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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by CR on January 8, 2004, at 16:12:41
In reply to Anyone switched to Lexapro? « ggrrl, posted by Dr. Bob on June 11, 2002, at 7:52:48
> [Posted by ggrrl on June 11, 2002, at 1:19:51]
>
> > Seems like there are a lot of people on here who have talked about Lexapro's improved side-effects, specifically that it has less tiredness and sexual side effects than Celexa. Some have said that it has the same side effects as Celexa. However most people are quoting from press releases - does anyone here know from experience (theirs or others')?I have not taken Celexa, but was on Effexor (75 mg/day) for 3.5 years and switched to Lexapro (10mg/day) for about 3 months now. Did NOT notice an increase in sexual side effects, but did notice an increase in tiredness. I think all SE are pretty individualized. Going on Lexapro, I did not notice an increase in side effects.
>
>
Posted by CR on January 8, 2004, at 16:16:47
In reply to Re: Lexapro Withdrawal Dizziness, posted by Rich B on August 4, 2003, at 13:59:11
I discontinued Lexapro (10mg/day) cold turkey about 2 weeks ago. STILL getting severe dizziness in the left hemisphere in my brain with tingling and numbness of my extremeites. Is this normal for these syptoms to continue for so long? They are not decreasign in intensity at all. Anyone else have experience wtih this?
Thanks!
CR
Posted by Jayslace on January 8, 2004, at 16:19:59
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Nuts, posted by Vandy on January 8, 2004, at 16:10:46
Actually,sometimes I think that's why I'm on Lex.
But shhh... don't tell anyone.
I love this board!
Cashew nutcase..
Ruthie
Posted by Bali on January 8, 2004, at 16:21:19
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Nuts, posted by LynneDa on January 8, 2004, at 15:54:58
AMEN LYNN!!!!!!!! Bali
> Bob, you are too funny! I know we are all nuts in our own way, that's for sure! But I have to commend all of us for trying to be less nutty! We are certainly more cognizant of our plusses and minuses and I'd rather be like that than floating through life having no clue about how or what to do to make things better!
> ~ Lynne
>
Posted by LynneLaf on January 8, 2004, at 16:45:27
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Advil, posted by sexylexy on January 8, 2004, at 14:16:25
I am on my 7th week and I am glad to say that the Side effects are gone. I am still tired, but I am always tired so I don't that that is a Side effect. My husband and I are actually able to have disagreements and not scream at eachother. He is also on Anti-depresents (a different one) and we are getting along so much better. I found Advil also lessened the foggieness in the morning. I take my med at night before bed and Advil did help me.
Have a great day.
Lynne
Posted by sexylexy on January 8, 2004, at 17:13:42
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Advil, posted by Mrs C. on January 6, 2004, at 20:56:43
> I asked my doctor about advil when she prescribed lex to me. I have always suffered from tension headaches and advil was almost a daily thing for me. She said that advil is perfectly safe to take with lex. By the way, I have only had one headache since I began lex. Another benefit for me. Thanks for your post. Mrs. C.
Mrs. C...
Did you have spacey/foggy stuff on Lexapro when you started? Please tell me you did and it went away, I am starting week 3 today and feel like Ive been in a two week day dream.
Thanks
Lexy
Posted by melley on January 8, 2004, at 17:22:21
In reply to Re: How much longer until... » KathrynLex, posted by muddled on January 8, 2004, at 14:20:00
I too have been having this forgetting to eat thing! No appetite and some stomach upset. Food is not as appealing as it once was. It is good for the weight loss thing so I don't mind. Although probably not so good nutritionally.> I have been on lex now for about 25 days and dont eat!!! I completly forget about eating entirely...Im dropping weight like crazy. (frankly Im letting it until another ten pounds and then Ill mention it to doctor) sse's have started to go away...still foggy and moody though. Have to set an alarm to remind myself to have breakfast & lunch. But i dont feel like the walking dead anymore so this is much better...thanks for the postings you guys, most had something I needed.
Posted by BobYuma on January 8, 2004, at 17:27:27
In reply to Re: How much longer until..., posted by muddled on January 8, 2004, at 15:00:15
>>>> Dr. gave me a sleeping pill but that just made me nuts >>>
So it's the sleeping pill that makes you nuts ...
hmmm ... but I don't take sleeping pills ...
