Depression Blog.com

I have been taking lexapro for about 3 months and really think it has made me clinically depressed. I was depressed before taking it, but not clinically. It has caused me to have more panic attacks as well as feelings of hoplessness.

Stupidly, I drank heavily on two separate occasions and felt absolutely horrible the next days. Not only from a hangover, but I had some terrible allergic reaction by mixing the lexapro and the alcohol.

I was only taking 10mg a day, but I am now trying to wean myself off and am taking 5mg a day. I probably should have gone off sooner, but thought that I just needed to give it some time.

Other side effects have been clenching teeth and weight gain. I am not a fan of this drug. I do know others who are on it and it has helped them tremendously, but not me.

Unfortunately, my experience with Lexapro has been devastating.

I am a 31 yr old female student finishing up my PhD. I was prescribed Lexapro as a mild stress reliever to alleviate symptoms caused by Post Concussion Syndrome and school related stress. The Doctor conveniently took out the literature pamphlet from the sample box and threw it away and gave me about 14 tablets and asked me to come back for more. Anyway, seeing no reason to mistrust the doctor, I took 10 mg of Lexapro, first on the day he had prescribed it and then on four consecutive days a week later. THe symptoms are anyone's guess. I had never had anti-depressants in my life and did not realise that this was one till I started feeling the exhaustion and dizziness. Other symptoms - Concentration down to nil - very dangerous for a student, complete aversion to all kinds of food - I have to force myself to eat, nausea and a nagging headache on the left side, complete loss of short term memory - I need to write down that I need to go to work the next day, severe exhaustion, absolute loss of interest in every activity, insomnia and periods of somnolence, joint pains ..... All this after only four consecutive doses. STUDENTS THIS IS A KILLER - DON'T TAKE IT, GO FOR LONG WALKS, TAKE HOT SHOWERS, HAVE HOT MILK, MEDITATE, STAND ON YOUR HEAD IF YOU HAVE TO BUT DON'T TAKE LEXAPRO!!!

I am so lucky I found this site, because I've had the exact same problems as you all. Can someone please tell me how to go off of this drug without feeling horrible? As usual, the cure is worse than the disease.

I took it for six weeks - dr prescibe for anxiety
I felt better at 10mg then went to 20 after two weeks. I was soo tired all the time I stopped taking it. Bad move; have had terrible withdrawls. I can't sleep, can't eat, and my head has been killing me. It's been two weeks
and I still grind my teeth. I still can't sleep
more than a couple of hours a day. I think I need to start taking it again and then slowly
cut my way off of it. Hope it works..

I have been on lexapro for just a few days, I feel extremely tired all the time. I yawn all day long, like every few minutes. I am clinching my teeth as well. I am also having some pretty nasty diarriah. I am going back to my doctor to see what she says. I am going to try and give the meds a few more weeks to see if the side effects diminish as my body gets used to the foreign medication. If anyone has experienced these things and they went away over time, please let me know, so I can have hope. The positive thing is that I have stopped crying, and my anxiety is less intrusive.

I was prescribed Lexapro about 6 or 7 months ago. I have a history of anorexia and bulimia and it was at it's worst at this time. I was also very depressed and unmotivated, I stayed at home and slept all the time. During the first week and a half of taking the Lexapro (10mg) I was very dizzy and had a headache, the world seemed "fuzzy" to me. I didn't really care and used it as an excuse to sleep more. After the third week, I started feeling a lot better. I started walking a couple miles every day. This was a very big deal for me, I had been very sedentary for months. I was also bingeing/purging much less than usual. Again, this was a big deal, I had been on a steady binge/purge cycle for months and months previous. The next couple weeks after that, I became very obsessive and started exercising much more, and eating much less. This, of course, wasn't good, but it made me feel in control temporarily. It was around this time that I went back to my doctor. She was unpleased with my weight loss, but pleased with my mood improvements. I began to relax and eat when I was hungry, exercising semi-regularly. For the first time in years, I began to see food the way that I should. I started going to work. This was good, and it kept me busy. Fast forward about 4 or 5 months to today: I am still going to work, my weight and eating habits have stabilized. These are good things. I've tried going off the medication a few times, but the withdrawals are too intense. Most days I only take 1/2 (5mg) of a pill (10mg). One negative thing is that several times a day, I become overwhelmed with an empty, blank sort of feeling mentally and emotionally. It's a very negative feeling, and I believe it's a result of the medication. I never felt like this before. I don't think I would reccommend Lexapro, or any other antidepressant to anyone. I believe it has simply helped me cover up my problems. I say this because in the couple times that I attempted to quit, I became depressed within days, and began bingeing and purging once again. Lexapro can help you, but don't expect it to solve your problems, that was my mistake.

I have been on 10mg of Lexapro for about 2 years now. The effects it has on my anxiety and depression have been very positive. Lexapro has allowed me to control my temper far better and sleep quite well. The negative side effects are concerning my libido and ability to achieve orgasm. I am a 40 year old, highly active male in very good physical condition. My wife was the first to notice that since I have been on Lexapro, it takes me forever to achieve an orgasm, which is aggravating to her and me.

I started taking Lexapro about 18 months ago for mild depression. At first I found it to be a miracle. No more anxiety. My doctor told me that after about a year I could go off, and decided to since I did not like being on any medication for life. The side effects for going off were horrible. I was unable to get out of bed due to incredible dizziness. My doctor assured me that Lexapro had nothing to do with it. I saw a neurological optimoloigist and a regular neurologist. Had a CAT scan. Nothing was found, so the neurologist prescribed me Lexapro again! I began taking it and was better within 2 days. Which was great after being in bed for 5 weeks during the summer! I stayed on 20 mg of Lexapro for about 4 months. I then started to feel very depressed, even suicidal, which I never in my life felt before! I cut my pills in 1/2 and felt a little more normal, but that experience scared me. I had to get off Lexapro. I stayed on 10 mg for a month, then went to 5 mg for a month. Within a week of going off Lexapro, I began to feel dizzy again. Has anyone else had this experience of withdrawl? And if so, how long did it take to get out of your system?

I have suffered from mild depression most of my life. When I was a teenager I slowly worked my way through every anti-depesssent on the market. Only one ever worked for me, in fact it worked so well I went off of it.I never bothered to remember which drug it was (I'm an idiot).

Now five or so years later I tell my doc about my continued depression and he suggests Lexapro. He gave me a month of 10 mg. samples. The info packet says it takes a month to feel any improvement so I give it the benefit of the doubt through the side effects. The worst of it was the two weeks of horrible exaustion followed by two more weeks of continued lethargy. When I called my doctors office (twice)to ask for another month of doses my calls were not retured- so off the medication I went.
Having been through a number of anti-depressents I'm familiar with withdrawls but going through two weeks of withdrawls for a month worth of medication sucked!

Anyway, back to the doc I go a few weeks later for my ADD medication check and lo-and-behold there my sample packets wait. The doc says I just have to talk with a nurse to get the samples and we can decide at my next appointment (three months later) if I should get a prescription to it. (BTW he was surprized when I complained about the withdrawls. He was of the impression that Lexapro had only mild withdrawls at best.)

