# Lexapro



## amigo1 (Dec 11, 2010)

Anyone tried it, how did you like it?


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## JustAGirl (Oct 1, 2010)

I took it for a short time. Turns out I'm more of a "nervous/anxious" kind of person so it MADE me depressed after a few weeks. Besides that, it made me VERY VERY sleepy the first few weeks....no other side affects really.


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## Mike188 (Dec 29, 2009)

I took it for a few years. Did what it was supposed to with no side effects that I am aware of, but everyone is different and I rarely have side effects from any medicine. My doctor recently switched me to a generic Paxil, can't remember why. It works too. Other than when I am dealing with my wife I am very happy, probably too happy.


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## genny (Feb 14, 2011)

I took it for about 8 months, at least 6 years ago. I wasn't openly depressed but had general anxiety or just the inability to be content in the moment. It took about 2-4 weeks for it to kick in but the overall perk was that i could look at an overgrown, weed-filled empty lot and see the beauty in it. I didn't feel like i was drugged and i felt like myself, only peaceful or dare i say..happy? so now for the downside, i gained 20 pounds over the course of those 8 months. And i remained very active, ate reasonably well, etc. i usually maintain a decent weight and the only times i have ever truly gained weight has been the two times i took a pill that affects hormones. So inevitably becoming "fat" made me unhappy and i eventually discontinued the lexapro. I was sad to lose the inner peace but it wasn't worth the side effect of misery. 
on a secondary note, a good friend of mine had the exact same experience a few years after mine. I've heard some people have a tendency to gain weight on pills and sadly, i think i am one of them. Good luck.


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## Freak On a Leash (Feb 19, 2010)

Lexapro works for me. I've been on it a few years. I haven't gained weight. In fact, since I've been on a heavy duty diet and exercise program I've lost a bunch of weight. It does make me tired so I only take it before going to bed. 

That said, every medication is different for every person. What's good for one person might not be good for another so you can't go by what I or anyone else says.


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## less_disgruntled (Oct 16, 2010)

I started taking Lexapro (currently only taking 5mg, which is below the typical amount prescribed) a few months ago. I also take ~20mg of mixed amphetamine salts most days. Both help me, significantly, stabilize my mood and respond with less irritability, but by no means do they address the "underlying etiology" of my own issues (FWIW the amp. helps more w/r/t irritability IMO). I can still be pretty moody sometimes despite my best efforts and despite the drugs.

I took Zoloft several years ago and found that while it helped with mood, the side effects were just too much... I felt sluggish and nasueated all the time.

The first few weeks on Lexapro I was pretty much tired all the time and getting up to pee almost as soon as I had any liquids, and that was on a really really low dose (2.5 mg--the tablets come in 10mg and 20mg). Both those went away after about two or three weeks, though I do occasionally get drowsy.

The only other side effect I got, and still have, though not as much, has been that my appetite got strange. I got compulsive when I actually sat down to eat--I'd eat pretty quickly, then after a few minutes just couldn't make myself keep eating and would leave a half-finished plate, even if I felt hungry.

Anyway if I had any advice it would be to talk to a psychiatrist, *not* a GP, about this. Like I said I started with a very low dose and only take a slightly higher dose daily, but IDK that you could trust a GP to respect that... Psychiatric medicine is largely trial-and-error for individuals, and you need a doctor who actually knows what they're doing, not someone who just got a set of golf clubs from a Merck sales rep.


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