[cleveland]

I'm fairly new to these boards and fairly new to Lexapro. I've been suffering from mild depression and mild to moderate anxiety for basically all my life. There is nothing in my life that makes me feel sad or anxious (works fine, marriage fine, etc)but I still can't help but feel this way.

It's not rational at all, which is why I know I have a problem. I won't go into my life history but I'm very satisfied with my life right now, yet I can't shake this thing hanging over me. It's so hard to explain to my wife or anyone else, I just don't know how to describe it. I just always feel nervous, or that people are judging me when I talk or interact with them, even though I know that's not true.

I've read books and I've learned the tricks to get yourself out of those negative thought habits, but I still feel like my mind can't function right. I've read enough to know that everyone's brain chemical makeup is different (serotonin and whatnot), so I firmly believe that I have some sort of chemical imbalance going on up there.

I told this to my doctor and he suggested Lexapro to even me out. I've been on it for almost 3 months and it has helped some. I started on 10 mg and felt great after about 4 weeks but then at about 7 weeks it sort of tapered off. I went up to 20 mg about a week ago, but I don't feel any positive change yet.

And now I'm scared to death after reading the posts on this site! Everything is so negative! Are the drugs really that bad for you? Almost everyone here seems to regret ever getting on them.

Does anyone have anything positive to say about Lexapro? Is there anyone out there who's taken it and has benefited from it at all?????

If there is anyone,can I ask a few questions? What dose works for you? If you do a dosage increase (approved by your doctor of course)how long does it take to take effect?

[morticia]

hi ive been on 30 mgs of lexapro for about 3 years and its done nothing but good things for me i havent been depressed for 4 years since ive been on lexapro.

i know alot of people would disagree with me but i just wanted to let you know lexapro is good anti depressent.

and also everyone reaccts differnt to meds.

but i just wanted to tell you that lexapro worked good for me.

good luck
morticia

[AuntB]

I am a 60 year old woman who has experience with Lexapro. There are multiple cases of unipolar depression and bipolar disorder in my family. I myself have suffered from mild to severe depression for most of my life. I have taken Prozac, Lexapro and its predecessor (can't remember the name -- starts with a C), also Paxil. Prozac didn't work so well for me, BUT it is a first generation SSRI. Paxil worked ok, but I did have a hard time going off of it. Lexapro is a third generation SSRI and worked very well for me. I am currently withdrawing from Lexapro cold-turkey. Have been off of it 11 days. Reason: I have no health insurance and it costs $90 per month. The one that starts with a C is cheaper because there is a generic, and it was almost as effective, but I wanted to see how I felt without the Lexapro or anything else. I have so much experience with depression and the SSRIs that I have faith in my own monitoring ability. However if I should begin to feel suicidal I will definitly see a professional. Given all that history -- do I have anything to say to "cleveland". Yes, I think so.

I only started reading here today. I read the first page about Lexpro withdrawal - a 15 year old teenager. I read the last page -- page 146. I agree, most of what I read was negative. I have no negative feelings toward Lexapro whatsoever. But I am 60, so diminished memory (particulary short term) does not bother me so much. I think you will see some decreased memeory. My sister who also takes SSRIs says this is how they work. If you can't remember it you can't be depressed about it. In fact I LIKE to be able to forget stuff, especially when it was painful stuff. I have gained weight, but I don't KNOW that the Lexapro caused that. I had a weight problem when I was taking nothing. I'd say the depression caused that. I've run out of room -- but I give Lexapro an A+ Email me if you have questions. AuntB

[JBStoltzfus]

I've had tremendous success with Lexapro. You've got to give it a proper chance.

I had several heavy stresses in life. I thought I had the flu but the Dr. diagnosed me as having Severe Depression. He strarted me on 10mg Lexapro. Oh Dear God that was hard. I was feeling Deppressed already, the side affectes made life very hard indeed including almost no sleep. I had a supportive wife who urged me on to stay on the medication or I may have quit. After 1 week on Lexapro I began taking Omega 3-6-9 and the B12 vitimin complex each time I took the Lexapro and things definately improved but I wan't much better.

After 2 weeks on Lexapro I had days that were a bit better but nothing to write home to mom about. I was getting more disappointed. I went to the Dr after two weeks and he prescribed a low dose of loranzapam for anexiety. I took one in the morning and one at bedtime and oh how sweet the sleep came (with out the heavy night sweats). By now most of the side affects have gone.

Three days later the sun began breaking through. I am not home free yet (only being on the Lexapro 3 1/2 weeks but I am able to work, laugh, attend functions, ride my motorcycle.

One more thing. We see all the horror stories of the people who quit Lexapro, many of them going cold turkey. I did researdh that indicates if the drug is weaned properly only 1/3 of the users have withdrawl symptoms more than a headache. So keep up the good attitudes!!!

This Lexapro is a God-send for me because with my depression I could barely go out of the house. I recommend you give the antidepressant enought time 3-5 weeks to work, and do the other good things that others have success with like supplements that help the brain.

