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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Phillipa on September 22, 2005, at 20:18:54
It's me again and I saw a PA. He is thinking of possibly starting me on lexapro. I took it in the past for a short while and had side effects so I discontinued it. But since menopause my tolerance to meds has increased. So what is the good news and bad news about lexapro? And what is a good starting dose. It's not possitive a lot depends upon the results of blood work to rule out other diseases. Thanks my friend, Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by spriggy on September 22, 2005, at 20:36:37
In reply to Good and Bad About Lexapro Please, posted by Phillipa on September 22, 2005, at 20:18:54
Well my sweet friend,
I personally hated Lexapro. There were moments I felt euphoric on it (like "wooo hoooo this stuff is good"), then within an hour, it would sling me into a weird-dark-want to go kill myself depression. BUT that's just *me*, and I have a family history of BP so it could've been my make up that caused such a reaction.
I felt like I was a bad acid trip-- I hallucinated (visibly and audibly). It wigged me out.
BUT, my mom has been on it ( and Paxil and Cymbalta) and she tolerates it just fine.
I started out on 10 mg's, then went down to 5 mg's (the majority of the time on it, I was only on 5 mg's- I would bite the pill in half).
You could always try it and see.. Let us know.
Posted by wildcard on September 22, 2005, at 21:19:29
In reply to Good and Bad About Lexapro Please, posted by Phillipa on September 22, 2005, at 20:18:54
I started lexapro at 5mg and eventually was at 15mg. It helped my depression *temporarily* like the other SSRI's ??? The only side effect i recall was insomnia so my doc added trazadone to sleep. Just my personal experience on it. It's worth a try.
Posted by maddy4 on September 22, 2005, at 21:32:02
In reply to Re: Good and Bad About Lexapro Please » Phillipa, posted by wildcard on September 22, 2005, at 21:19:29
well you know my story - i took 5 mg for only two days and was tripping - eyes dilated- couldnt deal - had to take xanax - sort of like acid but more like drinking a bottle of robitussin DM. i hated it - although today coming off of it with a xan. was nice. i wouldnt take it again, although i gave my DH one tonight for his depression (interesting how the ONE time in life i have a prob. he one ups me! ;) ), will let you know what it does to him - this drug experimentation stuff really makes me think of lab rats...in a system. ughh i cant shake that feeling.
Posted by maddy4 on September 22, 2005, at 21:56:30
In reply to Re: Good and Bad About Lexapro Please, posted by maddy4 on September 22, 2005, at 21:32:02
that the reason i decided to try lex is a girlfriend of mine had such a positive response to it...she was just a mom of 3 freaking out like me and felt better on day 2 on it - so dont let mine or anyone elses experience guide you. what ive learned reading med boards obsessively for 6 days is that each has their own experience and you have to be your own guinea pig to see ;)
Posted by Emily Elizabeth on September 22, 2005, at 23:05:34
In reply to Good and Bad About Lexapro Please, posted by Phillipa on September 22, 2005, at 20:18:54
I take 40 mgs. I've taken it for 1.5yrs. It's okay I guess. It seemed helpful for a few mos w/ my depression and generalized anxiety. But then more stressful events occured in my life and I started to go downhill. I've kept it in my combo of meds b/c it seemed to help at one point. It may still be helping, but it is hard to know, as I take so many other meds!
I didn't really have any s/e's, but I tend to be somewhat lucky w/ that sort of thing.
Best,
EE
Posted by JenStar on September 22, 2005, at 23:23:59
In reply to Good and Bad About Lexapro Please, posted by Phillipa on September 22, 2005, at 20:18:54
hi Phillipa,
I take Lexapro 20 mg/day, and I don't really have any awful side effects at all. I didn't have any in the first place, except that I was super-anxious about starting it, so I freaked out about every little thing. I was tired the first few days, BUT I was also on Xanax until the Lex kicked in, and Xanax DOES make me drowsy!The only side-effect for me is that it's harder to orgasm. On 10 mg/day it was easier; at 20 mg/day, it's harder. I still can, but I have to "work" harder at it. :(
The lex definitely helps my anxiety stay at a manageable level. I may try going back to 10 mg/day b/c I seem to be doing ok right now.
good luck to you!
