I'm on Lexapro, need advice

[almmaaa]

Well I was on lexapro for like 3 years and the only reason why i changed to celexa is because my ins didnt cover it any more I was pissed but thank God the celexa helps me as well. The lexapro helped me so much and only side effects that i noticed from both is low sex drive that is thank God. I really llike both of them my 2 cents.

 

[juicygirl]

i think everyone's different. i started taking zoloft last spring <may 2007> at a low dosage of 50 mg. i really looveed it as it made me so laid back and chill about everything. people always say i am really easy to get along with but i could feel myself about to lose it over little things. anyway, zoloft is notorious for weight gain but lucked out and actually ended up losing 20 pounds!! no joke and i didn't even do anything actively different. anyways, the only negative i had with the zoloft was that i would not be able to go to sleep...even though i took the med first thing in the am. so my gp prescribed elavil to be taken in conjunction with the zoloft because elavil is one of the original anti-depressants on the market but the biggest side effect was drowsiness. needless to say, i loved the elavil because i was able to sleep straight through the night but i gained twenty pounds in like a month!!!! so now i am off everything and seriously, even though i watched what i ate and exercised, it was super hard to get the weight off =[

 

[NicksWifey]

Thanks everyone for all of the advice!

Well I've been taking Lexapro 10 mg tablets 1x a day since Monday night. I take them at night because they make me tired.
Anyway, it's really weird. I already feel like it's kicking in. People say that I can't stop smiling, I've also been cursing a lot less too (LOL which is a HUGE accomplishment for me) and people ask me what's so funny because I always have a smile on my face whereas before, it was just this stone face that I've always had. I definitely think it's too early to see the full potential of Lexapro, but as long as I don't gain any weight on this or go even more nuts, I think I will be okay.

 

[Cosmogrl]

I took Lexapro for two years and gained 20lbs. I didn't really care for it (but of course everyone's body reacts differently to meds). I have a pretty bad anxiety disorder but not much depression. I felt like Lexapro made me more depressed, but then I wasn't sure if i was just depressed b/c I had gained weight?? Anyway, I finally decided I didn't want to take it anymore and trust me, you can't quit that stuff cold turkey- I tried and it made me really sick and dizzy, almost like you are coming off of an addiction. I finally weened myself off of in a couple of months.

I think it's def something you should try b/c you may react completely different and according to other people's statements, they didn't have issues. Try it and if it doesn't work then there are SO many other meds out there that may work. Maybe you should also try counseling- when I decided I didn't want to take the meds anymore, I was still have panic attacks. so I thought I would go a different route and see if I could talk to someone. Even though I have a chemical imbalance, she taught me different ways to cope with it and to calm myself down and get to the source of my problems.

I hope anyone of that info helped...plenty of people understand how you feel and you are DEF not alone! Good luck!

 

[hr44]

Lexapro is going to be different to everyone. I have a friend on it and there is no weight gain on her.

But do be aware that your birth control with the Lexapro or any other medication may cause a variation in your body. So if you do happen to gain weight don't think it is just because of the Lexapro, it is most likely the mix of two medications in your system.

Also make sure if you decide to go off it, that you do it under the doctor's consent. He may have to lower the dosage because when you stop on your own the effect isn't so pretty. It's because you're stopping the negative feedback loop of the balance of chemicals to the brain. So be sure you tell him of ANY changes you made.

If it isn't suiting you, talk to your doctor about your birth control, if your taking meds for your thyroid, see if you can change out the BCP or try another anti-depressant.

By the way it's good that you're smiling. =) Anti-depressants do work fairly quickly for certain individuals. Hopefully this drug will stay suited for you and everything works out well.

Oh one more thing, don't be afraid of the "chemical imbalance of the brain". It's just an off set of serotonin regulation to the brain. That is what Lexapro is helping with. To bring it back to stable levels. =)

 

[juicygirl]

hey brittney it's been about a few weeks now so i was just wondering how the lexapro was working out currently?? still good?? i'm interested because i've been researching lexapro.... =|

 

[M.A.C. head.]

I have no advice, but I definitely appreciate your courage.

I've been going through feelings like yours and more for almost 10 years and I still haven't gotten the courage to go get help.

I really want to, I don't like being how I am, but I also suffer from paranoia'; and I'm scared that someone will try to take my daughter away because they think I'm crazy or something.

It's hard to deal with, I know, but best of luck to you honey and I hope the medicine helps you.

 

[NicksWifey]

Ok everyone, I'm sorry, I haven't updated this thread in a while!

