Lexapro for Major Depressive Disorder User Reviews (Page 4)

• Mom...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 10, 2019

"Lexapro didn't fully resolve my depression. It took the edge off, but my doctor had to add Wellbutrin because alone it wasn't doing enough even on 20 mgs. I discontinued Lexapro because I was gaining too much weight from increased appetite and lethargy. It also messed with my libido and made it difficult to orgasm, as well as made me super forgetful and flighty. After taking a gene sight test, I found that Lexapro was in the moderate category, so it never would have worked for me anyway."

• Dan...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 30, 2022

"I didn’t see side effects when I first started Lexapro. Once I started getting my dosage increased, I experienced nausea and disorientation. I tried up to 25 mg. This was too much for me. When it was too much medication, I had a constant headache, I was nauseous, eating less, and had suicidal ideations."

• Itz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 23, 2023

"Completing week 5. It has been hell. The first medication, Mirtazapine, seemed to have made my already severe depression worse. I felt extremely suicidal without space for any other thought. So far, I had my period a few days ago, and for the last two days, the suicidal plan hasn't been up and running. I am taking it as a good sign. Starting week 5… We’ll see. I'll try to come back."

• mma...
• July 16, 2019

"My doctor prescribed me Wellbutrin XL at 150 mg, and I was on it (currently) for a few months. He wanted to pair 5 mg of Lexapro with my Wellbutrin to see if it would stabilize things. I gave this medication a whole thirty-day cycle. I’m unsure if it was the pairing of the two or just the Lexapro itself. But it caused me physical and emotional distress. Physical: extreme nausea, diarrhea, upset stomach, dizziness, I had a ton of vivid dreams. I felt consistently even more fatigue, but could never fall asleep. Emotional side: I felt a bit foggy, had some really dark thoughts, was more sensitive than usual, and had no motivation to work out, so activities I enjoy, etc. It intensified some of my old depression symptoms instead of aiding them. I’m unsure if it helped the anxiety portion. This medication is clearly not the right one for me. Currently slowly weaning off of it. I hope it works better for others."

• Not...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 10, 2021

"I've been taking Paxil for 6 years now, 40 mg daily. It was my miracle drug, it seemed. Kept my migraines at bay, my depression curbed down, I felt myself. My daughter passed away in 2009. Every year near her birthday, I'd always get low. This year, 2021, I must have met my breaking point. About a week before her birthday, I had the worst panic attack I've had in 6 years. I had to pull over, Dad had to come and rescue me and drive me home. For 30+ minutes, I couldn't see straight, heart pounding, even had a stranger come and talk to me. He couldn't believe I was having an attack because to him, I seemed totally fine. Come to find out, he was a priest, he prayed for me. Well, I met with my doctor a few days later. He said Paxil probably stopped working, and he put me on Lexapro 20 mg. Tuesday I took my Paxil, Wednesday morning I stopped it and started Lexapro. Immediately switched, he said I'd be fine. Of course, like y'all, I had to look it up, wish I wouldn't. Each day I'm getting better, today is day 7 on Lexapro."

• bsh...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 9, 2021

"I was on it for about a year. Even pushed it to 60 mg with my doctor. Never could quite help me. For me, it was better for anxiety than depression. I think there are some people that are never introduced to any drugs except SSRIs - but I can tell you none of the SSRIs helped me. Getting some help from another drug in another class right now. Praying it works."

• Kat...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 6, 2023

"I take Lexapro 5 mg with 150 mg of Wellbutrin, and it has worked wonders for me. I didn’t like taking too high a dosage of Lexapro. I felt lazy and sluggish. The combination of both really helped me with major depression, and since the Lexapro is not high in dosage, I don’t worry about gaining weight. I definitely would recommend Lexapro, but in smaller dosages."

• Pet...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 7, 2021

"This is one of many antidepressants I have tried - it worked for my depression to an extent, but I went off it after 4-5 months because I felt like a zombie. It also removed my ability to enjoy sex (anorgasmia). I'm grateful I took it when I did because it numbed me to the loss of a beloved family member to a horrible form of cancer, but that was exactly the problem - I was numb all the time. I had no lows, but I also had no highs; my personality felt like a constant flat line. In the end, I wanted my personality back, so I stopped taking it. It also caused me to gain weight (5-10 lbs). I probably would have overlooked that if not for the other issues."

