Lexapro

Specialties Psychiatric

Published

Is anyone here taking Lexapro? Care to share you expirences with it, any s/e? Thanks!

Specializes in Tele, Infectious Disease, OHN.

As a matter of fact, is has decreased....but I think mine is more hormonal. I am 42. Also, I am in nursing school and that does not help!

i started out taking paxil years ago, switched around to all the different ones: zoloft, effexor..they all worked with minimal s/e except what seems to be the common one. but i started lexapro about a year ago. i take it for anxiety and mild depression. with the insomnia i take ambien 10mg q hs. without it i would never sleep. it shuts my mind down. my mind races when i need to sleep, so that helps. i have neuropathy in my legs which makes my legs very sore at night so i also take neurontin which makes me sleepy. so we all seem to have some common things together here...but here is a question for you that nobody has asked. has taking the lexapro, or other ad's affected your sex life at all? this was a great post for me, to see that so many other nurses are having the same problems as me, and that they all experience the same things...that is why i ask my question, because my sex drive has decreased to almost zero, and i am thinking it is from the meds i take, but specifically the ad's. thanks for your answers!
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I have no hormones b/c I had a total hysterectomy with bilateral ooperectomy in 1994. I am 42 years old and waiting for our local community college to start their nursing program. I have taken alot of the pre-reqs already. I attempted to go to another local nursing school ("nursing school from Hell" - hence their team name is the Northwestern Demons- (appropriately fitting), however due to a stress related illness and heavy load at another school, I had to drop classes at nursing school (was not in clinicals yet). Hubby is now pressuring me to get a job, which does not help my anxiety or depression either.

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Specializes in OB/GYN.

I was on Lexapro for a year. It did wonders for me and I am back to my normal happy self now that I am off it too!

The only side-effect that I did have was that my libido decreased dramatcially. But it is back to normal now.

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In addition, I believe that the Prozac contributed to the weight gain in the most undesirable place. If it had given me a nice tush, I would not complain, but of course, I put on weight in the abdominal region and I cannot seem to get it off.

Hmm...Prozac actually HELPED helped me with my weight...helped me control my compulsive nibbling. I have gained 20 lbs since going off it and of course, am crying/depressed/negative again. :crying2:

Prozac was a good drug for me in many ways...helped me with overwhelming /disabling emotions during a difficult time in my life(loss of parents, bad job situation).

Later it again helped me during perimenopause and mood swings...not getting upset about little things; it helped me cope. I would still be on it, but after several years off and on it, my anxiety/panic became a worse problem so I'm having to take a hard look at myself. I'm now taking a 'holiday' from Prozac, will find a new therapist in my new locale, and see what's up.

Good luck to everyone here.

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I feel compelled to jump in here after reading all these posts. Like many of you, I too struggle with depression/anxiety. I've tried to "go it alone" and not take anything, but I always end up in a really dark place. Since I'm a Type AAA personality - of course I have felt at times that this is a "character defect" of some kind, and I should just suck it up and pull my bootstraps up. Right. The last time I went of my meds and ended up back in the darkness, the psychiatrist said to me, "What the hell were you thinking??! You're a nurse. You should know better....." He was right.

Trying to make a long story shorter - over the years I have been on Tofranil, Zoloft, Ativan - with either no effect or too many side effects. 8 years ago I started taking Prozac. I felt it was the best thing that had ever happened to me. The unfortunate thing is that after awhile, it's not effective anymore and needs to be increased. A few months ago it was necessary for another increase - now on 60 mg. per day (80 is the max I think). The side effects were marked and severe. I would wake up from a sound sleep with an "electric zap" in my head. It was frightening. Did some research and found that it is a side effect of Prozac, and that it is referred to as a "brain shiver". What was more frightening to me was that it was felt that this was a precursor to seizure activity. No thank you. I was diagnosed with epilepsy when I was 12 years old and was started on a small nitely dose of phenobarbital. It worked fine. When I was 22 my PC decided that I didn't need it anymore. I thought "Great! No more pills". 8 months later I had my first and most severe grand mal seizure. I nearly died, and spent a week in ICU........

After that I was started on Dilantin and it really never kept me seizure free. I still had at least 1 or 2 a year. Wanted to get pregnant again and was told not to while I was taking Dilantin (d/t possible birth defects). Was put back on phenobarbital and all was well once again. The dose was increased during pregnancies to compensate for wt. gain - and to this day I remain on 180mg. (90mg. bid) and have been seizure-free for 24 years!! Even at this dose, my drug levels run at a low therapeutic level.

During one of my now yearly visits with the neurologist - I asked him about Wellbutrin (not only for the depression - but as an aid to quit smoking). He said he would rather see me smoke than take Wellbutrin. He then went on to tell me a couple of horror stories of 20-30 yr.old patients (previously healthy without seizure disorders) who had taken it for the same reason and had massive grand mal seizures. One of them had such a severe seizure that he ended up with brain damage). Needless to say, I have been scared s***less to take it.

