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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by PHV on October 3, 2003, at 21:08:15
In reply to re: Something smells fishy over here, posted by PHV on October 3, 2003, at 19:36:50
I'm having a follow up w/ my pdoc next week. I'm on 10mg of Lex for depression, 10mg 2x daily Busbar for recent anxiety and .5mg Xanax as needed for anxiety. Prior to Lex - depression had me so exhausted and wiped out every day, all day for nearly two years. Lex brought back my old energy levels - and recently added anxiety to the mix. Since adding Busbar 2 1/2 weeks ago, anxiety seems a little better - but still more frequent than I'd prefer. Any ideas or suggestions on whether or not any adjustments can or should be made to either Lex and/or Busbar to make me a little more even keel all the time? I thought I'd like to hear from others before going in to see the doc next week. As always, your suggestions are welcome! Thanks! Patty
Posted by lil' jimi on October 3, 2003, at 22:00:55
In reply to Re: New to meds/compulsive skin picker, posted by daisylady on October 3, 2003, at 19:32:23
hi daisylady,
over at pBabble alt there is relevent thread at
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20030903/msgs/264649.html
...this url was mentioned:
http://www.alternativementalhealth.com/articles/OCD.htmas a parent, my heart goes out to you and yours ...
i wish i had better help for you ... but i know very little about ocd ...bless you,
~ jim
Posted by cmonfo on October 4, 2003, at 0:38:59
In reply to re: Wellbutrin and Lexapro, posted by ginger C on October 3, 2003, at 16:58:02
i haven't been mixing it w/ anything, i took it for the first time last night and it was just horribal... i smoked a little pot to calm down and went through what was basicaly all of the uncomfortable parts of an acid trip w/out the good stuff.. i didn't take the wellbutrin this morning because i dun trust these meds after that experience...
i'm still feeling a bit wierd in the head (the best analagy i can think of is it's like an overly sweet feeling.. just bad.. like i have honey dripping from my brain..i've tooken 4 other meds in the past... first it was depakote and remeron.. then it was effexor and zyprexa (zyprexa gave me leg twitch that'll probably never go away)... when i took those, i took incredibly small doses.. i'm really sensitive to mind altering drugs of anykind.... so that might be it.
would it be safe to try the wellbutrin once and see if it has any undesirable effects? (even if i haden't tooken lexapro the night before)
Posted by lil' jimi on October 4, 2003, at 0:39:42
In reply to re: compulsion » daisylady, posted by lil' jimi on October 3, 2003, at 22:00:55
for instance ...
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20030903/msgs/265031.html
Posted by lil' jimi on October 4, 2003, at 0:50:49
In reply to re: Wellbutrin and Lexapro, posted by cmonfo on October 4, 2003, at 0:38:59
hi cmonfo,
coincidentally, this was posted just recently at
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030928/msgs/265389.htmlseems i've heard of this 'serotonin toxicity', which i gather resembles an overdose of serotonin (?) maybe?
... ... anyway these events have parallel biochemical mechanisms as those of the psychedelic alkaloids ...check with your doc immediately and get advice on how to avoid making this happen ... good luck to you
take care,
~ jim
Posted by ELENI4 on October 4, 2003, at 0:59:27
In reply to Re: New to meds/compulsive skin picker, posted by daisylady on October 3, 2003, at 19:32:23
> My 18 yr. old daughter was just diagnosed with OCD and depression brought on by her compulsive skin picking on her fingertips and face. She a beautiful girl (former model) and is destroying herself. Doc put her on 10 mg. Lex a month ago and no effects at all. Upped it to 15 mg. and still nothing. Do some people with OCD require a higher dose than those that are simply depressed or suffer anxiety? Any comments would be appreciated.
I have scars all over my legs, arms, face, and torso. However my legs are the worst. The bad part is, they are all from picking. Every doctor I've ever gone to has asked about it, with some initially thinking it was some sort of skin disroder that caused discoloration. Anyway, Prozac and Effexor (not taken during the same period) have both been effective for me in terms of general anxiety and the picking, though Prozac did seem to be more effective. That's just my experience. And I've heard that Mederma will help with any scarring. Maybe Lexapro isn't the drug for her. I know there are a lot on this board who sing its praises, but everyone responds differently, and something else might be more beneficial.
Posted by CtBob on October 4, 2003, at 7:48:31
In reply to Re: Lexapro side-effects, posted by dr. dave on June 19, 2002, at 4:41:27
I was on 25 mg of Paxil CR for 5 months, and it worked very well to alleviate panic attacks and generalized anxiety. However, one side effect was delayed orgasm during sex. My doctor recently recommended that I swtich to Lexapro. He said that it would treat panic attacks and generalized anxiety as well as Paxil but with less sexual side effects. I am currently weaning off of Paxil and starting to take 10 mg of Lexapro.
