Lexapro side effects?

mandi78 · 01-09-2006, 08:05 PM

Do any of you have problem side effects on Lexapro. The same thing has happened to me on Celexa and Prozac....I have also take Effexor and it caused other probs. The problems are that I want....no, want is not even a strong enough word....I feel driven to eat all the time. I crave sweets and carbs terribly. My cravings are not like this when I am not on the medication. I am trying so hard to lose weight and I am so desperate to lose and I feel like I am fighting a never ending battle that I can never win.

The other major problem is that I have no motivation....NONE whatsoever. I am so tired and fatigued all the time. I just want to sleep and lay around all the time. At work, I have to force myself to actually do my work all the while thinking how I wish i were home in bed. I have had tons of medical tests run so I know it's nothing physically wrong with me.

I dont feel depressed (except about my weight and lack of motivation). It has helped my anxiety tremendously which is what I started taking it for to begin with. My dr wants to switch me to Wellbutrin but I am afraid it will cause the anxiety to come back. I don't know what to do. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Ka Mai Kim · 01-09-2006, 11:14 PM

I did not have any of those particular side effects when I started taking Lexapro (I have been on it since the end of October). I would say, talk to your Doctor, if you are even a little worried about it. When I started taking it, the Psych. I went to said to let him know about any worrisome side effects, no matter what they were. Hope you get some help

penguinlover · 01-10-2006, 12:36 AM

For me, the only side effect from Lexapro I had was having no sex drive. I found that very hard to get an "O."

I am now on Effexor XL and it's like night and day. My sex drive is back. No side effects whatsoever and it helps my feelings of anxiety and mild depression.

sleepydumpling · 01-10-2006, 01:39 AM

Mandi - how long have you been taking it for?

I've been on it about 5 months now and the side effects I had for the first month or two are almost totally gone now. I didn't have the craving thing, but I certainly had no motivation at first. I couldn't concentrate and was a complete scatterbrain too. And short term memory - what was that?

Now I've got almost no side effects at all, except some mild lack of concentration and muddled short term memory. Nothing that affects my quality of life - just enough to make me WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN!

I hope you're still in the early days and can give it time to settle in your system. I read somewhere the other day that it takes at LEAST six months to a year to begin working at it's best.

mandi78 · 01-10-2006, 03:14 AM

Well, I have been on it for about 3 months now. But, I was on Celexa for over 2 years previously and it did the same thing.

01-10-2006, 11:53 AM

no motivation (but i had that before), vivid dreams with me kicking, punching DH and yelling swear words in my sleep, trouble going to sleep and then sleeping for 10, 12 plus hours and goddamn it no "O" (which has never been a problem before!!!).

luv4deliah · 01-10-2006, 06:47 PM

Mandi78....I have been on Lexapro for a couple years now and I can definately sympathise with your symptoms. I have been on and off so many medications for my bipolar disorder that sometimes I think I am a pro when it comes to medications! (lol)

The one thing I can tell you is that for most people it takes many months if not close to a year or more to stabalize on a psych. medication. That's pretty stinky but it's the way it goes.

Also, everyone reacts differently to a medication and you can't judge how you will react by someone elses experiences.

I would give it more time, but if the symptoms become unbearable, I would definately go back to your psych and let him/her know what's going on. Sometimes it takes many trials finding just the right med for someone. I have been on and off meds for 15+ years and just within the past year or so have found the right combo for me.

Penguinlover, I too suffered from low sex drive due to the Lexapro. That's no fun, right? lol I can say from my experience that it went away within a year. It may be that you are on too high of a dose. When they took my dose down it seemed to diminish. But like I said, everyone reacts differently. Welbutrin has a low risk of sexual side effects and I can attest to that claim. Of course not everyone can tolerate that medication.

Good luck Cysters! Hope some of this was helpful.

Shana P

LilyHoff · 01-11-2006, 09:35 PM

Hi, I was on Lexapro for almost a year and I absolutely loved the way it made me feel. Unfortunately the Lexapro made me so tired that I could literally sleep a whole weekend away and this never went away. I eventually had to stop and try something else because I was sleeping my life away.
I haven't had anything make me feel as 'normal' as the Lexapro did, I just wish it hadn't made me so tired.

Good luck!
Lily

barneyb · 01-12-2006, 02:22 AM

It's interesting how the same drug can affect people so differently. I just stopped Lexapro due to my severe side effects, but my ex-husband took it & has just gone back on it for severe depression. He really likes it and only had tiredness in the early days of taking it.