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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by vicwa on January 3, 2005, at 22:43:09
Hey there, I posted a week ago re chest pains on wellbutrin. Thanks to all of you who gave me great feedback. My doc and I finally spoke today, he recommended I go off of it. Tomorrow he wants me to start Lexapro. I'm 41, female. I am nervous. The wellbutrin was the first anti depressant I'd ever taken (and only for about 5 weeks), I was hoping it would work for me because I have heard all sorts of side effect nightmares with the others. Ahhhh. Weight gain, sexual disfunction, fatigue. Anyone got anything to say about Lexapro. I've read alot on this board, seems like there is a lot of negative about Lex, any success stories out there? I fear that I am about to dive into a med whirlwind. Hope you are all well, this board is fantastic. You guys are fantastic.
Posted by utopizen on January 4, 2005, at 4:48:20
In reply to Starting Lexapro, kind of scared, posted by vicwa on January 3, 2005, at 22:43:09
It's Lexapro.
I don't want to make you think I think your concerns are silly. I mean you're posting side effects that have occured in people. But the odds are always in your favor, and prior use of a different drug is not really an indicator of anything.
I've tried every antidepressant currently on the market, except for Cymbalta, only because it's so new.
I battled depression after initially having only social anxiety disorder and ADD. I'm not sure I'll ever be as youthful and optimistic as I was as an underclassmen in college. I'm currently a senior, and have battled depression for 2 years now. Lexapro did the trick, and I'm not sure depression truly goes away, but I wouldn't say I have it anymore.
That doesn't mean my prior innocence I had just two years ago of thinking I would basically walk without the sense that it was ever possible to lose hope and want to give up to despair. It means if a therapist gives me a questioniare, I probably wouldn't score with enough "yes" questions to the dozen or so symptoms I use to feel I had. I don't feel sleepy for no reason everyday like I did 2 months ago, or crave going to bed, or cry at the very notion that the thought of suicide is actually carries a scary appeal to me, and I was no longer a virgin to suicide ideation. But it does mean I don't have thoughts of suicide cross my mind anymore, and that's all I ever hoped for-- as hopeless as I felt-- I still continued to hope enough to keep taking my meds. And I'm glad I did.
Look, all meds have side effects. That's why your doctor has to prescribe it for you. But it's sold because you probably are given it because if sexual dysfunction was your biggest worry, you wouldn't need it. Just your anxiety over a simple med like Lexapro alone is enough to suspect life could be simpler for you, and I think you understand that already.
I don't know what you have. I have multiple problems, though, so I don't think it matters. Just be glad you can take the med to begin with.
All I can say is Lexapro has few side effects, and I don't happen to have any, and I've taken meds that have been pretty severe meds and I wish I got almost every side effect you listed if it meant I could trade in the side effects I've experienced from other meds before. And none of these meds have been SSRI's, and I've taken every SSRI. So just take it and watch a movie or something, but don't obsess over meds like I do, because to be honest, you're taking this way too seriously.
If you think sexual dysfunction--- the mere possibility of it occuring, which odds are won't actually happen to you- is your biggest possible problem you MIGHT encounter in your current life, then maybe your condition isn't worthy of getting this for. All I can say is, when I was crying because I was saddened with despair to the point where I couldn't admit to wanting to kill myself, but couldn't admit to feeling that I didn't want to kill myself, I knew whatever was going on was not me, and that's when I checked in to a mental hospital for a day to chill out basically. And trust me, you don't do that when your biggest worry is the potential risk of not getting a boner a month for now, okay? Either you're not weighing the risks against your actual problem's severity, or you only need talk therapy.
Posted by Emily Elizabeth on January 4, 2005, at 9:27:07
In reply to Starting Lexapro, kind of scared, posted by vicwa on January 3, 2005, at 22:43:09
Hi and welcome to the board. I take lex and haven't really had mnay side effect probs w/ it. On the other hand, it didn't help a ton, but that's just me. There is a good chance that it will help for you. This board can be a little scarey some times b/c we all focus on what's not working rather than what is. Also, the folks on this board tend to be those of us who experience treatment resistant depression. Most people aren't in that boat.
One piece of advice I'd give you is to make sure that your prescribing doctor knows what s/he is doing. Sometimes GP's can do a good job w/ fairly straight-forward cases, but if you feel like the lex doesn't help you, and you want to try something else, you should consider seeing a psychiatrist. (If you aren't already, I was just making an assumption). Just some unsolicited advice. :)
Best of luck to you. Hope that the lex can work its magic for you!
EE
Posted by Impermanence on January 4, 2005, at 19:58:24
In reply to Starting Lexapro, kind of scared, posted by vicwa on January 3, 2005, at 22:43:09
I'm taking 15mg of Lexapro for God it must be six months now. I won't lie the first month was hell, but we all react differently. The second was still quite crappy, third nothing much. Since then apart from mild diarrhea the odd morning I don't feel anything. But the good news is for the last four months I have not gotton low, as in real low like I used to.I'm 100% confident this tablet works. It's hard on your body at first, at times very hard but it gets easer and soon enough you can get on with your life without feeling miserable.