So on I go again. This is against my better judgement but after years of depression I really want to feel better and my family is asking me to stick with it.
It is now another month later(and a month more of doses already aquired) and I'm waiting for anything positive to happen.

So far it's been a solid month of zombie-like lethargy. In fact, I'd be perfectly content to not get out of bed at all. I can't even do mindless things like washing the dishes without forgetting my place or what I was doing. Worst of all, I do not give a crap about anything. I have tons of stuff I need to accoplish and I honestly can't work up the effort to care.
Another increadibly annoying side effect is a mild increase of acne. I didn't associate the problem with Lexapro last time through. If I had I wouldn't have bothered starting on this stuff again. After the large amount of money and personal misery I spent on Accutane treatment I'm not happy this is bringing some acne back.
It's also caused me to loose a lot of weight. I am just not hungry ever. I've told my family that the weight loss seems to have evened out but I may just be kidding myself. I wasn't overweight before so the continued drop isn't welcome.

I'm giving it another month to do what it's supposed to but if not I'm done with this stuff for good.

[moderator comment: I am not a doctor, but the lack of care, forgetfulness, and lack of hunger are likely signs of having excessive serotonin in your synapses. Many times the problems that cause depression are not serotonin but people just prescribe crap that boosts your serotonin level to make it "all better."]

I have been on lexapro since jan 1 2004, I recently weened my self off of it. I had no side effects coming off it since i tapered off easily. I was on 10mg a day. It took about 2 full weeks before i noticed any changes, Although it did help me in many ways, After about the 9th month of being on it, it still didnt really help me in social situations. I was put on it for social axinety, but didnt help as much as I hoped. Compared to xannax, in social situations lexapro doesnt seem to do as much as xannax does for me. To be honest the resond i stopped taking lexapro was my girl friend was saying that I was more testy, and seemed to get madder about things that i would normally overlook. It's almost like lexapro was making me the person that I always tried to advoid. The wild, person that didnt take crap from anyone. type person. Is this a common effect of lexapro? these feelings of anger or outrage only became present during the last few months of being on it., Stopped taking completely Nov 13th 2004, so I was on it just under a year, if anyone has had any similar effects please drop me a line to my email djru372@hotmail.com..

I have been on Lexapro for approximately 8 months. I was on Zoloft previously. My doctor changed me to Lexapro because of very strong sexual side effects that I experienced on Zoloft (basically no Libido). I am currently on a 10mg dose of Lexapro. Here are the side effects that I notice on Lexapro. Although my Libido seems somewhat improved and I am much more mellow, I have gained about 10 pounds although I have not changed my diet or exercise routine. I am always tired no matter how much or little sleep I get. I have also noticed that if I take Tylenol pm it has the opposite effect that it is supposed to have-I'm up all night with muscle twitches. I have also noticed that I clench my teeth at night and usually wake up with a sore jaw and sometimes a neck ache. I wake up sweating sometimes in the night and do not seem to have a healthy sensitivity to the cold (I always used to be cold but now I rarely even feel it, even when it is really cold outside). I seem to have trouble remembering certain things that I used to be able to remember easily and I generally feel more "scattered" than before. This would have really bothered me before the medicine as I was very very much a perfectionist but now, I just let it roll off. I also suffer from constipation and fluid retention. I've been on antidepressants for the last 3 years and would really like to get off them as the events that had triggered the depression in the first place are now resolved. My doctor has told me that some people just need to be on antidepressants for life, but I don't believe it. I would like to taper off but I have tried and the withdrawl symptoms are terrible - dizziness, disorientation and rollercoaster emotions. Yuck! Any advice on sensible, slow, tapering methods would be very much appreciated. Thanks.

Lexapro - I've been on Lexapro for only a short time but am concerned over several side effects, drowsiness, I always feel I could close my eyes and drift off; constipation, this has never occurred to me until now; ejaculation delay, aside from the mental obstacle it creates, there is the problem of having a heart attack trying to climax. Perhaps getting pissed off once in a while is not such a bad thing!

I started taking Lexapro for depression when my baby was about 9 months old. She wasn't sleeping through the night yet, so I associated the extreme drowsiness with not getting enough sleep. After about a month, I stopped taking the drug because I heard others talk about the drowsiness effect. I couldn't function at work, yawned all the time, and felt like I was struggling to stay awake all through the day. When my baby was about 18 months old, I started recognizing depression again, and a therapist told me that I should get back on it. She told me that sleepiness wasn't a side effect of Lexapro, and said that it WAS probably the fact that my baby was keeping me up at night. So I tried it again (about 3 weeks ago) and so far I've been a sleepy, lethargic bag of bones the whole time. I can't concentrate at work, I still feel depressed. When I took Celexa I remember literally feeling my brain come out the depressive fog. I had energy and became motivated to get off my butt and go live life. The only problem with Celexa was the sexual side effects. I guess I'm going to have to choose - at this point I would enjoy a better quality of life and can deal with not having orgasms for a while. I'm asking my doctor to take me off Lexapro and put me back on Celexa.

I have been on Lexapro for about 9 months. I was previously on Zoloft, but went switched to Lexapro due to weight gain and sexual side effects. The libido got better, but I have not changed my diest or excersize, and have gained 15 pounds.

I am going to taper off of it.

I've been on lexapro for about 2 months. I was prescribed 10mg, which I started the 1st wk, but since I'm about 100 lbs, I usually split a pill. My doc says this is fine. My "depression" was mostly exhibited as anger and frustration, so when I feel this coming on (ususally around PMS time), I up to a full pill. Side effects the first day were nausea and dizziness. Days 2-4 were just slight dizziness. However, the anger is gone, my sex drive is back (although it is harder to reach orgasm), and I overall have a feeling that life is going to be okay, whereas before I was overwhelmed and pissed off most of the time. For me and my family, Lexapro has been a God-send!

I just left positive info and after reading other comments wanted to add that at first I also yawned a lot and had restless sleep. These symptoms disappeared after about a week. The only negative side effect I experience now is sporadic teeth-clenching, which I must also do in my sleep because I sometimes have sore spots on my tongue. This is an annoyance, but the benefit definately outweighs this negative. Those of you seeking info... Remember, in any situation, people are always more likely to aire complaints rather than write thank-you letters. So it only seems logical that you'll read more negatives than positives. I'm not refuting any of the posted problems, but the people who haven't had problems probably aren't searching blogs -- they've most likely taken up "living" again.

I've been taking Lexapro for a few weeks. I can't seem to control my sugar intake. I crave sugar and without even being able to think about it I eat anything containing a lot of sugar. Is there a connection with Lexapro and sugar? I feel out of control with sugar and it doesn't help my anxiety. It seems quite strange!

I have been taking Lexapro for about a month. My doctor prescribed it for IBS and minor anxiety. Although it has helped my IBS greatly, the side effects are not worth it. I am tired all the time no matter how much sleep I get. It is almost impossible to achieve an orgasm and my libido is almost non-existent. I feel empty inside and not motivated to do anything. I am taking myself off and I just pray I do not experience the withdrawal symptoms I've read about here. Wish me luck.

I went on vacation this past weekend, forgot my Lexapro, and was really worried about withdrawl side effects after reading this blog. I'm relieved to report that I had NO negative side effects at all. By day 3 I had less patience, but that was about it. On day 4, back home, I took my usual 5mg (I'm small and split pills) and it was like starting over. No nausea, but definately felt in a fog and just "floated" through the day not getting much done. Day 5 (today)and I feel totally normal again.

