Anyone have experience with Lexapro?

Mrs_D_in_KY

I went to my current OB GYN on Friday, where he pretty much dismissed everything I told him regarding possible depression. I walked away from that feeling like he thought it was all in my head. So I scheduled an appointment with my PCP. 

I went to my PCP today and discussed all of my symptoms I have had over the past few months. He gave me two weeks worth of samples for Lexapro, with strict instructions that I must come back in 2 weeks so he can see how I'm feeling and write a prescription if needed. I did not know if anyone else had experience with Lexapro and how it affected them.

He also wrote a referral for me to see a therapist, so hopefully the meds coupled with therapy will help me feel more human. I seriously feel like I need someone to wind me up some days, and most days it doesn't happen.

 Just wanted to give everyone an update.  

WoWhead

I took Lexapro for a few years and it worked great for me.  I started feeling more like myself within a few days and I didn't have any of the side effects. 

A word of advice:  Let someone else help be your compass for a little while.  Discuss how you are feeling on a regular basis and remember that you will still have bad days.

I've been dealing with depression for about the last 4 years.  If you ever need to talk, feel free to PM or e-mail me (lesley4514@hotmail.com).  Having someone to talk to that understands what you are feeling can be very helpful.

 

mcmann05

I took it for about 6 weeks before I realized that I was having an out of body experience while taking it. I'm a Prozac kind of girl (and proud of it) but every few years feel the need to play with a new drug to see if it's any better. I only tried one thing after the Lexapro before going back to Prozac and it did nothing.

I say I'm proud of it because I'm not afraid to talk about depression. I've been battling it for a little over 10 years. I'm stable now and see a therapist when I feel I need to. I've never been one to get much out of therapy. You need to find a therapist you are comfortable with and not just stick with one because you think you should. Same thing with the anti-depressant. If Lexapro does nothing for you, know that you need to change it and not think ALL anti-depressants won't work. Every anti-depressant affects a different part of your neuro transmitters (and chemicals) and some don't affect the correct ones where another one will.

We are FB friends so please please feel free to reach out to me. I'd also love to meet up sometime if you ever need to talk! I know you are in NKY but we could meet at Newport sometime.

KittahMama

I used Lexapro for a year.  Within a week or two I started to see through the haze that I felt I was in.  It really made a difference.  It didn't make me "happy" it just made me more like normal me- I was able to cope with my issues and not get overwhelmed or completely depressed about things. 

It made a huge difference for me.  I was on it for one year, weaned off and haven't needed any anti depressants at all, thankfully.  I too am not ashamed I had a bout of depression.  If we talked more openly/honestly about it maybe more people would seek treatment/help for it instead of trying to deal on thier own!

Good luck!

WoWhead

mcmann05:

I took it for about 6 weeks before I realized that I was having an out of body experience while taking it. I'm a Prozac kind of girl (and proud of it) but every few years feel the need to play with a new drug to see if it's any better. I only tried one thing after the Lexapro before going back to Prozac and it did nothing.

I say I'm proud of it because I'm not afraid to talk about depression. I've been battling it for a little over 10 years. I'm stable now and see a therapist when I feel I need to. I've never been one to get much out of therapy. You need to find a therapist you are comfortable with and not just stick with one because you think you should. Same thing with the anti-depressant. If Lexapro does nothing for you, know that you need to change it and not think ALL anti-depressants won't work. Every anti-depressant affects a different part of your neuro transmitters (and chemicals) and some don't affect the correct ones where another one will.

We are FB friends so please please feel free to reach out to me. I'd also love to meet up sometime if you ever need to talk! I know you are in NKY but we could meet at Newport sometime.

Amen sister!!  Not being afraid of talking about it sets you free.  

vollmasm

I took it for about 6 months 4 years ago.  While it helped me see through the haze, it also made me feel like a shell of a person.  I remember at one point thinking "I know I should feel excited about this" but I just couldn't get myself to muster the actual emotion.  It was weird.  It also killed my sex drive.  Basically, although I wasn't sad anymore, I wasn't anything else either, just numb.

mizbiz

I took it for about a year. It took me about 2-3 weeks to get used to it and see results though. It killed my appetite during that time.

 But like pp said, it wasnt that it made me happy, it just made me feel like myself. I actually had emotions instead of just feeling empty all the time. That was the worst part of depression for me - having no feelings.

I hope it works for you and it makes you feel like yourself again. Good for you for talking about it and getting the help you need. Hang in there!

mizbiz

And also, if you do take any anti depressants, make sure you wean off of them slowly when you're finished. Stopping suddenly is not good for you because your brain has to remember how to manufacture those chemicals again.

kyfirewife

I was on Lexapro for about 18 months for PPD.

Honestly, for me it basically just helped me feel "normal" again, back to my old self. Which is great. I didn't want a "happy pill", I just wanted to be me again.

I hope two weeks is long enough for you to see how you like it. For me it took around a week before I really noticed a difference. Definitely wasn't an instant change.

And about the therapist - I saw a counselor last year for unrelated issues, but I seriously wish I had known how helpful counselling could be. I would have been there much sooner, and occasionally think about going back for different issues. It really helped me a lot, and was a very positive experience.

GL w/ everything! and if you ever need to talk, you know where to find me!

Mrs_D_in_KY

Thanks for your support ladies, it truly means A LOT to me! My Bump friends, my husband, my mom and a few of my very close friends know I am battling with this. I haven't been really talking about it a whole lot. 

It's good to know that anti-depressants make you feel more normal, that's all I'm hoping to get out of all of this. I haven't felt normal for a long time and since I have stopped EPing, it's just been compounding.

 Thanks again! 

teacherjess

I'm so glad your PCP was able to help you. I was on Lexapro for PPD after I had Leah. It took a week for it to really start kicking in. I started on 10mg/day. At two weeks, the haze had started to lift and I finally felt like getting out of bed. However, it would wear off around 5pm and I had a very difficult time with the evenings (coupled with the fact that that was Leah's fussy time and I got SO anxious at her bedtime).

We bumped it up to 20mg/day and I noticed a difference right away from there. It definitely didn't make me feel happy, as the other girls have said, but I felt like I could function and do things like shower and take care of the baby and go shopping and make meals and stuff without this awful cloud just hanging over me. I stayed on it until I went back to work at 4 months pp. While I liked it, it made me much drowsier than normal and I was really only sustaining the higher dosage because DH was getting up with Leah at night so I could get extra rest. I weaned off it over two weeks. I highly recommend talking with a counselor, as well. I did not do this and really wish I had. I was so unbelievably embarrassed about having depression at a time when I should have been so happy that I could barely talk about it with my family. I wish I hadn't felt that way.

GL on the Lexapro and let us know how it does. Like other antidepressants, it will probably take two weeks before you start to notice a difference. Be patient and hang in there. 

Mrs_D_in_KY

I was just browsing their website and it mentions fatigue, drowsiness and insomnia? I already have those so how much worse can it get? 

teacherjess

Mrs_D_in_KY:

I was just browsing their website and it mentions fatigue, drowsiness and insomnia? I already have those so how much worse can it get? 

I don't think those are guaranteed side effects. I never had insomnia, and it was hard to tell on the drowsiness and fatigue because I had a newborn anyway and our sleep was definitely broken. However, I had to sleep about 9 hours a night to feel "well-rested" versus 7 a night normally. It wasn't like an overwhelming kind of thing, like where I couldn't drive, though. Also, what dosage are you on? I only had fatigue on the 20mg, but the usual starting dosage that I know of is normally lower. 

Mrs_D_in_KY

I'm on the 10 mg.