Bob
Posted by Mariposa on January 8, 2004, at 17:58:37
In reply to Lexapro Withdrawal Dizziness/Tingling/Numbness?!, posted by CR on January 8, 2004, at 16:16:47
> I discontinued Lexapro (10mg/day) cold turkey about 2 weeks ago. STILL getting severe dizziness in the left hemisphere in my brain with tingling and numbness of my extremeites. Is this normal for these syptoms to continue for so long? They are not decreasign in intensity at all. Anyone else have experience wtih this?
> Thanks!
> CRFrom reading here it would seem cold turkey is not a good idea. Others have posted that they weaned off VERY slowly as the best method.~~~8|8
Posted by ELENI4 on January 8, 2004, at 18:08:45
In reply to Re: Lexapro clinical data » pharmrep, posted by dr. dave on August 23, 2002, at 3:59:39
I have the patient insert for Lexapro listing only frequent and infrequent side effects. However I'm interested in rare and serious side effects concerning the muscles or neuromuscular disease. Where can I find a listing of the rare side effects caused by Lexapro?
> The chief study on Lexapro v. Celexa is that by Gorman, and is a meta-analysis of three 8-week studies comparing Lexapro, Celexa and placebo. It is available in poster form at
> http://www.cipralex.ch/pdf/poster/gorm521_501.pdf
> and in its full form at
> http://www.cipralex.ch/pdf/literatur/gorman.pdf
>
> Have a look at the end-point results when drop-outs have been taken into account - on the poster Cipralex is more effective than Lexapro by a tiny amount, in the printed paper it's the other way round. Same study, same graph. Go figure, as I understand you say on your side of the Atlantic.
>
> There are also papers galore at
> http://www.cipralex.ch/f/poster.html
>
> It gets a bit overwhelming but here's what research there is
>
> - lots of preclinical studies
> - three 8-week studies comparing Celexa, Lexapro and placebo only two of which are available (Burke et al and Lepola et al, despite me having asked Lundbeck specifically for the third)
> - a meta-analysis of these three (Gorman)
> - a study comparing Lexapro and placebo alone
> - a longer term study which again does not seem to be available for scrutiny
>
> All of these papers have been produced by Lundbeck/Forest. You may think that as they are 'scientific papers' they could not be biased or misleading. You may think otherwise.
>
> It is worth noting studies which show that research on the same topics published by those with conflicts of interest consistently come to different conclusions than those published by independent authors (British Medical Journal - I don't have the reference to hand but will supply it later)
Posted by ST on January 8, 2004, at 18:29:58
In reply to Lex Flu - Why Haven't Doctors Heard of It?, posted by KathrynLex on January 7, 2004, at 12:05:08
Hi,
I've switched so many antidepressants and this has always happened to me. The doctors don't know about this nor do they really care, I think. After searching the internet and talking with dozens of other antidepressant users, these symptoms are extremely commmon when starting or ending an antidepressant. In the archives, you may want to look up "seratonin syndrome", which supposedly occurs when mixing different meds, but the symptoms are similar when going off a med as well.Not everyone goes through this, but I'd say about 80% of the people I spoke with have.(I live in a major city where almost everyone I know is on something!)
It seems to occur as a withdrawal response to weaning yourself off of or stopping a drug. Your body is responding to not receiving that dosage every day. It can also occur if you are starting a drug and do not have another one in your system, but that has only been my experience once.
There was a time when I was very broke and would fool around with my prescription strength to save money. Often, I wouldn't have any money at the end of the month to buy my AD and would have to wait a few days before I could buy it. I would start geting the symtoms within two days of not taking my AD. They got worse and worse. Then when I finally bought my prescription and took the AD, the symptoms would start dissapearing and eventually I would feel "back to normal". It took my doing this a few times before I noticed the correlation! But it's very clear now.
