Lexapro ! Any good thoughts??

Question

Hey everyone. I was just put on Lexapro. I decided to look into it a bit ont the internet, and Im a bit freaked out ! I expected to hear good things. All Ive heard for the most part, is that Im going to gain weight and not want sex!! Two things I really dont want! Does anyone have any good thoughts on the drug? Any bad side effects I should look out for? Has it worked / not worked for you ?? I trust most people to be decent in giving answers here on y/a . Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated :) Thanks a bunch!

Answer 1

alot of these anti-depressants can cause weight change and diminshed sex drive and lexapro is one of them..talk to your doctor about putting you on welbutrin. Welbutrin is used by psychiatrist to help people with certain eating disorders, it also helps people to stop smoking the other name for it is zyban so if you ever heard of zyban it's actually welbutrin marketed under another name...welbutrin doesnt diminish your sex drive either...the only thing about welbutrin is it can cause seizures if dosage is taken too close together..so say if youre on 200mg sr..the doctor would ahve you take one in the morning then your second dosage about 6-7 hours later and you will be fine...i am on welbutrin and i love it i feel better and my food intake is under control..this medication helps increase your energy level and you'll get a bit more motivated to stay well...im a nurse myself and have prescribed lexapro and alot of my patients have these side effects and i usually switch them to celexa or welbutrin sometimes both...just talk to your doctor and see what he thinks is best...if you have just started lexapro give it some time..not everyone will have the side effects of weight gain or loss of sex drive...if you do then speak to your physician

A. Registered Nurse Practioner

Answer 2

I love my lexapro! I were on lexapro for just a little over a month , I had a few minor facet results the primary week (I was once just a little jittery, however I believe it was once extra intellectual than something else), however after that I was once satisfactory. It helped that I progressively upped my dosage, I began at two.five for one week, then five mg the following, 7.five mg the following, and leveled off at 10 mg. I have a panic disease, lexapro has given me my lifestyles again, I wasn't ready to move wherever on my possess and was once averaging approximately 6 panic assaults an afternoon, I lived in worry of my subsequent assault. I have handiest had two panic assault considering that I began taking lex, and so they each occured within the first week, and the drug takes a whole month to begin running, now I am panic unfastened!

Answer 3

Nobody wants to gain weight or lose interest in sex.I have tried MOST of the antidepressants on the market, All of them gave me side effects I could not live with. My problem was the most common of all; I am bipolar1. Bipolar 1 has a nasty habit of maskerading as depression. You may not have the high highs and lows that is generally thought of when you hear about bipolar. I was always low, hence the endless prescriptions for drugs that didn't work for me. It took years of psychotherapy to ferret out the real problem. I don' t know what symptoms you are experiencing, but I can tell you a few of mine; crying ,depression, racing thoughts, wild mood swings. My moods could turn on a dime. In my opinion it was the mood swings that crippled me the most, and are for me the real benchmark of what was really my problem. There is more than hope for you, ther is help. For me the help came in the form of two drugs; Sreoquel and Lamictal and a lot of psychotherapy (talk therapy). The drugs mentioned are specificly for bipolar1 which may or may not be YOUR problem. If you worry you will be a lable or stigmatized if you happen to have the same problem as I do, then you will continue to suffer needlessly. As I said above, there is help. Seek a mental health provider you feel you can trust(that's probably the biggest hurdle in what can only be called a journey). Bipolar disorder loves to hide as depression. Track your moods. If they swing wildly, as did in my case, you may have this frustrating, yet very treatable disorder. It is very common so don't feel like a lable or stigmatized. Pity the people who have it and don't seek help. Good luck, feel better soon.

Answer 4

I have been on Lexapro for two years, 10 mg/day for 1 year and 20 mg/day for the second year. I definitely did not gain weight. I can't say it diminished my sex drive because I didn't have one before I started it. (Long story, not related to the medication).

I am happy to be on it because it really helped alleviate the mood swings of peri-menopause and helped me get out of an episode of chronic depression. I used to cry a lot, for all sorts of silly reasons. I don't now. I am cheerful but not hyper or manic. I sometimes think I am a bit too detached from my feelings due to the Lexapro, I am thinking about trying the lower dose again.

Good luck to you.

Answer 5

I have a friend who has been diagnosed as having severe depression partly born with and partly due to or worsened by a terrible and sudden loss. He is on his third week of Lex, no weight gain, but also no results yet. It could take up to eight weeks to make a difference, so stick with it, be religious about taking it, and decide after a good amount of time.