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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by altair on September 5, 2003, at 10:39:05
I must be the only person who's been negativly effected by anti-depressants. Ive been on two different kinds...celexa and now lexapro. I'm getting off lexapro now and dealing with the horrible side effects associated with it.
Forgive my jaded opinions about this drug and others like it, but I really am concerned by the apparent over use of these medications. I NEVER should have been given these meds. I dealt w/ lifes problems just fine before, save the slight bump in the road last year when I found out I had hiv. So yeah it helped for the depression associated w/ that but give me a break. Had I known about the withdrawals and weight gain I would never had consented to this drug. I've gained 15 pounds on these drugs and I hardly eat...for someone with a history of eating disorders this makes my life worse. I put these drugs in the same category as cocaine speed etc...how is my life benefiting from FDA sanctioned addiction?
All this drug has given me is heart ache and suicidal tendencies which I NEVER experienced before. Why bother fighting a "war on drugs" if our government approves the distribution of drugs that are as dangeruous as common street drugs.
Sorry but this kind of malpractice just pisses me off...but I do have a question.......
How long does the withdrawals last? Ive been slowly taking myself off of lexapro for 3 weeks and am down to 2.5 mg a day from 10mg when i started.
Posted by pezeja on September 5, 2003, at 10:51:10
In reply to Lexapro is poison, posted by altair on September 5, 2003, at 10:39:05
hi there,
I feel your pain. I was put on Lex earlier this year and immediately put on 10 pounds. My problem is binge eating/purging. Not a good thing to be on a drug that packs on the pounds when you have an eating disorder. When it first came out, it was supposedly the newest drug that wouldnt contribute to weight gain as most other ssri's do. My doc then tried Zoloft for me. That put on another 20 pounds. I'm now on Topamax, which is actually an anti-seizure drug which has been found to be helfful to those of us with eating disorders. The lex side effects will subside, just don't go on anything else unless maybe you talk to your doc about Topamax. Let it get out of your system first.
Posted by Bill L on September 5, 2003, at 11:55:19
In reply to Lexapro is poison, posted by altair on September 5, 2003, at 10:39:05
It sounds like you have really been through a lot. For me personally, Lexapro allowed me to lose about 10 pounds, but everyone is different. Lexapro has been a life saver for me. I hope that you find relief. Your side effects should go away very soon. You did the right thing by gradually decreasing your dose.
Posted by chewy on September 5, 2003, at 12:04:08
In reply to Lexapro is poison, posted by altair on September 5, 2003, at 10:39:05
I am sorry you had such a negative experience using ADs.
I have struggled and continue through both a divorce and recnt loss of a darn good job. I followed my doctors advice and took Effexor which has helped me get out of bed and jump into the busy-ness of life. My problems are far from being solved, but I can see the sun through the storm clouds.
I wish for you a better path in you struggle for a healthy life. Beneath the pain there is a loving person[ I can read between your lines!]
Posted by Treb on September 5, 2003, at 12:31:59
In reply to Re: Lexapro is poison, posted by chewy on September 5, 2003, at 12:04:08
Lexapro has been good to me. I've been dropping some weight. Do you think a smaller dose might help? It took me a couple of weeks to start coming around on Lexapro and I've seen some folks on here take longer.
Two common threads I see in reading all these posts on this board: The meds affect everyone differently and withdrawing too quick is not good!
Good luck! Treb
Posted by Sebastian on September 5, 2003, at 20:23:48
In reply to Lexapro is poison, posted by altair on September 5, 2003, at 10:39:05
I feel your pain. I've always hated these drugs. I started taking them as forced in the mental institution, I don't want to go back so I still take them.
Sebastian
Posted by Mariposa on September 6, 2003, at 10:24:08
In reply to Re: Lexapro is poison » altair, posted by Sebastian on September 5, 2003, at 20:23:48
I'm sorry you have not been able to experience the *good* these different meds offer. I take Lexapro 20mg and would be a TERROR w/o it. I would have been fired from my job and divorced from my dear husband by now and maybe even dead from a road rage accident, I was getting out-of-hand and had to do SOMETHING as I wasn't able to control myself anymore! To some of us these meds are LIFESAVERS where nothing else seems to be working.
I wish you the Best of Luck in your quest for health.~~~8|8
This is the end of the thread.
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