• It...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 27, 2022

"I’m very glad I stuck it out with Lexapro. I take the generic version, but the first few weeks are going to be ROUGH. I was feeling nauseous 24/7, getting daily headaches, anxiety, and insomnia. It’s worth it. If you can stick out the first couple of weeks, it is awesome. I’ve never felt better about myself and I can actually focus on my tasks and get out of bed. Been through a couple of different antidepressants, but this one is definitely the one that works the best for me."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 9, 2022

"I was on Prozac and Paxil as a teen, and ugh, not great. Found Prozac and took a baby dose-10 mg-and it helped my mood, anxiety, irritability, anger, motivation, apathy, isolation, depression… then it stopped working, as sometimes happens. I was nervous to switch, as it was helpful at one time. We switched to Lexapro, as it’s similar, and within 2 weeks, less depressed, a month, mostly recovered, 2 months, as good as it’s gonna get. Noticed 0 side effects, and I usually have side effects. I notice I can sleep better, but also struggle with wanting to stop sleeping. It’s almost too easy to sleep, so it needs a behavioral solution, or I can take halved pills every other day to see. I don’t feel tired or groggy or even sleepy, it’s just easy for me to fall asleep at rest. I love this med! It’s brought me back from a pretty big depressive episode."

• Joj...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 27, 2020

"The first half year was great, except the first 2 months of sickness and feeling that I would vomit, but the pressure inside was smaller. From a 5 mg dose, I went up to 20 mg. After about 6 months, it just stopped working at all - rivers of tears, flashbacks, insomnia, low energy. But I am strongly concerned now that it's not depression I have but untreated PTSD, so maybe it's not working for PTSD."

• Rya...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 15, 2022

"Started this drug in November of 2021. I wanted to try something that could get me through some difficult grieving I was experiencing from losing my dad. Had a few short stints with it over the years but never made it through the side effects in the beginning, so I stopped. My primary started me on 10 mg for about 1 month and a half and then moved me up to 20 mg. The side effects were brutal: panic attacks, extreme nausea, fatigue, and some lightheadedness. After the effects subsided, I have felt nothing. I am on constant autopilot. I can't cry or even feel emotions. I'm just stuck in a fog and feel so disoriented every day. My anxiety is through the roof and I can hardly get through the day without having a panic attack. I know this isn't supposed to primarily help with anxiety, but some have said it has done something for them. I quit cold turkey in June 2022 and since then have been able to feel things. Sadly, the feelings are so heightened that it's hard to manage sometimes."

• Gri...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 16, 2017

"This is a wonder drug. If you suffer from any type of anxiety, especially PTSD and depression, especially major depression, this drug will ease your symptoms to a minimal. This is a 'clean' feeling drug and works great. Now the bad side: this drug has way too many side effects to recommend to anyone that is not retired or hospitalized. Without adjunctive therapy with an atypical antipsychotic, this drug will make you numb and turn you into the walking dead. Cloudy, foggy, and lethargic with memory issues are the main side effects associated with this drug. Further side effects include, but are not limited to, erectile dysfunction and the libido of a 90-year-old man. Aside from these effects, this is a super SSRI!"

• the...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 28, 2015

"I've had depression since my teenage years but never spoke to anyone about it and didn't take anything for it until two and a half years ago when I had a bad run of luck with a few big things close together. It all got too much, and I took a massive amount of prescription medication to try and end my life. Sixteen hours later, I was woken up by my mom and taken to the hospital. The doctors said most people wouldn't have woken up or at least had severe organ damage, but I was okay, no damage. That's when I had to speak to doctors, psychs, family, and some friends. They put me on Lexapro, and it worked fairly well for two years, but when a few bad, stressful situations happened again, it failed the test. I'm now trying venlafaxine, not sure yet, but hopefully, I get better results."

