I am considering starting Lexapro. Has anyone here had any experience with it? If so, what are the pros and cons of the medication. It says that it is a part taken out of Celexa so it has less side effects than a full blown antidepressant yet still has the same good effects. Please give me opinions if you have used this includeing negative side effects. thanks

ladybugs...this was the only AD that I didn't have terrible immediate side effects from (and I've tried at least 9 over the years) until 3 months into it, then I developed uticaria (welts all over when I scratched myself) and brusing on my legs. It really worked well for me and I was disappointed when I had to stop it. I actually stopped it for a month then started it again and the same side effects occurred within 2 days.

Hugs,
Karen

You should talk to Jacquie (JJ) as she is on Lexapro and has had great success with it. I tried it but had problems with a rash all over my body so I went off of it. I have tried several of them and finally have had success so far with Cymbalta.

Good luck!!
Gramz

I'm starting Lexapro this week. I sure hope I don't develop a rash (I'm prone to them.) The prozac that I've been taking for years now just isn't cutting it anymore...so my doctor and I had a long talk, and he suggested trying this. I told him I wanted an SSRI that wouldn't put weight on me, and had the fewest side effects, and he said Lexapro fit the bill..

I'll let you know how it turns out...

I took Lexapro for 6 months with great results. I was having some heart palps, hot flashes and feelings of agoraphobia (which is very unusual for me, I love to go places). It helped so much, I am afraid without it I would have ended up alone and housebound. I weaned off slowly with no side effects at all. The only problem was I did gain some weight. That is a small price to pay for feeling good and rejoining the human race! Give it a try, I think you will be happy with results. Why suffer if there is something that will help? I only had to take it for a short time, and the effects have lasted. Good luck, Hope

Hi Karen

I had that same thing happen to me on zoloft. I didn't stay on it long enough to get the bruising though.
Terri

Hi Ladybugs,

I was on Lexapro for over two years. Getting on it, it was the one I had the most rollarcoastering with, meaning ups then downs then ups again, then it evened out and I did great on it!!! I've been on all 5 classes of AD's since my teens and now am 50 yrs old. Didn't have any rash or anything like that on it. Took Celexa before it and it worked for a couple of years too, I seem to have that result with both AD's and blood pressure meds. They work for a while then stop or my body gets used to them I don't know which it is...

I liked the Lexapro pretty good out of some of the ones I've been on. Didn't affect sex drive or Libido that much, and didn't seem to make me gain weight any more than the rest of them. It took me the full three weeks tho to get it started to working and feeling the results of it, usually they don't take me more than a few days to feel better, or they're not going to work on me. Cymbalta , wellbuterin , didn't have any effect on me at all. Clonedine put me to sleep 24/7, and pexeva the last one I was on , killed my libido to where I couldn't reach an orgasm at all!

Hope this helps you.

JoniTX50

I've seen lots of women on this site who love Lexapro, but it was a nightmare for me. I only took it three days, but in that time my anxiety symptoms increased dramatically, I got horrible chest pains, and started having some suicidal thoughts, something I've never had before. I flushed them down the toilet. I'm on Effexor now and doing fine.

I used Lexapro for two years to manage depression brought on by sleeplessness from menopause. I loved it - no side effects, felt better, and was able to stay on the regular dose.

My only warning is this drug can be HELL to get off of. I tried cutting every other pill in half for a couple of weeks, and I crashed - huge depression, crazy acting, felt completely terrible in the head. So I went back up to regular dose for a month, then started cutting out 1/8 of a pill every other day (yes, one-eigth. Get a good pill cutter). Then went to 1/8 of a pill cut every day, etc. This worked and I've been off it for over a year now.

Some people get off easy, and I thought that would be me. I'm glad it was there when I needed it, but I will be extremely leery of starting it again (although I would if it was appropriate). I just wouldn't take it lightly.

Hi

I used it for a while and the doctor took me off gradually by cutting it in half then every other day.

Then I stopped using it. It's not suppose to be addicting. I didn't have a problem getting off of it.

