Ready to get technical?
Here is the pharmaceutical history on
Lexapro:
It was developed by Forest pharmaceuticals. It is basically what I refer to as the "new improved
celexa". The main shareholder of Forest pharmaceuticals helped develop Celexa for his very depressed son. His son was not improving on any of the other old standbys. (i.e.
paxil,
zoloft, etc.) Anyhow with this guys money and genuine personal interest Celexa was born. Celexa worked well but it, like other anti-depressants had side effects. As with all drugs, the goal was to get a drug that worked well but without the side effects.
This is were you should put on your visual thinking cap:
The molecular structure of Celexa is, how can I put it? Well pick any object that has two basically identical hemispheres (tree, brain, earth, etc.) Let's use the earth. Two hemispheres right? Well the research showed that while one hemisphere worked well it was the second hemisphere that was causing the side effects. So the solution was get rid of that second hemisphere/molecule. And it worked the side effects are extremely low.
Anyhow, I really dislike pharmaceutical companies, but I will give Forrest Pharmaceuticals credit. They could have kept Celexa alive and kicking for decades to come but instead they are discontinuing making Celexa and replacing it with its molecular superior Lexapro.
I am a medical student and thankfully I haven't had the need to take an antidepressant yet, but if I had to start one, Lexapro would be the one I would want. Most people do well on 10mg. It just takes a few weeks and up to 30 days for some before it really reaches its full potential.
I have seen this drug help alot of people already. My only concern with any newer drug is that long-term studies have not yet been done.
Good Luck, I wish you well.
Oh and to a previous person's reply. "Paxil Packs it On!" is our slogan. Especially for women it cause major weight gain even if you have never had weight problems before.