Experiences of Lexapro?

My doctor has prescribed Lexapro for my PND. It will be my third attempt at AD's the first 2 gave me horrible side effects. The last made me having anxiety attacks, i was afraid to leave the house and was very paranoid. Since being off it i feel better but have my down days and am beginning to feel like i cant cope.

And if you had side effects did they subside over time?

With Zoloft i had to get off it as i broke out in hives which just got worse and worse plus i couldn't sleep. Then the lovan is what made me ALOT worse so i couldnt stay on them any longer as i was feeling suicidal.

i was on lexapro for a little while after DD was born, and i didn't suffer any crazy side effects or anything, but that's just me, i know that i have heard of others having some not so nice side effects, but everyone's different. i think lexapro is a lower dose AD then some of the others? i guess talk to your doctor about your concerns, but really from my experience, it was good, it helped me enough to get back the control i needed. maybe that's something that might help you? and i felt better about being on it because it was lower dose than some of the others, and i found it was enough for me.....but i guess all you can do is try it and see? i really hope things start getting better for you :hug:

I had a bad reaction to Lexapro. I had been on other SSRI medications in the past maybe it was just one SSRI - Aropax, it made me sweat profusely.

Lexapro though I was on the lowest dose, and I had panic attacks including severe night time panic attacks on that one. That was within two days of starting on it. Had suicidal thoughts which I couldn't stop within days on it.

Anyway I found out from a relative they hadn't felt too good on SSRI/SNRI's either, and they found Aurorix (RIMA) the best, and that's what I ended up on.

Later I tried a supplement called SAMe. That worked well too.

There's the older antidepressants - Tricyclics some GP's are reluctant to prescribe them as initially they can give you a dry mouth or lethargy for a week or so; and there's MAOI's which are older and you need dietary restrictions on (similar to the RIMA Aurorix), however you might be better on those, some people are just not good with the newer SSRI's (eg Prozac etc), I think Effexor is an SNRI?.

The acronyms are how they work. So SSRI is inhibits Serotonin being reuptaked for example.

I also wonder with PND if it's not the case that some women would have low thyroid or iron levels, say on the lower side of normal which wouldn't help the situation?

As for who else can help with medications - it may be worthwhile getting referred to a Psychiatrist, or also if you could get someone to accompany you to a public mental health clinic (they can be scary places to visit lol) but they have even more expertise in side effects and prescribing anti depressants and you can see someone possibly on that same day.

Just some general info there for anyone with similar problems.

Hi LMS

I was on just 10mg Lexapro, and was very up and down. My dose was put up to 20 after about 2 weeks and I had what is apparently a super rare side effect - I started lactating! I have had no kids and not even been pregnant, but apparently anything that messes with your neurotransmitters in your brain can do stuff like that. Very strange... the psychiatrists I have been seeing are writing up reports about me to put in medical journals etc because they have never seen it in a situation similar to mine :o So I'm the odd one out with this!

I would have definitely stayed on it if I hadn't started lactating, I had no other side effects and it seemed to be ok.

I guess all you can do with AD's is give them time and see how it goes... it sucks but it's kinda the only way to go kwim? I'm now on cymbalta(60), I've only been on it 2ish weeks so yeah, same boat, wait it out and see how I go.

Hope everything works out for you :hug:

I have been on Lexapro in the past. Like any Anti Depressant, it was very hard to come off it. At first I was on 10mg's and then after some bad news in my life and some personal issues, it was increased to 20mgs. I found that when I was on the 20 I was very anxious, and shakey, and in panic mode a lot. DH couldn't keep up with my moods during this time, and yet it was meant to make me calm. I ended up dropping myself back to the 10mg, and that seemed to fit better for me. But like I said, coming off the Lexapro was not one of the easiest things I have had to do.

I've been on it for about a week now and feel alright so far. But i'll give it another few weeks before i know for sure.