For those who have swtiched from Paxil to Lexapro: 1.) What have the results been on treating anxiety or panic attacks? 2.) Were sexual side effects improved?
Posted by Kacy on October 4, 2003, at 9:47:04
In reply to Re: Embarassing Question, posted by PHV on October 3, 2003, at 19:01:26
It isn't all the carbs that cause me a problem, Patty. It's white pasta, or it's overprocessed white pasta. Try Eden or Bionaturae whole wheat pastas. They may be at a health food store. I'm avoiding white bread, but what I've eaten with an occasional burger or dinner out at a Italian restaurant hasn't bothered me. I've also had some white pasta when eating out with chicken, salad, and wine without reacting. I don't know if the balance of foods solved the problem. I wasn't getting balanced meals at home when I ate those Lean Cusines and nothing else.
White rice was mentioned as another common trigger. I don't eat it at home and haven't had it eating out, either.
Posted by daisylady on October 4, 2003, at 10:14:06
In reply to Re: New to meds/compulsive skin picker, posted by ELENI4 on October 4, 2003, at 0:59:27
What is the dosage range of Prozac for OCD if you don't mind me asking ELENI4? She sees doc on Tues. so would like to discuss this.
Posted by daisylady on October 4, 2003, at 10:42:58
In reply to re: compulsion ~ daisylady, posted by lil' jimi on October 4, 2003, at 0:39:42
Thanks lil' jimi, there was a lot of information in there! A good thing it's Sat. so I can do some researching.
Posted by ginger C on October 4, 2003, at 10:59:41
In reply to re: Wellbutrin and Lexapro, posted by cmonfo on October 4, 2003, at 0:38:59
I can understand what you mean about being sensitive to drugs. I can't take any type of narcotic because it makes me go nuts and start hallucinating. They gave me percoset a month or so ago for a broken rib and one pill wiped me out of my mind. I was stoned for two days.
Posted by Arrianna on October 4, 2003, at 13:09:28
In reply to Switched from Paxil to Lexapro, posted by CtBob on October 4, 2003, at 7:48:31
ctbob:
1.) What have the results been on treating anxiety or panic attacks?
Lexapro is the first AD that I've ever been on. Been taking 10mg now for 3months for anxiety and panic. For myself, it instantly helped alleviate my anxiety and panic attacks. Though, I experienced some depression during the side effect phase. I've occasionally experienced some mild anxiety with Lex, but nothing compared to before.
2.) Were sexual side effects improved?
Since this is my first AD, I have nothing to compare this to. However, I went through decreased libido, etc. with lexapro for about the first 3-4 weeks. Yet, it is much better now!! Just another side effect that, thankfully, has gone away!!
I hope this works out for you. It's been a blessing for me and many others in the world of lexapro. Hang in there through the se's (if you encounter them), and good luck with the transition!
Arrianna
Posted by Diva Blue on October 4, 2003, at 13:46:37
In reply to Re: New to meds/compulsive skin picker » ELENI4, posted by daisylady on October 4, 2003, at 10:14:06
> What is the dosage range of Prozac for OCD if you don't mind me asking ELENI4? She sees doc on Tues. so would like to discuss this.
Hey. I used to be a skin picker too. Still am -- If I am not really cautious of watching what I am doing. I started off on 20mg prozac when I took prozac...then moved up to 40 mg. In my opinion, Prozac is still one of the best AD's. It worked really really well for me in the past, with NO side effects. The Lexapro is working...although I do have lots of SE's to deal with. The only thing that concerns me is w/ the Lexapro I still dont feel 100% and I see so many of you adding something to the lexapro to make it more effective, such as the buspar and wellbrutin.
It makes me wonder if I should go back on prozac, or add something to the mix....hmmmm?
For your daughter, I would say....have her stay on an AD whichever one her doc says to. Hopefully, she will start getting better and will have more control over the picking.Keep in touch....
Posted by daisylady on October 4, 2003, at 13:53:22
In reply to Re: New to meds/compulsive skin picker, posted by Diva Blue on October 4, 2003, at 13:46:37
One thing we have added that seems to help is Inositol, which is a B vitamin. They've done several studies with depression, anxiety and OCD and have seen results when taken in high doses. We use the powder form and put 3 tsp. in juice twice daily (this amounts to 18g). The cheapest place to buy it is online at iherb.com. Might give it a try since it's something natural.
