Lexapro side effects

I have been on lexapro for over a year now. I love it. It's way better. Less anxiety attacks and I have had no weight gain until recently but im not gonna blame the meds. I was eating fast food and drinking pop everyday. I'm starting to get older im not 12 anymore.. I gained 10 pounds and have lost 8 just by not eating fast food no pop and exercise!

This was my second day taking lexapro 20mg. I was laying in bed and began to masturbate. When I was ready to climax I had to try harder and my legs began to cramp. First it was the left calf muscle, then the right one was more intense. I could hold my muscle in my hand and it was rock hard. Once it stopped flexing my legs were sore and I was unable to walk comfortably.

I was prescribed Lexapro to deal with OCD, at 20 MG's a day. I took it for 3 1/2 years and going into the fourth year I was absolutely done with this medicine. Thinking about it now, I am surprised I stuck with it that long. While it did make me relax with the anxious feelings that were linked to my OCD, it pretty much made me not care about a lot of things. I think I could describe it as I would sort of detach from things I was doing. Also, weight gain was a huge side effect. When I decided to stop taking it, I stopped taking it all together and suffered from awful head aches, dizzy spells, and nausea, but I guess that's what happens after you have been on a medication for that long! It was over in about a week.

Lexapro is the only antidepressant I have been able to take without significant nausea. I tried zoloft, wellbutrin, cymbalta -- all with a lot of nausea that did not subside over time. With Lexapro I have no nausea. My sex drive is a little lower, but is right back to normal if I skip a pill. Of course, I don't skip more than one day in a row because of the Head Zaps. As others have noted on this site, the Head Zaps from withdrawal are crazy.
Any time I've gone off Lexapro I've eventually decided to go back on, because it works for me. Yes, my emotions are mildly muted, but not much and without Lexapro I'm a reactive basket case! Lexapro also takes care of my irritability. I have to say, my quality of life is much better with this drug -- it has a positive impact on my relationships, work-life, parenting, self-image, mood, anxiety, irritability. I also take Adderall -- this is the second time I've been on an ADD med -- the first was Concerta and I got off of that as soon as I could -- it definitely made my life much more manageable but I couldn't tolerate the "speediness": racing heart, hyper. Adderall has been MUCH better, positive effects without the drawbacks, and works well with my Lexapro.

I am curious about weight gain with this drug. I started taking it in Jan. of 08 and I felt like my metabolism just stopped....my stomach stopped growling but I did still feel slight hunger. I don't know if it's because I had just turned 30 and my metabolism was actually slowing down from age or if the Lexapro did it. I always used to jog and the weight would come off pretty well. But when I was on Lexapro I felt like I could jog and jog and jog and eat right and nothing would happen. Does anyone else have this problem?

I have gained 60 pounds in 6 months since I first started taking Lexapro. I have to admit that this is the first time in my life that I feel happy, care-free and no more worrying all the time. I am bipolar two I think but my doctor is skeptical about the diagnosis since all I ever do is get severely depressed. I was on Lithium and Depakoate 13 yrs ago and then I switched to Topamax and Wellbutrin with a new dr. Life seemed to get 200% better - I lost a ton of weight. 8 yrs later the drugs just weren't working anymore and I switched to the Lexapro and Lamictal. Its seems good but the weight gain is so dramatic that my whole body aches and its just not healthy. I have trouble walking in the morning - getting up, sitting down. Its ridiculous and I am thinking about stopping my meds.

i, too had the head zaps with lexapro. they happened when i stopped taking it and also if i missed a dose. i thought i was the only one who had them and i could never really describe them to anyone else. they sucked though. i also gained about 15-20 lbs on lexapro but i'm not sure if it was related to the meds. when i was on lexapro it kinda made me a sociopath...i didn't really care about anyone or anything. it didn't make me happy or unhappy...just made me not care about anything. i almost ruined my relationship. honestly i never really felt like i needed medication. so i was on it for about a year and one day just decided to stop taking it...not the best idea cuz the withdrawal symptoms were pretty bad. in addition to the head zaps, i had migraines and walked around in a fog for awhile. i was also super cranky bc i stopped taking the Pill at the same time so some of the side effects could have been hormone-related. needless to say i was kind of a mess for a few weeks afterward. but i'm fine now.

withdrawal symptoms after being on it for a few months...severe diarrhea!! And bad headaches

it caused a robotic personality in my husband. he had no empathy and no sex drive. he had cheated on me with a woman who was on prozac herself. I guess they tired of taking drugs together and became bored - no sex, nothing in common. people need to deal with life and get off these type drugs. taking something every now and then is not bad. but a drug that is to be taken everyday to help one cope is another "outlet" and unrealistic. it almost destroyed several families.