I was prescribed Lexapro when my husband was fighting overseas in the war. Understandable to be depressed. I have been taking this drug for over 2 years now, when I was only situationally depressed. I have gained over 30 pounds. Whenever I try to go off the meds, I have dizzy spells and my tongue turns numb. After a few days, I go back on the meds to make the dizziness subside. I know I don't need these drugs and I feel trapped to take them. Another problem I have discovered, is that I was prescribed the maximum dosage, so I have a lot of weening to do until I can permantly go off of this drug. I am so frustrated!

I WAS PRESCIBED LEXAPRO APPROXIMATELY 2 MONTHS AGO WASNT SURE IF I WANTED TO BE ON A DRUG FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE FOR ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION. WELL LAST NIGHT WAS BAD SO I TOOK 10 MG OF THIS DRUG. COULDNT SLEEP STOMACH ACHED FELT SICK TO STOMACH DONT KNOW IF ITS THE DRUG OR ANXIETY. I WILL NOT TAKE ANOTHER PILL. SIDE EFFECTS SOUND TOO HORRIBLE. SOUNDS LIKE SOME OF MY DAYS ALREADY. I DONT WANT TO BE ON A DRUG TO GET OVER THESE FEELINGS AND STILL HAVE THE FEELINGS. IS THERE ANY HELP OUT THERE OTHER THAN MIND ALTERING DRUGS?

I've been on Lexapro for almost a year now, prescribed for depression/anger/pmdd kind of issues. It has made a huge change in my life - i no longer go through huge mood swings, ridiculous ups and downs - it's just help me kind of settle things down and be more normal. I don't flip out on my boyfriend or think about killing myself anymore. I take 15mg a day, and although it's definitely hurt my libido and when I don't take it I get headaches and get dizzy, it's been worth it to feel like a real person again. I haven't gained any weight or had any other problems.

I'VE BEEN ON LEXAPRO FOR ALMOST 3 YEARS AND FEEL IT MASKS MY DEPRESSION IN A WAY I DON'T TRUST...IN OTHER WORDS, THAT IT'S REPRESSING IT, AND IT WILL COME OUT IN OTHER WAYS. I'VE BEEN ON SEVERAL OTHER ANTIDEPRESSANTS AND THIS IS THE FIRST ONE THAT DOESN'T LET ME CRY. AT ALL. EVEN THROUGH THE DEATHS OF TWO CLOSE FRIENDS. I KNOW I NEED TO CRY, I CAN EVEN FEEL THE CATCHING IN MY THROAT, BUT THE CRYING WON'T COME. ONE TIME I FORGOT TO TAKE THE LEXAPRO FOR FOUR DAYS AND ENDED UP BURSTING INTO TEARS THAT LASTED FOR FOUR HOURS. I HATED FEELING THAT BAD BUT LOVED GETTING ALL THAT FEELING OUT. I USED TO BE ON SERZONE AND IT WORKED GREAT---I WAS MYSELF, WITH ELATION AND TEARS---I JUST DIDN'T HAVE THE EXTREME HIGHS AND LOWS. HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS PROBLEM WITH LEXAPRO?

After reading the other comments, adding a P.S.:
I also have been having a terrible time keeping my temper since I've been on the Lexapro, but I hadn't related it to the Lexapro til now. Also, the craving for chocolate has been mindboggling---maybe literally!

I was prescribed Lexapro for anxiety and depression. I refuse to take this medication ever again! I took it about 9:30 at night. I finally fell asleep about 10:30-11:00 pm. I was up at 1:30 with the worst case of nausea and diarreah I have ever had in my life. I begged God for two hours to let me live through this ordeal. The nausea and diarreah were stomach acid. I also have gastritis and I'm starting to wonder what this drug did to me. The diarreah got to the point it was blood and stomach acid. I took it on Thurs. night and went to the ER Friday morning. They could find no cause for the bloody bm's. I have NEVER had that before in my life. It is now Sunday afternoon and I am still trying to recover. I'm starting to eat a little more and the diarreah is finally wearing off (I think). I still get the shakes and severe lightheadedness/dizziness. I hope this ends soon. I also hope that this comment will help someone who is debating taking this drug. I don't know if this is just my reaction to it but to me anything that causes diarreah of stomach acid and blood is NOT something that needs to be taken lightly.

None of the antidepressants work very well.

I have been on Paxil, Zoloft, Lexapro, Elavil, Remeron and Effexor.

Lexapro is by far the worst, with weight gain, no effect on my depression, & incurring suicidal thoughts.

Elavil works the best for me, although it is old-fasioned.

Zoloft seems the lesser of all evils.

I have been taking Lexapro for about 6 weeks now and have gained 10 lbs. I have decided that I am going to stop taking the Lexapro. What's the best way to taper off.

Thanks, Jackie

my wife said she became mildly depressed about a year or so ago and the doctor, who is a morron,put her on lexapro 10mg. a few months later i noticed her doing weird things, listening to the same music over and over very loudly,she had no desire for sex and could not reach an orgasm when we did. She left me a couple of months later with hardly any emotion at all.today i recieved divorce papers. she said she tried to get off of lexapro once and became very angry, so she just got right back on it.i love her very much but there seems like there is nothing i can do.

I started taking Cipralex (Lexapro) over a month ago. I understand what people are going through who have negative comments (anxiety, tired, yawning, headaches, problems eating, diarrehea, etc.). I also experienced these side effects on the drug too. Only recently have these improved/fadded away and now I feel great. I suggest you persevere for 6 weeks to see if it will work for you. You should receive 100% of the benefits and the side effects should dimish by that time. I hope this helps you.

I startede taking lexapro a little over a year ago... well maybe more than that... I think it was maybe a year and a half ago. I was feeling very anxious and depressed and like many of you would not get out of bed etc. It really helped me after a few weeks I felt great no problems etc. I after about 9months or so started to wean myself off of it. I did not feel li needed it anymore. I spoke to my psychatrist and she was fine with it. However, I also have a fear of flying and my family is going overseas in a few weeks. I had noticed that when i took the lexapro in conjunction with my other meds for flying my anxiety decreased extensivly. So she told me I could start to take it again for a few weeks before and then through the trip. To help with the flying. I hav ebeen on it for approximatly 3 weeks again and feel exactly how i felt when I decided I needed to start going on meds I feel anxious and confused and detached. i have decided to forgo taking ita gain
but am curious if it is possible for meds to ahve the opposite effect if you don't need it.

I have been taking lexapro 20mg a day for about 4 years. But I still have problems with depression. I feel like I can make noone happy including myself. I sometimes even have thoughts that this world would be a better place if I was'nt in it. I dont know what to do. I have been on celexa, prozac, effexor, paxil, wellbutrin, and zoloft and nothing seems to work. I am 28 years old, I am not married yet. But engaged to a great guy to be married this October. We have been together for almost 3 years and we both want children really bad. But have'nt been able to get pregnant. We both have medical problems, mine being the ectopic pregnancy 7 years ago. Also he has had testicular cancer. He was raising a child that he was told was his for 3 years and through DNA testing we found out that he is not his. I know it's not this child's fault but in the beginning he got on my nerves. But I dealt with this because I thought he was his. Well once we found out that he was not his I tried for the benefit of the child and my fiance to deal with this. But I cant get past the fact that he's not his biological child and he really does get on my nerves. Even though we dont get him anymore his parents still do and try to make us feel bad that he's not a part of our lives like he once was. I honestly think it would make everyone happy including my mother, my fiance if I was not around anymore. If anyone has any advice or has ever been in a similar situation I would greatly appreciate anyone's point of view.