Posted by PHV on October 4, 2003, at 14:29:51
In reply to Re: Embarassing Question » PHV, posted by Kacy on October 4, 2003, at 9:47:04
Great input Kacy. I really appreciate it. I'm going to check into your suggestions. Thanks. Patty
Posted by theo on October 4, 2003, at 16:06:57
In reply to re: Wellbutrin and Lexapro, posted by cmonfo on October 3, 2003, at 16:34:11
I'm taking Wellbutrin and Lexapro. First of all, I tried Lex by itself a few months ago starting at 10mg and stopped it because of side effects. My new doc told my to try it again with Wellbutrin 150mg, and with the Lex start with 2.5mg (1/4 tablet) for a week then take 5mg (1/2 tablet) for a month and if I feel like I need to, move up to 10mg after that. I'm on week three and have had little side effects at all, matter of fact I noticed this week I'm starting to feel better than I've felt before. I'm currently taking 150mg Wellbutrin XL and 5mg Lexapro and for me this is good. Discuss this with your doc and see what he or she says.
Posted by Francesco on October 4, 2003, at 16:07:29
In reply to Re: New to meds/compulsive skin picker, posted by ELENI4 on October 4, 2003, at 0:59:27
Usually the recomended dose for OCD is higher than the one for depression and you have to wait more (after three months you should have the full effect even if of course some improvement con occur before). All SSRI seem to be good for it (Paxil, Prozac, Luvox, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro) plus the tryciclic Anafranil. Hope this helps
Posted by sekou on October 6, 2003, at 15:10:37
In reply to Anyone switched to Lexapro? « ggrrl, posted by Dr. Bob on June 11, 2002, at 7:52:48
Hi everyone. I just started 10 mgs of Lex for depression. This is day 4. I am a 35 year only female newly diagnosed with major depression. So far I haven't had much difficulty coping with the side fx, but the clenching is quite noticeable and the insomnia. I have periods where I sleep entirely too much or too little because of the agitation. I decided to switch my dose to 2 or 3pm after talking with my doc. Anyway, I feel this is a long road for me. I am already feeling much better, but the irrational thoughts still come and go. I'll keep you posted.
-Sekou
Posted by vandy on October 6, 2003, at 16:03:10
In reply to new on lex, posted by sekou on October 6, 2003, at 15:10:37
Welcome to the club, Sekou!
You're starting a journey that all of us have taken. Someone once explained the mentoring process using an analogy: The novice is in a craft plunging down the rapids while the voice of experience is far up on the bank watching progress. You will hear the voice of experience couselling patience and it's justified, I'm sure. After all, what temporary side effect can hold a candle to chronic depression. You might feel the rapids are too rough and that will be your decision. We are on the bank and you are in the thick of things. But try to remember we've survived the same rapids and can spot obstructions from our vantage point and help you avoid dangers that would be upon you too suddenly to avoid if only viewed at your level. We can also remember the completion of the voyage and the feeling of accomplishment that awaits you. Stick to it. Call for help when you need it. Try not to give up and know that we're here for you to help you through the rapids successfully.
> Hi everyone. I just started 10 mgs of Lex for depression. This is day 4. I am a 35 year only female newly diagnosed with major depression. So far I haven't had much difficulty coping with the side fx, but the clenching is quite noticeable and the insomnia. I have periods where I sleep entirely too much or too little because of the agitation. I decided to switch my dose to 2 or 3pm after talking with my doc. Anyway, I feel this is a long road for me. I am already feeling much better, but the irrational thoughts still come and go. I'll keep you posted.
>
> -Sekou
Posted by lil' jimi on October 6, 2003, at 16:11:48
In reply to new on lex, posted by sekou on October 6, 2003, at 15:10:37
hi Sekou,
thanks for your contribution ... ...
i've been on lex for 7 months ... the last six at 10mg (couldn't handle 10mg at first, so i wnet to 5mg for a month, then to 10) ...
all of my SEs went away by week two and a half ... well maybe the sweating episodes lasted another couple of weeks ...
... but my 1st week, even at my reduced dose, was a doozy .... but lexapro has been very effective medicine for me and every discomfort has been worth it ... ... ...... i'm "diagnosed" (no pdoc) as 'depressed' ...
should your SEs get uncomfortable, try posting about them here ... especially if it helps you feel better ... ... that's what we're here for
....
... and even if they don't ... post here long and often anyway ... ... if it can be good for you, it's good for us!take care and let us hear from you,
~ jim
Posted by galkeepinon on October 6, 2003, at 16:24:03
In reply to new on lex, posted by sekou on October 6, 2003, at 15:10:37
Hi and welcome! I had insomnia the first few weeks on Lexapro. I take 10mg. It passed. In the meantime, I took OTC sleeping meds, it helped and I had no side effects from them. It's a long road with Lex for some, but it is so well worth it!!!!
