Lexapro

charleybarley · Jan 26, 2005

Hey, I've been taking lexapro for about a year and so far I haven't had any side effects at all. I took wellbutrin for a while and had major nausea and headaches, then went back to lexapro and it's all good. Whether it's working, that I'm not sure of since I had a change of atmosphere at the same time I started it- which could have also helped, but overall I do feel somewhat better.

good luck!

ZZTopRN, BSN, RN · Jan 26, 2005

Hey, I've been taking lexapro for about a year and so far I haven't had any side effects at all. I took wellbutrin for a while and had major nausea and headaches, then went back to lexapro and it's all good. Whether it's working, that I'm not sure of since I had a change of atmosphere at the same time I started it- which could have also helped, but overall I do feel somewhat better.
good luck!

Been on Lexapro for about 3 weeks. Had pretty bad nausea for awhile but it is subsiding. Had been having anger and agitation but I take Klonopin .5 with it and it seems to help. Was really sleeping a lot but that seems to be getting better. So I'm hoping with time these SE will go away. They do seem to be lessening. Hope this is the med for me and as they say, it takes about 4-6 weeks for it to work. So I'm hanging in there for another few weeks. I have taken several others and had bad experiences with them. I had taken Wellbutrin and was up to 400 mg and it worked well, but gradually stopped working. The withdrawal from the Wellbutrin was awful and it took a long time.

Also I'm also studying to retake my RN NCLEX lapsed license so it has been interesting. I have talked to a couple of people that have been taking Lexapro and they say they "love it." So good luck to us.

mv

Blackbird · Jan 26, 2005

I narrowed my eyes as soon as I saw that word. :stone

A person very close to me was on it. Over this time, I saw mood swings, changes in personality, they complained of various afflictions such as the feeling of being surreal, constipation, restlessness, dark thoughts. When they started reporting voices, I dragged their *** to their doctor this doctor refused to alter the meds stating that they should just "give it a go". Took him to a new doc who weaned him off the Lexapro and provided him with an alternative avenue to deal with the depression.

I never felt pure hate until I met that drug.

I stress to all who take anti-depressants - look at other avenues of therapy first, check to see if your doctor has the right credentials: not all GPs are trained to deal with mental health issues and to listen to those who tell you that you're changing. Last but best, listen to yourself.

ZZTopRN, BSN, RN · Jan 26, 2005

I narrowed my eyes as soon as I saw that word. :stone

A person very close to me was on it. Over this time, I saw mood swings, changes in personality, they complained of various afflictions such as the feeling of being surreal, constipation, restlessness, dark thoughts. When they started reporting voices, I dragged their *** to their doctor this doctor refused to alter the meds stating that they should just "give it a go". Took him to a new doc who weaned him off the Lexapro and provided him with an alternative avenue to deal with the depression.

I never felt pure hate until I met that drug.

I stress to all who take anti-depressants - look at other avenues of therapy first, check to see if your doctor has the right credentials: not all GPs are trained to deal with mental health issues and to listen to those who tell you that you're changing. Last but best, listen to yourself.

Ooooh, what a scary black message. What are you trying to do scare everybody. Just because you felt "pure hate when you met that drug" is not a reason try and scare the pants off other people and about taking anti-depressants. I agree with you, GP's should not be prescribing anti-depressants. It is true that people have different reactions to drugs, some work wonderfully well for some and some have bad effects from the same drugs. Some have to try a number of different drugs until they find the right one for them. I had a a real hard time coming off Wellbutrin because of insomnia, but I did not feel "pure hate."Right now I feel better everyday on the Lexapro and most of the SE's are subsiding.

It is not up to you to discourage people from taking anti-depressants and "look for other avenues of treatment." It sounds like with your "pure hate" you may need some help yourself. Is your friend 100% normal now? So your know your friend's medical condition better than the doctor? It seems that if you took him to a GP, a psychiatrist would have been the most appropriate for diagnosis and treatment and maybe would have seen something more, especially if he was hearing voices. How do you know what your friend's real psychological state was? A psychiatrist would be in a better state to diagnose his condition was.

One other thing is curious, you keep saying "they." So was it more than one person? Were they taking anything else?

mv

saskrn · Jan 26, 2005

Ooooh, what a scary black message. What are you trying to do scare everybody. Just because you felt "pure hate when you met that drug" is not a reason try and scare the pants off other people and about taking anti-depressants. I agree with you, GP's should not be prescribing anti-depressants. It is true that people have different reactions to drugs, some work wonderfully well for some and some have bad effects from the same drugs. Some have to try a number of different drugs until they find the right one for them. I had a a real hard time coming off Wellbutrin because of insomnia, but I did not feel "pure hate."Right now I feel better everyday on the Lexapro and most of the SE's are subsiding.
It is not up to you to discourage people from taking anti-depressants and "look for other avenues of treatment." It sounds like with your "pure hate" you may need some help yourself. Is your friend 100% normal now? So your know your friend's medical condition better than the doctor? It seems that if you took him to a GP, a psychiatrist would have been the most appropriate for diagnosis and treatment and maybe would have seen something more, especially if he was hearing voices. How do you know what your friend's real psychological state was? A psychiatrist would be in a better state to diagnose his condition was.
One other thing is curious, you keep saying "they." So was it more than one person? Were they taking anything else?
mv

IMHO, I don't think blackbird did anything wrong. I think he/she was just stating what he had witnessed in the past, and obviously it was upsetting to him. Please don't attack or condem him for that. Any psych med, unfortunately, has the potential for some pretty unusual and sometimes ugly side effects.

southern_rn_brat · Jan 26, 2005

I have been on Lexapro since September. For me, it has been a life changing medication! Sure, I had a few minor side effects when I first started...the nausea was the most prominent, but it subsided after a couple weeks and has never returned.

