All about Lexapro

Hi Kerry,
I’ve had very few side effects from Lexapro, and they really weren’t all that
troubling.
I’ve been on it since the end of April, and I’ve been slowly increasing my
dosage. I am
up to 15 mgs right now and I must say I’m pretty happy with L! Okay, I remember
when
I first started taking it, I felt a bit zombie-ish for the first week, and also
when going up
in dose for a short time. Just kind of *out of it*… I have noticed that I am a
bit tired as
well, but that could be because I am a night owl, staying up til 12, 1 am and
getting
up at 6:30 am, so that has a lot to do with my fatigue. I did experience a
couple of
head zaps, which were kind of scary, but they were quick and it was only maybe 2
or
3 times. Other than that, I have NOT had any headache, or nausea or stomach
ache
or any of the sides that I expected. YAY!! The Lexapro has been a great
thing, I am
a lot calmer, a lot less worried about everything, and I don’t feel the need to
lay in
bed all the time anymore.
Oh yes, I do have anxiety from time to time, but it’s not
too terrible, and a small bit of Xanax is needed only occasionally.
I was very surprised at the lack of sides, it actually took me over 2 years to
get myself
to take an AD, I despise meds, and I was SO afraid of the possible sides effects
that I had
hear about with other meds such as Celexa and Paxil.
I hope I’ve helped a bit, and I hope you find Lexapro to be a huge help as
well!!
Take care,
Crystal
All….
Can you list the side effects you are speaking of
(heather, crystal) for those of us totally new to lex?
I am also very curious about alcohol - I have had at
most 2 glasses of wine, no real affects that I could
note except for one tremor type shock that woke me up
in the middle of the night. I read back a few pages
and someone else mentioned that. But I would love to
know more from people about side effects and alcohol -
before I end up at a holiday party with scary
results:)

I’ve been thinking about this for the past couple of days and decided to ask.
Since the holidays are fast approaching, alcohol seems to be around quite a bit
more than usual. Now, it’s says not to drink alcohol while on Lexapro (and
Wellbutrin). Has anyone actually drank alcohol while taking these meds? If so,
anything happen? Does anyone skip taking the meds the day you know you will be
drinking? Any info would be appreciated.
Heather

My son got mad at me on Sunday because he had to walk to work (less than a
mile), and so he ran away. (third time, last time was August.) Jim saw him
walking down the street with a bag, and followed him into a little local
store, where my son started swearing at him, and told him there was nothing
he could do about him running away. I was not home, so Jim called the
police and had them hold him there until he got me. My son was totally
beligerant. The cop said we needed to come up with a mutually acceptable
place for him to live until he was 18. His father came, (he lives an hour
away) and said he would take him home to live with him, but then instead,
without telling me, dropped him off at my son’s girlfriend’s house, and then
went home. He is getting a (another) divorce, and decided he couldn’t take
him.
I didn’t see my son until his counseling appointment the next day. I told
him I couldn’t keep him home if he didn’t want to be there, but I needed to
know he was safe, so he needed to tell me where he was going. (He’ll be 18
in February.) That surprised him, and he said he wanted to be home. We
talked about his anger and how he needs to manage it better; how reactionary
he is.
So, he is home. He is having anxiety attacks again, certain he has asthma,
and not sleeping. He think Vicks helps him. I could have cried last night
when I went into his room, and he was sitting there with vicks on his nose,
a cup of chamomile tea which I made for him in his hand, with his eyes half
open, so exhausted. This was after he had asked to talk to me, and told me
how sorry he was for what he had done, and how afraid he was that he would
be a total failure in life, and how he just wanted to be over this problem.
He also talked about how he really feels he has asthma, but I know it is
anxiety. Last month it was his heart.
He has an appointment on Friday to discuss his medication. He is on 10mg of
Lexapro. I think he needs something for anxiety also, and I am wondering if
he might be a bit bipolar.
My heart is breaking for him.
Debra

I take Klonopin to help me fall asleep at night. My problem is that I have
thoughts that race through my head at night and make it difficult for me to
relax and just fall asleep. If I don’t take Klonopin at night I may take me
2-3 hours to fall asleep. When I take it, maybe 20-30 minutes to fall
asleep.
My question is that lately, it’s not working. It’s taking me a couple of
hours to fall asleep. I’ve been taking 0.5 mg. I just read that you can
take 1.5mg a day for awhile and then gradually increase to 8mg a day - but
this was for people who take it as an anticonvulgent.
I’m a little scared of Klonopin because back in 1999 I took three pills and
drank a lot of alcohol. The night ended with me nearing death and getting
my stomach pumped. I’m sure had I not drank any alcohol this wouldn’t have
happened. But still I get nervous.
Does anyone else take Klonopin for sleeping? What dose do you take?
Thanks,
Jill

