![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by nicky847 on January 8, 2004, at 9:29:55
I would like to get feedback from people who have been prescribed both Celexa and Lexapro (not at the same time DUH ;p).. and hear about whether you feel these two meds are truly the "same"...
not to steer anyones comments but I find Lexapro to be alot more activating than Celexa was(Ive been on it for 6 weeks), and since I take it primarily for anxiety disorder and panic attacks (with secondary depression), I dont particularly like that..however I have found it very effective for depression..
Posted by JonW on January 8, 2004, at 11:56:16
In reply to Lexapro/Celexa....who's tried both???, posted by nicky847 on January 8, 2004, at 9:29:55
> not to steer anyones comments but I find Lexapro to be alot more activating than Celexa was(Ive been on it for 6 weeks), and since I take it primarily for anxiety disorder and panic attacks (with secondary depression), I dont particularly like that..however I have found it very effective for depression..
I agree. I found Celexa more sedating. I feel that Lexapro is more effective for me, but I have never been on the equivalent dose of Celexa. For me, the sex side-effects of Lex are nothing compared to Celexa. I also find that the Lex seems to curb my appetite a bit. Other than that, I think they are very similar in their effect.
Jon :)
Posted by metalflipflop on January 8, 2004, at 13:30:48
In reply to Re: Lexapro/Celexa....who's tried both???, posted by JonW on January 8, 2004, at 11:56:16
i hated lexapro! i switched to it for no good reason, really, other than the fact i had gone off celexa previously and figured, why not give the one that's supposedly "better" a try? dumb, b/c celexa was a great chill-out drug for me, and i never had many side effects, other than sexual ones at first and some appetite reduction.
lexapro made me SO agitated! i was never able to take a high enough dose to improve the depression. i went back to celexa after a short while, but it was never as effective as the first time. sad, really.
good luck,
liz
Posted by nicky847 on January 8, 2004, at 14:23:37
In reply to Re: Lexapro/Celexa....who's tried both???, posted by metalflipflop on January 8, 2004, at 13:30:48
Liz-
How long did you take lexapro for and what was your dose?> i hated lexapro! i switched to it for no good reason, really, other than the fact i had gone off celexa previously and figured, why not give the one that's supposedly "better" a try? dumb, b/c celexa was a great chill-out drug for me, and i never had many side effects, other than sexual ones at first and some appetite reduction.
> lexapro made me SO agitated! i was never able to take a high enough dose to improve the depression. i went back to celexa after a short while, but it was never as effective as the first time. sad, really.
> good luck,
> liz
Posted by Laree on January 8, 2004, at 14:36:30
In reply to Re: Lexapro/Celexa....who's tried both???-Liz, posted by nicky847 on January 8, 2004, at 14:23:37
I've been on both of them. Celexa I had nausea at first, where with Lexapro there was none. Celexa worked very well to help me overcome eating disorders and esp. OCD patterns that resulted from the E.D.'s. Lexapro has been a god-send for my seasonal affective depression, however, with very few side effects, just RELIEF. thank goodness!
Posted by metalflipflop on January 8, 2004, at 20:18:55
In reply to Re: Lexapro/Celexa....who's tried both???-Liz, posted by nicky847 on January 8, 2004, at 14:23:37
mmmmmmm, i was on it about 6 weeks. i took 10mg, then 15. i don't think the manufacturer's claim of a 1:4 ratio to celexa is quite right. i'd say maybe more like 1:2. the first time i took celexa, i was on 30mg and it worked like a dream, other than that i lost too much weight. the second time, i needed 40mg, which never quite made me feel good, and so i had to abandon my dear drug for new med horizons. lol.
i guess we're all different, i tend to be really-anxiety prone anyway. for me it's a chicken-or-the-egg thing with that and depression.
trial and error can be rough for awhile.
liz
Posted by friendofbillw on January 8, 2004, at 21:43:52
In reply to Lexapro/Celexa....who's tried both???, posted by nicky847 on January 8, 2004, at 9:29:55
Good thread. I've wondered the same thing myself. I was on 40mg of celexa and felt that was effective. My doc thought that I may benefit from changing over since I'd been on celexa for about 4 years. He had samples and recited, pretty much word for word, the sales literature from Lexapro and sold me on it.
Honestly? I can't tell the difference. I may go back on a celexa product when it is available as generic drug to help save on cost.
I look forward to reading other posts on this.
> I would like to get feedback from people who have been prescribed both Celexa and Lexapro (not at the same time DUH ;p).. and hear about whether you feel these two meds are truly the "same"...
>
> not to steer anyones comments but I find Lexapro to be alot more activating than Celexa was(Ive been on it for 6 weeks), and since I take it primarily for anxiety disorder and panic attacks (with secondary depression), I dont particularly like that..however I have found it very effective for depression..
Posted by Patient on January 9, 2004, at 9:36:52
In reply to Lexapro/Celexa....who's tried both???, posted by nicky847 on January 8, 2004, at 9:29:55
You'll get different responses to this post as to reactions to either drug-depending on what disorder is being treated, and the brain and body chemistry of the individual, as well if one is just starting either of these, or whether they've previously been on some other SSRI or antidepressant.
I've been on 20mg Celexa in the past for about a year total. I've been on 5mg Lexapro for about 6mos.
Celexa was more sedating than Lex. I could have orgasms on C, but not L. Though, both reduced libido. Less of an appetite on C. Apathy on both. Sleep distrubances on both, but more so on L.
I tried 10mg Lex. but it caused me anxiety and restlessness. Took 5mg in morn. and late aft. and no difference in effects than when I took 5mg daily. Lex. at 5mg I would feel anxious in early eves, enough to where I felt the need for a glass of wine or a small dose of Ativan benzo.
I had normal bowel movements on Lex, a bit constipated on Cel.
Celexa causes more vivid dreams.
Both caused short-term memory problems.
Both didn't work too well during premenstrual syndrome time-of-month for me.
They both worked for depression, C. more so than L.
I am currently taking 10mg Celexa in morning/25mg trazodone (Desyrel) 3 times a day. About to return my Lexapro samples back to my pdoc.
I have loosely been diagnosed as borderline personality disorder w/ extreme anxiety and moderate depression.
Posted by mtdew on January 9, 2004, at 18:36:18
In reply to Re: Lexapro/Celexa....who's tried both???, posted by Patient on January 9, 2004, at 9:36:52
> I tried 10mg Lex. but it caused me anxiety and restlessness. Took 5mg in morn. and late aft. and no difference in effects than when I took 5mg daily. Lex. at 5mg I would feel anxious in early eves, enough to where I felt the need for a glass of wine or a small dose of Ativan benzo.
>I also get restlessness in the evening sometimes, on 5mg Celexa and ~20mg Provigil. I thought it might be due to the interaction, since I never had it on P. alone. A small dose of Klonopin generally takes care of it. Never tried Lex.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.