[MaisieC]

Please don't be scared. When you read about anything on the Internet, you're likely to read a lot of negative stuff. People who are feeling pretty OK don't feel motivated to post anywhere and say "Hey, I'm OK!!!" People reach out when they're having trouble and need support and information.

I had a very good experience with Lexapro. I've been on several different SSRIs, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that they saved my life. More than once. I think they are a God-send. I know they don't work for everyone and unfortunately some people have a very bad experience. But I've known quite a few people who have used them and none of my friends or family has ever had a bad experience. The worst thing that happened to me was that I felt a little numb emotionally. That was better than feeling suicidal...way better!

There's a huge amount of copy in the press about SSRI's supposedly causing suicide. Unfortunately, no one ever seems to write about the suicides that these meds prevent. I guess that's not a very thrilling story for people to get riled up about, and it's a real shame. The SSRI's have done a lot of people a lot of good.

I'm afraid I can't answer your specific questions about Lexapro dosages, etc. I imagine this might differ from person to person. Your doctor should be able to tell you.

May I ask what kind of doctor you're seeing? As much as I'm a cheerleader for these drugs, I also think that they are over-prescribed and also prescribed by people who aren't really qualified to do so. In my opinion, that includes regular general practitioners. I think these meds should be handled only by specialists, by psychopharmacologists who are trained in psychiatry, very familiar with how these drugs behave under different conditions, and up to date on the latest research. If you haven't seen a psychiatrist, I would suggest you do so. He or she will be able to explain things to you, such as average time before feeling relief from an increased dose, etc. Nothing takes the place of a really good doctor.

Good luck, and take care of yourself!

[Hello6728]

i'm no doctor and perhaps i'm not even very smart so you can listen or not.

i have taken lexapro b4 without much success, but i've taking alot of anti-depressants without much success. Truthfully i don't even know if i have depression or not.

to your concerns with all the negative posts: yes there are alot of possible side-effects and there are people that don't get the desired effect - BUT their are definitely people who do benefit from these drugs. You need to consider that people who have the desired effect are much less likely to post a thread (I wouldn't because i wouldn't have any concerns).

i have a horrible tendency to repress thoughts and feelings, i do it unintentionally and usually without even knowing it. I repress things that i find uncomfortable or hard to deal with. Sometimes people that have repressed thoughts/emotions feel certain emotions without having any idea why they feel this way, even to the extent to where they feel these emotions seem to control them and they have no idea why.

everyone represses some thoughts. It could be a horrific thing that happened (or mildly upsetting), it could be an inappropriate feeling, even a dropped passion, perhaps communication issues with a spouse, perhaps feeling like you can't be yourself; ANYTHING.

i propose that your feeling "blue" is the cause of something. You just don't know it. Alot of people would have a hard time believing this; people don't think that this could be true, because you would never know that you repress thoughts (until you uncover them). By definition, you cannot detect a subconscious thought or feeling, unless you can bring it to your conscious.

you have to think about he way to feel and why you might feel this way (hypothetically, THIS could make me feel sad). sometimes it might be pretty easy to figure it out, other times it might be very hard.

if you don't have any luck try talking about it with someone else, someone you wouldn't have your guard up around. Try seeing a phycologist.

this what i think based on my experiences. best of luck!!

[JBStoltzfus]

I've had tremendous success with Lexapro. You've got to give it a proper chance.

I had several heavy stresses in life. I thought I had the flu but the Dr. diagnosed me as having Severe Depression. He strarted me on 10mg Lexapro. Oh Dear God that was hard. I was feeling Deppressed already, the side affectes made life very hard indeed including almost no sleep. I had a supportive wife who urged me on to stay on the medication or I may have quit. After 1 week on Lexapro I began taking Omega 3-6-9 and the B12 vitimin complex each time I took the Lexapro and things definately improved but I wan't much better.

After 2 weeks on Lexapro I had days that were a bit better but nothing to write home to mom about. I was getting more disappointed. I went to the Dr after two weeks and he prescribed a low dose of loranzapam for anexiety. I took one in the morning and one at bedtime and oh how sweet the sleep came (with out the heavy night sweats). By now most of the side affects have gone.

Three days later the sun began breaking through. I am not home free yet (only being on the Lexapro 3 1/2 weeks) but I am able to work, laugh, attend functions, ride my motorcycle.

After 5 weeks on Lexapro I'm operating at 80-90 percent.

One more thing. We see all the horror stories of the people who quit Lexapro, many of them going cold turkey. I did research that indicates if the drug is weaned properly only 1/3 of the users have withdrawl symptoms more than a headache. So keep up the good attitudes!!!

This Lexapro is a God-send for me because with my depression I could barely go out of the house. I recommend you give the antidepressant enought time 3-5 weeks to work, and do the other good things that others have success with like supplements that help the brain.

Best Wishes to all