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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by mauro on May 20, 2002, at 11:19:41
Hi to all,
my pdoc put me on Celexa (20 mg/d) for unipolar depression.
Is it an effective drug?
What i should wait from it?
Wich are most common side effect?
Are they milder that other ssri?
Thanks very much for your help and attention!
Posted by bookgurl99 on May 20, 2002, at 11:45:28
In reply to CELEXA: Effectiveness and Side effects?, posted by mauro on May 20, 2002, at 11:19:41
I tried Celexa for a few days. Despite its "mild" profile, I noticed that I became very sweaty, had strange bowel movements (bright yellow!), and lost my libido.
Posted by mopey on May 20, 2002, at 13:02:06
In reply to CELEXA: Effectiveness and Side effects?, posted by mauro on May 20, 2002, at 11:19:41
I was on low dose, and found it worked well for about 6 weeks. Then I got so sleepy I'd just fall soundly asleep in the middle of the day. Obviously that became a problem!
There's a new version coming out in June that doesn't have that side effect, apparently. Think I was told it's Lexapro.
Good luck!
Posted by Analine on May 20, 2002, at 17:41:10
In reply to Re: CELEXA: Effectiveness and Side effects?, posted by mopey on May 20, 2002, at 13:02:06
hi mauro,
i've also just been put on 20mg of celexa, i took my first tablet just a second ago!
i've HEARD it's not a bad drug, similar to prozac and zoloft etc. except it's not supposed to have as many side effects as the other SSRI's. i'm not sure how true this is...bright yellow poo...hmm.
yay for you for getting help and good luck with it :)
maybe we can compare side effects.
xxx
Posted by IsoM on May 21, 2002, at 1:15:26
In reply to CELEXA: Effectiveness and Side effects?, posted by mauro on May 20, 2002, at 11:19:41
Like many medications, it works great for some but not for others. Of all the SSRIs, I prefer it. I've taken it for 1 1/2 years. I take 40 mg & have no side-effects at all but I may be an unusual case.
The one thing I found different from it than other SSRIs is how long it took for me (& one of my sons) feel its benefits. Most took about 3-5 weeks. We noticed a small but initial difference after one week, with full benefits within 3 weeks.
I find it quite effective & it has a longer half-life than many other SSRIs, so if you're late with your dose (or even forget one day), you won't get those unpleasant withdrawal symptoms you *may* get from missing a dose from other SSRIs with a short half-life.
Posted by skills on May 21, 2002, at 4:08:21
In reply to Re: CELEXA: Effectiveness and Side effects? » mauro, posted by IsoM on May 21, 2002, at 1:15:26
I was on celexa for 9 months. There were minimal side effects and no withdrawal syndrome at all even without tapering the dose. It is a very mild antidepressent with minor mood lifting effects
Posted by dave40252 on May 21, 2002, at 15:33:21
In reply to CELEXA: Effectiveness and Side effects?, posted by mauro on May 20, 2002, at 11:19:41
Hi, Celexa is in my current cocktail and i have taken it alone as well. I am not sure what people mean by it being a "milder" AD. It is an ssri. For me it is interchangeable with zoloft. I did find that it makes me tired if i take it in the morning so i swithched to taking it before bed. Went off it once and had no withdrawel symptoms. But i didnt on zoloft either. Good luck
Posted by XaosSurfer on May 21, 2002, at 17:53:53
In reply to CELEXA: Effectiveness and Side effects?, posted by mauro on May 20, 2002, at 11:19:41
I have been taking Celexa for a few months now. It has been very effective at lifting the serious depression. The studies I have read suggest that there is no significant effectiveness difference between Celexa and other SSRI's. The side effect profile of Celexa if reputed to be lower. I had some sexual problems (anorgasmia). At 60mg I had a miserable time with low motivation and apathy (but at least I didn't care). I dropped to 30mg and the apathy lifted. The anorgasmia is also improving slowly.
It did take a full (and terrible) six weeks for Celexa to 'kick in'.
Paul
Posted by Automated Lady on May 23, 2002, at 6:44:52
In reply to Re: CELEXA: Effectiveness and Side effects?, posted by XaosSurfer on May 21, 2002, at 17:53:53
I went on 20mg of Celexa, found it kicked in pretty quickly (a week or so), but after about 6 weeks I was totally devoid of motivation or interest in anything and had to come off it because my life was worse on it than off. I stopped without tapering (GP told me to..) and after a couple of weeks started to have "brain shocks" and a load of other weird physical things (and not even entirely certain they were caused by Celexa withdrawal). I've been off it about 2 months now and still having a few "shocks" a day. Oh, and my sex life died. Effexor was just the same for me really, although the withdrawal was much more violent but over far quicker.
Posted by Kairos on November 22, 2002, at 2:49:49
In reply to Re: CELEXA: Effectiveness and Side effects?, posted by mopey on May 20, 2002, at 13:02:06
Lexapro IS making me sleepy during the day - oddly enough I can't - for the life of me - fall asleep at night - and no I'm not falling into a napping routine because of day time sleepiness - as much as I want to - it's hard to fight it.
Any others experiencing this?
Any solutions?
Thanks -
Kairos
> I was on low dose, and found it worked well for about 6 weeks. Then I got so sleepy I'd just fall soundly asleep in the middle of the day. Obviously that became a problem!
>
> There's a new version coming out in June that doesn't have that side effect, apparently. Think I was told it's Lexapro.
>
> Good luck!
This is the end of the thread.
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