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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sunnydays on August 24, 2006, at 18:16:58
Could increasing the dose of an antidepressant I've been on for a year and a half and that has helped before make me feel worse? I feel so absolutely completely awful right now and I wonder if that could be why. I'm on 20 mg of Lexapro, up from 10 mg. I've only been taking the increased dose since Tuesday. Does that have that potential to make my depression worse? Or is just my depression?
sunnydays
Posted by linkadge on August 24, 2006, at 18:31:34
In reply to antidepressants - feel worse?, posted by sunnydays on August 24, 2006, at 18:16:58
No, you are right, an increased dose can sometimes make people feel worse. Taking too much for you can create an imballance. By raising your serotonin too high you can cause an imballance of other mood regulating chemicals.
I am not sying that this is what is happening with you, but it is certainly a possability.
Linkadge
Posted by silvercoin on August 25, 2006, at 8:28:21
In reply to antidepressants - feel worse?, posted by sunnydays on August 24, 2006, at 18:16:58
> Could increasing the dose of an antidepressant I've been on for a year and a half and that has helped before make me feel worse? I feel so absolutely completely awful right now and I wonder if that could be why. I'm on 20 mg of Lexapro, up from 10 mg. I've only been taking the increased dose since Tuesday. Does that have that potential to make my depression worse? Or is just my depression?
>
> sunnydays
This may simply be a phase you will need to work through in the course of this dosage escalation. The depression may pass as your serotonin system adjusts to the increased dosage.Todd
Posted by Racer on August 25, 2006, at 12:59:35
In reply to antidepressants - feel worse?, posted by sunnydays on August 24, 2006, at 18:16:58
Lexapro did that to me, raising from 5mg to 10mg. The 5mg didn't work at all for me, and the 10mg left me unable to speak. Just sitting in a little ball, crying.
If Lexapro worked for you at 10mg, though, it's probably worth giving it a week or two to see if it evens out for you.
Otherwise, the quick answer to your question is, "Yes, sometimes raising the dose of an antidepressant can make you feel worse."
Good luck, I hope it turns back into a helpful friend for you.
Posted by sunnydays on August 25, 2006, at 17:38:57
In reply to Re: antidepressants - feel worse?, posted by linkadge on August 24, 2006, at 18:31:34
Thanks. I'm feeling a little better today, so maybe it was just a shock to my system and now it's evening out. I do worry about playing with my brain chemistry too much, though. A med change was just unavoidable now, the depression was too bad.
sunnydays
Posted by sunnydays on August 25, 2006, at 17:39:45
In reply to Re: antidepressants - feel worse?, posted by silvercoin on August 25, 2006, at 8:28:21
Thanks. I feel a little better today so it may have been something else, or maybe my system is just evening out a little.
sunnydays
Posted by sunnydays on August 25, 2006, at 17:42:00
In reply to Re: antidepressants - feel worse? » sunnydays, posted by Racer on August 25, 2006, at 12:59:35
Sorry Lexapro didn't work for you. It's been great so far for me- no side effects at all. I feel a little better today, so maybe it was just a shock to my system raising the dose and now it's evening out a little. Thanks for answering my question. I really didn't know if raising the dose could do it because I only hear about depression worsening when you start taking an antidepressant, not anything about increasing the dose if you're already taking it. Thanks.
sunnydays
Posted by qbsbrown on August 26, 2006, at 16:28:29
In reply to Re: antidepressants - feel worse? » Racer, posted by sunnydays on August 25, 2006, at 17:42:00
I think you're right. yes, it can take some time to adjust to the higher dose.
I was on 20mgs, a cross over from 40mgs celexa, still felt like crap, so i decided to drop it to 10, and it was like a veil was just lifted, and im doing things that i haven't done in years.
I kept tell my pdoc that as i lowered my celexa from 60 down to 40, that my anxiety/depression was lessening. On 40, i was having crying spells and felt crappy, i asked to go down, and she said no, to raise it.
Although we are not psychiatrists, most of us know our bodies and brains a thousand times better than docs will. If you see positive correlations, then continue on that path, even if it's contradictorty to what standard medicine would say. And of course alert your doc of your intended actions, and/or for permission.
Brian
Posted by Phillipa on August 26, 2006, at 17:19:31
In reply to Re: antidepressants - feel worse?, posted by qbsbrown on August 26, 2006, at 16:28:29
Can you tell your doc you want to lower the dose. Love Phillipa
Posted by sunnydays on August 26, 2006, at 17:20:22
In reply to Re: antidepressants - feel worse?, posted by qbsbrown on August 26, 2006, at 16:28:29
Thanks. I'm feeling so much better than I was now. I think it might just have been a little bit of a shock and now that it's evened out a little it might be helping. But who knows. Can't wait until they have a blood test for depression. :)
sunnydays
This is the end of the thread.
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