• Sxa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 9, 2016

"I'm 17 years old and started suffering with depression a couple of months after my dad died, and that's when I was put on Lexapro 10 mg. The side effects were horrible for the first couple of days: extreme nausea and massive headaches. About a couple of weeks later, we upped my dosage to 20 mg, and it helped me with my depression a little bit for a while, but now (about 4 months later) my depression has gone back to how it was before I started Lexapro. I've also noticed that it has made me extremely exhausted all of the time. I have to sleep at least 12 hours to function, and even then it is hard to wake up and carry out my day. This may work for some, but it did not work well for me. I'm going to try to switch antidepressants within the next few days."

• RJC...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 30, 2017

"I went through withdrawal from Cymbalta and benzos at the same time 7 years ago. It was torture, and after two years, I was still feeling wrecked. Some things improved, I think mainly benzo-related, but I was still in a nightmare. I finally gave up and risked going back on an antidepressant, so I started Lexapro. I couldn't believe how well it worked, and it seemed to take away the lingering withdrawal symptoms. I could think straight and enjoy things again. It worked for three years until it seemed to not help much with my mood anymore. I switched to Prozac, which helped for the next couple of years and quit working. I'm still on it and feel a lot like when I was withdrawing from Cymbalta. I am going to try Lexapro again. Wish me luck!"

• Bar...
• August 26, 2016

"I've been on this med for over a month, and the side effects do not outweigh my symptoms. The withdrawal sucks, and the hyperness and the tiredness suck. I'm 31 and haven't been on a depressant since I was 15. I lost my sister 5 months ago, and it set me into anxiety, panic, and depression."

• Bee...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 16, 2020

"This antidepressant Lexapro actually helped my depression a lot. But it made my bipolar disorder worse. I rearranged my whole apartment, furniture and all, 4 to 5 times in a month. Anything misplaced by someone living there, I would start yelling at them."

• abd...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 9, 2019

"For the first few days, it felt like it was not working, but after a week it made me feel better. Plus, I do not have sexual dysfunction like it said there might be for side effects, it gives me more erections, and I'm worried."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 28, 2016

"Was absolutely awful for me. After 1 pill at the lowest starting dose, I experienced horrible anxiety, insomnia, and panic attacks in the morning, so bad I was worried I'd have to go to the ER for my heart. The prescriber told me to halve the dosage, and this only somewhat lessened the effects. I could not tolerate this med at all."

• Nex...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 29, 2016

"Didn't do much for me at all, often felt sedated. Motivation is really bad. It stopped me from crying 24/7, and now I have an appetite, but that's about it. Onto the next med, I guess. I need the next one to be much better."

• Nan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 3, 2022

"I was 4 weeks on the generic, then switched to the name brand for 5 weeks. So, total 9 weeks on this medication. I was super scared, this was my first medication ever. I just remember feeling really panicky the first couple of days and kept waking up in the middle of the night feeling anxious/nervous. I always had a headache and nausea, didn't care if that was a side effect of this drug. I just remember feeling really confused on this medication and more depressed, so my OB-GYN told me to stop it. Coming off the medication was not hard for me. I was taking 10 mg and never went up a dosage. Hope this helps."

• Gra...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 2, 2022

"I've been on 20 mg for over a year. I also take Abilify along with it. I've gained around 35 pounds and also have a harder time breathing. Could be from the weight or either drug. But I'm done with these. Not worth it."

• Sus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 12, 2022

"I have been on this for 5 months. Started off with 5 mg for one week, increased to 10 mg then onwards. Initially, I was feeling very dizzy, sleepy, and couldn't function throughout the day. Eventually, around week 3, the dizziness went away. Now, 5 months in, I feel better, my mood has improved significantly, and anxiety and depression reduced too."

• Hya...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 4, 2018

"I’m on my third day on Lexapro, double dose to 20 mg. Muscle stiffness, major headache, fatigue, trouble sleeping, fast heart rate, and lower backaches. Weight gain. Blah! I tried Effexor and Zoloft. Both gave me rapid heart rate and major blood pressure. I had to go off of them, and the effects of going off were like dying. I had more side effects than when I started and triple those effects. I’m hoping the Lexapro will do better and the side effects will not stay. This is my fifth SSRI."