak with her RA asap. They are there to help. PS Lexapro can cause weight gain. In addition to the Freshman 10, this could cause it's own stress. She really needs to communicate her anxiety to someone at the university. (RA, health center etc.) she may be able to manage with talk. She also needs to be reassured that she's facing a huge life change; being worried about this change is universal, although the experience is individual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest itselfron Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 I take it for anxiety and for me, it works brilliantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 Lexapro is a good choice; of the choices, it has the least amount of possible side effects, is not a drug of abuse, and is shown to be effective. However, I'd encourage you to encourage her/her parents to seek coping/calming/mindfulness skills. Regular practice with these help to change the brain so that the anxiety cycle is reduced in frequency and intensity. As a previous poster said, it is natural and expected for a student to feel anxiety under that much of change and unknowns. In this case, the change and unknowns land in a brain predisposed to an anxiety response, and the "flight" response hijacked her brain. She'd benefit from qualified help changing that on the non-med side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted August 29, 2014 Author Share Posted August 29, 2014 Lexapro is a good choice; of the choices, it has the least amount of possible side effects, is not a drug of abuse, and is shown to be effective. However, I'd encourage you to encourage her/her parents to seek coping/calming/mindfulness skills. Regular practice with these help to change the brain so that the anxiety cycle is reduced in frequency and intensity. As a previous poster said, it is natural and expected for a student to feel anxiety under that much of change and unknowns. In this case, the change and unknowns land in a brain predisposed to an anxiety response, and the "flight" response hijacked her brain. She'd benefit from qualified help changing that on the non-med side. Thanks, Joanne. I really appreciate your input! I'm not pro-med at all, but even I think she might need it right now. She isn't being rational at all. She's fairly okay during the day, but then she's been texting her mom all through the night saying she's terrified, she's scared to go to her room (she has two roommates, at least one of whom drinks too much - her mom is trying to get her on a short list to switch), but none of us (including her) can figure out what she's actually so scared of (although I think drunken roommate is also bringing boys home for the night, so that sure isn't helping). She's spoken to the RA I think multiple times and her mom has spoken to the RD (who coordinates the RAs?). I've had her speak to another friend of mine who regularly counsels kids like this - she said it was helpful, but at night she's still spiraling. One night she texted her mom and asked if she should go and wake up the RA right now (at 4am). The thing is, she needs her anxiety to shut down at night when it really kicks in, and I'm not sure that talking will get her through this. It's already been going on a week, and I think she's barely slept in all that time. The side effect her mom was most worried about was the increased suicidal thoughts some SSRIs can cause in adolescents. Do you know how prevalent this is with Lexapro? I don't think she's ever been suicidal, but I do worry about her so far from home and feeling so scared. I'm not as worried about weight - she's very thin, and she's actually had a lot of stomach problems that make her a very picky/light eater. She's going to her aunt's house (in a different state down south) for the weekend. I'm hoping some time there will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogMom5 Posted August 29, 2014 Share Posted August 29, 2014 If it helps her sleep, that alone will reduce her anxiety. If she can get through the next week or so, she may begin to feel more relaxed. I agree with advice to begin practicing coping/calming/mindfulness strategies. Fwiw, I went through something similar when I went off to college and I had been a very independent high schooler. Eating by myself, getting to classes and so forth really built my confidence that I could be on my own and be fine. It did take a little while. I wish I had known about the calming and mindfulness strategies back then. They work wonders for retraining the brain to stay calm and let the thinking part take control. Hugs and best wishes for your friends daughter. Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisbeth Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 What kind of ticks??Mouth clicking (subtle) and hair twirling. Throwing in extra movements, nothing too extreme to an observor, but I knew it wasn't normal. I am sure it is my weirdo body chemistry or being such a lightweight. I think tics are rare with lexapro. I never had any tics before or since. It freaked me out, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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