Quote:
Originally Posted by joe Biggs
my doc wants to put me on lexapro or zoloft (we mentioned both but will be on either or soon) and i want to know what the side effects are before taking them so Plow id appreciate if u elaborated.
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I def. do not recommend Lexapro ..i dont knwo abot zoloft as ive never had it. The thing is, if you want to be on lexapro, be prepared to be a lifer on it cause its not easy to give up and can become extremley difficult to function without it if you develop a dependency on it....
I went on Lexapro after serious thought thinking id benefit from it. I was young though so a lot of it was just me going to doctor appointments. These were basically 15 minute sessions (i doubt a single one lasted even that long) where a psychiatrist asks you a few questions and laughs and jokes and then writes a perscription for whatever drug is the flavor of the month. Id have these appointments every 3-12 months.
The week i started taking it i felt less depressed...but i think that was placebo. Being where im at today in my life i pretty much know i wasnt depressed at all. Wrongly diagnosed. It was probably mostly just hormones. I noticed id start getting these "electrical flashes" or pulses through my body every time i moved my eyes from side to side. This was only helped when i was bumped to 20 mg a day once a day, (and recently discovered, smoking pot helps the naseua and some of the pulsing) until i finally decided i was going ot just stop cold turkey. This was because i felt jaded and hazy (and not from pot...i was smoking on and off during this time and until only recently have i begun to smoke massive amounts). My moods didnt seem to fluctuate normally anymore. It was mostly just a plataue of feeling jaded and hazy and no real excitement or anything. So i quit taking them cold turkey when my last perscription ended.
*Warning- stupid idea. No matter how much you want to get off lexapro you should always consult your doctor before doing so. Side effects are serious and sometimes deadly (i.e. Siezures). And side effects can last up to 8 weeks which also includes extreme depression and a sense of hopelessness and end of world type feelings. Some people take as long as 3 months to ween themselves off with minor side effects.
Anyway i quit and had horrible side effects and now in some situations i dont know how to handle a lot of emotions that i simply suppressed in early life because lexapro seemed to make me feel like nothing was wrong but it was more just jaded feeling.
My advice is there are more avanues than i think many people are willing to pursue to stay healthy emotionally. We're force fed from news anchors about depression and mental illnessess and we see drugs advertised that help these illnessess and fail to realize that talking to people, finding a hobby or something you can always do no matter what, and exercise can really help lift peoples moods. Even a change of scenery. Moving somewhere you want to be, changing careers etc.