JenStar
Posted by JenStar on September 22, 2005, at 23:27:48
In reply to Re: Good and Bad About Lexapro Please » Phillipa, posted by JenStar on September 22, 2005, at 23:23:59
I should add....
I was terrified of side effects like nausea, headaches, dizziness, insomnia and worse since I'd never taken an anti-depressant before, but I was pleasantly surprised to have almost none. :) Yah! I know that it's different for everyone, and I might just be lucky, but at least it's one positive story.The orgasm being harder, though...that's tough. I used to be able to every time (sorry if that's too much info.) I miss that. So maybe that IS a bad side effect. But it's not a daily-functioning side effect.
tell us what you decide!
JenStar
Posted by UgottaHaveHOPE` on September 23, 2005, at 1:54:19
In reply to Re: Good and Bad About Lexapro Please » JenStar, posted by JenStar on September 22, 2005, at 23:27:48
Lexapro could be the magic pill youve always been looking for, and give you long periods of stability where you can work on your thought patterns and get better.
the bad news? the bad news is that u will never know either way unless u try it.
i hope and pray it works for u.
Posted by blueberry on September 23, 2005, at 6:04:43
In reply to Good and Bad About Lexapro Please, posted by Phillipa on September 22, 2005, at 20:18:54
I'm in the processing of switching over from longterm prozac to lexapro. I'm at about 4mg lexapro right now, after a week where I started at about 2mg (I just cut the pills with a knife). I have noticed in a week that my depression has eased quite a bit and I feel more motivated, and I know from longterm experience with prozac that prozac had the power to eliminate depression but not increase my motivation.
The problem is that I've also been on 5mg zyprexa for a long time, have cut it down to 2.5mg for a week, have added in 7.5mg remeron, and need xanax three times a day. I am experiencing what I believe is severe tardive akathisia from either prozac or zyprexa. So, comparisons of prozac to lexapro are difficult for me to make at this time.
If there are insomnia side effects, the other meds cover that up, so I don't know. I have not experienced a decrease in sex drive. I remember other ssris like paxil and zoloft killed my sex drive instantly within hours of the first dose, but that hasn't happened with lexapro. Lexapro does make me feel anxiety in a period of 3 to 6 hours after dosing, but again that is being confounded by akathisia, so hard to say.
Spent many hours at pubmed. Overall, clinical studies and case studies of lexapro look very encouraging.
Posted by Racer on September 23, 2005, at 12:50:10
In reply to Good and Bad About Lexapro Please, posted by Phillipa on September 22, 2005, at 20:18:54
I was on Lexapro for a short time, about two years ago, and it didn't work out for me. On the starting dose of 5mg, it just wasn't working. There's nothing else to say about it, although I was in pretty deep trouble at that time. When it was raised to 10mg, though, I went into a tailspin. It got to the point that I couldn't even talk without a huge effort. That's when I stopped it.
Shortly after that is when I attempted suicide. {shrug} I was in deep trouble during that time, but the Lexapro wasn't the right choice for me.
I hope, though, that your experience will be different. I know that a lot of people have had good response to it, and it's certainly worth a try. Let us know how it works out.
Posted by spriggy on September 23, 2005, at 16:40:30
In reply to Re: Good and Bad About Lexapro Please » Phillipa, posted by Racer on September 23, 2005, at 12:50:10
Posted by Phillipa on September 23, 2005, at 21:39:00
In reply to Re: Good and Bad About Lexapro Please » Phillipa, posted by Racer on September 23, 2005, at 12:50:10
Spriggy the only time an SSRI worked for me was the very first time. i took low dose paxil l0mg along with xanax. For three months I was sooooo sick but then I felt better and experienced the best pnuring of my life. And then the darn thryroid went off again and needed to be raised. And that was the end of success. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by ButterflyHigh on September 24, 2005, at 21:42:07
In reply to Good and Bad About Lexapro Please, posted by Phillipa on September 22, 2005, at 20:18:54
What kind of side effects did you have previously with it?
Just my experience:
good news - worked for anxiety, slept better
bad news - gained weight, stopped working very soon for my depression
Best wishes to you :)
This is the end of the thread.
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