There are many success stories here on it.
Even after almost 3 months, I still clench my jaw, I just try to become more aware of it to stop it.
I wish you the best and we're all here for you!
Hang in there and keep posting:-)
Kristen
> Hi everyone. I just started 10 mgs of Lex for depression. This is day 4. I am a 35 year only female newly diagnosed with major depression. So far I haven't had much difficulty coping with the side fx, but the clenching is quite noticeable and the insomnia. I have periods where I sleep entirely too much or too little because of the agitation. I decided to switch my dose to 2 or 3pm after talking with my doc. Anyway, I feel this is a long road for me. I am already feeling much better, but the irrational thoughts still come and go. I'll keep you posted.
>
> -Sekou
Posted by Peter on October 6, 2003, at 19:39:48
In reply to Anyone switched to Lexapro? « ggrrl, posted by Dr. Bob on June 11, 2002, at 7:52:48
Hi all:
Well, today marks my day 32 total on lex - day 26 on 10mg (started on 5mg for first 6 days). It's been a rough journey, and, honestly, I can't say for sure that I've had any 'breakthrough' succesful response(s) yet.
But I think I'm feeling better; it's harder to notice since it's really a process, and it's easy to forget how lousy I felt before beginning lex in the first place.
I think it's been proven to me that my pdoc was correct in saying that my moderate/high 40mg adderall dose that I was already taking when I began lex might have had some wierd synergistic effects with the lex, causing some kind of 'masking' of the lex therapeutic effects. His instructions for me to reduce the adderall 5mg every 4th day were very practical, in that the ultimate goal of such a reduction would at least give me a better, more accurate assesment of whether I was responding well to the lexapro, and, for that matter, whether many of the SE's were being caused by a synergy between the adderall+lexapro or the lex alone. I'm down to 20mg adderall daily now, and I must say I have less overall anxiety, social phobia, and mood lability (I'm crossing my fingers). But I have yet to really put the lex to the test by actively going out to parties or meeting new people, etc. This is as much a psychological problem for me as a biological one, so it might take some time to get over some of these hurdles that were formed through my years of depression and anxiety. Mind you, again, I don't consider myself (yet!) to have experienced the full benefits of the lex, but the very fact that the SE's that were really bothering me before are gone is an attestment to the lex somewhat working, as, all in all, my mood seems better - at least in terms of my no longer (thank God) falling into such awful depths of depression during which I am rendered utterly debilitated and paralyzed in every area of my life. But in terms of the comorbid problems of social anxiety, anticipatory anxiety, etc.. for these there is still room for improvement. And I gotta say that although I'm not falling into those horrible, deep depressive states, my mood in general can use some improvement.
My next pdoc appt. is on Wednesday; we finished our last session with hs telling me to reduce the adderall, and I have. He said that if my mood is not recognizably improved, we would take the next step of increasing the lex dose. However, I'm concerned about doing this. The lexapro prescribing info that describes the outcomes of the various placebo-controlled trials state that those groups who took 20mg lexapro experienced DOUBLE the SE's than the placebo and 10mg lex groups; it also states that there was no real evidence that the 20mg group experienced more therapeutic effects than did the 10mg group. But, on the other hand, I've heard from many posters that they increased from 10mg and experienced a profound increase in therapeutic effects. But if the stats are correct, do I really want to, by increasing the dose, risk double the side-effects (the ones I just recently got over were bad enough in and of themselves) with a chance of not experiencing any increase in therapeutic effects? I'm confused as to what to do. I liked the news on the lex site from September that lex was proven as effective for major depression as Effexor, with a much lower incidence of SE's and dropout. This was encouraging, as it was really a toss up between lex and effexor, and once I began lex, I sort of regretted not going the route of a dual-NT med like effexor (SNRI). So this news was encouraging; but the stats in the lex prescribing info on the 20mg group vs. the 10mg group was not encouraging, and I'm even wondering if I've given the lex a long anough trial as it is (4-5 weeks) and that maybe I should just switch to another AD. Even with other SSRI's, I not only experienced therapeutic effects within the first 3 weeks, but I noticed these effects even through mountains of other meds, including adderall, that I took simultaneously with the SSRI's. For instance, I began prozac when I was already taking adderall, strattera, and lamictal, and, once the therapeutic effects kicked in (improved mood, lessened anxiety, better sleep/wake cycles, etc.), I noticed them very profoundly even though I was taking all those other meds at the same time. Yet now my pdoc has had me reduce the adderall to see if I notice the lex benefits any better - so you see? It just seems iike, if the lex were REALLY working, I would have noticed it regardless of the dose of adderall I was taking with it. So I'm just wandering if me and my pdoc are really kidding ourselves and denying that lex just isn't working for me as well as it should. I don't know - stick with the lex even longer, increase the dose in spite of the discouraging prescribing info stats, or switch AD's? What do you all think?
