How long will it take for a med increase to work?

[NonFlexy]

I'm going from 10mg lexapro to 20mg lexapro - How long will it take for the dosage increase to take affect and start helping me?  Is there a chance it will get worse initially from the increase?

[Daisy131]

hi there!

everyone is different, but from my experience in medication increases, the anxiety tends to get a little worse when you up your dosage, but then tapers off. it can be several weeks before your body notices a difference (this is coming from a psych pharmacist who told me that about my meds). but again, every body is different, and you may feel a difference immediately within a few days. good luck!

[coeus]

Hi NonFlexy,

The standard dosage is 10mg Lexapro and increasing the dosage should always be discussed with your physician or psychiatrist first. At a minimum, you should adopt the 10mg Lexapro for approximately 2-4 weeks to ensure that your brain has absorbed it sufficiency. Any efficacy of the medication is typically experienced in the first week of either commencing medication or increasing it.

There is always a chance that there may be side effects involved but naturally you should be fine if you're able to get through the initial side effects involved with the standard dose.

Hope this helps.

[2sungo]

I'm going thru something similar, going from 10 mg lexapro to 15.  Been on the 10 for about 2 and a half weeks, doc wanted me to increase it to 15 as of 3 days ago due to my mother's unexpected passing.  I do feel more anxiety and more sleepy, sometimes yawn more, but its hard to tell what is the anxiety and what is the medicine.  I did well on 10 mg lexapro for many years in the past, even 5 for quite a while, and am wondering when it will take full effect again.  I also take .5 klonopin at night for sleep, sometimes up to .25 during the day.  Didnt take extra today, so don't feel too great tension wise at the moment.  I take the lexapro at 7, evenings tend to be my best time, mornings are difficult, hard to get up early and feel jittery or unhappy, which I need to overcome to get back to work.  I hope you feel better soon.