Lexapro and dating

[Jenny1234]

Hi everyone,
I have been staring at a box of free samples of Lexapro and wondering if I should take it. Over the years I have grown out of a lot of social anxiety but the one area where it dogs me is dating. I'm fine if I am not interested in the person, but if I do like them my anxiety kicks up. I have been dating a guy for a month and I really like him so I don't want to sabotage what could be a good thing. But I feel it happening and it scares and depresses me.

My question is, has anyone here taken Lexapro and found that it helps them when dating?

-Jenny

 

[this_portrait]

I've never taken Lexapro, but I'm on Prozac, which is kinda like Lexapro in that it's also an SSRI. I have yet to go out on a date or be in a relationship while on it, though. I've noticed that, while I do feel less anxiety in general, dating is one of those areas where the anxiety seems to pop up the most (one of the two guys I've been talking to back and forth asked via text message if I wanted to hang out sometime last night).

I guess the only thing I have to say is that, if you feel like Lexapro would help ease your anxieties with dating, then go for it. Ultimately, though, dating (and even relationships) is one of those things where you don't get better at it unless you do more of it and learn how to better interact with someone and deal with conflict. It would be nice for a pill to just magically make us all awesome at dating, but sadly the majority of us have to make mistakes and try to not make them again.

 

[Jenny1234]

this_portrait, thanks for your reply! I have a lot of experience with dating but I haven't been able to date someone for more than one or two months at a time for the last 5 years. Before that I was in a 3 1/2 year relationship. These short flings are 95% due to me not being interested in the guy. But there is the rare occasion that I am totally into the person. This is one of them.

I have told him that I have anxiety, but unfortunately he had a bad experience with an ex-girlfriend with anxiety. So it holds a negative connotation for him. (from what he tells me though, I think she had A LOT more going on than anxiety) It would be nice if I had the time to adjust to him, but I am afraid that my being afraid will scare him off. I guess there's not much I can do about that though.

I'm on Pristiq right now, but I'm not convinced it has done much for anxiety. I think I just have adjusted to things that have bothered me before. I'm hoping Lexapro will work, but I will have to try it to find out.

And congrats on your offer of a date! (or hang out) I hope if you accept, that you have a wonderful, and anxiety-free time =)

 

[this_portrait]

I'm on Pristiq right now, but I'm not convinced it has done much for anxiety. I think I just have adjusted to things that have bothered me before. I'm hoping Lexapro will work, but I will have to try it to find out.

Oh, I see. Well, it might work. The only thing that kinda sucks about SSRIs is that they take a while to take full effect (at least Prozac does).

And congrats on your offer of a date! (or hang out) I hope if you accept, that you have a wonderful, and anxiety-free time =)

Thanks, I hope it's fun and mostly anxiety-free, too. The only thing I'm really hung up about is what I'm going to do if I end up not really liking the guy after meeting up with him ('cause I'm really not as interested in him as I am in another guy I've been talking to, but I'm trying to keep my options open).

 

[Jenny1234]

Yeah, it's uncomfortable telling someone you are not interested in them. But it might be good practice to go out with him and see how you feel dating while on Prozac.

 

[MaliceInWickedland]

As someone who had a terrible experience with Lexapro a few years ago, I shudder at the thought of going anywhere near a bottle of that stuff, let alone a free sample. My former psychologist put me on 20mg for depression and anxiety and instead of helping me calm down and cheer up it gave me intense mood swings (mostly irritability), made me act differently, and it really disconnected me from reality.

I'm not saying you would have the same experience with it because everyone is different but I don't thinking dating anxiety should ever be a reason to go near that stuff. Plus it's been claimed to cause birth defects so if you're planning on being a parent to healthy kids someday I'd throw those samples away. Hell, I would burn them if I were you.

I recently started taking L-Tryptophan supplements after a friend with pretty severe SA recommended it to me. Let me tell you, this stuff works better for me than everything else I've ever tried and the best part is: it's all natural! This stuff has helped me so much and I always make sure to take one before going out of the house. It really improves my mood and I feel a lot more relaxed and easy going after taking it. I think this would work great for you!

You can check it out and get some here:
http://www.amazon.com/Source-Naturals-L-Tryptophan-500mg-Capsules/dp/B000GFSVS2/ref=pd_sim_hpc_3

Hope this helps

 

[Jenny1234]

Thank you SOOO much Malice! I am so open to natural remedies. I would prefer them in fact. Right now I occasionally use natural Pharma GABA. But I find if I take it two days in a row it doesn't work. My body adjusts to it immediately. I have reacted the same to prescription medications that as an odd side-effect have eliminated my anxiety (Adderall and Vyvanse). I just worry that anything that works one day will not work the next.

Does the L-Trytophan make you drowsy? I see that people take it to help them sleep. And does it just reduce the physical aspects of anxiety or does it change your mental processes too?

 

[Jenny1234]

Update: I just found a store near me that sells L-Tryptophan! I am going to pick it up today and try it. Thankfully it's a Sunday so if it makes me tired I can just take a nap.

 

[Jenny1234]

Well, turns out I can't take L-Trytophan while on Pristiq. If I ever come off of Pristiq, it will be the first thing I try.

Has anyone had a good experience with Lexapro?

 

[MaliceInWickedland]

Thank you SOOO much Malice! I am so open to natural remedies. I would prefer them in fact. Right now I occasionally use natural Pharma GABA. But I find if I take it two days in a row it doesn't work. My body adjusts to it immediately. I have reacted the same to prescription medications that as an odd side-effect have eliminated my anxiety (Adderall and Vyvanse). I just worry that anything that works one day will not work the next.

Glad to hear that my rambling was useful for once ::
I was using GABA before I started taking L-Tryptophan. I used a product called GABA Calm from Source Naturals (the same company I get the L-Tryptophan from) and it helped me at the beginning but started to wear off after a while of using it, so I can see where you're coming from in worrying that it won't work anymore. Once I switched to L-Tryptophan I felt a lot better than when I used GABA Calm and I have yet to be let down by it. I think it's far more effective than GABA and I don't feel like it'll randomly stop working for me anytime soon so I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Does the L-Trytophan make you drowsy? I see that people take it to help them sleep. And does it just reduce the physical aspects of anxiety or does it change your mental processes too?

I never felt drowsy after taking it but it definitely does help me fall asleep faster. I've had insomnia since childhood and ever since I started taking L-Trytophan I've been able to get more than 8 hours of sleep which is quite a miracle! I feel like it helps reduce both the physical and mental aspects of anxiety. Whenever I get anxious I start to feel flushed and sick to the stomach and my thoughts start to race but I never experience that after taking the LT. I feel completely relaxed and worry-free.

Well, turns out I can't take L-Trytophan while on Pristiq. If I ever come off of Pristiq, it will be the first thing I try.

Darn.. well, I hope you can eventually come off the Pristiq. L-Tryptophan has really helped me out and I hope it does the same for you if and when you give it a try

 

[Jenny1234]

Thanks for all your help Malice. It's been a hard past few days for me but hearing about this supplement is giving me hope. I've been reading about people's experiences with it online and on the whole it seems like it really does the trick. I'm excited to try it out.