I didn't have a good ride with Lexapro. You know, maybe I didn't give it enough time but it was HORRIBLE. I missed a pill one night because I was really really tired and couldn't fathom getting out of bed to take it, so I didn't. The next day, I felt like I had bugs crawling in my hair and all over me when I was getting ready for work one morning. It was creepy.
So I didn't take the pill the next day either. I was getting upset after reading a lot of comments on the internet about (not here) Lexapro and how bad it was. Plus the possible weight gain side effect scared me and I really didn't want to go down that road again.
I talked with my mom and told her I didn't want to take them anymore, she said that was fine. Then for a few days, it was complete hell. I had extreme suicidal thoughts (which is not like me AT ALL), I'm just angry, I never really get crazy depressed. I kept thinking I wanted to jump off the roof of where I work. God I can't believe I'm sharing this online. I started to fight a lot more with my fiance, it was horrible. I told my mom what was going on and she took the Lexapro away and told me no more.
I don't know if it had to get worked out of my system or what, but I'm completely FINE now, it's weird? I haven't had spazzed out on anyone or gotten extremely angry. I usually get annoyed over things and I can only think of one instance in the last few weeks that got me really pissed off, but that's a lot better than getting mad at the world everyday.
Maybe I didn't give the pills enough time to get into my body, but I didn't like feeling suicidal, it was horrible.

 

[juicygirl]

thanks brittney. i was just wondering because like you i have noticed that lately i have been having issues with anger management...more like this whole summer. &&like i said in my previous post, i did well with the zoloft except for the insomnia that came with it. so i was thinking about getting on lexapro because you seemed to have good success with it. it sounds like your body was going through withdrawals. i think lexapro has a half life of 26 hours so even into day four of no lexapro, you still may have withdrawal symptoms. thanks so much for sharing...it has helped me a lot! =]

 

[shootout]

A close family member of mine takes Lexapro, and it honestly does work.
She is so much happier now that she's on it, and all of the mood swings and anger that she went through has almost completely disappeared. She still has some bad days, but who doesn't?
If you're really feeling that bad while taking it, then you probably shouldn't.
But I'm not sure how long it takes for it to finally get into your system and start working.

 

[ClaireAvril]

I have been dealing with mood swings and up and down behaviour for a while now.. I think its PMDD --I can get easily irritated and all that blah blah. I went to the doctor about this and he was so damn quick to perscribe some sort of anti depressant (can't remember the name). Thank god I didn't take it. I find a lot of doctors these days are not really trying to help their patients in doing more testing to get to a real diagnosis. All they want to do is drug you up. What kind of tests did the doctor perform on you?
I am not one of those conspiracy people but It seems as though these doctors are on the side of the pharmaceutical companies and not on the side of doing what is best for human beings.
I have been to the doctor and told them about my unbearable period cramps and moodswings and before they can suggest a non-medicinal remedy they try to cram birth control down my throat.. I was reading an article in a CDN magazine about the long term effects of birth control and the effect that the process of birth control can do to your harmones and emotions. These are synthetic things that we are putting into our bodies to control a woman's natural process. Can you imagine the toll it could have on your psyche?

Have you tried seeing a therapist? That might help. I don't believe in loading up on drugs.. We may think that because the doctor told us to take some drugs we should because doctor knows best.. nuh uh

When my doctor told me about the drugs I thought to myself that there has to be some sort of non-medicinal way of helping the mood swings.
There are a lot of answers on the net.. like diet change, exercise...vitamins, other ways to eliminate stress etc etc
Could even be the birth control that you're taking that may be causing the problem.

Anyway.. i hope this helps and I hope some of my thoughts haven't offended anyone.

C

 

[laperle]

Claire,

I do see your point of view, but medication do help and some people (like me) can't live without it. Some of the doctors I've seen told me the first try of meds only works for 30% of the patients. The other 40% need an adjustment and the last 30% don't ever get them to work. It's really hard to find out when you're dealing with the brain, there's no such thing as a precise test to find out if and what meds one needs. Other than that, I've done all sorts of physical (especially blood) tests to check on me and I get tested every month to measure the lithium level in my blood.

I do see a therapist, I do exercise, I do take vitamins, but still my life is a mess if the meds aren't part of it. In the beginning, it was a major struggle to accept this as fact, but now I can feel the difference (and I'm not talking about fake happiness feelings provided by stuff like prozac - doesn't work well for me).

Without the meds, I don't go out, I panic, I cry, I feel a terrible void, I feel like death is friendly and life is nule.

But that's me! I have clearly a chemical unbalance. If your depression is caused only by stress of living and its consequences, you certainly can work it out, if focused on that.

Plus, I agree with you with the birth control thing. I've tried so many and now I REFUSE to take anything hormonal to deal with my PMS, cramps and birth control itself.

I hope I haven't offended anyone either.

 

[Lapis]

I'm on something else, but I wanted to say good for you doing this for yourself, my ppd had a huge anger component and I fought going on meds but it was the BEST step! I hope you feel this way also when your meds kick in.

I read your update, I'm sorry please try to find something that works for you, I had to be adjusted up twice one of those times it was so bad my doc sent me to the inpatient private mental health hospital here but since I wasn't going to harm the baby or myself they sent me home and basically told dh be supportive and give me lots of space, lol