Lexapro and Depression: What Users Say (Page 5)

• Roz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 4, 2014

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "Completely numbed me, gave me horrible panic attacks. Even when I'd gotten used to the medication, my panic attacks turned into a deep depression and felt completely lifeless. 5 weeks in, I couldn't do it anymore."

• Anonymous
• October 28, 2011

For Depression "I'm a pharmacy student and have taken Lexapro. This is supposed to be one of the most effective drugs on the market for anxiety and depression. I suppose I'm the exception because taking Lexapro was terrible. I switched from Celexa (worked decently), which is chemically very similar to Lexapro. My doctor and I decided to try it, thinking I would get even better results. That didn't happen. Lexapro turned me into a paranoid hermit. My anxiety hit the roof, I would have random depression episodes and begin crying for no apparent reason. Constant worrying. I will NEVER take this pill again. I'm on Prozac now, which has worked wonderfully. But like I said, Lexapro works very well and has helped many people. Just not me."

• Guy...
• June 29, 2016

For Anxiety "My psychiatrist prescribed Lexapro to treat general anxiety, which it barely impacted, and since starting it 4 weeks ago, I've become severely depressed and spend all day contemplating suicide. I don't know if it's entirely the medicine's fault, or if it even had anything to do with it, but it certainly hasn't helped me with anything, and I can't find anything online about it actually worsening depression instead of treating it."

• Gen...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 15, 2016

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I experienced 'poop out' after being on Lexapro for 7 years. I was prescribed 150 mg of Wellbutrin, which was upped to 300 mg. The Lexapro kicked in after a few weeks and worked like a charm. After one year, my anxiety and depression returned, progressively getting worse over a period of three months. I finally realized my insurance switched me to the generic escitalopram. I had been taking it for three months without realizing it! I requested to switch back to Lexapro, however, Tricare insurance would not cover it, so I had to pay almost $178 per month for the brand name. That was two years ago. Now I pay $294 per month. Tricare still will not pay. Considering buying from Canada."

• Cou...
• June 27, 2017

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "Lexapro was fine. It wasn't great, but it also wasn't awful. It did lessen my anxiety, but not as much as I had hoped. Every time I went up in dose, I would start to dissociate more frequently, so that didn't really help. I completely lost my ability to orgasm, was constantly constipated, had headaches, and needed 10-12 hours of sleep a night to even begin to function the following day. Coming off of Lexapro was a disaster. I had brain zaps and sweats and developed major depression, which I hadn't really dealt with ever before."

• 765...
• March 4, 2017

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "I've taken this medication for a year and a half after switching from Zoloft (that wasn't helping at all), and while Lexapro somewhat improved my anxiety, I haven't seen a major difference. I still get anxiety attacks every now and then and get depressed to the point I cry a lot. I personally find Xanax to work much better for my anxiety, but everyone is different."

• dra...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 6, 2021

For Anxiety "I took Lexapro for depression and anxiety. Doc put me on Lexapro and advised me to use 5 - 10 - 15 mg after a few weeks. After taking this drug, my anxiety skyrocketed. I wanted to die, I couldn't sleep and felt awful. I woke up every day and went for a run just to get rid of my anxiety. I herniated my discs during severe workouts only to get rid of that horrible anxiety after waking up. My girlfriend left me, and I lost my health. I was depressed and anxious before, but Lexapro, after one month, destroyed me so much that I am not the same person anymore. Even 3 mg did not help during these horrible Lexapro times. Stay away from Lexapro, it can ruin your life and destroy you. I used Zoloft and Xanax before, but without any side effects. Lexapro is the worst thing that happened to me, and I regret taking it every day and regret trusting my doctor for putting me on it."

• ell...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 5, 2016

For Depression "Overall, for me, Lexapro was very destructive. I was on it for about three months, and in that time, my depression worsened, but that's not necessarily the worst part. The debilitating panic attacks that put me in the hospital were the worst part. After cutting the dose from 10 mg to 5 mg and not seeing any difference, I discontinued it. Bad depression, bad anxiety, bad drug overall; at least for me, anyway."

• mma...
• July 16, 2019

For Major Depressive Disorder "My doctor prescribed me Wellbutrin XL at 150 mg, and I was on it (currently) for a few months. He wanted to pair 5 mg of Lexapro with my Wellbutrin to see if it would stabilize things. I gave this medication a whole thirty-day cycle. I’m unsure if it was the pairing of the two or just the Lexapro itself. But it caused me physical and emotional distress. Physical: extreme nausea, diarrhea, upset stomach, dizziness, I had a ton of vivid dreams. I felt consistently even more fatigue, but could never fall asleep. Emotional side: I felt a bit foggy, had some really dark thoughts, was more sensitive than usual, and had no motivation to work out, so activities I enjoy, etc. It intensified some of my old depression symptoms instead of aiding them. I’m unsure if it helped the anxiety portion. This medication is clearly not the right one for me. Currently slowly weaning off of it. I hope it works better for others."