Thank you all for the replies. I STILL have not started it as I am now fighting an insurance company who thinks they don't need to pay for it! My doc is addament about me useing the name brand Lexapro so it might be a while till they agree. They don't want me to do the "try this try that first" game. They simply don't want to cover it so she is fighting this battle for me (yeah doc!). My husband is having the same prob. She wants us BOTH on it so we'll have to wait and see. I'll let you know how it goes if I ever get the darn meds!

Hey Ladybugs,

Don't know how I've missed this thread so long...

Hope your insurance woes work out - how can an insurance company determine what med you need or don't need? That should be determined by you and your DOCTOR.

I do very, very well on Lexapro - no side effects except some weight gain, but not a lot (15 pounds or so).

I've come off the med twice with no problems whatsoever. Hopefully, you'll be able to give it a try, and it will work well for you.



Take care,

JJ

I am currently taking zoloft and have found that not all generics are equivalent to the brand name, Glad to hear that your doctor is advocating for the brand name Lexapro instead of the generic version. Hope this gets resolved soon. Good luck.

Wow so many of us have been on this. I was on this for a month and it made me feel worse. Also it makes you lose your sexuality. At least for me it did. I felt like I had no emotion either. I was talking to a group of my friends at a party and we were horrified that all of us had been prescribed this medication. We all feel like the doctors are just throwing a bandaid on a bigger issue "perimenopause." They must get huge kick backs for prescribing this stuff. Gave me headaches too.

This just shows how different we all are.

I feel that I have full emotional expression on Lexapro - I have fits of giggles; I weep; I shout with anger; and savor good food.

What I DON'T do is lie in bed despairing...

It's called functioning!

(((HUGS)))

JJ

P.S. I don't think there is yet a generic version of Lexapro

I switched from remeron (which made me gain weight and did not help with depression) to lexapro. i felt better on it immediately at 5mg. then the went up to 10mg. i have had a month of period changes and i am feeling anxious and obsessive again. do you think increasing to 20 mg would help? has anybody increased from 10 to 20? I would appretiate your thoughts. thank you

I started on 10 mgs of Lexapro and increased to 20 and did nothing. I was on it for 4 months and switched to Paxil. I didn't feel any change.

wow. i am sorry to hear that. i hope it works for me.

I've heard lots of good things about Lexapro in comparison to other ADs. So when my Dr. prescribed it for me a few months back I had high hopes for some relief. I was so desparate for that relief that I took the first pill without reading the insert that came with it. I did not know anything about the side effects that were possible but within 3 hours of taking the pill, I started feeling really quite bad. It was one of the worst nights of my life. When I was able (two days later!) to look at the insert/list of side effects, I learned that I had suffered each and every single one of them EXCEPT sweating. The worst thing was the internal shaking/shivering and monumental unsettled feeling. I was exhausted and felt heavily sedated but could not go to sleep. I had ringing in my ears, nausea, dizziness, you name it, I had it. But I didn't sweat!!! LOL I talked to a friend of mine who is a Clinical Pharmacist and he said I shouldn't take any of the ADs in the SSRI group. Clearly I have a severe sensitivity and would have the same sort of reaction to all of them. He recommened Effexor but I've not gone on it because I wanted to try to pull myself out of this on my own as I believe my depression is really situational. I only posted because the request was for good reactions as well as bad ones. I just thought it might help someone else to recognize the signs. Hope by now the lexapro or whatever you're taking is working for you. I've gone without and have good days and bad ones but am at least for the greatest part, functional.
Hugs to all!
xoxo
Jan

