wantneeda

just wanting to know if anyone knows anything about this or has been on it.
it was prescribed for my mom, it is an antidepressant. She tells me it's addictive. they feelings she has described after being on it for a little while have me concerned. The last thing she needs right now is an addiction to pills!
You'd think when companies come out with new pills they would take addictive nature into consideration.
any infor greatly appreciated.
thanks
Wendy

laurie6781

Here you go a whole bunch of sites suggested by Google.

Have fun. lol


http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...ex&btnG=Search

This is the generic of Lexapro.

Lexapro is the only one of the many that has helped me and I have now been on it for over 15 months. I don't seem to have any side affects and my dosage has remained constant at 20mg a day.

I can tell you that without it, one more time, I would go from deep deep depression to very manic highs and then back to depression again. So I am happy to have the medication.

I also know that it works somewhat on the pain centers of the brain, and as a consequence I do not need to take as much pain medication as I used to thanks to the Lexapro.

Love and (((((to all))))),

eddie z.

NOT!! That might mean they'd make less money. Drug companies = ! Don't trust them.

Cipralex is escitalopram. Same as Lexapro in the U.S., but not a generic, just a different brand name in Canada. NOT addictive in the psychological sense, but there can be withdrawal effects if it is stopped suddenly after being taken over a period of time. That is the case with most of the SSRI antidepressants.

Hope this helps! And you know you can always PM me if you have more questions.
Love and hugs,
Eddie

thrashej

My psych just put me on Lexapro (first med ever) and I think it sucks, BIGTIME!!!

I have been on it almost a month now and all I want to do is sleep and yawn!! The nausea has gotten better but I feel absolutely not at all better........only sleepier. If this stuff is supposed to kick in.....WHEN?? I am on 10 mg right now (1 pill) and can't imagine the sleepiness with 20!!!

If this is how psych meds are gonna be, I'd rather take plain ol' depression and anxiety!! I tried Wellbutrin (prescribed by GP) and liked it, but my psych says no way cuz I have depression AND GAD. Uggghh.

eddie z.

Maybe you need an even lower dose if you're still tired after almost a month. Ask your doc if you may split the pills or if it comes in a 5mg (I can't remember.). You should be starting to notice some benefits any time now although it can take 6 or 8 weeks. And if energy is a problem, and your anxiety is controlled with the Lexapro, you can actually add the Wellbutrin back in, although it sounds like your doc would be opposed to that.

I have a lot of education and experience with these things, so feel free to PM me or ask anything else you like here, OK? I hope this helps and wish you all the best!

Love and hugs,
Eddie

laurie6781

The little bit of sleepiness I had, I found disappeared when I started taking the dosage with my evening meds.

I have no sleepiness from it now, at all.

I also know that Lexapro does not work for all people. If you are having that much trouble with it........and it doesn't seem to help in another 2 or 3 weeks you might want to tell your doctor and he/she will try something else.

I hate to tell you the list we went through until my Dr. tried the Lexapro on me.

Some medications work for some people and some for others. I am just so happy to finally be on an even keel and only experience mild depression it is hard to express in words. lol

Keep trying. I will keep you in my prayers that the correct medication is found for you, so that you too may find some calmness and evenness in your life.

Thanks Eddie for straightening that out, I did not realize that was the Brand Name up in Canada.

Love and (((((to all))))),

eddie z.

You're welcome, Laurie!! And that is an excellent point about taking the Lexapro in the evening, too. Thank YOU for mentioning that!! I know some people find SSRIs such as Lexapro stimulating and some find them sedating, so timing of dose can make all the difference in the world. So, thrashej, are you taking the Lexapro in the morning or evening? You may want to take it at night if you're not already. That way you can take advantage of the sedation rather than having it interfere with your daytime activities. Let us know how things go, OK?

Wendy, what's up?

Love and hugs,
Eddie

wantneeda

Wow, thanks for the info!
these were my moms words on how she is feeling on them.
"feelin' better in my head and heart the last few days...maybe the antidressants were a good thing, cause i've never been able to feel this way on my own. sorta lonely, but i can deal with that and i can manage it. pretty much been lonely my whole life, so it's really not a big thing for me. i'm happier and i can even smile, which is a good thing. must go see heaton to talk with her about it. i missed my last appointment and i only have one perscipt. month left after i finish these ones. they say not to go off them on your own, only under dr.' care, as they are addictive. i get dizzy spells and shake alot and it is a side effect. not sleeping nearly what i was,i was sleepng up to 17 or 18 hours a day. now it's about 6 hrs. if i'm feeling this way, maybe she'll take me off them..who knows, but then i wonder if i can feel this way on my own..don't know that either"

