Posted by oldhand on August 15, 2003, at 23:09:36
In reply to re: on and off Lexapro about 6 months » jennifer frick, posted by lil' jimi on August 15, 2003, at 15:52:34
> hi Jennifer,
>
> > Hi, my name is Jennifer, my husband has been on lexapro off and on for about 6 months, when he takes it, he gets diarreaha really bad at first, then he gets nauseated and about an hour later he is fine
> >
>
> ... this sounds pretty bad ... ... yet the implication is that your mr. frick recovers completley in an hour or so ... ...
> ... .. "lexapro off and on for about 6 months" ...
> ... uh, on and off .... hmmmm ... that's not so good ...
> .... read much of this lex thread here and you will notice that our lex users almost always face an initial onset of adaptation side-effects
> ... ... it can take weeks of regular use to stabilize your serotonin levels to a new level before one gets the benefits from an SSRI
> ... ... ... with lexapro, typically x number of weeks of adaptation side-effects PLUS y number of weeks before therapeutic benefits ... with the X and Y varying widely from person to person ...
>
> ... x tends to be around 4 to 6 weeks
> ... y can be from 1 to 8 weeks, but more usually about 5 ...
>
> ... but indivdiual variation makes those numbers inapplicable to any specific person ... ...
> ... ...
>
> ... ... but none of these estimates will work at all unless he is taking lex everyday so that the serotonin levels along with all of his other neurotransmitters can get re-stablized and leveled out
> .... ... otherwise, he is just aggravating his neurotransmitters and provoking CNS de-stabilization, causing inital SEs all over again
> ... ... in short, he may not be giving himself the opportunity to have his system adapt ...
> ... ... which should be just enough to make anyone feel really BAD ... ... small wonder it makes him feel sick ...
> ( you see, our neurotransmitters dominate every interaction our nervous system (CNS) has with our body ... including our digestive system ... ... hence, nausea, diarrhea, et cetera ... )
>
> you should definitely discuss all of these issues/symptoms with his doctor too ... ... sometimes these husband-types (i am a husband) need to have the arm-twisting persuasion of a physician's authority before they will get with the program, if you know what i mean ...
>
> what doseage is he taking?
> what is the longest he has taken it everyday?
> has he been consisently taking it lately? how long now?
>
> ... i am used to preaching here about the need for patience for lexapro to work ... i haven't thought about the need for consistency of compliance too ...
>
> best of luck to your husband... ... write back here to us about how it's going ... ... we appreciate your contribution to our message board ...
>
> take care,
> ~ jimIn addition to Jim's advice, I add this: A friend of mine was prescribed Wellbutrin but has only been taking half the dose prescribed. When I mentioned this to my pdoc she said "Would you take half the antibiotics you were prescribed?"
I thought this was a great analogy to what we all go through. Follow doc's orders til we are able to make an informed decision. Best wishes for peace for our souls.
poster:oldhand
thread:109458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030812/msgs/251226.html