First week with Lexapro

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This is right now my 3rd day with Lexapro.

I have read quite a few discussions on internet about this drug (well, it's a therapeutic drug, but it's a drug) and the quorum was unappealable: first week is awful. No mood improving but lots of side effects: headaches, nausea, numbness, insomnia, weirdness and of course lack of sexual drive.

Well, my experience is quite the opposite. No headaches neither nausea. Some insomia, but not much more than before. A bit numb, that's true, but nothing terrible. Only bad thing is the increased frequency of self injury obsessive thougts (fortunately this is supposed to be temporary). On the plus side, sexual drive was only not decreased, but increased. And a great feeling of relaxation and wellbeing that I haven't been able to get before, not even doing meditation every day. In a nutshell, I could say that the first week is very positive and far from awful.

So, I'm wondering now? Is it normal? Perhaps only people with negative experiences discusses them on internet? Just curious...

I've been on the highest dosage of Lexapro for years and I have not experienced negative side effects. It makes me a little sluggish/drowsy, but It completely cured me of my OCD.

Lexapro was not very helpful for me, but I'm glad it's doing you some good!

Escitalopram has almost completely killed my libido. I honestly haven't noticed a difference since I've been on it, but it's nice to see it's working for you.

Lexapro killed my Libido, burned its corpse, pissed on the ashes, then kicked its dog for good measure.

I'm crossing my fingers, OCD is the worst thing I had to handle by far. Just now I'm just wondering why I didn't use it before...



Well, how long has been it?

I have a box of prescribed lexapro. I've decided not to touch it, though, despite my doc advices.

Good it's working for you, keep the updates.

[/quote]Only bad thing is the increased frequency of self injury obsessive thougts (fortunately this is supposed to be temporary)[quote]

you should really consult your doctor about that bro

Do be very conscious of those self harming thoughts. Talk to your doctor, especially if they get worse.

Lexapro works for some people, but it made me more depressed. I think I was on it for about four weeks when I had my suicide attempt. The drug was at least partly to blame. Now they know Lexapro and it's class of drugs can make depression worse in some people, temporarily or for the duration of the drug.

It may not be doing that to you, but you should be aware that it can.

Yeap.



Lexapro is not causing them. They were already there, though only during bedtime, not the whole day. Anyway, it's not that I'm thinking about it. They're intrusive thoughts that pop in continuously. Quite annoying, and a bit scary too. OCD is the worst stuff AD gave to me. Lexapro is supposed to help with it (after 2-3 weeks).

I was on and off lexapro for almost 10 years. it killed my sex drive (not that wanting to kill yourself and having unsafe, despair-fueled sex with heartless strangers from the internet was something I missed) and I'm fairly sure it gave me a facial tic, though I have others anyway. the thing I always noticed about the first week after taking it again was that I clenched my jaw a whole lot, for some reason.

it was worth taking. I'm on generic prozac now because it's cheaper but considering switching back, since I've had pretty bad symptoms since switching.

I tried both Lexapro and Celexa before, and the one side effect I noticed strongly with both was constantly feeling tired.

as far as sexual side effects goes, I had those with Effexor. It did not decrease my sexual desire(and for most of it I was single anyways) but I had serious problems reaching orgasm, alone or with a partner, which is incredibly frustrating when you still want that feeling and can't finish the job.

If Lexapro works for you and you're getting no side effects you can't tolerate during this first week, it's likely to be useful.

Lots of people do have trouble with it, but we are so diverse that you can't really guess whether any particular person will have those annoying side effects. You tried it, and so far, you don't. Count your blessings.

If Lexapro were universally associated with unacceptable side effects, it wouldn't be prescribed nearly as widely. Psychiatrists know that if their patients' meds make them miserable, they'll stop taking them; and that won't put the medication on their mental short list of things to try for depression/anxiety. A drug has to have side effects that are milder than the symptoms of whatever it treats, for at least some patients; otherwise it's useless.

For me, Lexapro was marginally helpful in helping me deal with depression. When I'd been in remission for a year and a half, I stopped taking it; I had problems with tapering off it; finally I just went very slowly, took about a month to come off it, and that worked fine. No long-term effects. Other antidepressants have been more helpful for me, but it wasn't a complete waste. Prozac has fewer side effects for me. I'm starting to think now that I'll be on antidepressants permanently, because of how the depression keeps coming back--so it's important for me to take side effects into account, because I'll be living with them long-term.

I know of lots of people who LOVE Lexapro and consider it a wonder drug, while my experience was horrible.

It was given to me in the ER after a really bad panic attack. I took it for three days. In that time I had CONSTANT serial panic attacks, chest pains so bad I could barely move and I thought I was dying, and seriously considered jumping off the 5th floor of a parking garage one morning on the way to work. I had never had suicidal thoughts before, and it scared the hell out of me. I went home that night and threw the pills out.

I'm now on venlafaxine (generic Effexor), and it's MUCH better, I took the name brand for a few years, and the only side effects I had were drowsiness, and an increase in my body movements -- rocking, fidgeting, etc. I've had a teeny problem with taking longer to reach orgasm, but nothing serious. Sex drive is still alive and well. Due to the cost and the fact that I no longer have insurance, I'm taking the generic version which is much cheaper, but not as good. I have breakthrough panic attacks at times, and the dosage doesn't last as long, even though it's supposed to be time-released. And for some reason the muscles in my face and jaw feel tight all the time.

Meds like there are really a case of depends on the person.

First SSRI for you?

First week is all side effects with minimal beneficial effects. That's pretty much standard for this class of drug. Good to hear your side effects are mild. You'll know for sure whether it is beneficial for you after 4 weeks.

I took escitalopram for three months. It was helpful for both depression and OCD. Only two side effects for me; jaw clenching/teeth grinding as I slept (TMJ is one of the listed side effects), and nightly vivid and usually nervous dreams. Switched to citalopram (Celexa) for financial reasons, Lexapro being still on patent and therefore expensive. Same benefits and side effects on citalopram. I take additional meds to control the dreams.

Well, fourth day and the whole thing popped out a bit. I still keep feeling very relaxed and started to sleep well (I'm gonna start to call them 'camomilla pills'). There's even less side effects, except the weird stuff with the jaw, just this one:

Yeap, same with me.



Mmm... perhaps different drugs fit better different problems. For example, it would be almost impossible that I had a panick attack. I use to keep everything under control, even when anxiety and depression kick me. Using drugs was, for me, a kind of surrender. However, I'm very bad at managing permanent stress. At the end, I started to use them because the stress level was ruining me physically.

Anyway, glad to hear Effexor is helping you though it's curious that the 'jaw' stuff is such a omnipresent effect...



Yeap. And I hope, last one



It's likely I'm gonna be there for long too. I have been dealing with depression and anxiety for long without drugs, since I felt that I should be able to deal with it by myself. Right now, I want some long holydays with regard to deal with psychologic stuff. I'm just exhausted.

With regard to long or medium term, an effect that worries me is the 'supposed' inability to get into a relationship due to those drugs. It's like you don't feel sadness, neither love, and people just go by without really getting into your skin. Anyway, some time caring less could be some fresh air, nothing that bad for some time.