lexapro

let me just start out by saying i'm 20 years old. three years ago i was diagnosed with clinical depression, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and OCD. i've pretty much been a very 'anxious' person my whole life, especially as a child. it all sparked up again three years ago when my grandma died of cancer, my best friend died of cancer, and my aunt and uncle were diagnosed with cancer. i've been seeing a psychologist for 3 years, and the talk therapy has definitely helped me cope better. i'll have phases where i'll go through depression, and the anxiety/OCD waxes and wanes whenever it decides to (mainly during periods of stress)..

anyway .. as of lately i've been having worse and worse panic attacks .. so i went to my GP today to see if i can get some sort of sedative for when my attacks are unbearable (psychologists can't prescribe meds). i've also been very depressed lately .. and dealing with lots of OCD issues, which has been manifesting itself in my eating habits -- i've developed sort of a weird relationship with food but i've managed to pull myself out of it before it turned into a full-blown ED.

the GP prescribed buspar for my anxiety, and lexapro for my depression. i'm a psychology major, so i know LOTS about all of the different types of meds available for various mental illnesses. throughout the past 3 years, i've managed to have periods where i'll feel fine, and have done this without meds. i've always been sort of hesitant to begin taking antidepressants. having to take buspar when needed doesn't bother me at all, but the idea of taking lexapro scares me. i know a lot about this particular drug as well as many others .. that's not the part that scares me. i just don't know how it'll affect ME in particular, because everyone reacts differently.

if anyone can share any experiences with lexapro, i'd appreciate it. i was prescribed the 10mg dosage

i wouldnt sweat it babe. :p

i was on lexapro when i was a bit younger and i was on 10 mg i think and it didnt really have any side effects at all (besides the regular crap like dry mouth and it made me really tired for the first little while)

but seriously, it IS only 10 mg and you can decide if you want to go off it. if you know about it then im sure you're familiar, or will be before you take it, with the side effects that are dangerous. from one site it says: seizure (convulsions) tremors, shivering, muscle stiffness or twitching; problems with balance or coordination; or agitation, confusion, sweating, fast heartbeat. so your all good if that stuff isnt happening, n if it is just call your doctor.

also, if your situation with your mental stability is such that you really NEED to be on medication thats all fine, but i believe there are better ways to deal with your mind than mask symptoms, though from what IVE experienced with psychologists and psychiatrists, they would disagree. i dont think medication should ever be permanent. just my opinion.

I love lexapro. it saved my life.

Definitely gave me the shakes and i was jittery for the first couple weeks on it, but once I got past that it was great. I was so calm and it really helped with what I was going through.

Good luck

I was given lexapro at age 15 after zoloft and celexa both appeared to neither help nor hurt my recovery. Lexapro affected me in a way that SSRIs have been characterized to affect adolescents, with some serious suicidal ideation and aggression. My mom quickly noticed the change in my behavior from being depressed to being violent. So, they took me off of that and put me on prozac which helped me a lot! Now i'm on nothing, thankfully!

But my mom has been on lexapro for about 5 years now and it really has calmed her depression and anxiety. The trick is finding something that will work for you. I wouldn't be afraid of it, you'll be able to tell how it's affecting you, and if anything doesn't seem right just tell your doctor! Goodluck with everything.

thanks everyone for your replies

 

i'm just confused as to what i want to do .. sometimes i feel really down & want to try taking meds, other times i feel like i'd be okay without it.

i DO believe that depression's caused by a lot of underlying issues i have, but there's definitely a genetic factor. depression and anxiety are on my mom's side of the family; she has 5 sisters and all of them are on some sort of SSRI or have taken one at one point in their lives.

 

i hate this.

hey-

i know how you feel. dont be down like that. my moms whole side of the family is completely screwed up and my dad is bipolar and i thought i was destined to be mentally ill my whole life. you have the choice of what you want to become. you just dont get to choose the challenges you face, and things that stand in the way. depression and anxiety and odc-- all of it is seen as an incurable disease but ultimately you have the power within your own mind to not let it control you.

and so much IS from conditioning that its very likely that if your moms whole family has it, that it was brought about by the way they were raised or something just as much as it could be because of genes. use lexapro if it works until you can manage to get your head on straight, and then deal with your issues, and know you can recover.

I, too, have had depression and OCD and I actually found Lexapro to be the best of the SSRI's for me.  It was the one that caused the fewest side effects by far.  I felt much more able to cope and was able to get off meds completely over a year ago.  I was a bit drowsy for the first couple of weeks, but it went away.

I have anxiety attacks that make me black out. I am on Lexapro and have not had an attack since I started it.

You will have dry mouth when you start it and you will crave carbs in the beginning too. I take mine at nite so if I was to have cravings I am asleep while having them.

I tried to go off of it last year and I ended up in an accident b/c I blacked out. i have been to Drs and counseling and so forth but in my case it is genetic and if I have to take a pill everyday so I am ok - so be it. it's better than the alternative.

"I love lexapro. It saved my life."

My sentiments exactly!  I really don't know where I would be right now if I had not finally submitted myself to the haven of therapy and meds.  After starting on the 10 mg dose of Lexapro, I was literally bouncing off the walls with excessive energy for the first couple of weeks, but that was all I ever experienced in terms of side effects.  I did eventually phase down to 5mg a day and then I went off of it completely without any problems.  I've gone back to it briefly a couple of times when things got a little rough and honestly it's been great every time.  Good Luck!

again, thank you everyone for your replies!

 

i'm going through a really rough time right now; and my aunt, who has been suffering with cancer for the past 3 years just passed away yesterday. i'm still contemplating taking the lexapro .. we'll see how i feel.

as for the buspar, it's not exactly what i was looking for when i asked my doctor to prescribe me something to help with my panic attacks. i was looking for something more along the lines of a benzo .. something that would calm me down right away .. something for short term use! i'm calling him today and asking him to prescribe me something like xanax or ativan for whenever i feel i need it.

While benzos can be taken only as needed, they can also be very addictive and hard to wean off.  You might be thinking that it's better to have a drug that you only have to take when you're feeling anxious, but the daily anxiety meds like buspar and lexapro are a much safer way to go.  I'm not a doctor or anything, but I've heard bad things about benzo addiction and withdrawal.  Be careful!

Edit:  No offense meant to anyone currently taking benzos.  They work quite well if you are good about taking them only as directed by a competent physician.

My daughter takes lexapro and it really helps her. Her schedule (kids/work/sleep) got all messed up last Christmas and she basically wasn't taking it because she was forgetting and after a week or so it was obvious she was falling apart. One morning she was basically hysterical over some minor stuff and after getting her calmed down I asked about her meds and that was when she realized she had only taken like 2 pills in 10 days or so. Once she started back on them regularly she leveled out pretty quick. Just saying.... it's an obvious difference for her and without them she truly suffers.

Obviously you are aware that different meds work for different people, so pay attention to how these make you feel and talk with your doc about them.  They put me on wellbutrin to stop smoking and it was making me homicidal...  only 3 weeks until I stopped taking them because I was devoid of all emotion except irritation at people who got in my way.  They are not for me!

I'm on lexapro, it's worked for me, though I recognize it isn't for everyone. I still have depressive episodes, but not as sevire or for as long. Even before, I'd be fine a lot of the time, and I'd think I'd be tough enough, or strong enough that I didn't need to do go to drugs. And other times I was just hopeless. Honestly, I wish I had done it when I was younger, but I was too proud to admit I couldn't go on like that forever. My mom had wanted me to, and we even tried for a little bit, but she never made me, that was something she gave me the choice about, which I am glad she did, but I just wish I had chosen differently.