Lexapro...pro's and con's anyone???

04-16-2005, 11:50 AM

Hello, My name is Katie and I am a 20 year old sophmore college student. After I graduated from high school, I developed serious depression, which later turned into depression AND anxiety. I first started with zoloft, which I feel only worked for a short time, and didnt make a big difference in my life, so I stopped taking it. I went a few months without taking anything, then I started on paxil cr a few months later as well as elivil 10 mg each night, well now, here I am today, 30 pounds heavier and still very depressed and anxious. I dont feel as if the paxil made a difference at all. The weight gain has really gotten me even more depressed and I feel very uncomfortable in my current weight.

I actually swichted doctors, my new doctor recently switched me to lexapro, in hopes that it will help me better than paxil. She seems to really know what she is talking about when it comes to this medication. She said paxil and elivil both have been known to cause more weight gain

Can anyone give me any info on lexapro and what experiences you or someone else might have had. I also take topamax for migrane prevention, because my doctor told me that can help with weight loss. Also, If there are any other "worked wonders" stories any of you have with different medicines I would love to hear them.

Thanks so much and I hope to hear back from some of you,
Katie

04-16-2005, 12:51 PM

had been on prozac and effexor. lexapro is the best of the three in terms of side-effects and the ability to feel as if you have a level sense of well-being; not ups and downs.

make sure you're seeing a Psychiatrist with expertise in anxiety disorders. As to weight, I had some increase, but suggest decreasing or eliminating alcohol and getting on a regular and perhaps supervised exercise program.

good luck!!

04-17-2005, 10:06 AM

I have anxiety problems, and the lexapro helps so much with that. I am finally sleeping through the night again. I do notice I crave more "bad" foods now and the lexapro makes me too tired to exercise. I really hope that goes away when my body adjusts.

04-20-2005, 12:34 AM

I've only taken Lexapro for a month, but I've had no side effects, which is great. It seems to help me not feel so "paralyzed" physically from the depression, but so far, it's not a "big" change. Still, I think it's better than nothing.

04-28-2005, 05:16 PM

I started Lexapro today. I feel really tired, naseaus, "out of it" and a bit tense. I have also read other complaints that Lexapro makes it hard to concentrate. Which doesn't make any sense to me considering, I was wanting to be able to concentrate more...
How long is this "adjustment" period supposed to last?

04-28-2005, 06:03 PM

Hi! Good luck with taking Lexapro. I hope it works for you. Everyone's experiences will differ--so, it could very well be the right medication for your needs. I took Lexapro for about a month and a half and noticed very little difference. I had terrible fatigue and a lot of insomnia for the first few weeks. It was hard to tell if it worked for my anxiety or not. Part of me thinks that the belief that my anxiety lifting may have been purely psychological. I'm good at phsyching myself out sometimes. If it helped the depression at all, I think it was only because it made me too tired to care.

I quit my Lexapro cold turkey, and have been more invested in taking the alternative path towards mending my depression. Taking St. John's Wort and some other stuff seems to be helping a bit. I also try to get a outside everyday and do some kind of exercise. I do believe this method is helping more than the Lexapro did. I didn't gain or lose weight on the Lexapro, but I did start gaining weight once off the Lexapro, so you might want to ask your doctor about that.

Best of luck with everything,
EoR

04-28-2005, 10:14 PM

My son has been on Lexapro for over a month. He is having no side effects that we know of and he is doing a lot better. He was diagnosed with Major Depression with Suicidal Idealations. He says he feels better and between the meds, the therapy, and God he is on the road to happy days

Lexapro...pro's and con's anyone???

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