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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by 88ivories on April 6, 2003, at 19:48:00
I am currently on 30mgs of Celexa and am considering switching to Lexapro. I have 7 yrs history with SSRIs/Benzos and am very familiar w/anxiety/depression. I have spent several hours reading through another thread on this website that was related to the subject of switching from Celexa to Lexapro.
Unfortunately (only for time reasons) it contained inputs from people on SSRIs other than Celexa considering switching or already switched to Lexapro. That isn't helpful to Celexa users trying to make the switch or thinking of doing so.
Would welcome all input from users of Celexa or users of Celexa now on Lexapro. Do you consider Lexapro better, if so, how did your doc translate your dosage. Would also be interested in the side effects of tapering off either drug. I had a very bad experience trying to get off Luvox.
Celexa has worked much, much better for me than Luvox and Paxil. I have gained 10-15lbs in almost a year, have a lot of fatique and sweating, some hair loss, and lack of libido. Overall, Celexa has had less side effects than the other 2 I have tried. I'm a 39yr/female and I do believe all the SSRIs have caused some hormonal issues.
Thanks for all who respond and share.....Susan.
Posted by CJ Nightowl on April 7, 2003, at 2:43:01
In reply to Please,Only Ex-Celexa Users now on Lexapro, posted by 88ivories on April 6, 2003, at 19:48:00
> I am currently on 30mgs of Celexa and am considering switching to Lexapro. I have 7 yrs history with SSRIs/Benzos and am very familiar w/anxiety/depression. I have spent several hours reading through another thread on this website that was related to the subject of switching from Celexa to Lexapro.
>
> Unfortunately (only for time reasons) it contained inputs from people on SSRIs other than Celexa considering switching or already switched to Lexapro. That isn't helpful to Celexa users trying to make the switch or thinking of doing so.
>
> Would welcome all input from users of Celexa or users of Celexa now on Lexapro. Do you consider Lexapro better, if so, how did your doc translate your dosage. Would also be interested in the side effects of tapering off either drug. I had a very bad experience trying to get off Luvox.
>
> Celexa has worked much, much better for me than Luvox and Paxil. I have gained 10-15lbs in almost a year, have a lot of fatique and sweating, some hair loss, and lack of libido. Overall, Celexa has had less side effects than the other 2 I have tried. I'm a 39yr/female and I do believe all the SSRIs have caused some hormonal issues.
>
> Thanks for all who respond and share.....Susan.
Hi Susan,
I switched from Celexa to Lexapro about 12 days ago. I just went one day on the Celexa to Lexapro on the next day. I am not sure yet how to evaluate the Lexapro. I think I have less fatigue; I certainly have more insomnia and my sleep pattern is messed up, but I am not as freaked out about that as I was a few days ago. I was on 30 mg of Celexa and my regular Internist just handed me the rx for Lex (20 mg)after I had told her I thought I needed to go to 40 of the Celexa. I decided to start with 10mg and I am glad I did. I was super wired for a few days. Now I can't tell if I am tired from so many nights of poor sleep, or if the wired feeling has been replaced with my old familiar foe, fatigue. It all sucks as far as I am concerned! My motto is from
the old Huey Lewis song, "I wanna new drug".
Good luck.
CJ Nightowl
Posted by katalina on April 7, 2003, at 10:53:10
In reply to Please,Only Ex-Celexa Users now on Lexapro, posted by 88ivories on April 6, 2003, at 19:48:00
I switched from Celexa 20 mgs. to 10 of Lexapro about 5 months ago, without noticing anything at all. I think of Celexa/Lexapro as being pretty benign, at least for me. I never really had any side effects from the Celexa, except for maybe headaches at the beginning. I've also taken Prozac and Effexor, which were more effective I think. However I also added Adderall and Klonopin to the Celexa, which I hadn't taken before, so I wasn't really "looking" for Celexa symptoms since I had taken SSRI's in the past.
Anyway, I never noticed any differences between C & L. My neurologist told me that they were discontinuing Celexa and he was now putting all patients taking C on L when they came in for appts.
Who the heck knows? Sometimes I think people look too hard (me included) and over analyze every ache and unfamiliar pain and associate it with their prescription, when it could be a fluke. I think people need to be aware that everybody's moods fluctuate and everyone has bad days and we can't automatically start drawing up a new cocktail to cure us. I know earlier in my quest for concocting the perfect cocktail, the obsession with finding the drugs to make me feel perfect were starting to interfere with my life.
I'm starting to ramble now. Good luck!
katalina
Posted by Bill L on April 7, 2003, at 10:57:34
In reply to Please,Only Ex-Celexa Users now on Lexapro, posted by 88ivories on April 6, 2003, at 19:48:00
Susan, I was on Celexa for about 3 years, then switched to Lexapro when it first came out. I take 20 mg of Lxapro with very good results. I have almost no depression.
When I started Celexa a few years a go, I took 20 mg. I did better on Celexa than when I previously took Prozac. I felt less tired and had less jitteriness than I did on Prozac. To maintain the very good results from Celexa, I had to increase the dose to 40 mg. This worked well for about a year, then I increased to 60 mg. I was doing very well on 60 mg.
