Welcome to our room! Here is a place to introduce yourself, and welcome other new members.

Welcome to the Celexa® (Citalopram) / Lexapro®/Cipralex® (escitalopram) forum! Please feel free to post a bit about yourself so we can get acquainted.

Read around the room as there is a wealth of information on Cymbalta even on the back pages and you may also add a reply to any topic that fits what is on your mind!
If you don't find what you are looking for, go ahead and post here in this welcome thread or feel free to start your own Topic..

Looking forward to getting to know you!

Hello.  I am 27 and have a approx 14 yr hx of depression.  recently my new pdoc suggested i may actually be bp(?).  i thought i had it all figured out now not sure what to think.. (yeah right)!
I am home with my 2 daughters, 2 and 8.
I started Lexapro 6 days ago.  I have been ok for the last 3yrs and on no meds, then my pdoc retired... in the past id been thru zoloft, paxil, prozac, celexa, wellbutrin, effexor, various benzo's (klonopin, valium, etc), zyprexa, seroquel, cogentin, and possibly some others as far as psych meds.  nothing has helped and ive had all the side effects in the book.  right now i've had a horrible headache since i started the lex., plus no appetite, food tastes bad, nausea, feeling like im sufocating, yawning, agitation, and insomnia.  ok, im done complaining... i just want to feel better!

(((((Mel)))))
I want you to feel better, too! And if talking about it here helps, then talk away.
I'm sorry you're being hit hard with the side-effects. Does your doc know how what's going on? Maybe a dose adjustment (I'm very sensitive to drug SEs, and usually start at a lower-than-normal dosage), or adding on a sleep aid would help for a little while.
I'm hoping that the Lexapro turns out to be your wonder drug, and that the SEs lessen quickly for you.
Let us know how you're doing.

Hi! I have been on lexapro since March. I was only at 10 mgs until a montha go when I went up to 15mgs. I was hospitalized on the 6th of July( just got out today) and they upped the dose to 30mgs. Havn't had any side effects at all. Its already helping.  :D   Love Lex!!!!!   :love:

Lynn,
Welcome home!
I'm so glad to hear that you're doing so well. I hope each day sees you feeling better and better...

hi i am on 40mg of citalopram everyday, i have been taking it for about six months, for the first 2 and a half months when i was fiddling with dosage i felt no change but over the time the drug has helped me to the extent that i feel much more awake after a D*** long sleep. i have no side effects except um, prolonged ejaculation...? i am happy with my progress on the drug, i have only just started going to therapy but i already feel as if i dont really need it.

Welcome to DF, bawtree3.
I hope you'll be patient and give therapy some time, as you did with the Celexa. Most of the talk I hear from others, plus my own personal experience, is that in the long run meds and therapy together are more effective than either alone.

Hi, I am not really new to this board, but I felt I should introduce myself.  I am Katie and I am 20 years old with a dx of Bipolar II, OCD, ADHD, and anxiety disorders.  Celexa has been one of the best AD's for me.  Being bipolar, it has the potential to make me a little hypomanic so we are always adjusting doses.  It has been about 4 years since I first tried it.  I did a trial run of Lexapro, but I got so agitated that I went back to Celexa.

Katie :sleepy:

I am on 20mgs of Celexa now for 4 days only and the nausea is really bad :verysad3: but I'm very hopeful that it will subside after a while.

I'm happy to see people here noticing positive effects of celexa!

Welcome, _amante_
I hope you quickly join the people who experience positive effects from Celexa.
(And always nice to re-welcome you, Katie!)

Hey there I started LExapro today after trying Wellbutrin for a few weeks.  (It didnt seem that bad compared to how Ive felt today)  Started with a Seroquel before bed last night and a Lex this morn and then  I felt bugged out all day and didnt want to do anything just needed to keep my mind busy so watched tv and spaced out.

spaceboy,
Sending healing thoughts your way - I hope you're feeling better soon. Please let us know how you're doing.

Hello this will be my second try with lexapro.  I quit in January when I felt better and didn't have the money to refill the precrition anymore.  I am no on day 4 10mg,  hope I can feel as good as last time.  I very much isolating myself to my room, not eating hardly anything.  I just want to be funcitional againl

Wish everyone luck  Melissa

Welcome to the Room, Mel!,

I've been on lexapro for over a year, and find it's a good med for depression and anxiety.  Hope you have a gentle journey through the start-up, and begin to feel better soon.  Join us down below.  I'll be looking for you!

