Hello Moms,
I have been on Lexapro for 6-8 months now for anxiety. I hate the side effects such as tired all the time but can't sleep, low sex drive, increased sweating etc... I am not depressed but this med is used also for anxiety. I have an appt in a week for a med check up and will be asking about BuSpar. Are any of you taking it? I did some research but want to know from you guys what you think about it. I do walk, eat right (most of the time) do things for myself etc.... I just worry alot and am very hyper and have excessive anxiety so I want something that will help natural or manufactured. I can't stand the sweating side effect as I am always hot anyway and Lexapro makes it 10x worse. Most of the meds for anxiety are linked with depression meds and cause sweating and sex drive issues. So, anyone have experience with this? Does anyone take BuSpar or something else to help?
Thanks,
Christina
Thanks for all the responses private and posted. I am on half the dosage for Lexapro. The drug is fantastic but the side effects are not so in speaking wiht the Dr this seems to be the best bet for me. I have noticed a difference only after a few days!
Thanks again ladies!
Ask if you can switch to Effexor XR - I use it for anxiety-depression. It works really well and actually helps lower weight. I would recommend counseling on top of everything else. I stopped taking my pills as the result of 1x a week counseling and keeping a journal..
I may need to go back on though and reup on the counseling for other reasons however
I have a fast heart rate which my doctor thought was from anxiety. She convinced me to give lexapro a second try. I immediatly stopped taking it again. The low sex drive was horrible and i felt like i had a mild flu. I also gain a lot of weight on these kind of medicines. I do not want to be a drag...there are so many other things out there to try. I wish you luck in your journey :-)
You could try clonopin or zanax - these are fast acting drugs that you only take them when you need them - up to 3 times a day or less.
Good luck with everything :]
I took Lexapro after my husband died for a year. However like you it made me muted, sleepy non functional to the capacity that I needed to be at as a single widowed mother of three settling an unexpected estate of a young person.
With my doctors approval I went down to only 1/2 of the 10 a day and it worked like a charm.
Lexapro is an seratonen (sp) inhibitor. I helps slow down the body uptake of the seratonen in the brain when the body is taking too much at a time. It is a fairly effective and safe drug to take and is easy to come off of.
clonopin or zanax, zoloft and effexsor (sp) ALL are addicting or have BRUTAL side effects. If you can deal with the brain zaps coming off the Zoloft go for it but I would be careful jumping too fast into such hard core antidepressents.
And Tracy, I hope your doctor ran a TSH, T3 and T4 on you. Heart Palpitations are symptoms of an over active thyroid. This of course if a much different course of treatment than an antidepressent. Make sure you have a full workup before taking such difficult things for the body to adjust too.
Good Luck Ladies.
I'd call the doctor now and not wait. You neeed something else and yes some meds treat both, all depends how your body reacts to a drug.
Try effexor and also if can get lorazepam low dose that you can take when you feel really anxious.
After i had my daughter I all of a sudden had major anxiety problems. I was also getting non-stop panic attacks. the best medicine I ever could have gone on was Zoloft. I will be taking it for a year this February and don't care if I ever come off! It is also a depression medication but that is not what I take it for.(Anxiety is a problem in your subconsience so you could have slight depression and not even know it). It's a great medicine with limited side effects. When I started taking it, the only two side effects I had were a little nausia and drowsiness. Those effects only last about a week though. I know quite a few people taking it that have been on it for years. They love it. Mention it to your doctor. It may be of help for you too!
* Also, my sister is taking Prozac for anxiety and loves it!
Good luck!
Christina,
I do have Anxiety disorder as well. I am 31 and my first panic attack (which I had no idea what it was at the time) was when I was 22. Immediately after seeing the Dr. they put me on Zanax. Which is taken only on an AS needed basis. And frankly - just KNOWING I had them with me - was a HUGE help. However, when I became pregnant with my first child at age 26, early on - my anxieties (which were all but non-existent at that time) came on FULL-FORCE. I ended up (only with the help of my husband cuz I couldn't go ANYWHERE without him)-going to the Dr's and starting sessions with a therapist. Also - (after taking off the whole first trimester from work) - the Dr's put me on Zoloft, which actually GAVE me a panic attack - then FINALLY Prozac. (Which has been given to LOTS of pregnant woman with very minimul problems). Even tho I have no depression either, it is also prescribed for anxiety. I have been on Prozac ever since (6 years later) and am now pregnant with my 4th child. I can honestly tell you that I would not have been able to leave my house had it not been for this medication, and I have NO side effects from it. No problems with any of my pregnancies or births either. I am on a small dose (20mg 1xday) and it has worked wonders. I am truly a different person and there are tons of people who could attest to that. I strongly suggest the therapy -- but if that doesn't work by itself, I think Prozac is a very common and safe medication choice. I wish you the best of luck as I feel I do know (like the other mom's here) exactly what you're feeling!
Good Luck!
K. A
