Posted by leeran on March 25, 2003, at 1:40:23
In reply to Anyone switched to Lexapro? « ggrrl, posted by Dr. Bob on June 11, 2002, at 7:52:48
Hi there.
Tomorrow is my first day on Lexapro (and this is my first post on this board).
I thought I was a whiz kid when it came to ADs until I found out (just today) that there's a new AD on the block that I hadn't heard of until I mentioned "Generalized Anxiety Disorder" to my prescription-writing savior, a.k.a. my psychiatrist, this afternoon.
If he had been on time I wouldn't have had time to thumb through the generic waiting room booklet on depression and identify the symptoms that I still grapple with on a daily basis, namely, obsessive "what iffing" with a perpetual dark cloud thrown in for added drama and angst.
So, I did an internet search on Lexapro (in between reading conspiracy websites regarding the war and surfing ebay) and landed here. And I'm so glad that I did!I've found out so much about this medication and the possibilities (both positive and negative) that it will feel like old home week when I pop that first 10 mg. tomorrow morning.
Thanks to everyone who has so openly shared their experiences on this medication as well as other medications.
As for my own Molotov Cocktail, I'm currently on 40 mg. per day of Adderall (late onset A.D.D. - or at least that's what I call it) and 150 mg. of timed release Wellbutrin. The Adderall comes from my psychiatrist (newly acquired in January) and the Wellbutrin comes from my general practitioner who will prescribe just about anything to get me out of the office (he’s a minimal contact HMO kind of guy). Throw in natural hormones from a compounding pharmacy and a recent round of three weeks on Cipro and I'm ready for Anthrax, menopause and my son's homework (not necessarily in that order).
My primary concern with any antidepressant is weight gain and sexual dysfunction and both topics have been thoroughly covered here since last August (yes, I read almost every post). I have winced when I’ve read some posts – and crossed my fingers on others. It looks like Lexapro runs the gamut when it comes to side effects and positive/negative results.
Someone mentioned breast tenderness (I had that with Prozac) and several others mentioned sexual dysfunction on a variety of meds. I experienced it with Paxil and found myself so laid back that I really didn’t care if I ever DID have another orgasm – despite the fact that there was that part of me floating above, wagging a finger saying “buy you SHOULD care!”
Someone else mentioned hormones and feeling like crying all the time. I’m in early peri-menopause and my nickname for myself (prior to going on natural hormones) was “hormoneless in Hermosa” or “consistently crying in California,” however, once I started taking them (almost a year ago) the crying jags ceased almost immediately. I’ve also read that attention deficit disorder, depression and an entire host of other similar pain-in-the-butt things are exacerbated by hormonal fluctuations. Oh yeah, and for you guys with mid-life “man-o-pause” – these hormones have testosterone thrown in so perhaps there’s a male equivalent out there, if you can find a compounding pharmacy and/or doctor to formulate the mixture that suits your circumstances.
Sorry for the long and very stream of consciousness post. I suppose I feel comfortable baring my soul (and medicine chest) because I’m so thrilled to find a message board where everyone seems so open about “The Big D” and conquering the big D. That said, I felt compelled (a little compulsive disorder thrown in) to say thank you and explain my reasons (in dissertation format) for landing here.
poster:leeran
thread:109458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030319/msgs/212405.html