Escitalopram

[Unclear1]

Hi

I am still sticking to my vitamins but feel lately like I need an extra lift as I am having a really tough time coping. My doc put me on 10mg escitalopram yesterday. I have heard it is good for obsessive compulsive disorder. So far I have felt nausea but the doc said I probably would and manic episodes and have felt a little drunk and slurred my words. Has anyone ever tried escitalopram or know anything about it?

[piuma]

hmmm no sorry, im on citalopram, are they related maybe? have you searched net? xx

[Missfit]

I'm on it but not for OCD, I take 20mg per day & it's fine, I don't think I get any side effects. If you need to know anything i'll try to answer. It's an improved version of Citalopram, apparently they took the good but left out the bad bits or something!

[Benway]

hiya Unclear1

i have been on all the ssris. i have major depression, bipolar w hypomania, bpd traits, ME/cfs and horrible thru the roof anxiety. oh, agoraphobia also.

going on an ssri / snri is a quite big step. you dont know how you are altering your brain in the long term. they have different effects on different people.

the 100% of people who experience side effects -which can be quite disabling, after treatment stops varies from 28% (prozac) to 78% (effexor).

i can back up/ give you the resources from where i got those stats if you want them.

the others fall somewhere in between. prozac is the lowest, as it has the longest half life- effexor the highest as it has a very short half life- (basically how long the stuff stays in your system.)

people say anti-depressants are , or are not addictive. while that is a valid question, they should be asking more about what the pharmaceutical industry has coined "

discontinuation withdrawl syndrome".

believe me, its nasty. lots of posts on here about ppl stopping taking their anti-d, then getting horrible 'head zaps' (like an electric shock sensation, weight gain while on anti d's- (yeah, i know, they dont cause weight gain, yada yada)- form me they all did, or else made it impossible to shift while on them. and lots more- anxiety, sweats, night terrors, headache

The most common side effects associated with escitalopram are agitation or restlessness, blurred vision, diarrhea, difficulty sleeping, drowsiness, dry mouth, fever, frequent urination, headache, indigestion, nausea, increased or decreased appetite, increased sweating, sexual difficulties (decreased sexual ability or desire, ejaculatory delay), taste alterations, tremor (shaking), weight changes" - from medicine net. http://www.medicinenet.com/escitalopram/article.htm

even tho i still suffer with terrible depressions- i gave up all anti depressants 8 mths ago- i would not go back on an ssri/snri antidepressant. they are not, imho, the 'wonder drugs' they are hailed to be.

sorry, i dont mean to frighten the shite out of you - im answering your question on a topic i have both 9 yrs experience with, and a keen interest in. my mums a pharmacist, im a pharmacy technician- i dont work at it tho, as i have an addictive nature to my personality.

i was on both versions-citalopram,- up to 60mg and then more recently i was prescribed escitalopram / lexapro. titrating upwards to 20mg.-

the reason citalopram was escitalopram'ed it was its patent was running out- it expires 2014. so the makers did very little work, churned out this new ssri and have a new patent. you notice that drugs without patents- ones that generics are available of, dont make so much money. for anyone concerned in the process.

there is a certain snobbery in it, plus these 'new' drugs are pushed as being 'better'. motive = financial.

Also you mention manic episodes? Do you suffer with hypomania, and dir yr Dr.(GP) or psychiatrist prescribe this, do you mind me asking? i dont know about ocd, sorry.

In a nutshell, im advising you to think about taking it, do you really need it, as it can have its side effects and can often take a few tries to get a person on the 'right' antidepressant. (or so they say). I never found a 'right' one.

If it was for your leg, might make it better, might have side effects...

Anyway, if you have read this far, i am sorry you feel you are in need of a bit of a lift. i don't have ocd, but have friends who have it and see how distressing it can be.

Take care & best of luck,

(i swear im not a scientologist!)

anne marie

[dotty]

hi i'm just coming off it, been on it several times for depression and also bdd. i found it worked for a while but only on higher doses, the lesser ones hardly made any difference to me. the problem i had was that for the first few weeks things were kind of wierd. i felt really trippy, if you catch my drift. visualy things were very odd, things had no depth seemed flattened. the colours went a bit strange also. its hard to explain. this did pass. after a while things seemed to platuea(s/p?) in those first weeks i didn't feel conected to any one ( even less than normal!) no emotions instead of my normally ott emotional self. but this was just me, they did work, but not for long, maybe it will be better for you.