                                             Jackie  

That is good to hear.  I hope it works that well for me. I tend to be a very impatient person when it comes to taking meds.  They just don't seem to work fast enough and I am falling fast.

Melissa :sniffle1:

:blues:  :D I hate feeling so lonley and depressed.  I think the only thing that is keeping me from crying is all the meds I am taking.  I hope to wake up tomorrow and at least get out of bed.  I am dying inside.

Melissa

Oh My!,

Depression is a diffficult illness to deal with.  Please take it easy on yourself.  Remember, you are dealing with a chemical illness, and meds help balance your brain chemistry.  Hopefully you'll feel better, soon.  In the meantime, keep posting.  You have people here to give you support and let you know that you are not alone in this.

                                      (((((((((((((((Mel)))))))))))

                                                                    Love, Jackie  

Hello... Just started 10 mg Lex this week and am feeling better ... just a few se's like nausea after a meal and feeling foggy. But at least I don't feel like I'm jumping outta my skin anymore! Now I'm bored and wanna DO something, instead of hiding all day.

So far so good....

SW

Glad to see you here at DF, scarletworld!
How wonderful that the Lexapro is kicking in so quickly. I hope you continue feeling better each day.

Melissa, you just hang in there - hopefully, the Lexapro will help you feel better soon. And keep talking to us - we care.

wigswest,

Welcome to the forums.  I use Lexapro, and it does make me a little laid-back, but not zonked.  I'm not on Abilify but know a little about that med, and it sounds like it may be the initial effects.....  He might want to tell his doctor about how it is effecting his life.  If his business suffers, this makes it a problem, right?

Be sure to visit the Bi Polar room ,too.  Lots of fine people posting there, and they might have some experience with Abilify....Also look into the 'other meds' room.  I know Abilify is discussed there.

                                                 Jackie  

I think I am goin die my husband quit his job yesterday without lining up a new one and I am panicking big time.  Just when I thought things couldn't get worse this happens.  I have now been taking lexapro for 9 days not up to my normal self yet but working on it.  Just hope I can get it since he is quitting his job.  Thanks for all the support.    ((Melissa)) :(

Please take care, Melpointy.  If you need to, post in MNESN.  Keep taking your meds.  You will feel better in the longrun.  Let us know how it's going.

                                                         Love, Jackie  

Sorry to hear that you've just gotten bad news, melpointy.
I can totally relate. My hubby doesn't have a real job and I've been our primary support since the beginning of this year--doesn't seem to want to get one anytime soon   (that's another forum)

jkm is right, keep taking the lex. ive been on it for just over a week, and feel much much better. The med (at least for me) gives some distance for those tough life situations that hit from left field. Just 2 wks ago I was having horrible anxiety probs, and the lex has really mellowed me out. Now I can think about my problems, rather than have my body take control.  Good luck to you!
SW

Thanks JKM and Scarlet I have been on lexapro for almost 2 weeks.  I go through spurts of it lifting though anxiety is still terrible.  My husband ending up taking his job back and his boss apologized to him and so on... That at least takes a little of my chest.  

Unfortunetly I don't work right now I am on SSDI and have been so for a little over 3 years.  It is so weird that I seem to get the major depression in the summer rather then the winter..  I am all screwed up.  It is good to hear your anxiety is better.  It is really a killer.  I also struggle with SI when I get so anxious that I feel like I am going to explode but that is a whole nother story.  

I am really glad I found you guys. .  No matter how I am feeling I try to at least turn my computer on once a day.  Sorry it has been a few days.  Its been pretty tough.  Hope Ya all are doing Good.  See my PDoc on the 3rd I am going to see if he will up the Lexapro to 20mg.

take care
Melissa :)

Melissa,
We're glad you found us, too! Good news about your husband's job  :D
If the anxiety is really bad, you might talk to your doc about temporarily adding on an anti-anxiety med, like a benzo, to help you past the rough spots. Sorry you're having a tough time. And I hope you feel better soon...