Then when Lexapro came out (about 7 or 8 months a go?), I switched and started with 20 mg which is the dose I am still on. Personally, I prefer Lexapro. I feel a bit mentally sharper than I did on Celexa. Both Celexa and Lexapro got rid of almost all (close to 100%) of my depression. I find that with Lexapro, I still had some daytime tiredness and sexual decrease, but not quite as much as with Celexa (neither Celexa or Lexapro caused me as much sexual decrease as Prozac).
So basically, it's hard for me to tell you whether you should switch or not. I'm glad that I switched, but everyone is different. I have found ways to handle side effects. For daytime tiredness, I eat about 1 once of dark chocolate each day before noon. It gives me energy for the entire day. I have not gained weight and have even lost a couple of pounds because the chocolate makes me feel full. It should be dark chocolate. According to a recent Newsweek article, milk chocolate and powdered cocoa do not have a high level of flavinoids.
For sexual decrease, I have found some benefit taking Rhodiola Rosea (an herb also called artic root). This was also in a recent issue of Newsweek. The article quoted a Columbia University (New York) psychiatrist, Richard Brown, saying that he gives it to many of his patients to deal with SSRI side effects. The article says that not all brands are helpful. One of the suggested brands is Rhodax and thats the one that I have been taking. I sometimes have sleep problems and have found it very helpful to take melatonin about an hour before going to bed. I may take melatonin 2 or 3 nights a week. Good luck.
> I am currently on 30mgs of Celexa and am considering switching to Lexapro. I have 7 yrs history with SSRIs/Benzos and am very familiar w/anxiety/depression. I have spent several hours reading through another thread on this website that was related to the subject of switching from Celexa to Lexapro.
>
> Unfortunately (only for time reasons) it contained inputs from people on SSRIs other than Celexa considering switching or already switched to Lexapro. That isn't helpful to Celexa users trying to make the switch or thinking of doing so.
>
> Would welcome all input from users of Celexa or users of Celexa now on Lexapro. Do you consider Lexapro better, if so, how did your doc translate your dosage. Would also be interested in the side effects of tapering off either drug. I had a very bad experience trying to get off Luvox.
>
> Celexa has worked much, much better for me than Luvox and Paxil. I have gained 10-15lbs in almost a year, have a lot of fatique and sweating, some hair loss, and lack of libido. Overall, Celexa has had less side effects than the other 2 I have tried. I'm a 39yr/female and I do believe all the SSRIs have caused some hormonal issues.
>
> Thanks for all who respond and share.....Susan.
Posted by 88ivories on April 7, 2003, at 15:39:22
In reply to RE; Celexa users only, posted by CJ Nightowl on April 7, 2003, at 2:43:01
Nightowl,
Do I ever empathize with the fatique...I've yet to figure out if the meds cause the fatique or the anxiety/stress/etc. I tried switching to Lexapro (10mg) last week for 2 days. Had nausea, jitters, the usual SE with a new drug. The pharmacist told me that the chemical makeup of Lexapro was really too different to consider it a "new and improved" Celexa. I have yet to verify that with other pharmacists. I chickened out and went back to my 30mg of Celexa. From other postings on another thread on this website, there seems to be a lot of debate as to the dosage of Lexapro vs Celexa. If you are on 40mg of Celexa, at least 1/2 the posters suggested no more than 5mg of Celexa. A pharmrep posting there suggested 1/2 the dosage of Celexa.I'll just keep monitoring this thread and see what I find. I do know that different SSRIs and various strengths have profoundly different effects on different people. I've learned that the hard way.
I developed a semi-dependancy on pain killers and outright told my doctor that they seemed to work better for me than any SSRI...Of course, he replied..Well I guess so, it's a narcotic. I had energy, no anxiety, etc. Unfortunately, that's not an acceptable answer and with time you just have to up your MG...I'm past that problem now.
Thanks for writing...Susan.
> Hi Susan,
> ....I am not sure yet how to evaluate the Lexapro. I think I have less fatigue; I certainly have more insomnia and my sleep pattern is messed up, ...I decided to start with 10mg and I am glad I did. I was super wired for a few days. Now I can't tell if I am tired from so many nights of poor sleep, or if the wired feeling has been replaced with my old familiar foe, fatigue. > Good luck.
> CJ Nightowl
Posted by 88ivories on April 7, 2003, at 15:44:22
In reply to Re: Please,Only Ex-Celexa Users now on Lexapro, posted by katalina on April 7, 2003, at 10:53:10
> katalina,
Haven't heard about the discontinuation of Celexa..I hope not for a while, anyway.I do agree with you about analyzing all our symptoms, feelings, etc. Part of getting help for these issues (especially if you see a shrink) is that they force you to think about it more and try to tie "symptoms" to causes, etc. I have also noticed that the Internet has been VERY useful to me (it literally saved my liver...another story re: Luvox), but if you read TOO much, you can start down the OCD path of side effects! :o) Thanks for the reply...Susan.
> ....My neurologist told me that they were discontinuing Celexa and he was now putting all patients taking C on L when they came in for appts.
>
> Who the heck knows? Sometimes I think people look too hard (me included) and over analyze every ache and unfamiliar pain and associate it with their prescription....
> katalina
Posted by Dysfunk on April 10, 2003, at 12:40:41
In reply to Re: Please,Only Ex-Celexa Users now on Lexapro, posted by katalina on April 7, 2003, at 10:53:10
I think creating a new cocktail is useful if this is a depression that hangs around for longer than a few days. In other words, it is a lack of proper medication, not just a bad mood.
This is the end of the thread.
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