Lexapro vs. Prozac or best anti anxiety meds

[Jen]

Just wondering who has tried either of these medications and what your side effects were. Did they subside after a month or so?

I am not depressed, but I do feel overwhelmed, anxious and annoyed a lot of the time.

Everyone I know who has tried Lexapro really likes it so last night I took one 10mg tablet and I feel more anxious and irritated. I kept waking up last night and eventually had to take a half of Xanax just to get back to sleep. Should I take half (5mg) of the Lexapro for a few weeks until my body adjusts to it?

Prozac is OK, but the 20 mg my DR had me on was making me too jumpy.

[Jennifer]

Well, most AD's take a few weeks for your body to get up to speed, so you can't go by just one night. I would try it for at least a few days and see how you adjust to things.

When I went on Wellbutrin, for the first few days I had to stop drinking coffee or I would get hand tremors; but once all of that passed, I was fine.

But I've been working on cutting my Effexor dose for a week now, and it's still dragging out. So it depends on the meds, but most do need some time for you to adjust.

Are you on multiple meds? Sometimes the effects stack or interfere with each other.

[Jen]

Originally Posted by Jennifer

Well, most AD's take a few weeks for your body to get up to speed, so you can't go by just one night. I would try it for at least a few days and see how you adjust to things.

When I went on Wellbutrin, for the first few days I had to stop drinking coffee or I would get hand tremors; but once all of that passed, I was fine.

But I've been working on cutting my Effexor dose for a week now, and it's still dragging out. So it depends on the meds, but most do need some time for you to adjust.

Are you on multiple meds? Sometimes the effects stack or interfere with each other.

No, just the Xanxax that I took at 2am so that I could go back to sleep.

I tried Wellbutrin once to stop smoking and I felt like I was losing my mind so I stopped taking it after a few days. I eventually quit smoking successfully by using the patch.

Maybe the key to these drugs is to start out with a low dose and work your way up to the required dosage which for me would probably be 10 mg as I am very sensitive to medication and even vitamins.

[Jennifer]

Are you just taking the meds on your own (borrowing from someone), or did you get a doctor prescription? (Usually my doctor works with me to determine dose, although I have played around based on how I feel and then let them know what I'm doing...)

If you are generally sensitive to medication, taking the half dose and seeing how you adjust would be the logical step, then bumping it up if it works for you. Everyone's just so different when it comes to these sort of meds that it's hard to tell what you'll respond to until you try it.

I'm glad the patch worked for you in regards to your smoking situation. Wellbutrin actually never did anything bad to me (my body seems to like it and adjusts to it just fine), but I know some other people who responded differently to it.

[cafe]

I know three women (teacher, school counselor, nurse) who take and report being pleased with Lexapro.

[ygolo]

I was on Lexapro for a little while. It seemed to do absolutely nothing (good or bad).

[Uberfuhrer]

I've been on Paroxetine (Paxil) since I was about 12. Only now have I started trying to lessen the dosage, mainly because my dad's health insurance won't cover me anymore. In my area, it's also almost impossible to get a full-time job (many companies only hire part-time workers to avoid paying for insurance benefits).

I think I was on 30 mg, but I've now started cutting some of the pills in half so I've been taking 15 mg. Eventually, though, I can be off of them for good.

I don't think Paxil has ever helped me. It's calmed me down on the outside, but on the inside, I was always a steaming rage. The only reason I continued taking it is because otherwise, I get the SSRI withdrawal symptoms. By reducing the dosage to 15 mg, I still get some of them, but they're not as severe.

The symptom I really worry about is erectile dysfunction. Is this permanent? Because I like getting erections!!!

[cafe]

Originally Posted by Uberfuhrer

I've been on Paroxetine (Paxil) since I was about 12. Only now have I started trying to lessen the dosage, mainly because my dad's health insurance won't cover me anymore. In my area, it's also almost impossible to get a full-time job (many companies only hire part-time workers to avoid paying for insurance benefits).

I think I was on 30 mg, but I've now started cutting some of the pills in half so I've been taking 15 mg. Eventually, though, I can be off of them for good.

I don't think Paxil has ever helped me. It's calmed me down on the outside, but on the inside, I was always a steaming rage. The only reason I continued taking it is because otherwise, I get the SSRI withdrawal symptoms. By reducing the dosage to 15 mg, I still get some of them, but they're not as severe.

The symptom I really worry about is erectile dysfunction. Is this permanent? Because I like getting erections!!!

It shouldn't be permanent, but it may take awhile to get back to normal.

[Jen]

I was prescribed the lexapro by my Dr and have decided not to take them for now because it made me feel sick.

I'll be fine, I think I'm just stressed because I can't exercise for now because I hurt my foot and I was using exercise as my stress reliever.

Thanks all

[rachelle]

I would like to add that I had been on Lexapro for severe depression and anxiety, but had to add an adjunct Xanax in order to avoid anxiety attacks. Later switched to Prozac but was provided the generic version Fluoxetine which did less than the Lexapro for anxiety and gave unpredictable control of my depression, not working well with my cyclic hormonal system. My psychologist suggested I request the origonal Prozac and see if this did not control each depression and anxiety better, she stated that there were no studies she was aware of to prove this but in her observation and that of the Drs. she worked with, this was consistantly true; Prozac works much better than the generic Fluoxetine or Lexapro it's sister drug. This was tried and found to be true in my own case. I suggested this in the case of several others, both patients and friends, acquaintences that I came upon who wanted to know this such information. I have personally observed this to be true. Prozac works better than Fluoxetine and than Lexapro. Lexapro considered to be a very mild medication often used in elderly pts actually per my Internal Medicine MD.
I am now outraged by my own insurance company telling me that I need to switch to one of these other medications or pay $370./month for this one prescription. Who gave an insurance company the right to override a Medical Doctor's prescribing rights and tell you to accept another cheaper medication? I am now researching for supportive data to send to BCBS and allow them to reclassify Prozac as I am unable to tolerate the other 2 meds without taking added Benzos and other meds that do not allow me to function at my job as a nurse. If you have any or know of any research or supportive data, please send the reference! Thanks. R