Now back to the real reason I'm writing this unplanned saga: I am now off the Prozac. I desperately need something to replace it. I am concerned about the seizure risk.........can anyone offer some input on this??? I am due to see the psych. on Tuesday (who, by the way, feels that there is no reason I shouldn't take Wellbutrin - despite what the neurologist said). I just want some info from anyone who is willing to give it before I have this appt. Thanks to all of you for listening.....

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Your neurologist is right, unfortunately. Wellbutrin lowers your seizure threshold, and may cause more seizures than you already have. It's also primarily used to quit smoking, and considered a very weak anti-depresant. The SSRI's are generally good drugs, as is Venlaxafine, with a smaller amount of side effects. However, each drug is different when it comes to the anti-depressants, and many people I know have said that it is basically a crap shoot to find whichever drug fits you the best. You just need to do your research before you take something, and you will find that the research on wellbutrin does lower your seizure thershold, so just be very careful. Also, it sounds as if you've been on prozac a long time. Maybe it is time you tried other means for coping such as therapy, relaxation, exercise, etc. As for the seizures, you definitely need to take your seizure medication without question.

Hope it works out.

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I'm afraid I agree with you Pete. I trust my neurologist more than the psychiatrist........ It seems that all antidepressants carry some side effects (to include lowering the seizure threshhold) - that was also an issue with the Prozac, but I managed to do well with it for 8 years until this latest increase....which is why I've stopped taking it. I have tried other alternative therapies over the years. I've been to more stress management seminars and classes than you can shake a stick at (not to mention imagery, gentle yoga, hypnosis, acupuncture). I'm not happy at the thought of being on any kind of med for the rest of my life, believe me. I really don't have any choice with the phenobarbital - and I'm beginning to feel that I don't have a choice about whether or not I need to take an antidepressant. I initially responded to this thread because I've heard so much about Wellbutrin, but it seems that there seem to be even better reports from the people who are taking Lexapro.......any thoughts there????

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Specializes in trauma/surg.

Wanted to throw in my 2 cents in about going off Lexapro.... I have a bad habit of not getting my refills, my doc gives me samples since I am still in school and sometimes I will be out for 3 or 4 days until I get some (I know, stupid....). Anyway, on day 2, I always get very dizzy. It was so bad last time my boyfriend drove to get my Lexapro. Last month I knew I wasn't going to be able to pick them up until I was out for a few days, so I started halfing them until I could pick up some more and I was fine. Also, it used to affect my sleep when I first went on it. I would have to take it first thing in the morning or I couldn't sleep at night, now I have to take it at night because it makes me tired.... :uhoh3:

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Wanted to throw in my 2 cents in about going off Lexapro.... I have a bad habit of not getting my refills, my doc gives me samples since I am still in school and sometimes I will be out for 3 or 4 days until I get some (I know, stupid....). Anyway, on day 2, I always get very dizzy. It was so bad last time my boyfriend drove to get my Lexapro. Last month I knew I wasn't going to be able to pick them up until I was out for a few days, so I started halfing them until I could pick up some more and I was fine. Also, it used to affect my sleep when I first went on it. I would have to take it first thing in the morning or I couldn't sleep at night, now I have to take it at night because it makes me tired.... :uhoh3:

Do any of you have anything to share about coming off Prozac???? What were the side effects, etc???

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Is anyone here taking Lexapro? Care to share you expirences with it, any s/e? Thanks!

I am a 28 year old male and I have been taking lexapro for 31 days. It has been very effective in reducing my depression and axiety levels. However, I experienced some side effects the first two weeks:

-sweaty palms and feet

-vivid dreams

-appetite decrease

-mild constipation

After two weeks these side effects subsided and the relief from depression and anxiety have continued.

I am going to my psychiatrist tomorrow to give him an update on the side effects. I would like to continue taking Lexapro if he approves. If the side effects had not subsided, he told me he would prescribe Prozac or Zoloft.

Don B.

M.S. Student :)

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I am a 28 year old male and I have been taking lexapro for 31 days. It has been very effective in reducing my depression and axiety levels. However, I experienced some side effects the first two weeks:

-sweaty palms and feet

-vivid dreams

-appetite decrease

-mild constipation

After two weeks these side effects subsided and the relief from depression and anxiety have continued.

I am going to my psychiatrist tomorrow to give him an update on the side effects. I would like to continue taking Lexapro if he approves. If the side effects had not subsided, he told me he would prescribe Prozac or Zoloft.

Don B.

M.S. Student :)

Thanks so much for the input on Lexapro. The side effects seem do-able. I believe this is another SSRI(?) such as Prozac.....Have to wonder if I may still be able to take another antidepressant in this category. I guess I'm wondering if the Prozac became ineffective after 8 years, and I've such marked S.E.'s trying to come off it - would taking a DIFFERENT SSRI be a viable option for me? I would prefer not to take any of the MAOI's (sp?) if possible........

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Do any of you have anything to share about coming off Prozac???? What were the side effects, etc???

I just got depressed and started nibbling again...but I was on the lowest dose.

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