I just HAVE to add my story here!! I was on Lexapro 20mg for 2yrs. All was pretty well. It somewhat controlled my anxiety & panic attacks (I have GAD) and it helped stabilize my moods (I am Bipolar), BUT I DIDN'T like that it made it to where I couldn't cry when I wanted to but yet cried at inappropriate times! I basically came to a stand-still with the lexapro and it KILLED my sex drive, so bad that my relationship was at risk (well, thats what I think, cuz no man is happy with NO sex!!) So, I SLOWLY came off them over a month, and even though it was very slowly, the WITHDRAWAL from this drug is just a horrible experience that I hope none of you that are taking now, will ever have to go through what I did!! I seriously thought at one point I was going to die!! I was severely sick for one week-- nausea, vomiting, the runs, hot flashes, cold flashes, the shakes, internal tremors, severe migraines, dizziness when I sat up or stood up, and I got bad electrical zap feelings in my hands & brain (which, even one month & 3 weeks later, I am still having!!) But to you all still on them, I also had weight gain on them, head rushes, dizziness, headaches, internal tremors, and I didn't like that it made me generally dumb!!! Since coming off, I still have the "duhhh" moments, getting less & less, thank goodness, now if only these darn "Zaps" would go away. But yeah, the side effects of this & the withdrawals are HORRIBLE!!! I will never take this again!! So much for newer drugs eh!!

My hubby took Cipralex (Lexapro) for three weeks and one morning he woke up with a serve tremor in his left arm. He stopped taking it but now he is showing more and more signs of Parkinson's. And way faster then normal onset. in less than a month and a half he has lost arm swing on the right side, has internal tremors, no stop tremors on the left arm, left toes curling under....... He is only 33.
Has anyone else had anything like this???

I took Lexapro for about a year and it worked wonderfully for me for about 6 months. It stabilized my moods and helped with my social anxiety. Then I felt like it wasn’t working anymore so my doctor took me off it. We tried something else, got zero results, so I switched back. Again, it worked fabulously for awhile, then stopped. We did the switch again, went back to it, and same thing. This became a nuisance so I’ve gone off and am trying something new but maybe you’ll have more permanent results. I would recommend it for sure. I did have the decreased sex drive though. It literally diminished to nothing, but I'm told that's common with anti-depressants. I also had headaches but I can't swear that to the Lexapro. I would definitely recommend this drug for social anxiety, depression, or bi-polar. I don’t know about other uses for it so can’t give an opinion.

My son, who is 8, has just been prescribed Lexapro. He's only been on it for 2 weeks and is taking only 5mgs. He was diagnosed with depression. The first four days were wonderful. I had my sweet, loving boy back. Since then, a lot of "crap" we have been dealing with is back, but at least the sadness/aggression/temper have not been as bad as before. He is having horrible stomach pains, but could be caused by allergy drainage or possible intestinal problems that have yet to be diagnosed. Anybody out there with a child going through the same thing?

My son was also taking Singular for 8 months last fall and that was a NIGHTMARE! Don't ever allow your child to be prescribed this medicine, especially if they already have behavior issues.

Since being on Lexapro, I have no feelings of anxiety. In fact, I have no feelings at all. I am numb to everything it seems and I have little to no emotion - ever. In addition to being a zombie, I am hungry all of the time and I have no energy to do anything, but rest on the couch. I have been taking Lexapro for about 3-4 years and have gained about 30 pounds. Now that is depressing. I am slowly weaning myself off the drug now. I took 1 pill every other day for a month and now I am taking 1/2 every other day until my prescription is gone. I'm experiencing some additional side effects now. I am having mini panic attacks where my heart will race for about 5-10 minutes, restless legs where I need to keep moving them when I am trying to rest, hot flashes where I will sweat profusely, I'm very irritated at the smallest of occurrences and the most strange side effect that I have not heard of previously is breast soreness - very painful. If anyone else is experiencing the same, please write about it, I would really like to know if this is common, how long it will last and if there is something else (natural) that I can take to help with weaning off Lexapro. Please help!!

i did not gain weight on lexapro

Lightheadedness is occasional, but after being on 30mg. for a week, I experienced muscle twitching in my legs and arms. Went down to 20 mg and they subsided greatly. I have found that lexapro along with wellbutrin is a good combo for my depression and anxiety.