I stumbled across this forum. I have been on 10 mg of Lexapro for about two years and I'm shocked to see all of these people experiencing what I have been experiencing. I have had heavy sweating, memory loss, intense fits of rage, increased suicidal thoughts, teeth clenching, weight gain, and, worst of all, I don't feel anything. I am cut off from normal, healthy emotion. I am an actor, and I can't seem to cry anymore! This is a problem!

I think I might need to leave Lexapro behind but those of you trying to get off this drug have me even more concerned!

I have been on Lexapro for about 2 years and I noticed a change for the better as far as my depression goes. However, during the same time-frame I've noticed that I have become very angry about many things. I've always been a very mellow and tolerant person, that has now changed. Has anyone else experienced this? Any suggestions?
Thanks
Brad

For the anonymous woman's posting on 6/11. Really read what you are saying:
- He was raising a child that he was told was his for 3 years and through DNA testing we found out that he is not his. I know it's not this child's fault but in the beginning he got on my nerves. But I dealt with this because I thought he was his.

- We have been together for almost 3 years and we both want children really bad. But have'nt been able to get pregnant.

Someone who says that a 3 year old of their fiance's got on their nerves is definitely NOT ready to be a parent. If you were you would have been more tolerable with that child. Because it's yours won't make it any easier.

Get help for yourself and be part of a solution instead of creating more problems with a family.

I was on Zoloft for a couple of months and felt great on 100mg, but I started to twitch when I slept at night, to the point of waking up out of a deep sleep. So the do put me on 20 mg of lexapro. Within in a week I thought I could literally kill someone. So I begged to move to 10 mg. It's been a week and half and I'm unsure about. I have jaw clenching, and am fidgety. I'm staying on it for a few more weeks and hope it works like the Zoloft...I defintely feel Serotonin is what I always need though. I'm 36.

so uh-- im 21 years of age and i lack passion in life and tend to be apathetic. so i got on lexapro at 10mg a day and initially i got tired and a few weeks into it i thought i felt better. now after being on it for a lil over 3 months i don't notice anything different about me. the psychiatrist says it is a type of drug you won't feel or notice and the impact of the drug isn't that great. he also mentioned that it is the therapy that is what will heal me. which i think is a crock because i don't have any thing to talk about. anyways after gazing at some of you people and the side effects and opinions i'd have to say lexapro doesn't seem to be the pill for you or me. then again at least im not going thru withdrawls or some of the cruddy side effects that you people are. you guys ever just been bored of life? hit me up with your answers at my email.

I have been on Lexapro for almost 2 years. I have had depression for many years before that and have fought taking an anti-depressant for most of that time. Finally, my doctor convinced me to go on Lexapro. Now, I did feel many of the symptoms that are described within this blog, however I do feel that the benefits have far outweight the negatives. Nothing in this world is free. There is no MAGIC pill that will fix everything without any side effects. So, I do take the good with the bad. Many of the strong side effects of fatigue, delayed ejaculation, headaches, etc. have gone away with time. This medicine in many ways has saved my life.
Having been on it for so long and having done so well, I have asked my doctor if it is becoming time for me to consider getting off Lexapro. I am scared of all the physical and mental consequences. But, like I said before, there is no magic pill. I do believe that I might be ready to try life again without a daily pill. I'll just take a very long time to taper off.

I was taking Lexapro for about 6 months. I started developing acne after the first month and couldn't figure out why. Not thinking it could be the Lexapro, i stayed on it for a long time and developed a serious case of acne. It was painful! Eventually I decided it had to be the Lexapro even though the Lexapro was really working well for my depression. As soon as i stopped taking it my acne started to go away instantly! Because of the serious case of acne I got from Lexapro though, I ended up going on Accutane. That was about 1 years ago and I am terrified to take any other kind of antidepressant even though I suffer from depression and I really felt better when I was on a medication. If anyone can help me and give me any information on a medication I can go on that has not given anyone side effects of acne I would love to hear someones advice. Thank you!

Been taking Lexapro for about 2 months - I have had a great experience with it. I am a 46 year-old male who was suffering with depression. This medication has "leveled" me out - no outbursts of anger and it allows me to contemplate a situation instead of flying off the handle with it. Only side effects have been insomnia for me, which in turn keeps me yawning for most of the morning. No real sexual problems either. I have not gained any weight, as a matter of fact I get out more now and exercise so I feel healthier.

I have been on Lexapro for a little over a year, and am up to 40 mg. a day. I am fortunate to have a very competent psychiatrist, at a very prestigious Medical Institution. This is VERY important. I had taken meds. before under the care of half-baked psychiatrists at free clinics, and the difference is phenomenal. At first the Lexapro didn't work, and so he adjusted the medicine; he kept slowly adjusting it up, and had me split doses in half, and take one part at diff. times of day. He checked in with me regularly, on the phone, and regularly assessed my symptoms and responses with assessment tests. Now it is helping to alleviate my OCD, Anxiety and Depression symptoms, BUT I have had fits of rage over the past couple of months, and this worries me. I haven't yet told my psychiatrist, but will see him in a couple of weeks. My fuse is now very short, and I feel irritable, and agitated a lot of the time. I wondered if it might be the Lexapro, and did some google-ing, and found this forum. Wanted to write so I could IMPART MY experience with a competent psychiatrist, and, also, so I could find out if others are feeling this same thing after taking Lexapro for some time.

I am a 29 year old female. I have been taking Lexapro for 3-4 weeks, and I am so tired and "out of it" that I can barely concentrate enough to type this post. I have been in bed for 4 straight days. I feel like I could sleep 24/7. This is especially terrible because I have two young children to take care of,(one is an infant). The first week that I took Lexapro 10 mg. I just felt a little dizzy and foggy but I could still function. Then, in the second week the fatigue started. It kept getting worse, my doctor decreased my dosage to 5mg. and told me that it should get better, but it has gotten more terrible each day. Has anyone else ever had this side effect even on such a small dose? I am getting very scared that there is something else wrong with me (besides Lexapro).

I was on lexapro for one year, and it kind of helped out my anxiety and depression symptoms. The first few months were amazing, I felt calm, cool and comfortable in any situation. I did have some nasty side effects when mixing with alcohol and, on one occasion, marihuana. The mix of pot with lexapro was really bad. I was with a friend in his apartment and I became so paranoid and freaked out I couldn't move and just sobbed uncontrollably. My friend didn't know what to do, it was scary. It's been about a year since I came off lexapro and I feel good. I get anxious and depressed some days but nothing like before I took the drug.

