Posted by ednababish on August 21, 2004, at 8:56:02
In reply to worried...please help, posted by devrisr on August 20, 2004, at 15:04:16
I would think that at sixteen, your girlfriend's chances of short-term treatment and complete recovery are greater than for those of us who have reached adulthood with lifelong problems and set patterns of self-defeating thinking patterns. Because she is young, and because lexapro paves the way for restructuring the negative thought patterns, with therapy she probably stands a greater chance of having a SSRI-free life.
Lexapro is not "addictive," to my knowledge; it makes those who take it more functional because it enables the brain to use it's seratonin the way nature intended but depression has inhibited. After nine to twelve months, she will be weened off of the lexapro if she feels better. It is only after this AND if she has a relapse will her doctor be able to tell if she will need an antidepressant for the long term--perhaps even for life.
I am puzzled by your concern in this matter, though. You DO want your girlfriend to feel better, don't you? Whether she will need an antidepressant for life is her problem, not yours, so please don't assume that her depression has anything to do with you. She has a physical disorder--Depression is a physical disorder. Taking Lexapro does not make her a drug addict; it makes her someone who has a real physical problem and needs medication to become and remain better. If she had cancer, would you be concerned about the amount of chemotherapy she would have to have?
WE tend to assume that depression is a sign of personal weakness. It's not. And that taking antidepressants is a lot like taking something like ecstacy. Trust me, it's not. They take a long time to work, and they make you anything from sick to nearly deathly ill in the beginning.
One word of caution: do NOT "sweat" her about this. This will only add to the problem and make her feel worse. She is not dropping lexapro to get high; she is not a druggie. She has been prescribed this because she has a physical condition that warrants medical intervention.
poster:ednababish
thread:109458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040821/msgs/380320.html