so thats what got my attention. My mom is an alcoholic, i know since she got sick she hasn't been drinking as much and i'm not really sure how much she is drinking today. I understand her depression, being off work and going for tests and really not getting any answers for 7 months now. Last visit they told her she either has cancer of the bowel, Crohn's disease or her bowel was deformed from birth, they won't know until surgery sometime in the fall.
With your reply';s about sleeping i guess that tells me my mom must be on a proper dosage for her. I know she has been on anti-deppressants before and didn't like them at all.
her comment about not being able to feel like she is on her own is scaring me. I have alot of trust in our doctor, she has been with us for years. But i think doctors prescribe these things they don't take them themselves, i don't know, brain started to do circles now, so i guess i'll leave it at that.
thanks again,
hugs, Wendy

eddie z.

You're welcome, ((((Wendy))))!! Remember that addiction and physical dependence are NOT the same thing. Someone who takes medication for high blood pressure may be physically dependent on that medication to control their blood pressure, but we would never say they were addicted to it. It's the same with depression and antidepressants. Depression is a disease just like hypertension or diabetes and should be treated as such. There are withdrawal effects from many medications. That doesn't mean they are addictive.

Unfortunately, while depression is a treatable disease, it is like high blood pressure and diabetes in that it is NOT a curable disease. If your mom is feeling better, it's because she's taking the meds, not because she's cured. She needs to keep taking them to STAY well. In someone with a history of depression, like your mom apparently has, antidepressants may need to be continued lifelong. They definitely need to be taken for at least a year before discontinuation is even considered.

Hope this helps!
Love and hugs,
Eddie

wantneeda

oh wow...really??
i don't know if i agree that depression is incurable. But i guess i don't know enough about it to say whether it is or isn't. When i think back on my moms life and moods i guess i could say that yes, she has been depressed. to think of her on meds for it for the rest of her life doesn't make me happy.
i don't think she knows any of this either. i don't think she would be happy about it either. that is my assumption though...
i'm in the middle of reading a book called ' Care of The Soul '...in discussing depression the author thinks depression is a mood that visits...if we fight it..like the disease of addiction...it gets worse, to invite it to stay and work with it we get through it.
but yes, you are helping, thanks
hugs, Wendy

shockozulu

Not clinical depression. No way. That depression is caused by brain chemistry. If I had invited it in and worked through it I would have been fine by age 18. I had been clinically depressed and under good treatment since age 14.

That type of thinking can lead to death (suicide). /shiver

stone

I take Cipramil which I think is the UK brand name for citoprolam, they helped me, it takes about a month to kick in and you tend to get mild side effects until they start working. I wouldn't worry about them.

wantneeda

how does one know the difference? if it is clinical or not...and what is the difference??

eddie z.

Yes, there are some people who may experience one episode of depression, get through it with or without treatment, and never have a recurrence, but I think that is the exception rather than the rule. I just meant that it's usually a disease that recurs and that it is not curable in the way that, say, an infection is.

You're welcome again, Wendy! I will also keep you and your mom in my prayers.
Love and hugs,
Eddie

eddie z.

Oops! I posted that last post before I saw this.

There are specific criteria that have to be met for a diagnosis of major depression. Depressed mood is just one of several possible symptoms and depressed mood does not by itself constitute major depressive disorder. There have to be other symptoms that go along with it like sleep and appetite disturbances. I'll see if I can find a link to those criteria...

Love and hugs,
Eddie

wantneeda

((((Eddie))))
Sr just wouldn't be the same without you

eddie z.

((((Wendy)))) Thank you!! I'll take that as a compliment. LOL.

L&H,
ez

thrashej

I'm sorry, I did not mean to hijack this thread, but I wanted to respond to those that responded to me.

Thanks for the info. I do take the pill in the evening. At first it seemed to help a bit but reality is I am sleepy all the time. I can sleep 10 hours at night and fall right asleep at noon or even 5pm and sleep for several hours! Then, when I wake up from that nap, I feel like it is 3am and I am STILL groggy!! This is totally unlike the non-medicated me. I rarely ever can even take a nap in the daytime!!! Honestly, I am in nursing school and I don't have the time right now to deal with this slugginess. I need to function and this pill is really robbing me of my life right now!! I go to my psych Tues, but even that is going to be a lifetime away considering all I have to do right now....

Thank you all for replying. Now it is just a waiting game I guess.

eddie z.

You're welcome! I would call the doctor's office and ask if it is OK for you to split the pills in half until you can be seen next week. And let us know how things go, OK?

Love and hugs,
Eddie

thrashej

um..........I think the med MAY be working a bit. I guess I was a little premature. 6-8 weeks is a loooonnngggg time when you are dealing with crappy side effects, but it may all be worth it. We'll see! Thanks for your help guys!