Mel, it's good to hear that your husband got his job back! That's wonderful news. I'm sorry that that lex isn't working so well for your anxiety yet. But it's been just a cpl weeks, and from what my tdoc says, it can take up to a month to get the anxiety under control. Although I am extremely happy with the lex, I managed to have 2 long anxiety episodes yesterday and today, but it was much muted than before. Maybe something else in the meantime will work for you until its fully working. Lex and Trazadone are the only 2 I have ever taken, so can't offer much advice on alternatives--sorry. I wish you luck, tho, and please keep us posted!

Take care, Mel!

Scarlet

Nice to here back from you guys.  I had a panic attack last night but today is much better, hope u all are OK.

I take trileptal and Seroquel as well for my moods.  My Pdoc is a stickler with Benzos but my hubby can get a few ativans from his doc so I'll just see how it goes for the next week or so.

Have a Nice Weekend

Melissa

I took Ativan with my lexapro to control the anxiety attacks.  Too bad you can't get a script for it, and it really help with the waiting period of getting enough med in youur system to get the attacks under control.  I was also on buspar, but it takes a couple of weeks to feel the benefits, and it actually increased my anxiety if I took it during the daytime, so I took it and night so I could stay asleep.  I hear Seroquel is good for this, too.

Scarlet,

I know exactly what you are talking about with the depression and anxiety making your thoughts race.  I couldn't think through problems, concentrate enough to read or watch movies.  I could sit still, but my mind was    :mad1:  I remember trying out a new recipe to get my mind refocused off the symptoms, and I had to read every step through  about 3 times to make sure I didn't miss anything.  What a terrible experience!  I noticed within 2 weeks that the anxiety  attacks were much weaker, and easier to breathe through, or divert my attention from with distraction.  What a relief that was!!!  Lexapro is really a good med for me!

                                                         Jkm  

Does anyone else have problems with Naseau and loss of appetite on Lexapro.  I have not been able to eat a whole lot because my stomach feels so queesy!  I drink a glass of milk and sometimes that helps but not always.  

JKM  I had the same problem with the crazy head last night for an hour I could not focus my thoughts were racing.  Is this how you felt?  I think it just takes time for the med to adjust in your brain.  I also get very obsessive thoughts at times and I can not get that thought of my mind for nothing.  I am driving myself INSANE.  I keep telling myself these Side Effects will pass and I wil feel normal again.  Hopefully.

Distraction is good.  I plan on going over my papers that I did when I was in Dialetical behavior therapy last year.  Helps with refocusing your thoughts and behaviors etc...

hope everyone is doing Good.  

Melissa :p

Yes, I was nauseated when I started lexapro and that went away but I still don't have an appetite.  I've lost some weight but I could stand to lose a little so I'm not worried.  I try to eat healthy and just make myself eat some things.  Fruit seems to go down the best or yogurt (low carb).  I try to watch my carbs but I don't limit them extensively like some do.  It's worked very good for me.  I don't feel like cooking but I do anyway.  I'm making hamburgers with low carb bread and a nice salad tonight.  I'll eat a little but not much.  I usually eat eggs or low carb cereal for breakfast.  I marinate and grill a lot of vegetables on the grill.  

Sorry, didn't mean this to turn into a diet thing.  To each his own.

Mel,

Most people have side-effects;  stomachache for the first couple  of weeks, headaches, and jaw clenching...  I know I was on stomach meds from my doc because I lost 10% of my body wieght before I got into treatment, and couldn't afford to.  I had a mild headache with all the anxiety to start with, and it got worse for awhile, then went away.  I slept a lot the first week, as there wasn't much that I felt like doing because of my concentration being poor.  After that, I started to read again for relaxation.  I does come back.  I had the obsessive thoughts.....It's from anxiety and gets to the point where you can identify what is obsessive, and kick it out.

I had days with the mind racing, and it went away as quickly as it started, with the Lexapro.  I initially was dx.'d with panic dsorder and was one wound up chick.  I hope I never get to that point, again.

I haven't gained anymore over my regular weight with Lexapro, but am real active, and have problems maintaining weight.   I'm the kind of person who has to remind myself to eat.

Hang in there.  You're not loosing your mind.  You are having symptoms of anxiety and it will go away.

                                                              Love,  Jackie  

Hi everyone,

I am 31 years young and I am on Celexa 20mg so far for a week and a half.  I have been on this before after a bad divorce about 4 years ago and now I am on it for anxiety ... who knows maybe some underlying depression.  I currently get muscle tension especially in my tmj and I am hoping that I will feel good again soon.  I had tmj before I was on the celexa but that is probably because of all the stress in my life.  Hoping things will get better    ???