Whenever I would miss my daytime dose of Effexor by one or two hours, I would start feeling sick. Then when i was weaning myself off Effexor I was extremely ill every day. I believe that Effexor can be the most difficult AD to get out of your system (check out the archives!). I had to wean myself over a period of about 3 months. I got down to chipping off tiny pieces of the drug each day to stave off the withdrawal symtoms. I missed so much work during this period! It was difficult explaining why I had flu symtoms to people for almost three months!I would take my tiny bit of Effexor in the morning and by the evening I would be sick as a dog: feverish, nauseous, achy and dizzy. Then I'd grudgingly chip off another piece of the Effexor, take it and wait about two hours to feel better.
Don't let your doctor make you feel nutty for feeling this or tell you that it's a coincidence that you have the flu. Mine finally got the picture after seeing my reactions so many times!
Good luck, it'll go away!Sarah
Posted by ST on January 8, 2004, at 18:30:39
In reply to Lex Flu - Why Haven't Doctors Heard of It?, posted by KathrynLex on January 7, 2004, at 12:05:08
Hi,
I've switched so many antidepressants and this has always happened to me. The doctors don't know about this nor do they really care, I think. After searching the internet and talking with dozens of other antidepressant users, these symptoms are extremely commmon when starting or ending an antidepressant. In the archives, you may want to look up "seratonin syndrome", which supposedly occurs when mixing different meds, but the symptoms are similar when going off a med as well.Not everyone goes through this, but I'd say about 80% of the people I spoke with have.(I live in a major city where almost everyone I know is on something!)
It seems to occur as a withdrawal response to weaning yourself off of or stopping a drug. Your body is responding to not receiving that dosage every day. It can also occur if you are starting a drug and do not have another one in your system, but that has only been my experience once.
There was a time when I was very broke and would fool around with my prescription strength to save money. Often, I wouldn't have any money at the end of the month to buy my AD and would have to wait a few days before I could buy it. I would start geting the symtoms within two days of not taking my AD. They got worse and worse. Then when I finally bought my prescription and took the AD, the symptoms would start dissapearing and eventually I would feel "back to normal". It took my doing this a few times before I noticed the correlation! But it's very clear now.
Whenever I would miss my daytime dose of Effexor by one or two hours, I would start feeling sick. Then when i was weaning myself off Effexor I was extremely ill every day. I believe that Effexor can be the most difficult AD to get out of your system (check out the archives!). I had to wean myself over a period of about 3 months. I got down to chipping off tiny pieces of the drug each day to stave off the withdrawal symtoms. I missed so much work during this period! It was difficult explaining why I had flu symtoms to people for almost three months!I would take my tiny bit of Effexor in the morning and by the evening I would be sick as a dog: feverish, nauseous, achy and dizzy. Then I'd grudgingly chip off another piece of the Effexor, take it and wait about two hours to feel better.
Don't let your doctor make you feel nutty for feeling this or tell you that it's a coincidence that you have the flu. Mine finally got the picture after seeing my reactions so many times!
Good luck, it'll go away!Sarah
Posted by BobYuma on January 8, 2004, at 18:53:18
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Nuts, posted by LynneDa on January 8, 2004, at 15:54:58
> > > ... I know we are all nuts in our own way, that's for sure! But I have to commend all of us for trying to be less nutty! ~ Lynne > >
Now, Lynne, why on earth would you want to be ordinary .. and less nutty? Sheesh ...
I happen to have an un-breachable reputation for being nutty, and I like it that way. God save me from normalcy .. and normal people.By the way, you're a very sweet person, Lynne [and I think you're a little nutty too, which is a good thing .. remember?].
Your Nutty Pal, Bob
Posted by BobYuma on January 8, 2004, at 18:59:03
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Nuts, posted by BobYuma on January 8, 2004, at 18:53:18
Hey, Guys. I found a site that's very interesting as far as information on Lexapro goes. Maybe some of you have seen it before, maybe some haven't. At any rate, when you arrive at the site, go a little over half way down the page [it's a very long page], and you'll come to " TABLE 1." This is a study of patients on Lexapro who experienced different types of adverse effects [I think we in-the-know folks call them side effects].
For example, it says that 15% of the patients on Lexapro experienced nausea, and only 6% experienced somnolence [sleepiness, I think]. Don't know about you folks, but I tend to think the percentages are a bit low. But that's just me, and we all know about me. Stop running with those scissors in your mouth, Ralph.
