concerns about taking lexapro [Archive]

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19-01-09, 14:12

I have mild to medium anxiety (getting worse now though) i have never taken medication before and I really do not want to start taking lexapro, which GP has prescribed for me. If i can hold off until i see psychiatrist in a few months i will. however i find that i have had to start taking one xanax a day anyway now since start of the year. (january blues?!) anyone anything good or bad to say about lexapro?

Phill2

20-01-09, 05:17

Lexapro gave me my life back.
It's gotta be the best thing since sliced bread.
You may feel a bit off for the first couple of weeks but the Xanax should take the edge off that.
Phill :shades:

20-01-09, 15:16

thank for the reply. it gets such mixed reviews. it's hard to know what to do.

bab

20-01-09, 18:01

i would say its a good drug if you decide to take anything -

Worrier

20-01-09, 18:51

Moob

21-01-09, 17:22

I was really worried about taking it too...but its the best thing i have done... its deffo had more of a postive affect on me than a negative. :yesyes:

I have also know other people that have taken it too, and it has really helped them.

22-01-09, 22:47

thank you so much for all the replies!

18-03-09, 18:19

I don't know if you're still looking for opinions or not, but I took Lexapro for a few months for anxiety and I had to stop. It screwed with my dreams. They started getting really bizarre, and if I had a realistic one, I honestly couldn't tell if things had really happened or if it had been a dream. I'd dream something in my house happened or that I had a certain conversation, and then be confused when I found out that wasn't the case. It was scary. I also couldn't cry, even when I wanted to. So, instead of helping me not feel the urge to cry, it pretty much just made it so I physically couldn't. It felt terrible. I see it's helped a lot of people on here, though, so maybe it's just me.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope it works for you. Good luck in feeling better!

lithionit

25-03-09, 21:24

Hey Om,

Well I can honestly say that I think Lexapro is awesome. I took it for 2 1/2 years with no side effects and when I came off it (my own choice) I just stepped down gradually and was totally okay.

You say you take Xanax which I think is worse for you than taking Lexapro (but just my opinion).

Anyway, do what you think is best for you.
Take care.
Worrier

Yeah, Lexapro is a god send compared to benzodiazepines which only makes the anxiety and depression worse, especially once you developed tolerance withdrawal (which is a living hell)

And lexapro (escitalopram) is also very efficent for depression, it was considered the second most effiecent modern antidepressant in this huge meta analysis in the lancet recently.

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60046-5/fulltext

Captain America

25-03-09, 22:29

lexapro didn't work for me but really helped my sister and a close friend of mine. i would say for both of them it was a life saver. i think for you though if you really only have mild to moderate anxiety, that cbt has been found to be just as effective as medication after like 6 months.

i went the xanax route. it was great for a while but then it starts creating rebound anxiety as the dose wears off. so that was tricky to figure out because there were no triggers at all! i figured out it was xanax and weaned off.

have you tried cbt?

16-04-09, 23:35

yes i am due to start cbt very soon. the lexapro has been great so far. weird dreams, low sex drive but no weight gain or any other symptoms and my anxiety level is practically nil - well as near to nil as i have been in 6 years. i still get dizzy every now and then but i can reason the dizzyness better now