Does anyone notice foggy brain on Lexapro. I can't seem to hold a thought and it's getting scary.

To a small population of people, this drug has an immediate detrimental effect to mood. In my case it caused a strong urge to commit suicide within 5 hours. The doctors all said it was impossible. I was inclined to believe them since these drugs are not meant to be effective for days after treatment initiation. However, my reaction cannot be ignored or dismissed.
The prescribing physician (Robert Moffat, MD in Longmont, Colorado) suggested I try it again because he was so certain it was my problem. I did try it again, and I had the same reaction. And so I filed a complaint against him.

Incidentally, I was not taking this medication for depression. It was for nocturnal panic attacks.

I am not saying people should not try it. I just suggest that FOR THE FIRST 24 HOURS WHEN YOU TAKE THIS MEDICATION YOU SHOULD NOT BE ALONE. It probably works great for some. Also see ******

I have been on Lexapro for a few years now but just until recently have I experienced these side effects that I thought was something serious. But after reading all these comments I feel reassured that its caused from the Lexapro.Head rushes that make me dizzy, and making me sick to my stomach(causing major anxiety) . Another term I have read it head zaps, also true. Hot flashes one time while at work and Im only 30 years old. Major hunger all the time. I rally think my coworkers think Im crazy but not knowing what is making you feel crazy will cause you to panic. My husband has always told me that antidepressants were bad but haven't really notices until now. Im going to try and wein myself off of Lexapro and replace it with exercise. Has anyone else tried to do this?

i was prescribed lexapro 10mgs a day for anxiety and depression following my hysterectomy and after having experienced bad side-effects of prozac 10mgs. my doctor increased it to 20 mgs for more anxiety symptom relief, but i felt horrible. i am back to 10 mgs a day, but i have occasional really bad eye twitching. could this be from the lexapro?

i have been on lexapro for a good while.and when i try to get off of them i have funny tellings in my head.and that worry me.should i be concern.

When I started taking Lexapro I had the light headeness, rapid heartbeats, if I took the pill in the morning I was sleepy all day and if I took it at night I was wide awake. I was told to wait about a month for the drug to be in my system. That all went away. I lost weight while I was on Lexapro. That was my silly pill. It made me hyper and I could drink liquor with out a hangover (not to give anyone ideas!!) The only thing I didn't like about the drug was it makes you go dumb. Things that really bothered me didn't bother me and what I wanted to remember I couldn't remember...I was constantly writing notes down. Besides a silly pill it's a DUH pill.

Steer clear of this drug unless you want to blow up like a hot air balloon! I started taking this in October and by December had gained 15 pounds. Also, I had dizzy spells and hot flashes. Life is soooo much better since coming off of this drug.

I tried Lexapro one time and had a terrible side-effect. It caused me to have a sudden headache and irregular heartbeat for the next 5 hours. I told my doctor about it and she said that the medicine did not cause it. That was the one and only time I had ever felt that way. I didn't try it again to find out for sure. Anyone else ever have a side effect like that from this med?

I am trying to get off Lexapro. I have been on it for 8 months now and don't feel it is really helping me. I continue to feel very anxious daily. Now I have been dizzy for about five days any advise on how to stop feeling this way?

I have been on Lexapro for 8 days now (10mg), will be increasing to 20mg at day 14. I was previously on citalopram and then Cymbalta. I am having a hard time adjusting to the lexapro, I get frequent "head rushes" and feel dizzy and/or nausea for a good part of the day. This makes me not want to do much physical activity (like the workouts I so badly need).

I know this is a common side effect, but has anyone who experienced it in the beginning, noted that it went away after a period of time?

Does anyone else notice a highly increased appetite with Lexapro? I think that it is a good antidepressant drug, but at what cost? I think most of these newer, cleaner, drugs for depression are causing to much of an increased appetite which causes a large weight gain.

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