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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Steve3211 on January 15, 2004, at 16:12:53
Hi Guys,
Has anyone here had any experience with Lexapro and sleep meds. Specifically, has anyone successfully stopped taking sleeping medications while on Lexapro. I am on 7.5 mg of Lex in the evening as of two nights ago and 30 mg of Restoril. Last night I tried to cut down to 15 mgs of of Restoril and only got about 3-4 hrs sleep. On top of that just as I was dropping off last night I got horribly dizzy! The room started spinning and I almost lost it, before I calmed down and told myself it was probably just a side effect although I have been on Lex now for three weeks. Anybody else experience dizziness while trying to sleep? Needless to say today has not been that great. Every time I up my dose I seem to feel the side effects again. Is this normal? Anyway after digressing way off subject, once again has anyone got off sleep meds while on Lex and has anyone experienced side effects while increasing dosage? This board has been so helpful. Steve
Posted by lana365 on January 15, 2004, at 17:15:43
In reply to Lexapro and sleep meds, posted by Steve3211 on January 15, 2004, at 16:12:53
I'm looking for an antidepressant that has NO evidence of weight gain. I've lost 110 lbs in the last two years, but since November I've gained fifteen pounds. This is very upsetting, considering I exercise two hours a day and eat only 1,000 calories. I've even tried cutting back and nothing helps. I'm going to doctors to see if something is wrong, but in the mean time I need something that will help me cope. I took Paxil for a while but my doctor said it could cause weight gain. Does lexapro cause weight gain? PLEASE someone help me--if lexapro does cause weight gain--no matter how slight--is there any anti-depressant out there that does not? Thanks!
Posted by mopey on January 15, 2004, at 20:39:05
In reply to Lexapro and sleep meds, posted by Steve3211 on January 15, 2004, at 16:12:53
Hi. I know the dizzy feeling you are getting. I only take 2.5 mg of lex -- started at 5 mg and was nauseous and felt very sick indeed. As I'm splitting the pills it's difficult to get dose accurate and i do notice if I take a "large quarter" pill.
The side effects have mellowed for me -- I'm on wewk 5 now i think -- though two nights ago i woke in a panic for some reason and felt nauseous again.
last night i was fine.
everyone says to hang in there, so that's what i'm doing! i'm certainly more mellow and definitely less ridiculously anxious about everything than i was without meds.
good luck!
Posted by Laree on January 15, 2004, at 23:52:57
In reply to Anti-depressants and weight-HELP!, posted by lana365 on January 15, 2004, at 17:15:43
I have had eating disorders in the past, and I am currently on Lexapro & Wellbutrin SR. I am pretty weird about potential weight gain on rx's, and my pdoc once told me that even aspirin can "potentially" make you gain weight. She said that anything you put in your mouth/swallow has the potential to make you gain weight. I called the company that makes Wellbutrin--a rep. read me statistics re: weight gain & they showed that a substantially larger amount of people lost weight than gained it. I think it is something like 30% of people on it lose weight? I have not lost weight, but i am on a very low dose (100 mgs.) and recently adjusted meds & stuff...i used to take 200 mg. and after about a week of doing that i had almost NO appetite whatsoever...but anyway, i am VERY leery of any rx that lists weight gain as a side effect. i think it's like the first thing i investigate about the rx! haha--and i ALWAYS ask my pdoc if people typically gain weight on whatever she's suggesting for me at that time...
paxil is notorious for causing weight gain. one of my ex-boyfriends was on it and he's what i'd consider a "hard gainer", but he gained some weight last year while on it. it seemed like he was hungry pretty often in comparison to before he got on it. paxil seems to be prescribed a lot for people with anxiety problems as well as it is a more sedating AD. Wellbutrin is supposedly a more "stimulating" AD, but the 2 are in different categories. As far as AD's go, I have been on prozac, elavil (made bulimia worse i think--bad carb cravings/bingeing) celexa, zoloft, effexor XR, lexapro...i don't think any pdoc i've had has ever suggested paxil for me (knowing my history involving E.D.'s i guess?), but if they had, i def. would not have taken it. and i still wouldn't, b/c i am paranoid of the potential weight gain. If i'm slightly worried about incidence of weight gain (like when i took zoloft--i had heard things about other ppl gaining weight while on it, but it was really helping my depression at the time)i might take it for a few days/weeks & try to gauge what effect it is having on my body...& if it's physically intolerable, i can't take it b/c it would exacerbate the E.D.'s b/c i'd probably get panicked and start restricting/purging like mad. So i guess it is sort of a safety issue for me...
but i hope you find something that suits you!! lexapro has not been a problem for me in that realm, and i have been on it a few times. best AD i've ever been on i think. Best of luck!
L.
> I'm looking for an antidepressant that has NO evidence of weight gain. I've lost 110 lbs in the last two years, but since November I've gained fifteen pounds. This is very upsetting, considering I exercise two hours a day and eat only 1,000 calories. I've even tried cutting back and nothing helps. I'm going to doctors to see if something is wrong, but in the mean time I need something that will help me cope. I took Paxil for a while but my doctor said it could cause weight gain. Does lexapro cause weight gain? PLEASE someone help me--if lexapro does cause weight gain--no matter how slight--is there any anti-depressant out there that does not? Thanks!
Posted by lana365 on January 16, 2004, at 16:12:26
In reply to Re: Anti-depressants and weight-HELP! » lana365, posted by Laree on January 15, 2004, at 23:52:57
Thank you so much for the information! I've started Lexapro today, so we shall see...My psychologist said that my problem may be something to do with serotonin--something about how it messes up my metabolism. She says that taking an anti-depressant might make me lose the weight I've gained. I certainly hope so--I feel like I'm going crazy! Anyway, thank you so much for responding!
This is the end of the thread.
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