I'm 22 and I took Lexapro for over a year and I found it helped with my depression and overall mood incredibly. Everyone around me also noticed a positive change.
I was very fortunate with my doctor, he explained how they might effect me and talked me through how they worked. Yes the first two weeks or so I felt tired but he warned me this may happen. I don't think this is just a side effect of Lexapro though, family members who have been on other anti-depressants have had the same thing happen. It is not meant to be an instant cure so people need to not expect that from them. Like most medicines they dont fix everything straight away. After the first couple of weeks of taking them the change in my moods was very apparent.
I've noticed many of you saying that when you came off them u had terrible withdrawals and your moods got worse - I also had that, but because I just stopped taking them one day. It's advised by doctors, and is very clearly stated on the box that they are not to be stopped without consulting the doctor. My doctor helped me come off them slowly the second time and therefore I had no negative effects or withdrawals of any kind.

I've had chronic anxiety all my life (literally), and have been on several psychotropic drugs for treatment. I hate them ALL. If I could live with the anxiety, I'd refuse to take the meds, but it makes me suicidal. Switched from Paxil to Lexapro about a year ago. At first, I LOVED it and thought I'd finally found the golden pill. But 3 or 4 months ago, I noticed I couldn't reach orgasm. This has NEVER been a problem for me, in fact I used to have multis. But not anymore.

Last night I realized I AM having orgasms, I just can't FEEL them. I could tell by the physical after-effects that my body had orgasmed, yet to me it had felt like everything climbed to a certain point and then just stopped. No glorious cresting-the-peak, and delicious slide back down the other side. Just ... nothing. I feel cheated. This is devastating to me. I've only been married 3 years, and am crazy in love with my husband.

Came across this forum while seeking answers, and now I read on here OTHER stuff that it hadn't occurred to me Lexapro might be causing. I've gained 30 pounds, and lost interest in all physical activities. My house looks like a slum because I just don't care enough to clean it (I thought I'd just gotten lazy!), and I never want to go anywhere. I've become a total couch potato.

My doctor says "Lexapro doesn't cause significant side effects." He's an idiot. I want OFF this stuff, but Wellbutrin isn't effective for anxiety. I don't know what else I could try.

I have suffered from mild depression most of my life and have battled with bulimia for over 15 years. I started taking Lexapro three months ago and it has been very good for me! Of course there were a few side effects (trouble staying asleep, jaw clenching, and dizziness). I rather have the side effects then be miserable! My mood has completely changed, I have lost 7 pounds, and I do not feel like binging and purging. I was mortified when I first started taking Lexapro after reading so many negative comments but I guess things work differently on an individual.

I have suffered from mild depression most of my life and have battled with bulimia for over 15 years. I started taking Lexapro three months ago and it has been very good for me! Of course there were a few side effects (trouble staying asleep, and jaw clenching, and dizziness). I rather have the side effects then be miserable! My mood has completely changed, I have lost 7 pounds, and I do not feel like binging and purging. I was mortified when I first started taking Lexapro after reading so many negative comments but I guess things work differently on every individual.

Talking about Lexapro in regards to anxiety this med doesn't do anything. I had panic attacks that 2 different ear, nose and throat Drs thought I had acid reflex and had me on Nexium for 4 years and I didn't have anything but stress related anxiety. Tranzene worked fine but it's a downer and made me sleepy and gain weight. I wanted something else so my regular Dr put me on Lexapro which didn't help at all, I still had to use Tranzene and now 3-4 months later I decided to get off it. I quit cold turkey on the Lexapro and have been having bad dizziness, night sweats, leg itching and arm numbness to name a few. It has been about a week since I quit taking it and nothing would ever make me get back on it.
Does anyone have any idea how long it takes for all the withdrawal sypmtoms to go away? i've been on several sites and hear some 2-3 weeks but some people say months. I know everyone is different but I've heard mostly lousy things about this drug especially getting off it no matter how many different ways they try.

So far I like lexapro, it has helped with my OCD.

I have been on lexapro for 2 weeks. The first two days were amazing, I felt like i should've taken it years ago! But shortly thereafter I crashed...
• Suicidal Thoughts
• Complete loss of short term memory – forgetting days of the week, where I live, what classes I have
• Terrible binging – in one sitting: 3 PB&J sandwiches, 3 oatmeal cookies, 2 bowls of cereal, 2 boca burgers, 2 yogurts
• Absolutely no motivation to do anything like shower, get dressed, move out of bed
• Lethargy – can’t get out of bed, can’t focus or concentrate at all
• My head feels like it’s 1000 pounds
• No interest in doing anything that I used to enjoy
• I keep grinding my teeth
• I feel sore and weak all the time
• My surroundings feel “fuzzy”
• I just want to give up on everything
• I’m too tired to keep trying
• I can’t stop eating even though it’s making me sick
• I feel like a zombie
• I feel like everyone hates me
• I hate myself
• But I don’t give a crap that I feel this way, I wouldn’t care if I died
• It takes too much effort and energy to care about anything or anyone anymore including myself
• I just want to crawl under a desk and be away from everyone
• I wish I could cry but I can’t express any emotion
• I yawn all the time

This IS from the Lexapro-- I have been diagnosed with massive depression but it was never this bad, I have never felt so worthless and alone in my entire life! I'm getting off of this, this medication is a KILLER for sure...

I am 36 (female) , married for 12 years and we have a 10 year old child. I have a flexable job that allows me time for family and to take care of our home. It was surprising to my family and myself when I started showing signs of being depressed last march. What started out as the "blues" progressivly got worse. I began having feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness, etc... unable to shake off these dark feelings I began to wish for a way I could just erase myself out of the world. I started taking St. John's Wort and SAM-e. I gave up coffee and alchohol(not a big drinker anyway). still I continued to spiral deeper and deeper into depression. I started seeing a therapist and went to the Dr. for a physical and blood tests.
Both Drs. felt I needed an anti-d., and more out of concern for my family than myself I agreed to give meds a try. Having never taken anything stronger than cold med I was a little nervous. I have been taking 5mg of Lexapro at bedtime for two weeks. I am so grateful for the relief from the dark emptiness, and the negative "tape" that was slowly and painfully distroying my life and my familys happiness.

I'm a student who has been taking lexapro for four weeks now and it has saved me. The benefits far outweigh the side effects (which aren't unpleasant). Without it I would never have been able to drag myself out of the vicious cycle and finish my studies.

Side effects:

My IQ might be a points lower, but before taking it I was always so anxious that I didn't ever use my IQ anyhow. Sometimes I feel spaced out, and my coordination is poor. The jaw clenching has stopped, but I'm still sweating and my skin is hot.

Benefits:

I feel relaxed and energetic at the same time. I feel fresh all day although I only sleep for 5 hours (before I needed 8). Everything is twice as enjoyable, food tastes nicer, sex is better, my skin is so sensitive that every massage is the best I've had yet. I'm much more aware of the world around me. Instead of getting anxious I get euphoric and it helps me to get work done rather than stop me. I can lift more weight in the gym. My body rarely aches anymore and I'm never irritable. I am also a lot more attracted to people in general and have become more extroverted and sociable.

Before taking SSRIs I've always had a very cynical opinion of them, but now I've completely changed my point of view. I would recommend all students with depression to take them sooner rather than later. I wasted a lot of time trying to pull myself out by the bootstraps and ended getting in deeper and deeper as a result. I doesn't hurt to try - if you get negative side effects you can always try a different SSRI.

