I'm thinking of starting Lexapro, but would ideally like to only be on 5mg. I know this is an incredibly low dose, but I'm curious if anyone found significant relief or success with just the 5mg dose. I am not opposed to 10 mg, but would love to hear any and all success stories on the 5mg.
Has anyone had success on Lexapro 5mg?
Question posted by Erica224 on 16 April 2019
Last updated on 18 June 2019 by normwho7
4 Answers
normwho7
18 June 2019
Lexapro worked very well for me. But in the end I wanted to get to the bottom of why I exeperinced depression. What was the root cause. I’ve had bought a of it on and off my whole life as it turns out I found out I was abused as a child (except sexually) setting my up for codependency. Now I’m not saying all cases are the same, but I do believe that why are told there is no cure by the pharmaceutical industry so we become dependent on them as it makes them billions.
I have explored many alternative healing paths and found out some of it is inhereted unresolved trauma from previous generations. See family constellation therapy.
Also Qi gong is helping me break up these patterns and my overall aim is to come off these meds by resolving the issues at the root. Again in the end the medications only surpress the symptoms. Use the meds to help you but get to the root cause of the the depression.
There was a healer from Germany named Bruno groening and he said with god there is no incurable. Google his name and you can read about his teachings. Good luck
stanislavski66
4 May 2019
I was on 5mg of Lexapro from 2006 to 2014, eight years in total. It controlled my depression very well, and my anxiety to a large degree also. It pooped out in May of 2014. Since then I've tried other SSRI's but none with any measure of success. I was also on Wellbutrin (which obviously is *not* an SSRI) It controlled my depression amazingly well, gave me energy and was awesome for my libido... however, the anxiety was through the roof. Long story short, I am now back on 5mg of Lex. Just on day 4 now, so really can't make a judgement. So far, only some mild-to-moderate side-effects. I'm hoping I'll be able to stay on 5. I'm super sensitive to any drug and my guess is that even at 10 mg, the side-effects would negate any positive effect. We'll see. The point of my response though is that yes, 5mg was enough and was very helpful for 8 years
Erica224
4 May 2019
Thanks @stanislavski66!! That's really reassuring to hear, and I'm so glad you were able to find relief on the 5mg! I am similar in that I am super sensitive to medication, so I'm really hoping that this will be the winning combo for me. Thank you, and good luck with re-starting it!
Writemindedlefty
18 April 2019
I’m on five. I tried going up to ten, and side effects became too much. Especially irritability and insomnia. Went back down to five and am taking Viibryd in conjunction and I’m actually feeling pretty good now! Give it a shot! All you can do.
cherrrub
16 April 2019
Hi there! Well, as you probably know 5mg of Lexapro is a therapeutic dose. So really, it’s not enough for most people to stop the depression/anxiety. Personally, the first time I went on to Lexapro I went to 10mg and was on 10mg for about 18 months before I started to wean off. I was on 5mg for about 6 months and I can say that I was absolutely fine on the 5mg. When I totally came off I was also fine... for about 3 months and then I knew I needed to go back on, which I did (and went to 10mg again). So what I’m saying is maybe if you have been on the full dose for a while, going down to 5mg could maintain your depression/anxiety. It did for me. I’m back on 10mg and have only been on it for 5 weeks. I’m going to test this theory out again but for longer. My plan is to stay on 10mg for about 6 months and then drop to 5mg and stay on 5mg. I’m going to see how I go.
Erica224
17 April 2019
Thank you @cherrrub! Very helpful to know. How was it starting off on the 10 mg? Did you experience any side effects at all? I'm curious if you noticed a difference in side effect intensity between the 10mg and the 5mg. Thank you!!
cherrrub
18 April 2019
Yes! Going on to 5mg was pretty easy... going up to 10mg was when all the side affects came... dizzy, nauseous, tired, heightened anxiety, etc...
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lexapro, anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, escitalopram, dosage
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