User Reviews for Lexapro oral

I've been on this medication now 8 months for health aniexty which I have my entire life. I am 40 now and have always been against the idea of taking these sort of meds always looked at alternatives, like exercising eating healthy, therapy. and yes this works to some extent. but when covid hit I locked myself away. I decided to take lexapro with advice from my GP and what best we thought was right for me. 10 days of feeling bit rough. Very sleepy, yawning all the time but unable to sleep. no appetite. headache. and basically away with the fairies. But after that I can truly say this drug for me is a game changer I haven't had an aniexty attack in 8 months which if you knew me would not think it's possible. If you are recommended this drug try it you will no after a couple of weeks weather it's for you or not. Good luck.Read More Read Less

I was not one who dealt with Anxiety/depression until an unknown illness struck in 2014. Panic attacks began. I was put in Lexapro 10 mg to start. Loss of appetite, loss of sex drive but it worked wonders. Have had to switch around over the years as they seem to stop working after a few years. I am now starting back as the others have stopped working. Anxiety got worse again, no want to do anything but be in bed all day! After 10 mg the last 4 days I’m noticing a small difference. I’m expecting as before, within a few weeks that I will be back to normal. It helps reading these positive reviews. Keep searching for what’s right for you. By the way my unknown illness was an Ulcer. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have started the meds as I can’t get back to normal without them. Read More Read Less

Was on Lexapro for 6+months. Was at 20mg and at first it helped. I had energy but everything else was the same. Slowly I started feeling ‘numb’ all my emotions just sort of flatlined. Annoyance and irritation I could tell easier than other emotions. I had energy but no desire to do anything. Also had no sex drive what so ever. Even trying to please myself body just didn’t want to react.

I'm about to move across the country and started feeling lots of fear which lead to panic attacks and agoraphobia. I literally couldn't see my friends, going to work felt terrifying... and I started taking lexapro. DUDE! I literally feel so much better now. I'm in my body again, my appetite is back and my agoraphobia has pretty much deteriorated. I started off with 5 mg (taking it at night) and the first day I just felt REALLY sleepy and had a headache. But after that I was totally fine! Been taking it for over two weeks now (a relatively short amount of time) but I already am feeling a lot of the effects. If you've been struggling like this, it's worth giving it a shot. Read More Read Less

Hi everyone! I was extremely skeptical of starting this medication so I thought I should share my success story because I really feel like if this drug is right for you, it will change your life for the better. I started lexapro for severe health anxiety and panic disorder. I’m on 10 mg, and the first week the side effects were really rough. That part is very true. I was jittery, waking up in the night, I was worried it wouldn’t even be worth it. However, a full week in and these physical side effects subsided. Now, I’m over 2 weeks in and IT WORKS! My resting heart rate was always 85-90, now it is consistently 65. I’m sleeping better, I’m hardly anxious ever, and everyone says I seem like a completely different person! I was always severely anxious, this drug was a game changer. I hope that it only keeps getting better from here. Read More Read Less

Horrible! This drug gave me panic attacks all day and insomnia which was kinda of good because I couldn't stay off the toilet. The doctors should give this medication before a colonoscopy. I will never take this again. PS. Anxiety was worse panic attacks worse agitation ?? F Lexapro

It took a little while for the Lexapro to take full effect, but when it did it was excellent. I have always had depression but have been able to manage it without medication. Some very traumatic events occurred making my depression a lot worse, turning to self harm as a coping mechanism my pysch/gp prescribed this to me. Miracle. I stopped taking it for a week however when I thought I was better (stupid I know) and I had terrible electrical zaps - would not recommend cold turkey - duh. Escitalopram has been a life saver.Read More Read Less

I was having regular panic attacks and severe anxiety related to PTSD that developed from medical emergencies and the physical health triggers these caused. I had an intense reaction to the initial 5mg dose prescribed (dizziness, dry mouth, agitation), so was first started on 2.5mg for several days, before then titrating up to 5mg for 2 weeks. That alone helped ease some of the constant intrusive ruminations and negative cognitions I was having, in addition to calming the panic attacks. I've started the next step up at 7.5mg for almost a week and the nausea/appetite suppression and agitation and insomnia is back. I am hoping those side effects will ease again after another week, but have a check in with my PCP in a couple of days to reassess. I'm hopeful but also still watching to see how my system will adjust over time. Read More Read Less