I've tried lexapro a number of times. Between severe headaches and anxiety, i have started and stopped few times. It seems like each time i stop my headaches are more tension like and last longer. I've also become irrational, am tense, and have had thoughts of despair and severe emotional weakness. I've never experienced anything close to this. It is exhaustive and confusing. Any help?

Hi Mark, Lexapro does not sound like it is the right fit for you. My Dr. told me some people need to try several diffrent antidepressants before they find the right fit. I hope you have a good doctor who will work with you. I pray you find some releif from this painfull illness soon!

I thought that I was the only one who was feeling these side effects of Lexapro / Cipralex. I was well on my way to achieving my weight loss goal and then my weight loss just stopped. However hard I tried nothing worked. I thought that it was something that I was doing wrong but it seems not. I have gained back all 14LBs and I am miserable. I also have a really hard time concentrating on my job or my school work. The first six weeks I would say after I started taking it were the worst. It would give me dizzy spells and nausea like nothing else. I also could not focus at all at work. Some days I would just stare at the computer screen all day and when I would go over the work that I had done that I had done for the day it was full of mistakes that I would not normally make.
That said my life has improved so much since I started taking it. I have hobbies and my inhibitions about sex are gone. Once I missed about 10 days without taking it and I could feel the change back to my constantly sad, and withdrawn self. Any suggestions? I would not mind sexual side effects for now but the weight gain is a no no!

I took myself off of Cymbalta 15 days ago cold turkey. It has been a living hell. I've had brain "zaps" where it feels like an airplane in my head, headaches serious enough to go to the Er and horrible nauseau and dry heaves. I'm so anxious and wmotional and depressed, I scare myself. I was taking Cymbalta for Nerve pain. I went to the dr. yesterday because I could not handle myself and was scaring my 24 year old son. I was considering taking off to be alone and yet afraid what I might do. My Dr. said none of this was due to the Cymbalta..we argued. I never felt any nerve pain relief from the Cymbalta by the way, and was more depressed. She has prescribed 10mg of Lexapro to help me deal with my anxiety and suggested a therapist. Help here..what does a person do? I've never been on any regular drug (every day) even with back surgeries, shoulder surgery, neck injury. (car accident and work injury)My first of both my whole life. Any suggestions. I'd rather be drug free altogether, but am having a horrible time. Thank-you.

I have been on Lexapro for 10 days now. I was diagnonsed with generalized anxiety disorder when I was 11 and am now 22 years old and in my final semester of college. About 2 weeks ago I had a panic attack and the symptoms were so debilitating that I ended up in the hospital two days in a row. I was prescribed Lexapro and since I started taking it, I have noticed great changes. My depression has almost completely gone away in only 10 days, I am able to function much better, and can concentrate on studying. Since starting on Lexapro, I have more energy to work out and in fact have lost 2-3 pounds in the 10-day period since I started taking it.

well my doc tryed to give me lexapro but my expereance wit paxil scared the life out of me and now i am afrade of every thing even over the counter meds can someone write me and recamend a good med at sonyahdoor@yahoo.com

I am a 56 year old married male. I took methampthetamine on a daily basis for approximately twenty years. It took an arrest and some jail time to make me quit. When I got out of jail and got home all I could do was curl up in bed and hope I could get some sleep so time would go by faster. My drug taking had so totally destroyed my serotonin and norepinephrine generators I had zero motivation. I wouldn't even get out of bed to eat and I lost 50 pounds. My wonderful wife insisted that I see my doctor about me depression. After laying in bed for ten months I finally went. I told my doctor the whole story including my history of drug abuse and he prescribed Lexapro. I took it for one month and absolutely nothing happened. I went back and he put me on Wellbutrin. I took it for one week and I started to experience horrible, depressing thoughts. Watching TV became depressing. Even the animal channel was bad. Watching an insect eat another insect horrified me! I quickly called my doctor and told him about my situation. He then prescribed Effexor. That was one week ago. It has been a miracle, an answer to my prayers. I have now begun to feel normal. Actually I feel great. Not high, but normal. Look at me, I'm actually writing this blog! In closing, allow me to offer some advice. If you take an antideppressant and it doesn't work or you have a bad experience, try something else. I'm certain that there is something out there that can work for most people suffering depression. Have faith and cling to hope. One more thing, stay away from illegal drugs, they ruined my career, my life and nearly my family and they will do the same to you.

i'm 15, and i've been taking lexapro for about 6 months and last night when i was just about to go to bed. i was online talking with friends and i just got REALLY REALLY REALLY dizzy. and i was like "whoa, wtf is this???" and i got offline and went upstairs to bed and i couldn't fall asleep. so then i had this really strange urge to masturbate (so i did) and i couldn't orgasm. whatsup w/ that?

well a orgasm is the lest of my problems i just want to feel normal fuck some sex!

I took Lexapro for the first time about 2 years ago and had a hard time staying with it at first - It gave me insomnia. I felt relaxed enough to sleep at night but I never dozed off. After a while, this problem lessened but only if I took the pill first thing in the morning.
Also in the beginning, sometimes I would get hostile or felt like a zombie but this went away after the first week.
It was only through peers' constant nagging that I stayed with the drug and after about a month, it seemed to noticeably improve my mood, to being more optimistic and and in control of my emotions.
When I took lexapro, I had the familiar problem of delayed/less intense orgasm, even though sometimes it seemed to actually increase my libido (maybe I'm just horny anyway), then I discovered a "trick" that worked for me - even with continued usage, if you miss taking the pill just one day and then have sex, these 'negative' consequences go away and I am pretty much back to normal function. In other words, the sexual side effects seem to go away quickly. Missing a dosage every now and then probably won't hurt you.

I've been off of Lexapro now for about 4 months and I seem to be slipping back into my old problems with worrying, anxiety and depression so I'm going to get back on it.

I have been taking Lexapro for over two months now at a 10mg dosage per day. My initial reaction to the truck was lethargy and less anxiety. I am a 37 year old male and feedback from my spouse is that I am more relaxed and less on edge. I am normally a perfectionist and of late I have found myself relaxed to the point of needing to motivate myself to action. Two interesting side effects worthy of noting in my circumstance: I have the ability to maintain an erection for a significant amount of time and while my orgasms take some time to achieve, they are pretty significant and leave me feeling light headed and totally fulfilled for lack of a better word. {this I suppose could be called a benefit rather than a side effect!} The other effect I notice is more of a deep sleep and plenty of dreams. My dreams are so frequent and easy to achieve I have a hard time waking and in some cases fear I could sleep all day. The interesting thing about the dreams is that some are so real I find myself confused about what I have experienced vs. that which I might have dreamed. I have no reason to discontinue use of Lexapro however if I find that my ability to concentrate effects my work and school, I will wean myself off the medication.

ive been taking lexapro for 4 months i am staying more exausted dont wanna do anything my sides of mylegs and around chin brake out in hives, but before i started lexapro i had feelings of eletric shocks in my head stayed way more dizzy,had face tingling bad sweating. so i guess it has worked

I have been on Lexapro for almost 3 months. I have found that Lexapro helps a lot with my anxiety and worrying. However, it does not seem to help my depression. I have some side effects -sweating (deodorant doesn't even help anymore), diarrhea, and forgetfulness. The forgetfulness bothers me the most. I keep forgetting things that I would never have forgotten before taking the drug, and if I'm not forgetting something, I feel like I am anyway! It is weird. I plan on discontinuing the medication.

