Which is safer Lexapro or Zoloft?
913614
that really depends on what your doctor says.  different people have different needs.  also, what is the best for you at one point could not necessarily be the best at another point.  i have family members that have been switched from paxil to celexa to zoloft to lexapro because their needs have changed.
337847
Wellbutrin and Remeron are the only 2 antidepressants in the market currently with no sexual side effects. Lexapro causes them. But remember that the incidence of these side effects is not 100%. No one knows for sure what the incidence is, but it might be close to a 50%, so there is a chance you might not get them.
633011
Look for Zoloft or Paxil. They are second generation SSRI's just like Prozac.
76803
In psychological research, almost every study that has compared medication to psychotherapy has shown that therapy is just as effective in treating mental disorders.  Additionally, the effects of therapy last long after therapy ends, whereas the effects of the medication stop as soon as you stop taking it.  Therapy is cheaper in the long run, and will not give you any side effects.  But that said, Lexapro works well for many people but not all.  I would highly recommend that you speak with your prescribing physician before upping the dose on your own.
159357
This is really not the best place to ask this question. It is illegal for joe blow to give medical advice over the internet and it is dangerous to listen to these people. You really should talk with the doctor who prescribed the zoloft. Anything unusual happeneing while discontinuing a medication is important enough to involve your doctor. They know way more than yahoo!answer junkies.
330573
Discuss with your doctor if Lexapro would be a good choice for you.  I was diagnosed with full-blown post-partum depression with anxiety, panic attacks, overwhelmed by daily tasks etc. about 18 months ago, and my doctor gave me a sample of Lexapro 10 mg.  She told me it could take up to 4 or 6 weeks to start feeling better, but in rare cases one could feel better within the first week.  I was one of those lucky people!  I live a normal, stress-free life (well, there's always some stress, but it doesn't control me), I sleep great, my relationships with my family and friends are back to normal, and life is as it should be!  \n\nShould you go this route, you may want to cut the pill in half and take 5 mg to start with.  I found that the full 10 mg at first made me very sleepy (I started taking it at night), then I would be wide awake after 3 hours.  So once I took 5 mg it was better.  Then I built up my tolerance to 10, I started taking it in the morning.  After about 2 weeks I felt no side effects whatsoever, and the ones I did feel in those two weeks were so mild I hardly knew they were there.  \n\nI understand that there are many who can get through this disorder with natural remedies, but I tried vitamin therapy and found that nothing worked.  It is not a crime or a sign of weakness to go to your physician and get medical help for stress/anxiety/depression.  The medications that are coming out now have little to no side effects, and are very helpful.  \n\nGood luck to you!!
592390
you sure its not lexapro? never heard of hexapro... if it is lexapro there is no generic for it yet. you could ask your doctor to put you on a different SSRI that has one if money is a problem\n\nif it is lexapro i think the generic name is escitalopram (dunno if i spelled that right), might be wrong though
1178889
Lexapro was freakin horrbile with me. I just had bad anxiety...untill my doc threw me on Lexapro...then I was suicidal and depressed. \n\nAnyhooters....I wouldn't say "the damage has been done" it was just an allergic reaction.  You will recover. Don't sweat it.
