tired of not knowing me

[cinderellawkids]

Im tired of these us and downs. The last few days Im back on a down spell like Im fighting to exist, I cant focus and dont enjoy anything.

I dont know if Ill switch back in a few days or if my 20 mg of Lexapro is no longer enough. I feel down and anxious at the same time, and Im sooo very tired,it sucks

[Live]

Cindi,

Sorry to hear you are feeling that way. Lexapro does cause fatigue as a side effect in most people.
I know how I hate the feelings you describe!

[Astro]

I normally don't post here, but I understood from just your short post what I felt when I was prescribed Lexapro and then Zoloft. But I didn't have very many ups. Just down, down, down, and the same anxiety they were supposed to help me with. After two weeks of misery and no sleep I checked myself into an emergency room and then a behavioral center. I was suicidal and didn't know what else to do.

At the behavioral center I was given Paxil and for the first time in weeks I slept. But when I was released and went to a therapist for outpatient treatment he took me off the Paxil because it can be addictive (not good for this alcoholic) and put me on EffexorXR. It took a few months of getting used to, changing the time of day I took the med, and several dosage adjustments before it was fully effective, but it was a blessing to my health and well-being. I took EffexorXR for a year and then my doc weaned me off of it with no side effects.

OK, enough of my long story. My point is that if the Lexapro isn't working it might not be right for you or you might require a different dosage. Either way, it was so important for me to communicate with my prescribers and let them know if something wasn't working for me. Please talk to your doctor, and if you can write in a journal how you're feeling for reference later on. There were times when I thought I just had to suck it up and live with feeling miserable, I'm grateful that wasn't the case and there was help and the right medication available to me.

[PaperDolls]

Cindi -- I don't have any wise words today but just wanted to offer you some support and hugs.

[nandm]

My experience with anti-depressants has been that although they have worked well for me, up until the latest one they have always seemed to stop working at some point. I was able to be on Prozac for nearly 2 years before it stopped working, paxil 6 months, lexapro a little over a year and a half, and currently Cymbalta has been working for nearly 2 years now although I did have to have the dose increased.

I am also bi-polar type II which typically presents with a hard to treat depression anyway so my experience if probably not typical.

[shutterbug]

Cinderella, I wrote you a lengthy response this morning just shortly after you posted this and then when i was ready to hit the post button i hit something on my keyboard that shut my internet down completely. i was not a happy camper, but had to get ready for work. i just wanted to let you know i tried. And also basically...that i've heard of only a very rare few who have done well on Lexapro (and i've know both bipolar II's and also bipolar I's who have been on it). Live is right in that it does cause fatigue as a side-affect in a lot of people....which is the main reason i personally hopped off it quicker than a jack rabbit.

I also mentioned possibly asking your pdoc about Lamictal if you're not already on it for a mood stabalizer as it has few side affects and seems to work well for a lot of peeps.

And i remember talking about Provigil, which was innitially prescribed for peeps with narcalepsy, but sometimes pdocs are starting to prescribe it to bipolar patients to help with the down times of severe fatigue. I tried getting a script for it from my old pdoc and he told me i didn't have narcalepsy. Although, i thought it quite funny that while i was in the hospital this time....my docs had me on it the whole time and i hadn't even known it until afterwards - nor had i asked for it. Unfortunately, they didn't give me a script for it when i was released from the hospital tho....(but i also haven't researched it enough to know if it might be addictive?) I plan to ask my pdoc about it at my next appointment in a couple of weeks.

On a final note: I too am on Effexor and have been for some time now....and i believe it has done me a lot of good....as well as the Welbutrin (and i do believe that one of them also helps with anxiety and one of them also has a slight energizing side affect to it.....i'm pretty sure).

love and hugs,
Jenna

[dancingkat]

often meds need to be changed after a long time of use. they can stop working in a way. also not every med is right for every person. there are lots of choices out there and over 7 years i ahve tried tons of different ones and finally am narrowing it down to some that are working. it was a long process of some good times with them working and then frustration. and then some of them caused horrible side effects ranging from flu like symtpoms to even seizures from wellbutrim.

[cinderellawkids]

Thank you everyone. I have been taking Lexapro for almost 2 years now (with a couple short off periods). It has seemed to change lately in effectiveness I will talk to my primary care doctor soon. I had at one time considered asking about Effexor as well.

Thank you all. Today Im back to almost normal although agitated. Ive increased my caffiene intake though so Im going to try backing off again to see if that helps the agitation