I have been taking lexapro for 6 months now. My doctor started me on half a 10 mg tablet for about the first 6 days. The first week and a half were horrible!! Lots of nausea and vomiting. Like a week long hangover!! But I was comitted to helping myself and I trust my doctor so I stepped up to 10mg. By the 3rd week the physical side effects started to subside and I was able to make an appointment for counseling. About 5 weeks into taking lexapro, I started to notice the world around me again, things started looking bright again. My counselor was teaching me how to cope with the stress that brought on my anxiety and depression. By the end of the second month things were getting way better. I had started exercising again, and my doctor sent me to a dietician and I learned how to eat well. I started losing weight. I continued in counseling, and now 6 months later I am feeling like my old self again, but I am not 35 pounds lighter. Still have issues to work out, I am continuing on in counseling. Still on lexapro, just 10mg a day. I see my doctor regularly. He tells me when the time comes, I will need to taper off lexapro. Cut the dose in half for a couple weeks, then go to every other day for a few weeks, then twice a week. All along being evaluated and if the taper is to fast, he can change it along the way.

You know one point I want to make about my experience with depression. The drugs won't cure you and neither will the doctor or therapist. You have to cure yourself. But the paradox is that you can't sure yourself. When I was depressed, I did not realize how strongly depressed I was. Now that I am not depressed, I can look back and see how bad my depressions really was. Like being in a hole, but not know how deep it is until you climb out!!
To break the paradox, you simply need help. You will provide the solution, but you can't do it on your own. The meds, such as lexapro, will increase serotonin levels in your brain. That will make you less depressed so you can work with a counselor. This artificial increase of serotonin is like "jump starting" your brain. Just a little help for maybe a year or so. Once you get the jump start, the counselor will help you explore your feelings and then teach you tools to deal with the feelings. Tools to cope with stress. Once you get to this point, this is where you have to do your work. You have to use the tools to get (and keep) yourself healthy. The tools might be things like brain exercies or checklists to handle situations that cause you stress. Your "toolbox" will be tailored to meet your specific needs. One other very important point, you need to exercise!! Even if you don't need to loose weight, you must exercise. I had not had really exercised for several years, it was hard to get started, but you know what? Exercise does make me feel better. My doctor told me exercise is important because it stimulates a brain chemical called norepihepherine. Doesn't take much, 20 to 30 mins a day of brisk exercise, even a nice walk will do for starters. I think the whole key to feeling good is to do all things that keep your brain chemistry in balance. That is just my opinion... That is what my experience with depression has been. If you are reading this and feel depressed, please go see your doctor, or any doctor. You can get the help you need to get over your depression, and learn how to manage the things that ended up making you depressed in the first place. Get help and you can do the rest!! For me the stresses of modern living had overloaded my brain. I suspect there are a lot of other people that get depressed because of the incredible demands of modern living. I am in my mid 40's by the way....never to late to get help!!

peace and I hope you pick up the phone and call your doctor today!!

Benji Q.

I am a PhD student at an Ivy League school--I say this just to emphasize the fact that I have no time to be apathetic, tired or lethargic. I have been on Lexapro for about a year now and think it is great. I have always been a depressive personality, since I was a kid actually. I started taking Lexapro because I had developed a severe anxiety disorder. I am now not depressed for the first time in my life nor anxious!

I did not experience any negative side effects with Lexapro except for anorgasmia for several months, and a feeling of sluggishness for about the first month.

The anorgasmia went away on its own, after about 6 months. I recommed to people feeling sluggish to go on a cleansing diet and eat foods that strengthen your liver and kidney, the organs that are responsible for cleaning lexapro out of your body. Lexapro is a drug, so it does function as a toxin on your liver and this may explain people's problems with weight gain, feeling sluggish, etc. After I changed my diet to be fibre and protein high and cut down on breads and sugars, the sluggishness went away and I haven't felt it since. I have also not gained any weight.

Most of the time I can't tell I'm taking anything, which led to my most recent problem. After a year of taking lexapro diligently everyday, I forgot to refill my prescription for two days (or more specifically would remember once all the pharmacies were closed). On the second day I developed a headache and needed to take a 3 hour nap in the middle of the day even though I slept 8 hours the night before. I checked on line to find out if this was normal after only missing 2 doses, and sure enough, based on people's comments, it looks like it is.

I personally plan to take this drug as long as I can, indefinately if possible. It's great to not feel depressed, to be more of an extrovert, and to be less self-conscious as I was pre-lexapro. If you are an academic and have been depressed for a very long time (like years or decades) try some kind of medication. I avoided it for years, and now wish I had started taking something a long time ago. I feel that much better, and my scholarship has actually improved!

You can still live a rigorous, creative life with lexapro.

i have developed severe anxiety and anger issues since i had my child 15 months ago. i am very short tempered and i get all worked up and yell and scream over the smallest issues. i decided i needed to do something about it when i "flipped out" on my son for no particular reason and he started acting like he was afraid of me. i have taken zoloft in the past and it did very little for me other than making me feel worse and keep me in bed for 3 or 4 days at a time, so i was pretty aprehensive about starting again. i have been taking lexapro for 6 days now and i know it sounds crazy, but i actually feel much better. i have heard that lexapro can "kick in" faster than most anti-depressants, but this seems pretty fast. i have thought that this may be a "placebo effect" like its all in my head and i feel better just because im taking a pill, but if thats what it takes to stop "flipping out" all the time, then so be it. as for side effects, i get a headache for a few hours after taking the pill (at 9:30 am) but it is starting to get less frequent, and ive noticed that my vision is a little worse (sometimes AD's can dilate your eyes and that makes your vision a little blurry). i do notice that i clench my teeth, subsequently making my jaw hurt, and i have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep. i do feel better overall, and the side effects are not enough to make me quit.

and just a thought about the people on here that say "ive gained 10 pounds and im going to stop taking lexapro." please, i'd rather be 10 pounds heavier than be depressed, or angry, or anxious, or whatever you may be.

I was prescribed Lexapro 10 mg for, of all things, itching. My doctor thought my itching might be some made-up mental stressed-out thing. (It's not--the right antihistimines just had to be found). He thought Lexapro would CALM me. HA! I took it in the evening. I awoke at 3 am all hyper--heart beating like crazy. Eyes couldn't focus on one thing-darting. NO concentration. Hyper-alert. It was the scariest thing to happen to me ever--to be so out of control. So I went in to see the doctor and tell him about this--and that Lexapro was just not for me. He basically called me a liar--said you can't react like that so quickly after just one dose. Well, it wasn't the oatmeal I had for dinner... Anyway, just one person's experience.