• Anonymous
• January 12, 2011

For Depression "I have to say that Lexapro has been a Godsend for me. I have been taking it for about 2 years now, and life is as it should be. There aren't the crazy ups and downs. Everything seems to be more even-keeled, but you still have and feel emotions. Although the first month or so, I felt a little 'wired,' detached, or something, but better. Once you get past that, it's like you finally feel like yourself, and so relieved. I especially have noticed a difference around holidays or birthdays. I used to get so depressed around those times, not anymore. I also have noticed a big difference with anxieties. I used to sweat and feel lightheaded if people whom I didn't know talked to me and I didn't have someone who I was comfortable with around, not anymore."

• Maf...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 30, 2023

For Depression "I took it for 2 years, started at 10 mg, eventually increased to 20 mg, and then went to 15 mg for the past month. It worked pretty well for the first year, but after that, I became slowly apathetic and got anhedonia, not sure if my depression came back or if it's a side effect. Besides that, my anxiety has improved, and I had no weight gain, but I think I got insomnia for the first few days. Also, my libido decreased when I started to take 15 mg."

• aus...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 24, 2022

For Anxiety "Went on Lexapro for anxiety. It really helped. But the side effects of skin numbness, erectile dysfunction, emotional numbness, weight gain got bad enough that death seemed like a viable alternative. Three months off of it now and side effects have stopped. Still a lot of weight to lose, and I'm back to the height of anxiety town. No idea what to do next. This drug stole three years of my life."

• Mom...
• November 23, 2011

For Depression "I've been taking 10 mg of Lexapro for almost 4 months now. Before I started Lexapro, I was very depressed, and I wanted to end my life. Now that I am taking Lexapro, the depression is gone, but with a few side effects. I am thankful for this medication, but it does make me feel emotionless, restless, tired, and I now have an extreme lack of motivation. I plan on talking to my doctor about this soon, and hopefully, I can find a better medication that will suit me better."

• Mom...
• November 23, 2011

For Depression "I've been taking 10 mg of Lexapro for almost 4 months now. Before I started Lexapro, I was very depressed, and I wanted to end my life. Now that I am taking Lexapro, the depression is gone, but with a few side effects. I am thankful for this medication, but it does make me feel emotionless, restless, tired, and I now have an extreme lack of motivation. I plan on talking to my doctor about this soon, and hopefully, I can find a better medication that will suit me better."

• Anonymous
• January 18, 2010

For Depression "I started off on 10 mg per day, which was able to make my depression much better. After about a week, I started to feel 'numb', not in a good way. I had no emotions at all and hadn't helped my anxiety even a little. 20 mg was much worse and made me feel the worst I have ever felt. After weaning off that, I was prescribed 100 mg of Wellbutrin SR, and after only a few days, I'm feeling much happier and have much more motivation with no side effects."

• Anx...
• December 2, 2011

For Anxiety "I'm a 30-year-old female. Recently, I got promoted at work to a more stressful and pressured role, I also found out that my partner of 12 years has been having an affair. I've turned to therapy and Lexapro to help me through this time. I've only been on it for a week and have already experienced an improvement. I started with 5 mg and will move up to 10 mg in a week. My issues were social anxiety and mild depression. I'd say my anxiety has decreased by 60%. The psych said that it takes 3-6 weeks for it to really kick in, so I can't wait. The worst part for me was my doctor starting me off on 20 mg, and for 2 days, I had extreme anxiety and moderate depression, but I read through some positive posts and decided to soldier on with it and am so happy that I did."

• jes...
• December 16, 2015

For Anxiety "I got on this med Sept. 2015. I had anxiety mixed with fear to take it. I am on the 10 mg dose and get depressed and anxious when on it. Slowly it worsened to the point I couldn't attend school. Is this normal!? I have experienced the lack of wanting to eat and hating food at the start of being on it. Then my hunger spiked past its norm; I was eating like there was no tomorrow. Now being close to Christmas and off it for a bit, I feel more snappy. If you have experienced this, I hope this helped."

• Har...
• January 16, 2018

For Anxiety "This got rid of my anxiety completely while on it! I finally got my life back. I’ve been struggling with severe anxiety my whole life, and this finally helped. Like every medication, there are some symptoms that slip through. I still get anxious, but not as often, and only like 5 times a day. For me, that’s barely bad. I used to be anxious over EVERYTHING. For my depression, it helps me not feel depressed as long, but I still felt almost as equally depressed as before, just not every day. And most of the time, I wasn’t depressed. But it did work better for my anxiety. Overall, everyone reacts to different medications differently, so my advice probably won’t be relevant to your experience."

