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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by shadows721 on December 9, 2003, at 12:58:01
I am currently on Lexapro for anxiety and depression. Doc recommended Effexor. I said that I wanted to think about it. Doc said Effexor is the best drug out there for depression and anxiety. Does anyone have experience on this?
Posted by moose100 on December 9, 2003, at 13:07:20
In reply to Effexor vs Lexapro, posted by shadows721 on December 9, 2003, at 12:58:01
> I am currently on Lexapro for anxiety and depression. Doc recommended Effexor. I said that I wanted to think about it. Doc said Effexor is the best drug out there for depression and anxiety. Does anyone have experience on this?
Effexor works for me. My anxiety is nothing like it once was. Your mileage may differ, of course. I am in my ninth week at 150mg and could not be more pleased. So is my family. Has Lexapro stopped working for you? Did it ever work in the first place? Or does your doc want to just put you on something different.
Posted by ronn on December 9, 2003, at 13:07:32
In reply to Effexor vs Lexapro, posted by shadows721 on December 9, 2003, at 12:58:01
I am a mother of 2 little ones, 4 & 7. I have a very stressful career as an insurance agent. After years of not wanting to take anything for depression and anxiety, my doc suggested effexor. Doc said that is was also one of the best out there "less side effects". I have been on 75mg for 3 weeks and I am still waiting to wake up a sane person. I have heard good and bad about the drug and that it works for some. I will stick it out a couple more weeks and let you know any positive effects. I would also be interested in any responses to shadows721's post as this is all new to me. Good luck to ya!!
Posted by shadows721 on December 9, 2003, at 21:29:28
In reply to Re: Effexor vs Lexapro, posted by moose100 on December 9, 2003, at 13:07:20
Lexapro is helping the depression, but my anxiety is a really big issue. Doc thought that I wouldn't have to take the buspar, neurontin, and the Klonopin to help the anxiety if I took Effexor. I just don't know about that. I really don't like that Effexor has such a short half life. I don't like that people have to go thru Hell to get off of it. I am on 5 mg of Lexapro and the doc doesn't want to increase it. He says this is the best you are going to get unless you try Effexor. He thinks Effexor is the best drug out there.
Posted by brussell on December 9, 2003, at 22:12:06
In reply to Re: Effexor vs Lexapro, posted by shadows721 on December 9, 2003, at 21:29:28
> Lexapro is helping the depression, but my anxiety is a really big issue. Doc thought that I wouldn't have to take the buspar, neurontin, and the Klonopin to help the anxiety if I took Effexor. I just don't know about that. I really don't like that Effexor has such a short half life. I don't like that people have to go thru Hell to get off of it. I am on 5 mg of Lexapro and the doc doesn't want to increase it. He says this is the best you are going to get unless you try Effexor. He thinks Effexor is the best drug out there.
This doesn't sound right to me. You should definitely try a higher dose of lexapro before you give it up. The literature says that 10mg is the normal target dose. You can go up to 20mg/day, but 10mg/day seems to be what works for most people.Effexor does seem to work for a lot of people, and a psychiatrist whom I respect told me it was probably the best AD out there.
I tried it, and I felt like I had taken a horrible street drug. I felt numb, stoned, and all my emotions were wrong. I'm starting an MAOI now, after getting bad or no results from nearly every current-generation AD.
The moral of the story is that everyone is different, and that you should make sure you give lexapro an honest trial before moving on.
Best Wishes
Posted by Bill LL on December 10, 2003, at 9:31:35
In reply to Effexor vs Lexapro, posted by shadows721 on December 9, 2003, at 12:58:01
Is your combo- Lexapro, Buspar, etc working for you? If it is, why would you switch. If it worked before but is now less effective, increase the dose of Lexapro.
It's very common for these drugs to only work for a while, then you need a dose increase. You may need several increases in the course of a few years. I now take 30 mg of Lexapro and I'm doing very well.
On the other hand, Effexor, like Lexapro, is very safe and effective.
Posted by Patient on December 11, 2003, at 14:19:56
In reply to Re: Effexor vs Lexapro, posted by shadows721 on December 9, 2003, at 21:29:28
Hi,
I started taking 5mg Lexapro in February, along with 200mg carbamaxepine (anticonvulsant used as mood stabiliser). My doc switched me from 20mg Celexa to this combination because I was still experiencing irritability and mood swings prior to period (PMS). I didn't notice much help from the carbamazepine, so after a month stopped taking it. I took 5mg Lexapro in the mornings and by late aft. to early evenings I felt anxious and slightly irritable, enough to where I would end up having a glass of wine or taking 0.5mg lorazepam (Ativan), which helped much. I didn't like doing this, so I tried taking 10mg Lexapro, which only made me more anxious in evenings-tried splitting dose to 5mg mornings and 5mg in mid-to late afternoons-it didn't cause anxiety effect, but was no better than 5mg. I would say that for me, the 5mg Lexapro was weaker in results than when I took 20mg of Celexa, plus a bit less sedating. After a few months I added Wellbutrin SR 100mg to 5mg of Lexapro, and what a difference-I felt ten times better. For me, the Wellbutrin made me feel calm up until evening. I had no need for a glass of wine or a benzo drug, in fact, the thought of drinking a glass of wine was a turn off. Anyway, I just wanted to share my experience. Most people do not respond this was to Wellbutrin-especially if one suffers from panic attacks-it usually is stimulating and can cause increase in anxiety-besides ringing in ears and insomnia. I was surprised that it made me feel calm. Just my experience. In a way, taking an SSRI, excluding Prozac, with Wellbutrin, is similar to how Effexor works-a reuptake inhibitor of serotonin, norepinphrine, and dopamine. As somone else suggested though, you should give Lexapro a chance and possibly consider increasing to 10mg daily. I would also suggest dropping the BuSpar-for most cases it causes anxiety rather than decreases it-talk to your doctor about this and read up about how these drugs work.
Posted by Bill LL on December 11, 2003, at 14:49:01
In reply to Re: Effexor vs Lexapro or Lexapro with Wellbutrin, posted by Patient on December 11, 2003, at 14:19:56
My expreience is similar to Patient's. I was on just Lexapro 30 mg until 2 weeks a go. Then my doc added Wellbutrin 100 mg. The reason for adding Wellbutrin was because of ADD type symptoms. I complained at first about the WEllbutrin because it made me hyper in the past when I took it with Prozac. But the doc said that with 30 mg Lexapro, the Wellbutrin should not make me hyper this time. (Prozac itself is stimulating). He said that I probably needed some extra dopamine to go with the serotonin. This is what Patient was referring to when he said that a Lexapro/WEllbutrin combo is similar to Effexor.
The combo is working very well and I am able to concentrate better (so far).
This is the end of the thread.
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