Lexapro for Anxiety?

Question

My doctor just put me on lexapro. He said I was depressed, I don't feel depressed. I am just having a hard time controlling my emotions and nerves, Did he make the right choice?

Answer 1

I took Lexapro and it helped me.  But this is really an individual thing.  I have a friend who takes Celexa and it works wonders for her.  It made me feel worse--like I wanted to jump off a cliff.  Everybody responds to each drug differently.  You have to try it, but you'll know fairly quickly if it's the one for you--I'd say within a week.  Medicine should be a last resort, but if that's the route you want to take, just know what you're getting into.  If you can deal, try getting through this with therapy or on your own.  That's what I've been doing (on my own) and I am on my way to being better.  I just have a really strong mind, but I still have a way to go.  If you can do this, on your own, you will be better of in the future, instead of having to rely on drugs or therapy.

Answer 2

I tried it. Not sure if it did anything. Notice one answer that said she likes it but did not like Celexa? They are the same drug, Lexapro is the L isomer instead of the mix of L and R that Celexa is. So to say that you like one and not the other, just does not make sense. I stopped taking 10 different drugs at the same time as changing to a natural whole foods diet. Stopped cholesterol med, stopped drinking diet pop, stopped blood pressure meds, stopped diabetes med, stopped Motrin, etc. The point is to make the changes necessary to live your life without drugs. All drugs have side effects, many even your pharmacist or doctor do not know. Drug companies lie. Did you know that all the anti depressants must come with a warning about teen suicides? To me that does not sound like something that would be help full for someone with depression. Try looking at your diet. You are getting toxic substances from some place. Chlorine and florid in your drinking water, prescription drugs, processed foods, preservatives, flavor enhancers, Nutrasweet, splenda, table salt, Teflon cookware, plastic containers, microwaves, etc, etc. To take drugs is to give up.

Pharmacist who's life was almost ruined by Lipitor

Answer 3

The only way you'll know is to try it out until it can reach it's full potential. Is it your general doctor that prescribed this for you? If so, and if you are concerned you might want to meet with a psychiatrist. They have a better understanding of different mood disorders and could shed light about what is going on with you. Good luck!

Answer 4

I have taken Lexapro for many years- controlling emotions and nerves is categorized as "depression". Do you feel like you have anxiety? Lexapro works great... its like night and day with me

Answer 5

Hi, I am the author of http://panicattackresearch.blogspot.com

Do not worry, I am not spamming my site - my site don't sell products or anything. My site is solely dedicated to panic-attacks or people whom have anxiety. I give tips on how to sleep even if you have anxiety.

Please do visit and post any questions there or here so that I can help you further.

I have been a sufferer for 12-years and am doing well. My blog is dedicated to help. I will be updating my blog every 5-7 days on new ways to cope anxiety. I have just made few good entries on coping - I hope it will help you.

I started out taking prozac 20mg daily.. then it dropped to 10mg and now I am just taking 5mg and still doing very well. I might be considering taking medication off my life.

And most importantly, I am here to help you because I know how it feels to have anxiety or panic attacks.

There are free tips and free items on relaxation and such for you to download!

All the best,

Seng

Answer 6

Get a second opinion.

I had overwhelming anxiety. It turned out to be a chemical they put in food called sucralose. And it is in a lot of stuff. From fitness water to tomato sauce.

Sucralose is what Splenda is. Sadly, the package doesn't have to say Splenda or diet to have sucralose in it. You have to read the ingredients.



Sucralose is poison. It ruined five years of my life. I had a laundry list of medical problems while taking it, including overwhelming anxiety, depression, mood swings, insomnia, gastrointestinal issues and more.



The slogan, "Made from sugar..." is very misleading. Splenda might be made from sugar, but it is far from sugar. The resulting chemical is an organochloride (chlorocarbon). Organochlorides are typically poisons.



carbon monoxide - made from oxygen so its like a breath of fresh air

Answer 7

I take Wellbutrin SR (150 mg) in the morning, and Lexapro (10 mg) in the evening - for depression.  It also helps with anxiety, too.  I've been taking that for over a year and a half, and it's worked very well for me.



You might give it a chance, and see if it works for you.  It does take Lexapro several weeks to reach it's "full potency", so if you don't notice any changes or differences for a while, it's still "getting going".



Best of Luck to you :-)

Paul.



One more thing - be sure to take the Lexapro in the evening, when I first started, they had me taking the Lexapro in the morning, and it made me drowsy all day.

Answer 8

Lexapro is a combination of an antidepressant and an anti-anxiety medication. I think he made the right choice - whether it's depression or anxiety, this medication will take care of it. Remember it can take up to a week before you feel different. I recently was experiencing anxiety, not so much depression - I was prescribed Lexapro and it has been wonderful - I feel like my old self - happy, relaxed, I'm very happy with the Lexapro.

Answer 9

How old are you and have you tried anything besides medication?

Sometimes doctors prescribe medication because they don't want to bother (or there is no access) to a good counselor. Counseling takes time and costs more than pills.

If you are young I would really encourage you to find a good therapist that can work with you (and this will also take motivation on YOUR part) and do some hard work and resolve the issue naturally. OR take the meds but also work with a therapist so you can learn to control those things and become more stable without meds.

Meds should be temporary or last resort. If you just take them non-stop, the problem underneath does not resolve, but the pharmaceutical companies make plenty of $ keeping you as a customer. Why give them all that money long term when you could get good counseling that may last much shorter (if you really try) and then you'll have better control of your emotions plus you would not have to take medication long-term.

Take care!