Advice with lexapro please?


Question:
My doctor prescribed lexapro for anxiety to me a week ago. She recommended taking the 10mg dose at night which i have been doing. Before seeing a doc I had stopped drinking in fear my anxiety was from the alcohol (b/c alcoholism runs in my family i thought that may have been the route of my problem) I haven't drank in a year aside from a drink with dinner on occasion. Now with some life problems, as we all have,i've been finding it hard to deal with things on a day to day basis so this is where my doc stepped in prescribing the lexapro. The first 2 nights i had trouble sleeping, then the remaining days i had bad naseau. Now, a week into it, i find it so hard to wake up in the morning but during the day I feel no differnce. My biggest fear is gaining weight and losing my sex drive or being unable to have an orgasm (i read these are common side effects) I know everyones different, but how soon,IF weight gain where to happen would it start? does anyone have any advice or success stories

Answers:
I have been taking lex for about 6 years and i can honestly tell you that your sex life might change in terms of you wanting to have sex .weight gain for me has not been a promblem for me i have not had any bad side effects from the meds. i really like lex but to be honest i really have not given it a real chance to help my depression or anxiety attacks i also take other meds.good luck .
weight gain is while you are on it happens gradually. sexual side effects are non orgasmic. but it it helps you feel less anxiety otherwise it is worth it. it does take a month or so for it to really work. i would not stay on it. i lost my freaking mind when i stopped taking it. it causes bad manic episodes while withdrawing. i have no close friends or close family due to my behavior while withdrawing.
weight gain happens at different time frames for everyone. you can help modify how much you gain by your diet and exercise , which will also help improve your mood. exercise is proven to help people not only feel better about themselves because it improves looks and health but because it releases endorphins. Sex drive can be slowed because you may not think about it as much but if the special person in your life is understanding and you consciously make an effort to keep up the drive it wont be the end of the world. no drug out there is a true cure, you have to do your part too. And it normally takes a few weeks for any antidepressive, antipsychotic to truly affect your system, your body needs to build up a level.
I take Lexapro in the morning. It actually keeps me more alert and going. I could never take it at night. The sex drive things for a woman taking Lexapro is not that it is diminished it is that makes you dry down there.. Yes, you can still orgasm too.
I thought i had gained a little weight at first from the Lexapro however, it was only like 5lbs, and that went away too .
I also take 20Mg's daily along with other meds. I am glad your not drinking anymore, the combination can be very bad .
I had good luck with Lexipro...after the initial first two week period was up. But during that time, I felt like I was just a walking barf a rama! And the fatigue was horrendous! But, be rest assured, after the yukky side effects start to wane, so will your anxiety/depression! Kind of like a reward!?! I did the booze thing too. The brain gets lazy when we let booze control our mental state. Our natural endorphens take a rest because they know alcohol will supply them . Sooooo, now your body and brain have to "kick" in. And like the Lexipro, it has side effects, like anxiety, depression, insomnia.. But it will subside too. And yes, I did gain 8 lbs. at first, but did lose it. For some reason, the med had me craving sweetas and carbs!! I had to just change my snacking to things like fruit and sunflower seeds. My libido sucked before because I was depressed, sooooooI just started using testosterone cream. I'm a 48 year old female. I'm on the 4th day, so no rush of sexual craziness yet. (It's suppose to help me be horny...) Just as long as I don't get a moustache!
I had bad results with Lexapro at 10 mg.

Now I take Abilify at 10 mg.. I used to have good results with Abilify, but 6 months later the depression is coming back.

But back to Lexapro.. I had the sexual side-effects of non-orgasmic.. and I went off of it because it wasn't helping with the depression. Not the med for me.
I'm on 10 mg of Lexapro and now take it in the morning b/c it made me a little more hyper at first and it was harder to sleep. Taking it in the morning actually helped. It seems like you're having some of the common side effects, but I would discuss cutting your starting dosage to help make it more tolerable. I found Lexapro to be so strong that I had to increase my dosage y only 2.5 mg each week or two. As far as the weight things, I can't really speak on that since I went off of Paxil (on it for 9 years and gained 15 pounds) and just recently got on Lexapro. Best of luck.I'm still having some stomach issues from Lexapro, but I'm going to give it a little more time and talk to my doc. Oh, and about the sex drive.Paxil totally sucked the life outta mine! Lexapro has been a lot better. Everyone is different.
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