Why increase your SSRI medication, from 20-30 mg, or 30-40? For those who have, please check out interior que

I've recently been on 20 mg on Lexapro for the past 4 weeks, and while life is 100% cheerier than it was 4 weeks ago, I'm still feeling a bit irritable, stressed, etc. Could be the **** sleep I'm been getting via insomnia side effect, but maybe it's something else. Maybe I'm just having to deal with the **** personality defects of the past 'x' years brought on by depression..

Anyways, IF YOU"VE UPPED YOUR MEDS before, from the initial recommended dose, 20-30 mg or 30-40, I'd be curious why you decided to do this. I imagine we all feel a hell of a lot better on our initial dose, but something compelled you to up it. Why? You answer will definitely help me in deciding what to do.thanks in advance.
Answer:
did your doctor incrase the dose or you did it yourself?

doctors increase a medicine dose usually because the medicine was not working as it expected, that is why

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I started on 20 mg of Prozac and had it upped to 40 mg. I was taking it for depression, but I didn't feel any better on 20 mg. I felt worse a lot worse. It was frightening really, but after 6 weeks of feeling progressively worse, my doctor said I should start taking 40 mg! I didn't feel better on 40 mg either, I felt even worse, so after some months time I cancelled my doctors appointment and quit just like that.

Just remember that certain levels or irritability and stress are healthy. What you were experiencing could have been a reaction to the drugs or that the drugs were not working well enough for you. Always talk to your doctor about upping your medication and the side effects/symptoms you are experiencing.

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I increased my dose of Effexor because my doctor suggested it. I was taking firstly 37.5mg in the morning and again at night, but felt really dreadful. He told me to up it to 75mg in the morning, and 37.5 at night. I stillf felt awful. Next he told me to take 75mg both morning AND night - and finally the medication began working and I started feeling a bit better!

I'm supposed to be increasing the dose twice more over the next two weeks, and am hoping it will improve things a lot.

If you've only been on your medication for four weeks, then the irritability etc might still be a side effect. It may still pass.

You should NEVER just up the dose, or decrease the dose, without checking with your doctor first!

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