Give it a go my friend. Good luck.
Posted by Impermanence on January 4, 2005, at 20:06:53
In reply to Re: Starting Lexapro, kind of scared » vicwa, posted by Impermanence on January 4, 2005, at 19:58:24
> I'm taking 15mg of Lexapro for God it must be six months now. I won't lie the first month was hell, but we all react differently. The second was still quite crappy, third nothing much. Since then apart from mild diarrhea the odd morning I don't feel anything. But the good news is for the last four months I have not gotton low, as in real low like I used to.I'm 100% confident this tablet works. It's hard on your body at first, at times very hard but it gets easer and soon enough you can get on with your life without feeling miserable.
>
> Give it a go my friend. Good luck.
Edit: For the record, I did not put on any weight and I can still orgasim. Just not quite to the peak I did before I started my course, I've read it's improved others though.
Posted by h on January 5, 2005, at 12:10:37
In reply to Starting Lexapro, kind of scared, posted by vicwa on January 3, 2005, at 22:43:09
I have been on Lexapro since June. I tried many antidepressants before but either got side effects or no effect. Lexapro is the first that has ever worked for me. The pills made me dizzy and a little nauseous the first week but my doc said to cut them in half and try again. And that really helped. Then on about the third day, I could feel my depression, and anxiety lighten.
Now I still get down, but it's like there's a floor under me. I don't get Sunday night blues and Monday morning anxiousness.
No weight gain. No sex issues. (It's better actually. Because now I'm not depressed.)
I am a definite Lexapro success story. best of luck to you!
h
Posted by vicwa on January 6, 2005, at 9:36:21
In reply to Re: Starting Lexapro, kind of scared, posted by h on January 5, 2005, at 12:10:37
Wanted to thank everyone that responded to my psot. The support and kind words are very valuable. So, day three today and all is well. First day kind of "speedball" like. Yesterday much better.(just a little blurred vision, and reslestless last night). I know the side effects I mentioned on my original post will not have surfaced yet, but thanks to you guys I am feeling positive and thinking they will not be an issue. Call me crazy, but things seem to be lifting a little already. (ah, the mind is a mystserious thing...) Thanks again. V
Posted by DustBuster on January 8, 2005, at 8:28:42
In reply to Re: Starting Lexapro, kind of scared, posted by vicwa on January 6, 2005, at 9:36:21
Hi Vicwa!
I started Lexapro this week too, after previously trying Effexor and Wellbutrin. My pdoc told me to buy a pill splitter ($5 at the pharmacy) and only take 1/2 tab a day, or 5 mg, for the first 3 weeks, which is when my next appt with him is. I'm glad I did, because the "speedy" feeling is intense enough at this dose. It probably would have bothered me a lot more if I had tried to start at the 10 mg dose.
For the first 3 days, I hardly got any sleep at all, or at least, I couldn't sleep longer than 2 hours at a time. Now I'm back to 5-6 hours in a row, which is where I was before trying any anti-depressants.
But I sure hope this drug eventually becomes effective for me, because these side effects have been relatively easy to deal with, when compared to my previous attempts.
I wish you the best of luck!
Posted by vicwa on January 8, 2005, at 11:28:34
In reply to Re: Starting Lexapro, kind of scared » vicwa, posted by DustBuster on January 8, 2005, at 8:28:42
Hi Dustbuster, thanks for the post. Day five now and the speediness has subsided for me too (on the most part). I am taking the 10mg, it seems fine. I slept 9 hours last night with only one wake-up- which I was concerned with as I figured at 4am I wouldn't go back to sleep- but after a soothing cup of sleepytime tea I did. A few headaches, and no tolerance to coffee (which is fine, (perhaps the headaches are the caffine withdrawal!).
Lets keep in touch, hope this works for both of us. All the best, Vicky
Posted by vicwa on January 8, 2005, at 12:02:45
In reply to Re: Starting Lexapro, kind of scared » vicwa, posted by DustBuster on January 8, 2005, at 8:28:42
Dust, one more thing. What was your reaction to Wellbutrin? How long did you take it for? Why did you stop? Talk to you later, Vicky
Posted by DustBuster on January 11, 2005, at 12:14:30
In reply to Re: Starting Lexapro, kind of scared, posted by vicwa on January 8, 2005, at 12:02:45
> Dust, one more thing. What was your reaction to Wellbutrin? How long did you take it for? Why did you stop? Talk to you later, Vicky
Turns out I was allergic to Wellbutrin. Made me itchy all over, and red welts appeared whereever I scratched. I only took it for four days.
This is the end of the thread.
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