I've taken Lexapro now for almost 2yrs now and it's completely changed my life. I've experienced episodes of terrible anxiety my entire life stemming from repeated childhood abuse. I felt hopeless, nothing helped me until I saw a doctor who recommended Lexapro. It took about 3 months before I could tell a difference, but it was well worth the wait. I did gain about 10lbs, but it's because when your relaxed you eat more, the medicine doesn't put the weight on you! I'd rather be chubby and happy anyway.Read More Read Less

For those of you reading this and maybe finding lexapro hard because of the side effects please keep going!! I suffered with severe anxiety and it came to a head and in top of that was starting to get depressed and heading into menopause. I have a terrible health fear because of past family situations and I was spiralling completely. I started on lexapro and had to start very small - 2.5mg. Even that was giving me heightened anxiety but I am up to 10mg now and it’s been two months and I honestly feel much better and still improving daily. I read some of these reviews when I started as I was loosing hope with side effects and was glad to see them. Stick with it - I promise it works!!! Things will be easier again and you will start to see the color in your life !!Read More Read Less

Lexipro destroyed my health. I gained 30 lbs in 5 months!! I quit soda I exercised and I didn’t lose inches or weight! I had digestion problems all this started on lexapro. I never felt motivated at all. If you want to die young go ahead and take it otherwise stay away from this drug it needs to be taken off the market and I will be suing them if any complications happen oh I’ve been off it for 2 weeks lost 9 lbs

Before getting too scared over the negative reviews, i just wanted to do a little educating. Yes, you are going to feel worse the first couple of weeks you take it, this is how lexapro always has and always will work. Yes, you might gain weight, it explicitly says that. And yes, you may end up way worse while taking it, thats when you go to your doctor and switch meds. Not sue lexapro for “ruining your life”. Lexapro is not a poison, if it is right for you it will save your life, if its not find another medication, that simple.Read More Read Less

The first week was bad. I was taking half of one in the evening and it was waking me up in the middle of the night and keeping me up for hours. I skipped a day and felt fine that day. Then I changed it to morning and in the middle of the day it gave me a huge surge triggering panic attacks. My chest was tight the entire day at work. I skipped a day again and felt fine. I almost gave up on it. It was too strong for me. The next day I decided to take 1/4 of one in the morning. It was fine. I've taken 1/4 in the morning ever since and have had no panic attacks. This tiny dose is doing the trick for me. The panic attacks had become so frequent and were happening several days a week and that was why I agreed to start taking it.Read More Read Less

I’ve had anxiety since I was a kid and had anxiety attacks in high school, but over the pandemic it developed to mild depression. I eventually started taking 10mg of Lexapro (generic) and I was really scared bc it had a ton of poor reviews. The first couple of weeks I was lazy and didn’t have much motivation, but then it kicked in and my normal self was back before the depression. My anxiety lessened a lot and have since lowered my dose to 5mg because I felt like I could handle it. I was underweight (I’m 5”3 and 102 pounds but I was 95) and it helped me gain some weight back. I’m happy with my weight now. The only side effects I had was a lack of coordination with alcohol and a lower sex drive, but honestly it helped me pull my life together. I was a huge mess before Lexapro and it has had such a positive impact on me and my family that I definitely recommend it. Read More Read Less

This drug made me so suicidal but gave me the energy to go through with my thoughts. Landed me in an institution where of course they want to give you more drugs. So I stopped them all and I’m still struggling but at least I won’t accidentally kill myself like this drug could make you do.

I’ve been on just about every antidepressant on and off since I was 16. Most recently I was on mirtazapine for 2 years. It wasn’t working well for me, and when I told the doctors that it was making me feel worse they would up my prescription. I’ve always had anxiety and depression, but after trialing ADHD medication with mirtazapine I developed severe panic disorder. I was having panic attacks almost every day and it was affecting my work. Some of my friends were on lexapro and loved it so I spoke to a new doctor and weaned off mirtazapine. Starting lexapro is rough. It really was awful. I started on 10mg and went up to 20mg. I felt nauseous and exceedingly more anxious and depressed for 3 weeks, but once it started working it WORKED. Lexapro has quite literally saved my life. I’ve been on it for 2 months and I haven’t had a single panic attack. I’m hardly ever anxious. When I have been anxious, it’s been at a 2 instead of a 10, and in situations where it’s normal to feel nervous rather than just constant unhelpful anxiety. Instead of feeling blunted like I had felt with previous medications, I feel genuinely happy and more myself than ever. I cannot recommend it enough. I do recommend having regular/weekly appointments with your doctor and/or psychologist in the first few weeks while you’re getting used to the drug. Their support and perspective really helped me get through the horrible side effects at the beginning. Read More Read Less

