Hoping to clear up some misconceptions ….
Hi, I’m a pharmacist in a mental health facility and I also suffer
from depression and take Lexapro. Lately, there have been a few
things said on this board that I think could cause some confusion.
So, while the Forest Co. representatives (they market Lexapro) and a
psych doc from Western Psych in Pittsburgh were at our facility this
week, I got some answers to some questions.
Yes, 10mg. of Lexapro does equal 40 mg. of Celexa — but in efficacy
only. That means that people score equally as well on depression
screening exams. That does not mean that they are equal in
potency. AND it is not a linear equation, so 10mg of Lex = 40mg of
Celexa does not mean that 20mg.=80mg or that 30mg.=120mg. Also,
Lexapro does work well at 10mg., but that is an individual by
individual response. I do well at 10mg, but someone else may need
30mg. and it isn’t out of line for a psychdoc to prescribe that.
Weight gain — yes, 1% of people will experience weight gain. But
2% of people in their studies who got the placebo and not Lexapro
gained weight. Again, an individual response.
Alcohol and Lex — remember, the target organ for Lex is the brain,
as is the target organ for alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant, and we
are already depressed. Do you really want to add to the problem??
That being said, I would stick to a drink or two at the most on any
one night. AND please, please, please, do not drive!!
Splitting a Lexapro tablet — it is scored, so therefore, the best
and least likely to cause powdering way to split it, is with your
hands. I place both thumbnails against the score and bend
backwards. If you don’t have enough finger strength, a pill
splitter (plastic contraption with a razor blade inside) is your
second choice, but still will cause some “powdering”.
Hope this helps,
Edie
December 1st, 2004 at 6:35 am
Thank you for the tip on splitting - to believe I never thought of using my
Any more input like your post will be very helpful to me. It’s good to have
It may just as
thumbnails! It works better than any knife
information. My p-Doc didn’t really tell me that much, and when I got the
samples
home, it came with this handy pamphlet full of generic info designed for people
like
my mom, people who don’t really do a whole lot of research
well
have been about heartburn, even heartworms…
I wonder how different Lexapro is than other SSRI’s
Also, do you know anything about tricyclics? I was prescribed Pamelor years ago,
and when I went off it, I experienced a total breakdown. When I was on it, I
would
have to pull over to the side of the road to sleep. I have never known anything
so
horrifying.
Should stop posting now…
- P