I took Lexapro for 3 months, loved it overall, it helped greatly with my anxiety and obsessive thinking (health anxiety). I didn't gain any weight actually lost my craving for sweets. My only problem was I was till unmotivated and a bit agrophobic. I switched to Pristiq 12 or so days ago which is the new version of Effexor which is not going generic. Supposedly, it doesn't process as much through the liver as the other meds and also should have less side effects than Effexor. I was worried about that class of AD as it is a bit simulating and I was worried it would exasberate my anxiety. I have done pretty well on it. It has helped me manage my health anxiety for the most part, except for one incident I am having now, but,maybe I would have been worse without it. I also feel a bit more optimistic and willing to get out into the world more and out of my bed. So, there you go. You get two reviews for the price of one. I didn't hate Lexapro, if I was a bit more energetic on it I would have stayed on it. I had nearly no side effects. All you can do is try it, your not going to know until you do. You are going to get all kinds of reviews, good and bad. Ultimately we are all different so the only way to truly know is to go for it. You may have already started it, if so I would love to know if it worked for you. Good luck, . Mich

Effexor IS generic... oops..

mich, i have been following your posts and i am happy lexapro worked for you. we seem to have similar issues. I know that it is working for me but this week i felt my obsessiveness come back. I also go my period ofter only 15 days. but i still dont feel like my old self. i know you were on 20mg. did you notice a difference from 10 to 20mg. because i may ask the doctor to increase it. thank you

I did one week at 10mg and then upped to 20mg, Because I was so unmotivated on it, I increased to 30mg, but, ended up going to back to 20mg. I think sometimes you can have blips even when a med is generally working for them. Try and think if your obsessiveness would have been worse or if it is has actually been minimized because of the med. I have been on Pristiq for about 12 days or so and I am struggling with some obsessive thoughts but am managing to deal with them somewhat, it isn't 100% but, I'm trying to not freak out. Like you said you started your period (as did I today, lol) and that can also contribute to heightened reponses to things. AD's don't completely eliminate every emotion (at least you don't want it to because then you couldn't laugh or cry or enjoy life). Try and ride it out and see how you feel after you get through with your period. Also, how long have you been taking the Lexapro? Mich

mich, thank you for your reply. It is really helpful what you wrote. I am going to try to not freak out and see what happens after my period settles down. i have been on 10 mg for 3 weeks and only 6 days before i completely phased out of remeron. so this week i was hit with early period lots of hot flashes and perhaps more drug adjustment. so i am going to try to chill and not jump to conclusions too soon. thank you again for helping me get some perspective. it is so great to know one is not alone.

You may be able to titrate up to 20mg which is the standard dose. You may see better results. But, wait until after your period is over and give it a week or so after that to gauge how you are doing. I'm glad I could be of help. Please PM me anytime if you need to. Let me know how it is going. Take care, Mich

I'm on day four of Lexapro. I'm super super sensative so started at 5mg. Believe it or not, I actually think I feel a little better. Could be a placebo affect, so I'm reserving judgement. Main side effect for me is that i'm very sleepy. So, I'm weaning myself to take it at bedtime. Took it today at noon, and I'm pretty sleepy right now. Had some heightened anxiety yesterday, but I started my period (um, are we all on the same cycle or what), so it could have been that. I am VERY VERY hopeful that this going to help me. I have been through a month of hell and need some stability! Keep in touch and let us know how you do!

P.S. Your body is getting rid of the Remeron and 3 weeks on it isn't ample time to decide yet. I think it took at least 6 weeks for me to feel decent. Like I said if I had been more energetic after 3 months I would have stayed on it. I think you'll do great but if it isn't working don't be afraid to try something different. I did it and for the most part so far so good.

mich, thank you so much. i feel better just having talked to you. i am happy you are doing better too. i hate to ask this but what is PM?

thema, i am happy it is working for you. we are in this together, periods and all, right? LOL

See how good you are doing, you got over your fear of meds.... the xanax and now trying lexapro. I think if you are feeling any benefits they are probably not a placebo. I can be fast acting on some people. It's ok to take a xanax to get through any heightened anxiety period while starting an AD. I got a little anxiety/jittery/racy feeling with the Pristiq (I changed from Lexapro precisely because of lethargy ..but couldn't fall sleep) but as I said on previous posts it really helped me with anxiety and obsessive thinking (health related mainly). Keep us posted on how it's working for you. Mich

PM - means private message -- just in case you want to share more personal info that you don't want the whole board to know or just because you want to have a more one on one conversation. You can do that on this board. Mich