Here is an honest review from someone who has been on this medication for 5+ years. Initially, I was given Lexapro to treat major depression that I battled with my entire life, this was in 2017. I had a massive breakdown after I had cancer and they put me on 10 mg of Lexapro. Over the course of a few months I titrated up to 20 mg and around June-July of 2017 my life completely rebounded (or so I thought). It gave me an elated feeling for a couple of weeks, maybe a month and then I kind of settled down at a moderate feeling, not depressed but I didn't feel amazing anymore. At that point, I went back to school to finish my degree and taking 20 mg of Lexapro got folded into my daily schedule so I didn't think anything of it. The negatives I experienced were poor sleeping and drowsiness but I figured I would cope with it because I felt so great for those couple of weeks in the summer. Life moves on though, and over the course of the next five years I would plummet into deep suicidal depression, maybe twice a year that would last a while. I never questioned the Lexapro efficacy because I was so sold on the psychiatry and drug industry that the only solution was to add more medication, because they all used the argument "well it would have been worse if not for Lexapro (insert any other drug name here)" and I was desperate so I listened. I started to see a new psychiatrist in the beginning of 2021 and that put a nail in the coffin of these drugs for me. I started to see this new one because I had a massive breakdown when I was in grad school and she raised my dosage of Lexapro to 40 mg (or 50 I can't recall). This basically did absolutely nothing for me except worsen my sleeping and made me completely slow and fried throughout the day. I was still massively depressed and just kept limping on through grad school until I decided I had enough. I took account of where I was, I suffered through years of massive depression episodes with the promises "Lexapro made the depression better than it otherwise would have been" or "you weren't suicidal and that because the Lexapro prevented those feelings" made by my psychiatrists. When I opened my eyes, these arguments were obviously unsubstantiated and completely worthless. All that these doctors were doing was keeping me hooked on Lexapro when it clearly wasn't helping my condition at all. The only thing that I could point to was poor sleep and drowsiness in the day. To summarize, I would strongly advise against prolonged use of these drugs because we simply do not know what they do, and from my experience really don't help to root causes of the condition. Don't let doctors feed you the "what if" arguments and go off of what actually happened. Read More Read Less

I was very reluctant to start any medication at all because I was afraid of any side effects. I have been depressed since a miscarriage in 2019. I have been in therapy all my life. After 3 years of infertility treatments I was still depressed. I thought having my baby would magically erase all of my depression. After delivery I started experiencing post partum depression. I felt like IVF really messed me up mentally and emotionally. I was not used to be on birth control and other meds they put you on during IVF. Also pumping gave me a bad feeling of depression and anxiety. I visited with my OB and a psychiatrist. He recommended I start lexapro 20mg. I never picked the rx up because I was scared and thought I was crazy for needing medication. I had mental breakdowns every week. I was rude and moody to my husband when he was nothing but supportive. I started getting very bad anxiety at work. I decided to start taking lexapro. Within a week I felt better like a calmness. Within a couple of weeks my mood has been better and I have started being my old self again smiling and laughing. I have to say I believe this drug saved my marriage. We were on the brink of divorce. I did stop pumping and I believe the hormones involved in stopping led me to have more anxiety which led to the anxiety attack at work. I am able to feel emotion but I think it would be hard for me to cry and I have always been a sensitive person. Overall I feel great on the medication. I can only hope it keeps working. Read More Read Less

I have been taking Lexapro or escitalopram for nearly a 10 years I started off with 10mg that lasted for a few years and I needed to up it to 20mg I cannot explain how much it has changed my life i have not experienced any decrease in sex drive nor have I felt emotionless i still can be sad and cry get emotional when I see dogs that are hurt when something happens like my dog getting hurt I still get sad but the biggest difference is I am able to bring myself back from the sadness and not spiral like I did before previously when I had good news or I got happy it would not last very long and now when I get good news or something happens that makes me happy it lasts a lot longer and overall impacts how well I handle myself through the day another thing I had was very bad social anxiety I would wear a jacket sit in the back of class and not really talk to anyone and when I got called on I would sweat a bunch get very nervous now I can speak in front of groups of people I can focus better now that I am not anxious the lists of things I could say positively about this can go on for a very long time but overall I am very happy with this medication.Read More Read Less

Panic disorder, 10mg worked great, but then had breakthrough. On 20mg now. Does kill the sex drive, but no weight gain and panic taken care of. Don't notice hardly at all. Took several weeks to kick in.