The voices in my head don't seem to mind me taking it either :rotfl:

jaimealmostRN · Jan 27, 2005

Thanks for the info everyone. I have just begun taking it for anxiety at 5mg/day (a low dose). Last night I had some trouble sleeping and some weird dreams, but I think thats b/c I took it at 3pm instead of in the AM. No other s/e so far (knock on wood). I really appreciate everyone sharing their expirences whether positive or negative...keep it up! :) Just for the record, I already told my NP that I would stop it ASAP if I had ANY odd psych probs resulting from the drug, so don't worry!

lazydaze22 · Jan 27, 2005

Thanks for the info everyone. I have just begun taking it for anxiety at 5mg/day (a low dose). Last night I had some trouble sleeping and some weird dreams, but I think thats b/c I took it at 3pm instead of in the AM. No other s/e so far (knock on wood). I really appreciate everyone sharing their expirences whether positive or negative...keep it up! :) Just for the record, I already told my NP that I would stop it ASAP if I had ANY odd psych probs resulting from the drug, so don't worry!

I was on Lexapro for 2 years but built up a tolerance to the highest dose so had to be switched to Trileptal. Some drugs give some people side effects that are miracle workers for others. And if this doesn't work for you there are MANY other drugs out there to try. Check with the NP before you stop cold turkey too. I'm thinking that is one you need to wean off, but not positive. Always a good idea to consult with your NP/doc before doing so unless it's something life threatening. Good luck, I hope it helps you!:)

Lawnurse · Jan 27, 2005

I've been on it for about 5 months (also .5 mg) with Wellbutrin and I love it. The only side effect I have experienced is very vivid dreaming. Except for a small handful of times, I remember something of what I drempt every time I wake up. As far as side effects go, it's not bad! :balloons:

sarita279 · Jan 27, 2005

I narrowed my eyes as soon as I saw that word. :stone

A person very close to me was on it. Over this time, I saw mood swings, changes in personality, they complained of various afflictions such as the feeling of being surreal, constipation, restlessness, dark thoughts.

Acutally, these were my symptoms BEFORE going on lexapro. The med did help me very much. I had nausea at the beginning, fast heart beat and trouble sleeping, but those went completely away in about 2-3 weeks. The loss of appetite helped me lose some weight too :)

I went off of lexapro after about 8 months of taking it. I did not properly wean myself off of it, and I did have a lapse into depression, crying etc. Somehow I made it through that, and now I am fine.

I think anti-depressants can help in situations like mine. The med helped me to get out of my depression and well enough to learn other coping strategies. I'm not on it now because I do want to fight depression on my own, but I'm not against using a med as a tool in your overall mental health program.

Blackbird · Jan 27, 2005

Ooooh, what a scary black message. What are you trying to do scare everybody. Just because you felt "pure hate when you met that drug" is not a reason try and scare the pants off other people and about taking anti-depressants. I agree with you, GP's should not be prescribing anti-depressants. It is true that people have different reactions to drugs, some work wonderfully well for some and some have bad effects from the same drugs. Some have to try a number of different drugs until they find the right one for them. I had a a real hard time coming off Wellbutrin because of insomnia, but I did not feel "pure hate."Right now I feel better everyday on the Lexapro and most of the SE's are subsiding.
It is not up to you to discourage people from taking anti-depressants and "look for other avenues of treatment." It sounds like with your "pure hate" you may need some help yourself. Is your friend 100% normal now? So your know your friend's medical condition better than the doctor? It seems that if you took him to a GP, a psychiatrist would have been the most appropriate for diagnosis and treatment and maybe would have seen something more, especially if he was hearing voices. How do you know what your friend's real psychological state was? A psychiatrist would be in a better state to diagnose his condition was.
One other thing is curious, you keep saying "they." So was it more than one person? Were they taking anything else?
mv

Gotta love the self righteousness in here sometimes.

Thank you sooo much for the unsolicited and unwarranted judgement. I didn't realise I was being diagnosed and duly recommended for a mental assessment of my own as a result of responding to a thread.

Let me give you the drum, Dr Bob: that post, my post was my opinion about my experience.

Not a discouragement. Not an endorsment. Not a directive of any kind.

But an opinion based on an experience that happened to me, as requested by the poster. So you didn't feel hate...soo...that must mean I must feel the same way? Right. Uhuh... How's things in your autocracy, by the way? Lexapro was the only drug involved and yes, I do realise that everyone is different and that reactions can vary if, in fact, any are present. But my post related to my experience and wasn't a speculative announcement of any kind.

End of story.

Anything you draw from that is your opinion.