![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by CJ Nightowl on April 21, 2003, at 0:07:55
Okay, the first 2 weeks on the Lexapro (10mg) I was an insomniac, but I was finally starting to feel alive agian! I figured I would sleep when I got some better sleep meds. Then for a couple days I tried taking 10mg of Celexa along with the 10 of Lex because the reason I switched in the first place was because I had the Celexa blahs.
So early last week my sleep pattern got better but I was very edgy, so I decided it was time to up the dose of Lex to 17and a half mg. (my Internist wanted me to just go from 30mg of Celexa to 20mg of Lexapro, without a second thought) So the 17 and a half I started last Wednesday, (I think) and today and yesterday, all I could do was sleep. The Adderall is NOT working, neither is NO-DOZ, or coffee! I can't do this! I am a mom and a wife and my husband told me today that he "didn't sign up for this", meaning that he is sick and tired of doing the laundry, cooking, shopping and working a high stress sales job too. I feel really bad for him and myself! I want to do things, I just can't! What the HELL can I do!!! I am not taking the Lexapro tonight, but I have no plan beyond tonight. Please help me you guys!! I have another Internist who has known me since before I ever got depressed, and I think she'd be willing to let me try this or that, but she is not a Pdoc, therefore I have my doubts as to how much good she can really do for me. This is what I am prescribed: Lexapro 20 mg per day, Adderall 10 mg per day and Sonata 10 mg per night. Fiorinol as needed for headaches. That's it. That's all I take. Should I just go back to the Celexa and deal with the apathy that I felt with that and maybe get a dose increase of Adderall? Should I try a different stimulent instead of Adderall to take with Celexa? Should I try another A/D along with Celexa and Adderall? Obviously the Lexapro is shit for me, and the Adderall I am starting to have my doubts about and right now I certainly don't need the Sonata, as I can't stay awake anyway!!
Thanks for listening, please help.
CJ
Posted by Snoozy on April 21, 2003, at 0:34:09
In reply to I HATE THIS LEXAPRO!! I CAN'T FUNCTION!!, posted by CJ Nightowl on April 21, 2003, at 0:07:55
Sorry things are so rough. My experience with these drugs is pretty limited, so I can't give you any thoughts on that. Do you have a pdoc? What about having your internist and your pdoc talk to each other? Or getting a pdoc and having him/her work with your internist? I think it can really help treatment if you have a dr who has a sense of what you were like before the depression. Do you take Fiorinol for migraine headaches?
> Okay, the first 2 weeks on the Lexapro (10mg) I was an insomniac, but I was finally starting to feel alive agian! I figured I would sleep when I got some better sleep meds. Then for a couple days I tried taking 10mg of Celexa along with the 10 of Lex because the reason I switched in the first place was because I had the Celexa blahs.
> So early last week my sleep pattern got better but I was very edgy, so I decided it was time to up the dose of Lex to 17and a half mg. (my Internist wanted me to just go from 30mg of Celexa to 20mg of Lexapro, without a second thought) So the 17 and a half I started last Wednesday, (I think) and today and yesterday, all I could do was sleep. The Adderall is NOT working, neither is NO-DOZ, or coffee! I can't do this! I am a mom and a wife and my husband told me today that he "didn't sign up for this", meaning that he is sick and tired of doing the laundry, cooking, shopping and working a high stress sales job too. I feel really bad for him and myself! I want to do things, I just can't! What the HELL can I do!!! I am not taking the Lexapro tonight, but I have no plan beyond tonight. Please help me you guys!! I have another Internist who has known me since before I ever got depressed, and I think she'd be willing to let me try this or that, but she is not a Pdoc, therefore I have my doubts as to how much good she can really do for me. This is what I am prescribed: Lexapro 20 mg per day, Adderall 10 mg per day and Sonata 10 mg per night. Fiorinol as needed for headaches. That's it. That's all I take. Should I just go back to the Celexa and deal with the apathy that I felt with that and maybe get a dose increase of Adderall? Should I try a different stimulent instead of Adderall to take with Celexa? Should I try another A/D along with Celexa and Adderall? Obviously the Lexapro is shit for me, and the Adderall I am starting to have my doubts about and right now I certainly don't need the Sonata, as I can't stay awake anyway!!