Bob
Posted by BobYuma on January 8, 2004, at 19:01:34
In reply to My Fellow Nuts, posted by BobYuma on January 8, 2004, at 18:59:03
Ok. stop laughing. I forgot to ad the link. Sheesh. So here it is...
scissors .. no wait that's not it.. here ...
http://www.lexapro.com/pdfs/lexapro_pi.pdf
Posted by Jayslace on January 8, 2004, at 19:03:40
In reply to My Fellow Nuts, posted by BobYuma on January 8, 2004, at 18:59:03
Hey, Bob, where is the site?
Just curious....
Ruthie
Posted by BobYuma on January 8, 2004, at 19:09:27
In reply to Re: My Fellow Nuts » BobYuma, posted by Jayslace on January 8, 2004, at 19:03:40
>>> Hey, Bob, where is the site?
Just curious.... <<<Sorry, Ruthie. I'm such a nut you know.
http://www.lexapro.com/pdfs/lexapro_pi.pdf
Posted by Jayslace on January 8, 2004, at 19:23:41
In reply to Re: My Fellow Nuts, posted by BobYuma on January 8, 2004, at 19:09:27
Me a nut, you a nut.... So what!!
Be Happy!!
Ruthie
Posted by Jayslace on January 8, 2004, at 19:27:12
In reply to Re: My Fellow Nuts, posted by Jayslace on January 8, 2004, at 19:23:41
Bob, I think I forgot to add a laugh in there though. So , here is a good , hearty , nutty laugh!! Hahahahahaha!!
And it's sincere!
:-) Ruthie
Posted by friendofbillw on January 8, 2004, at 19:37:59
In reply to Re: Lexapro clinical data, posted by ELENI4 on January 8, 2004, at 18:08:45
Great info! Thanks.
Posted by BLKVETTES on January 9, 2004, at 0:40:12
In reply to Lexapro Withdrawal Dizziness/Tingling/Numbness?!, posted by CR on January 8, 2004, at 16:16:47
> I discontinued Lexapro (10mg/day) cold turkey about 2 weeks ago. STILL getting severe dizziness in the left hemisphere in my brain with tingling and numbness of my extremeites. Is this normal for these syptoms to continue for so long? They are not decreasign in intensity at all. Anyone else have experience wtih this?
> Thanks!
> CRYOU KNOW YOU CAN GET SEIZURES STOPPING THESE MEDS COLD TURKEY. I would guess your past that stage. Its one hell of a shock to your body when you give it something and take it away all at once. This stuff can go for a month or even a few months. It varies person to person and on what you read. Some get zero withdrawal. Slow tapering off is the best way to go.
WAYNE
Posted by american woman on January 9, 2004, at 10:30:51
In reply to lexapro side effect...incontinence?, posted by friendofbillw on January 7, 2004, at 23:33:53
> This is embarrassing to write, but I'm curious if anyone else is having trouble with "urgent incontinence (UI)" on lexapro. UI is when you feel the need to go to pee and have to go immediately or it starts coming out. It's horrible! I haven't had any other side effects, but this one. I'm on wellbutrin too. The problem seems to have started when I started on the lexapro. Anyone else?
I didn't have incontinence, but I did find that with Lexapro I was often constipated (sorry, no nicer way to put it), to the point I had to take something for it.
Posted by LynneDa on January 9, 2004, at 10:44:13
In reply to Re: lexapro side effect...incontinence?, posted by american woman on January 9, 2004, at 10:30:51
Now that you brought it up . . . I too had the "c" word when starting Lex and when upping my dosage. And that was VERY unusual for my body! It did straighten itself out after a week or so.
Posted by Esmarelda on January 9, 2004, at 11:02:23
In reply to Lexapro Withdrawal Dizziness/Tingling/Numbness?!, posted by CR on January 8, 2004, at 16:16:47
I don't think you are ever supposed to quit AD cold turkey. You should taper off.
Posted by BLKVETTES on January 9, 2004, at 13:19:33
In reply to Re: lexapro side effect...incontinence?, posted by american woman on January 9, 2004, at 10:30:51
> I didn't have incontinence, but I did find that with Lexapro I was often constipated (sorry, no nicer way to put it), to the point I had to take something for it.Yea, I was that way for quite awhile. Took me a few months before that ended.
WAYNE
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