I started taking lexapro 5 months ago after i stopped drinking due to a hightened sense of anxiety that came along with my sobriety. I cant say enough about how wonderful lexapro has been for me. I used to grind my teeth at night and had a panicky anxious tension in my arms that i wanted to shake out constantly, felt ill at ease in social situations and while speaking about anything at all. after about a month of 20mgs a day i stopped noticing the anxiety and stopped grinding my teeth as well. I can dance sober at a club, tell jokes at bars, walk into crowded rooms without sweating and all sober and all im sure made more possible by lexapro. ive not experienced any of the negative side effects mentioned by other users of the drug, except i do have a hard time climaxing now, i can attain and maintain an erection but it takes me far longer to climax that it did before. this has been a benefit for me however as i used to masturbate several times a day, i now no longer feel the need to do that. also i have noticed i am much less prone to rages, i used to get very very flustered in traffic or other situations that caused me to wait, but now i go with the flow, still get upset, but i dont see red. i would seriously suggest anyone suffering from general anxiety disorder look into lexapro, it really isnt an invasive drug and hasnt altered my perception of things or my mood, im just not anxious or angry or obsesively horny anymore and dont need alcohol to chill out with. by the way, im a 23 year old hispanic male 5'10'' 160lbs with a family history of manic depression, seasonal depression, panic disorder, general anxiety disorder, and obsesive compulsive disorder and alcoholism.

I started taking lexapro as treatment for bulimia--the doctor said that it would help decrease my urge to purge after I ate. And it did at first--but as I was on it longer, I began to feel more depressed even though I still wasn't purging as often as before I was on it. Then the fatigue came. My goodness, I couldn't stay awake for the life of me. I napped every single day for 3 or 4 hours in the afternoon, plus sleeping a full 10 hours at night. And when I WAS awake, I was still tired and felt like I could go right back to sleep at a moment's notice. I had to take a medical leave off of school because th combination of the medication and the bulimia was too overwhelming.

I made an executive decision and weaned myself off of the lexapro, and although my bulimic symptoms have somewhat returned, I am overall feeling better than I was on the medication.

I took Lexapro for two weeks during an awful depression. It worked like magic. I felt incredibly better for the first time in a long time, I was happy, I could laugh. I was not crying all the time. In short, Lexapro was a miracle drug at first. After a few months on it, though, I started to notice side effects -- I could not stay awake in the evenings and then slept too deeply and had trouble waking in the morning. Then, even worse, the depression came back worse than ever. So my doctor suggested doubling the dose (from 5 mg to 10 mg per day.) Then the sleepiness problem became more severe, and I also felt dopey headed, like i could not think clearly. I eventually stopped taking lexapro. Felt ok for a while, and about a year later my depression was back, so I am now taking celexa instead. So far, so good.

I had been on Wellbutrin for about 3 years and was slipping into a major depression. Thoughts of suicide, etc. My psychiatrist put me on lexapro in addition to the Wellbutrin. It worked for a while and then after about 9 months I noticed I had no energy, gained weight, was sort of numb to emotions -- I had to put my cat of 18 years down and the only time I was cried was when I actually went to the vet to put her to sleep. This lack of emotion disturbed me so I stopped taking lexapro. I did experience side effects for only about 2 days -- achy, dizzy, but that passed. It has been six months now but I am still having a bad time with my depression. Seeing my psychiatrist next week to see if something can be done. Also, in addition to the medication I do see a psycho therapist every other week. Maybe this is all life has to offer.

Oh well one of my friends uses Lexapro for her depression..... she says it gives her relaxation...I never used it.....I just wanted to share it with you.....

Daniel.
http://www.selfhelpzone.com/

I was on 10 mg Lexapro for 18 months, this is my 7th day off. I am extremly dizzy and nauseauted. Today I am crying over everything and loosing my temper often. Does anyone know how long this will last?

I've been on Lexapro for only three days now but I have already noticed the intense side effects. I am taking 10mg a day and my appetite has diminished so much I do have to force myself to eat, my muscles twitch and I have trouble sleeping. But my energy has been tremendous. I can just keep going and going and going. But I do feel better. When hearing news that before would have made me nose dive in to a dark depressive hole I can bounce back much faster. My skin also feels tingly and I am clenching my jaw. I'm usually quite the boozer too and feel disgusted by alcohol. I am not sexually active at the moment but do not notice a decressed libido yet. All the comments have made me a little scared, but my father is my physician and gave me this RX and he is one of the best doctors in the country. I trust his judgment completely but side effects are different for everyone I suppose. Trust your doctor but listen to your body. If it isin't right for you, something else might work better. Listen to your body.

I'm a student right now and I just started lexapro a few days ago. I am having some serious prolblems with lack of concentration. I can't read, study, or write a paper because of this foggy feeling I have all the time. The reason I started taking this is for the bad panick attacks I have. I don't know if it is worth it for me to wait out the side effects.

I am taking lexapro for pmdd and absolutely love it, I can now function like a normal human! I only take it for 2 weeks before my period, I take a low dose- 10 mg. My pmdd is pretty strong and without lexapro, life is very rough every premenstrual cycle. I have no symptoms when I stop it also. Prozac also worked like this for me as well- only switched to lexapro on doc's recc- seemed to make me feel a little more normal than prozac (p. made me feel kind of numb). I give 2 thumbs up for lexapro for pmdd!

my daughter is having a touch time withdrawing from lexapro. she was on it off and on for at least 4 years. her doctor put her on lamictal now. has anyone heard of lamictal for depression? thanks Sandy

I have been on Lexapro for about 18months and I am increasingly depressed and now suicidal. I am concerned that this drug has increased my anxiety etc. It comes into the same category as Prozac and I have personally known a couple of ex Vietnam vets to suicide on Prozac. I think that these drugs are too generic. I don't think they work for everyone and I think that those they don't work for can have very adverse effects such as I am experiencing. Th eincidence of low serotonin may be true for some but I don';t believe it is relevant to all sufferers of depression and/or anxiety. It's bit like a 'one size fits all'. I don't trust pharmacutical companies and I am going to give up this drug immediatly. I will attempt to deal with the effects of this as they arise.

I took one tablet of this crazy pill, and had a terrible rapid heart rate, headache, yawns, and this morning when I woke up my head felt like it's been in a vice overnight.

How did this drug get approval with so many obvious side effects. I don't think I will take another pill, because I am afraid of the withdrawal effects.

I've tried so many and nothing works. I'm going to a therapist soon. My mind feels like I am lost.

I took Lexapro for a while (I don't know how long, but it was less than 6 months). I found no relief from my anxiety. The worst side-effect was anger...I felt angry all the time. It may work for some, but not for me. I currently don't take an antidepressant. I take Lorazepam when I need it.

I've been prescribed Lexapro 4 months ago for major depression and except couple of mild side effects which lasted for 2-3 days the drug has been working quite well on me. So instead of advising anyone to avoid the drug, its better to consult your doctor.

After reading some of these blogs, it feels strange to say that Lexapro helped me. I'm a college stundent, ironically majoring in psychology, and I have felt like my depression has lifted while taking Lexapro (20mg). I have been taking it for three months now and, coupled with counseling, I feel like a new person. The only downside is that I have found it much more difficult to reach an orgasm. It's not impossible, it just takes more time.. and that can be aggravating. However, I'm pretty satisfied with Lexapro and plan to stay on it for as long as I feel it is necessary.

hllo, i like to hear frome anyone if lexapro is working for you at work. can you still keep up with everyday life?