I've been treated for tmj, and it gets worse with anxiety regardless of being on meds or not.  Most Lex users agree it gets worse with this med.  You can get a cheap mouth gard for about $20.  at the drugstore, if it gets so bad it causes you headaches.  I'm currently dealing with a ton of stress, and I've 'woken up with a numb lip, not to mention the headache.  I'm trying muscle relaxers, and find it doesn't help much.  Arrg!  Go away TMJ!  I've been on Lex for over a year at 10mg.  May have to go back on anxiety meds before it's over.....  Motrin is probably the most helpful thing for the sore neck muscles.  Lex  takes awhile before it gets the anxiety down, but works faster than most on the depression, from my experience...  Usually anxiety and depression go hand in hand.

                                                                  Jkm    

                                                                     :hearts:

Yes yes!  TMJ just go away.   I agree that TMJ gets worse witht the more anxiety.  My anxiety is getting better and as a result my tmj is starting to relax.  I know that one of the things that helps my anxiety is taking action.  Usuually if something is bothering me I feel better if I do something about it so I don't have to worry about it anymore.  Decisions have to be made, no inbetweens.  When I don't know what to do I ask as many people as I can for help and their opinions then I make a decision.  I like to feel like I am making progress in life and that is what makes me happy and that is what helps decrease my anxiety.  I like to be certain I know that I am in control of my life.  Hmmm .  I have recently moved in withy my sister and have helped her finish her basement and she is happy so that has made me feel good.  Still I can feel the celexa bother my tmj when I first take it but I am thinking it is not bothering it as much now.  

JKM - Maybe you should try 20mg.  Maybe you still have too much stress which causes you to have too much anxiety and this will not allow your mind to relax your TMJ enough.  Just a thought.  I am currently on 20mg, 2nd week.  Also make sure you eat a good diet.  Search on the net to see what to take for TMJ.  I take a complex b, multi vitamin, magnesium, cal-mag, and vit c almost every day.  Take care!

the guy,

Everytime I tried to go up on the Lexapro, even at 15mg., the side effects were horrendous.  I only weigh 97lbs., and it doesn't take much to throw my system in a tizzy.  I was on paxil at 10mg. a couple of years, and had to take it down to 5mg. after 2 mo., as it  made me too drowsy while I was at work...not good!

I'm trying to get my three children settled in school.  Everyday it's $$ or transportaation problems.  After things calm down, that will be one less thing to deal with.  My Father is very ill, also.  I can't do much to change most of the stressors, and they aren't bothering me at the magnitude they were in the past, thanks to meds.  If it starts to increase my symptoms, I won't hesitate to see my doc.  Thanks for your concern.

                                                              Jackie    :mad1:

I agree about stress being the cause of tmj.  I was really stressed out today and my tmj just tightened up like crazy and gave me head pains.  I am only 2 weeks on celexa so I hope I can calm down soon plus I think the celexa also affects the tmj itself.  I feel as stressed as this little guy does  

I have developed an awareness about the tension in my jaw and  neck  muscles, and try to watch that I'm remembering to relax throughout the day.  One way I do this is to remember when I look at one of my rings, to go ahead and relax.  I also watch what I'm eating when this gets bad, so I'm not making it worse by eating foods that have to be chewed.......

I do my best to become aware when I am tensing my tmj muscles especially since my sinuses are affected .  I try to eat healthy as well and keep my posture the best I can but I tend to slouch a lot as I work with computers every day.  I am going to try to close my eyes and meditate to relax my mind and hopefully to release facial tension.

Hi, my name is Tim and for the first time in my life I feel like I can't go on.My relationship with my wife is breaking down and I have two small children. I have been prescribed Citprolam and have taken it over 10 days , but it seems to be making me feel more hopeless, especially within a couple of hours of administration.I don't know whether its my depression which is making me feel so down or the side effects of the medication.
Please help.

Tim

(((((Tim)))))
Welcome to DF!
I'm so sorry you're going through this! Depression takes it's toll on all aspects of our lives, and relationships feel the strain. Try to hang in there - it can take a while for the anti-depressant effect to kick in. Keep your doctor informed. Chances are you'll need to give the Celexa a little more time, but there are always options. Don't give up.
Meanwhile, keep posting and let us know how you're doing.