New to the site, new to the drug. New to ANY SSRI’s. I’ve only been
on it for about a
week, 5 milligrams or so, half a scored tablet. PDoc said i should
start out with 5,
maybe work my way up to 10. Gave a lot of samples so I could ‘play”
with the idea
of increase were I to feel too much bad or too little good. It’s a
nice idea, if a little
informal…
…So i started with 5, immediately felt better, can’t tell if that’s
the side effects or if
it really does start to work as fast as they say., don’t really feel
emotionally
blunted or nauseous or tired. I have a little bit o insomnia, but
I’ve been in
treatment for that for years until I broke down and realized the
reason I can’t go to
sleep is that I have anxiety and the reason I don’t want to get up in
the morning is
because I dread the day.
It’s working, but I’m contemplating my way up to a full dose (part
of the reasoning
is just that it’s such a pain to break the little pills in half. ) In
less than a week, I
can’t feel it, but it’s like, people’s attitudes, even the ones that
don’t know I’m on
meds, have changed toward me. My boyfriend has been sweet and
affectionate
(better mood+he knows I’ve been down) This guy at work said I looked
happier than
usual.
So far, side affects are minimal, even plesant. I feel kind of
dizzy and giggly
sometimes, and I feel even a little more amorous (depression zaps the
old sex drive
too…) toward by b-f. And it’s kind of speedy, which makes me feel
a little stronger,
like I can take out the trash sometimes.
The actual depressive/anxious moods still come back. One day I’ll
be fine, the next
I’ll be stewing about something. Maybe the effect is subtle, and
maybe it takes a
while to become consistent. i know my bad spells, what is related to
my depression,
because I’ve lived with it untreated for years. I get angry over
nothing, yearn to be
anywhere but here, and give strangers the stinkeye. At least lately
I’ve been having
good days.
Will changing to 10 increase my good days?
Any comments, on any issues, are welcome.

I am not coming off lex, but I was wondering when I ever do, are
there are withdrawal symptoms??
Thanks,
Bobby

Hi all,
I’ve been put on Lexapro and have been on it for about a week now.
My doc is starting out slow, since I usually have side affects from
meds. I’m started on 5mg per day and still notice quite a bit of
anxiety. I know it takes 1-2 weeks to kick in, but was wondering
what everyone else’s experience was with it.
Thanks!!!!
Amy

Hello,
Last year I took Celexa 20mg-40mg for 4 months. It did rid of my
anxiety but left me feeling depressed, 15 extra pounds to loss and
low energy. Will lexapro be the same for me since it is related to
Celexa?
Thanks

Just as a friendly FYI…
10mg of Lexapro qAM is the standard, effective dosage… remember that as an
entianomer of Celexa, 10mg Lex = 40 mg of Celexa…
New research has found that increasing Lex 10mg -
therapeutic effectiveness, but DOES increase unwanted side effects. If 10 mg
isn’t working, most doctors in the know (and by doctors, I meaned trained
psychiatrists) will switch to another drug before increasing the dosage.
Going to 20 could conceiveably have some beneficial effects, but please
remember 20mg Lex = 80mg Celexa…
Going up from 20 (to what… 30? 30mg Lex = 120mg Celexa!) sounds like an
unwise decision. Please discuss this thoroughly with your psychiatrist.
Lexapro has proven to be very effective at treating certain conditions in
most people with limited side effects… but it’s not for everyone,and some
people may respond better to other SSRIS like Zoloft or Pacil, or an atypical
like
Wellbutrin or Effexor…
All the best!
Brian in Houston

So I’ve always been on 20mg of Lexapro and have been doing some research
tonight and it appears as though people on 10mg suffered less side effects
than people on 20mg. It makes sense to me, less drug going through your
system. Anyway, so I was thinking of cutting my pills in half and taking
10mg. What do you think? Should I discuss this with my doctor? Actually
my family practitioner prescribes the meds to me - I’m not currently seeing
a psychiatrist.
Also, I took someone’s advice on this group and started taking Lexapro at
night instead of in the morning. My two main side effects are
fatigue/sleepiness and headaches. However, for the past three nights I’ve
noticed that I’m only getting my headaches at night usually after dinner
time.
Jill