> Thanks for listening, please help.
> CJ
Posted by leeran on April 21, 2003, at 0:48:55
In reply to I HATE THIS LEXAPRO!! I CAN'T FUNCTION!!, posted by CJ Nightowl on April 21, 2003, at 0:07:55
I don't know if this is advice (?) but I thought I would relay my Adderall dosage. I take 40 mg. of Adderall XR per day - 20 in the a.m. and 20 at 12:00 noon. To be perfectly honest, I don't think 10 mg of Adderall would even phase me.
RE: Lexapro
I took Lexapro for one week and couldn't stand feeling catatonic. I started cutting pills in halves, then quarters, to back myself out of it.
I STILL feel unmotivated - even on 40 mg. of Adderall per day (since being on the Lexapro).
Oh yeah, and I went off of Wellbutrin to take the Lexapro, so - just last week, at my husband's insistance, I refilled the Wellbutrin because at least I was human on the combination of Adderall and Wellbutrin.Re: Adderall, my pdoc started me on a very large prescription of 10 mg. and told me to play around with it (in 10 mg. increments) 'til I felt a difference. Well, actually the first month I did 10 and 10. Then, he decided to push it to 20 - 20. He says 60 mg per day is the maximum (I would be a basketcase on that dosage).
I really felt best at 30 mg. per day . . . but he likes the idea of me taking 20 in the a.m. - then something at noon, and it would involve two separate prescriptions per month.
I hear you on the Lexapro. I know everyone says to give it several weeks but I couldn't endure the feeling of being able to move. It was like sitting with blinders on all day. Really odd.
Oh yeah, with the Lexapro I wasn't really sleepy but just catatonic.
I do think 10 mg of Adderall sounds pretty low. My 15 year old son is on 30 mg.
Last comment - I'm wondering if you should stop the Lexapro cold. If it's like other SSRI's it may require a phasing out period (I'm not at all sure about this but that's how I decided to "take myself off of it").
It sounds like the magic pill for some, but I definitely felt like I was going further down the rabbit hole every day that I took it (and I was afraid of how long it would take to come back up). It's been two weeks since I've taken it and I still don't feel quite "right."
Posted by Caleb462 on April 21, 2003, at 2:10:28
In reply to Re: I HATE THIS LEXAPRO!! I CAN'T FUNCTION!! » CJ Nightowl, posted by leeran on April 21, 2003, at 0:48:55
Yeah, I think your Adderall needs an upward adjustment.
Posted by Bill L on April 21, 2003, at 9:23:30
In reply to I HATE THIS LEXAPRO!! I CAN'T FUNCTION!!, posted by CJ Nightowl on April 21, 2003, at 0:07:55
You need to give the Lexapro more time. I also switched from Celexa to Lexapro. I did very well on 60 mg Celexa and am now doing even better on 20 mg Lexapro. Don't take Celexa along with the Lexapro.
Maybe an Adderal increase will help your tiredness. Also, ask your doc about adding Wellbutrin. That is also good for tiredness.
I was tired until about 6 weeks a go. That's when I started eating one ounce of dark chocolate each day around 10 am. It gives me energy all day and I also lost a couple of pounds because it makes me feel full. According to articles I read, it has to be dark chocolate, not milk chocolate because of the flavinoids in dark chocolate.
Don't try another AD right now. Wait until you have been on 20 mg Lexapro for at least a couple of months.
Posted by Okpolosi on April 21, 2003, at 11:39:29
In reply to Re: I HATE THIS LEXAPRO!! I CAN'T FUNCTION!!, posted by Bill L on April 21, 2003, at 9:23:30
I agree with previous poster....you have to give Lex TIME to work.