much appreciated,
Peter
Posted by JohnR on October 6, 2003, at 21:17:40
In reply to new on lex, posted by sekou on October 6, 2003, at 15:10:37
I was also just was diagnosed and started taking Lex six days ago. I'm a 36 year old single male. My stomach has been a little upset since I started but I'm not sure if that's related.
Unfortunately I also now understand what is meant by the 'delayed ejaculation' side effect. It's a real bummer. I hope that problem gets better over the next week or two.
The good news is overall I feel better.Good luck Sekou.
John
> Hi everyone. I just started 10 mgs of Lex for depression. This is day 4. I am a 35 year only female newly diagnosed with major depression. So far I haven't had much difficulty coping with the side fx, but the clenching is quite noticeable and the insomnia. I have periods where I sleep entirely too much or too little because of the agitation. I decided to switch my dose to 2 or 3pm after talking with my doc. Anyway, I feel this is a long road for me. I am already feeling much better, but the irrational thoughts still come and go. I'll keep you posted.
>
> -Sekou
Posted by lil' jimi on October 6, 2003, at 22:22:12
In reply to Checking in..., posted by Peter on October 6, 2003, at 19:39:48
hi Peter,
i'm thinking that we have a confusion here that we should clear up for you ...
you write:
> He said that if my mood is not recognizably improved, we would take the next step of increasing the lex dose. However, I'm concerned about doing this. The lexapro prescribing info that describes the outcomes of the various placebo-controlled trials state that those groups who took 20mg lexapro experienced DOUBLE the SE's than the placebo and 10mg lex groups; it also states that there was no real evidence that the 20mg group experienced more therapeutic effects than did the 10mg group. But, on the other hand, I've heard from many posters that they increased from 10mg and experienced a profound increase in therapeutic effects. But if the stats are correct, do I really want to, by increasing the dose, risk double the side-effects (the ones I just recently got over were bad enough in and of themselves) with a chance of not experiencing any increase in therapeutic effects? I'm confused as to what to do. >... now i respect that you do have several irons in the fire about your options here ...
... i am addressing only one of your considerations ...
... but i feel this is a case of comparing apples to oranges ...the study's statistics comparing 10 mg's to 20 mg's side-effects have to be comparing groups who start out at 10mg versus 20mg respectively ...
i see this as too far a reach to be compared to a single user going from 10mg to 20mg ...
... because this amounts to comparing the SEs of someone going from zero to 20mg ...
... to the SEs of someone going from 10mg to 20mg ...i feel these are not analogous
... on a theoretical model level, it stands to reason that, after having 10mg of lexapro prime the neurochemical pump, so to speak, one's NTs are well on their way to adaptation to lexapro and one has acheieved half the struggle toward a 20mg dose already ... in this view it would be expected that the SEs from going from 10mg to 20mg would be half those of going from 0mg to 20mg ...
... in terms of the reports from our posters who have increased their dosage from 10mg to 20mg, there has been a very consistent pattern with few exceptions, that the 10 to 20 adaptation SEs are very minor compared to the original adaptation from beginning at 10mg ... these reports would suggest that these 10 to 20 SEs are trivial compared to the initial SEs and easily much much less that half the original start up SEs ...long story short: i do not believe that possible SEs from increasing to 20mg should be nearly that much of a factor in your considerations ...
... i had similar SEs when i went up to 10mg from 5mg compared to when i started out at 10mg (for one day) and then went to 5mg (0 to 10 one day, to 5 for a month) ... similar in the sense that they were very like the quality of the initial SEs ... but i'd say not even a 10th the serverity and maybe half as long ...
just to give you a little more to chew on there with the ol' pdoc ...
and thanks for checking in!
take care,
~ jim
Posted by dannielle on October 6, 2003, at 22:51:39
In reply to Re: Lexapro and Nausea » blkvettes, posted by DC on May 23, 2003, at 16:54:06
just began taking Lexapro for Panic Disorder, and it makes me extremely nauseated and seemed more panicky after a week of taking it. Not sure if I was just nauseated and that made me THINK it was the drug, thus, causing panic, or the drug itself... HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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