• Mdu...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 17, 2021

For Anxiety "First, I started using sertraline 4 years back, and this last May, it stopped working, so my doctor thought switching meds might be worth a go. Plus, I had heard great things about Lexapro. First, I had to cross-taper from sertraline and started on 5 mg of Lexapro. I was feeling okay, increased anxiety, and was beyond exhausted, but remembered it was like this for me before, and that med worked for me for a while, so I kept going. My doctor had me up to 10 mg, and that’s where things went from okay to bad to worse. I was waking up at 5 am every morning in full panic attack. My husband would have to give me a 0.5 Xanax and lay with me until I went back to sleep. The days got worse: no concentration, motivation, and my mood was generally “don’t care” about everything. After two weeks, I went back to my doctor sobbing, and he agreed we needed to get back down to 5 mg to see if that was a better dosage for me, and if it’s not, I’ll titrate down off that. Will update again in 2 weeks."

• Sca...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 12, 2021

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "Twelve years ago, had a breakdown over a chronic disease. Started to suffer from anxiety caused insomnia. Was put on Lexapro 10 mg. Except for worsening anxiety, depression, and insomnia, side effects were quite okay. Then, two and a half weeks in, the veil was lifted, it was like magic. Suddenly felt great calmness, anxieties gone, and could sleep again. Literally saved my life. Was on it for around a year and tapered off with no problems. Now, anxieties flared up again and insomnia set in again. Got back on Lexapro and hoped it would do its magic again. Now, more than four weeks in, I've had bad side effects: sweating, dry mouth, constipation, nausea, worse depression, insomnia. Worst of all were bouts of euphoria and then crashing lows. It's been a nightmare. Weaning off, now trying something else. Unfortunately for me, no magic second time around. I heard this can be common with Lexapro."

• Sca...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 12, 2021

For Generalized Anxiety Disorder "Twelve years ago, had a breakdown over a chronic disease. Started to suffer from anxiety caused insomnia. Was put on Lexapro 10 mg. Except for worsening anxiety, depression, and insomnia, side effects were quite okay. Then, two and a half weeks in, the veil was lifted, it was like magic. Suddenly felt great calmness, anxieties gone, and could sleep again. Literally saved my life. Was on it for around a year and tapered off with no problems. Now, anxieties flared up again and insomnia set in again. Got back on Lexapro and hoped it would do its magic again. Now, more than four weeks in, I've had bad side effects: sweating, dry mouth, constipation, nausea, worse depression, insomnia. Worst of all were bouts of euphoria and then crashing lows. It's been a nightmare. Weaning off, now trying something else. Unfortunately for me, no magic second time around. I heard this can be common with Lexapro."

• Anonymous
• February 13, 2013

For Anxiety "Gained about forty pounds, became more depressed, slept all night and half the day, was always tired, getting off of it was horrible. I had headaches, weird feelings like I wasn't even there, weird pains."

• Wen...
• September 24, 2020

For Anxiety "I was on Lexapro for like 4 days and was only taking 5 mg, and it has made me feel so much worse. I’m having worsening depression and worsening anxiety. I’m done taking it and going to flush myself out with lots of water."

• Zzz...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 4, 2019

For Depression "Totally useless! Started this med at 10 mg Lexapro for OCD. Did not experience any relief from my symptoms until I started going to a psychologist. My psychiatrist advised me to stay on it, and it was a huge mistake. Years later, I suddenly became extremely depressed in spite of being on it! Dr. bumped it up to 20 mg but still did nothing! Later, it was a bunch of trial and error trying different meds to finally feel better. I tried being off any medication for a while, but it was very hard to sleep, so having started Lexapro has essentially permanently changed things in a bad way for me! Stay away from this useless med! For OCD, I recommend going to a psychologist first before starting any medication."

• tan...
• July 20, 2010

For Anxiety "I suffered from anxiety for many years, and as I got older, it became horrible. Palpitations and things that do not seem to bother others would destroy me on the inside. I began taking Lexapro 10 mg. At first, it did help, but then I started to have long-lasting headaches, sensitive to light, and the feeling that I was 'numb' from the neck up. I completely shut out the outside and withdrew from 90% of everything I liked. I read all of the reviews about the medicine as far as getting off of it, and I felt that it was pushing me further into a hole. I decided to take it every other day for one week, then half the dose and half the days. My advice is to drink lots of water, fish oil every other day, you must walk, eat even if you must force yourself, sleep at night."