My first 4 weeks were HELL!!!! Much worse than any comments I have read in this thread. SEVERE side effects....but I stuck with it because of encouragement from others on this board. Week 5 I had TERRIBLE depressions and anxiety and was sure this was not the drug for me. Upped dose from 5mg to 10mg and kept at it. Around week 9 all SE's gone and finally started to feel better. Some people have good results early on, others like myself need to go at least 8 weeks if not more before deciding the med is not for them.
Give the meds a chance to work and do not be scared off by initial SE's that do go away with a little time!!
GOOD LUCK TO US ALL!!!
Posted by CJ Nightowl on April 22, 2003, at 0:25:53
In reply to Re: I HATE THIS LEXAPRO!! I CAN'T FUNCTION!!, posted by Okpolosi on April 21, 2003, at 11:39:29
Thanks you guys for your input, but last night I took
a 20 mg tablet of Celexa and today I felt so much better. Maybe I just need to back down from the Lex and augment with CElexa for awhile longer. I mean like 10 mg of Lexapro and 10 mg of Celexa for a couple weeks, then up the Lex to 15 mg like every other day for a week or two. Does that sound reasonable?
THanks,
CJ
BTW, the chocolate idea sounds yummy but dark chocolate gives me migraines!
Posted by fachad on April 22, 2003, at 0:30:54
In reply to I HATE THIS LEXAPRO!! I CAN'T FUNCTION!!, posted by CJ Nightowl on April 21, 2003, at 0:07:55
My guess is that you are very sensitive to the apathy, lethargy, fatigue, inducing effects of SSRI's. Some people just become sleepy zombies on them.
I was so tired on Zoloft I felt too tired to breathe. It just seemed like I could not stay awake.
I would suggest you consider getting off of SSRI ADs completely and then if you really feel that you need an AD, try a different type.
Bupropion, Serzone, Remeron, desipramine, nortriptyline are some ADs that do not have the same draing effect as the SSRIs. Although Effexor is not an SSRI, many have the same problem with it.
10mg of Adderall is pretty low. 60mg/day is the max, I think 30mg/day is typical. You might also try Ritalin or Dexadrine rather than Adderall.
> Okay, the first 2 weeks on the Lexapro (10mg) I was an insomniac, but I was finally starting to feel alive agian! I figured I would sleep when I got some better sleep meds. Then for a couple days I tried taking 10mg of Celexa along with the 10 of Lex because the reason I switched in the first place was because I had the Celexa blahs.
> So early last week my sleep pattern got better but I was very edgy, so I decided it was time to up the dose of Lex to 17and a half mg. (my Internist wanted me to just go from 30mg of Celexa to 20mg of Lexapro, without a second thought) So the 17 and a half I started last Wednesday, (I think) and today and yesterday, all I could do was sleep. The Adderall is NOT working, neither is NO-DOZ, or coffee! I can't do this! I am a mom and a wife and my husband told me today that he "didn't sign up for this", meaning that he is sick and tired of doing the laundry, cooking, shopping and working a high stress sales job too. I feel really bad for him and myself! I want to do things, I just can't! What the HELL can I do!!! I am not taking the Lexapro tonight, but I have no plan beyond tonight. Please help me you guys!! I have another Internist who has known me since before I ever got depressed, and I think she'd be willing to let me try this or that, but she is not a Pdoc, therefore I have my doubts as to how much good she can really do for me. This is what I am prescribed: Lexapro 20 mg per day, Adderall 10 mg per day and Sonata 10 mg per night. Fiorinol as needed for headaches. That's it. That's all I take. Should I just go back to the Celexa and deal with the apathy that I felt with that and maybe get a dose increase of Adderall? Should I try a different stimulent instead of Adderall to take with Celexa? Should I try another A/D along with Celexa and Adderall? Obviously the Lexapro is shit for me, and the Adderall I am starting to have my doubts about and right now I certainly don't need the Sonata, as I can't stay awake anyway!!
> Thanks for listening, please help.
> CJ
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.