Lexapro

[jobob]

Well, I'm a relatively long-time Lexapro user and I think my sense of humor and my ability to laugh is still intact.

In fact, I think I find it easier to laugh nowadays. But that's just me.

It's different for everyone. Looks like I'm in a minority here, as a satisfied Lexapro user, but, there you have it. I sympathize with those of you for whom it hasn't worked out, I guess my particular brain chemistry & what-have-you are compatible w it. I hope you've been able to find something else suitable, be it drug or talk therapy. I did talk therapy for a while but it didn't work well for me - maybe it was the therapist I was seeing, but this was before trying Lexapro. I'm not inclined right now to try talk thereapy again, but I'll never say never ...

(To be honest I was rather hesitant to talk about my experiences with the drug, but since the trend on this thread was somewhat negative, I thought I would add my own positive experience as a counterpoint. Who knows, maybe I'm the only satisfied Lexapro user out there ... )

[malaholic]

Aggie, I'm glad that the Lexapro is helping you. I hope that the insomnia is only a temporary adjustment thing and that you don't experience any other bad side effects.

FWIW, there is a website http://www.askapatient.com where you can typically find a lot of anecdotal information on how well specific drugs have worked for people and what side effects they've experienced. I found it to be pretty helpful a few years ago when my then-doctor told me that there was absolutely no way that the headaches I was getting were due to the birth control I was on...I eventually stumbled upon that site and what do you know, there were a ton of people reporting killer headaches while on that pill.

Anyway, once again, best of luck with this treatment!

[Dogmama]

(To be honest I was rather hesitant to talk about my experiences with the drug, but since the trend on this thread was somewhat negative, I thought I would add my own positive experience as a counterpoint. Who knows, maybe I'm the only satisfied Lexapro user out there ... )

Well Jobob...I have to eat my words...chomp chomp, slurp, swallow...

My Pdoc tried to take me off Lexapro. Big mistake. I started to get p*ssy about everything. Even on my bike rides, I'd play the "conversation" game - You know, "I'll say this...then he'll say that...then I'll say this..." etc. Completely missed what a beautiful day it was because my head was in a very bad neighborhood. When I can't relax on my rides, I know I'm in trouble.

I'm on a super low dose, 5 mg, but it is just the dusting of SSRI I need to keep sane. My anxiety & depression just takes over my life. That's one reason why I started riding & working out. I don't think I need as much med as most people.

I do talk therapy too. Depression & suicides run in my family & I don't really want to continue the family tradition. My bike would cry & rust...so sad.

[jobob]

Well, I eat my words all the time. Everyone needs a hobby, I likes to say.

I might go for a lower dose at some point. I actually missed a few days during my current "adventure" (hospital etc after biking accident) and I didn't notice anything off ... altho I wasn't in much position to notice such stuff, heh.

Then again, at least for the moment anyhow, it ain't broke so why fix it ... (just a rhetorical question) .

[Aggie_Ama]

Everyone's experience with a drug can be mixed but usually people who have a very negative response remember it more. When my tremors first started I was on Neurontin. I was also extremely depressed. I thought it was the Neurontin and was convinced it was the devil's drug. Now that I have had the same depression feelings I had in 2004 and my tremors were coming out of remission I know it probably wasn't Neurontin. Although I felt like an idiot on it (many people say that), it gave me hot flashes and made me really loopy if I took anything else but the depression wasn't the Neurontin. Oh and quitting Neurontin made me feel really out of it, I would say wacko but that isn't the word. I was even more depressed, irritable and frustrated for the two week taper. Many people take Neurontin for tremors and are quite happy with the results, so there you go.

I appreciate everyone's stories and cautions about their experience. I go back to the doctor next week to see what he thinks but I feel less irritable, more in control and overall content. I guess for me, for now it is the right choice.

Oh and the sleeping? I realized I always take a lot of naps in the spring, have since I was 15 I guess it could be the time change and not a thing to do with the Lexapro. The insomnia has stopped. Sometimes we want to blame something when it probably has nothing to do with it.

[Dogmama]

Sometimes we want to blame something when it probably has nothing to do with it.

Jumping to conclusions is how I get my exercise when I can't ride.

Neurontin made me scrub my kitchen floor at 2AM. I just knew the grout had to be cleaned...or else. My ortho surgeon put me on it because I had neuropathy in my hands. I finally just had the cervical fusion & decided the grout would have to get dirty.