342435
Zoloflot,Lexapro,Paxil,ProZac,Wellbutrin,Effexor, Elavil,Imipramine,Desipramine,Nortriotilyne,Serezone,Sinequan, Lithium, Cymbalta
638614
There is a lot of emotion and mixed information on this complicated issue.  Unfortunately there is no 100% concensus on exactly what to do.  There is a general thread of recommendation.  SSRI's are first line recommendations in patients who suffer from moderate to severe psychiatric illness, depression and anxiety due to the adverse consequences of untreated illness.  There do appear to be some minor complications in a few children who have been exposed to SSRI's at the third trimester. (see below) Further there is the concern of passing the medication through breast milk once the child is born.  Some medications are better than others and some simply have not been studied as hard. (like Effexor).  I think if you can tolerate Luvox (and it works for you) then that would be one you could take with relative safety and continue to take it through breast feeding.\n\nCohen LS, et al published in JAMA that pregnancy is not "protective" with respect to risk of relapse of major depression. Women with histories of depression who are euthymic (normal thyroid) in the context of ongoing antidepressant therapy should be aware of the association of depressive relapse during pregnancy with antidepressant discontinuation.\n\nSuppaseemanont asserted that current appropriate treatment for pregnant women with moderate and severe depression is antidepressant medication, although there is no consensus on the best antidepressants for use in pregnancy. Thus, the psychotropic drug must be chosen carefully to minimize negative effects on infants and mothers, for some studies have demonstrated deleterious effects on infants.\n\nSivojelezova A, et. al. studied Celexa.  They concluded that Citalopram (Celexa) use during the period of embryogenesis in pregnancy (early term) is not associated with an apparent major teratogenic risk (birth defect and lost of the baby). Late pregnancy use of citalopram is associated with increased risk of poor neonatal adaptation syndrome, recently described with other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.\n\nThese thoughts are echoed with Kalra S in a article trying to arrive at reasonable advice on the subject. Antidepressant use during the third trimester has been associated occasionally with a transient neonatal withdrawal-like syndrome characterized by jitteriness, self-limiting respiratory difficulties, and problems with feeding. When counseling patients, the risk of these adverse effects must be weighed against the risks associated with untreated depression during late pregnancy. Abrupt discontinuation of psychotropic medications has been associated with both physical (eg, withdrawal) and psychological (eg, suicidal thoughts) symptoms.\n\nBellantuono C, et al published an article recently.  The pregnancy is considered to be relatively high risk period for depressive episodes in women, particularly for those with pre-existing affective disorders. Epidemiological studies indicate that between 10% to 16% of pregnant women fulfil the diagnostic criteria for major depression and on average 20% is affected by an anxiety disorder. Pharmacological treatment of depression during pregnancy, however, brings with it certainties and dilemmas. It has been reported that untreated depression is associated with impaired feto-placental function, premature delivery, miscarriage, low fetal growth and perinatal unwanted effects. On the other hand, the use of antidepressant drugs in pregnancy might be at risk of major malformations (teratogenesis), neonatal toxicity, especially withdrawal symptoms and neuropsychological-behavioural impairment. In addition, the abrupt discontinuation of antidepressants, because of fear for adverse fetal effects, exposes women to serious clinical problems, in particular the disease relapse. A number of reviews indicates that among antidepressant drugs, the older SSRIs (in particular fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram) seem to be avoided of teratogenic risks; for these reasons such drugs
185647
Avoid wellbutrin if you can. There are way too many side effects. Take either prozac or zoloft. Zoloft is the best but you have to take enough. They have found that the old advice of "max 200 mg" is false. Some people are fine with 200 or more. Don't worry about orgasms. It sounds like not getting off is the least of your problems.
14620
I take Celexa, which is about the same thing as Lexapro, only less refined.  There is a generic form of Celexa, and THAT's what I go with.
956341
I started 10mg of Lexapro about 4 weeks ago, the drowsiness for me went away about into the 3rd week.  Sometimes after a long day, I just lay down and take a nap.  It does help, the benefits though of Lexapro outweigh the side effects.  There are side effects with ALL medications.  The good news is with antidepressants they eventually evaporate, or should anyway, if after a month it gets worse, or no better talk to your doc, he/she may have to change either the dosage or the med, or the time you are taking it.  They will help you, BUT you have to be patient and give it some time to do the job.  I know, I was inpatient too.  He first put me on zoloft and I turned into a zombie for 3 weeks, he took me off and put me on Lexapro.  I definitly had less side effects.  Hang in there, it could be worse, trust me.\nGood luck
876228
FROM ONE FELLOW SUFFERER OF THIS DISORDER TO ANOTHER:\n\nI have Social Anxiety Disorder. I don't know about Lexapro but I take 30mg of Diazepam (Valium) a day. Plus depression often goes along with this disorder so I take 75mg of Effexor XR a day.\n\n I see that Lexapro is for relieving the symptoms of depression and generalized anxiety disorder. And that the full antidepressant/anxiolytic effect may take 4 to 6 weeks.\n\n Please do yourself a favor. A family doctor is not the best person to go to about this condition. A psychiatrist is best because they specialize in fields like this. If you are not seeing a psychiatrist do so rather than a family doctor. And let your doctor know exactly what you have said here and that the first month you felt great but it is now not doing much for you. Expect to try several different medications till one is found that is right for you. Everyone reacts a little bit differently to medicine and what is good for one person may not have the desired results for you.\n Take care and good luck!
842560
Wellbutrin or Wellbutrin XL works fine for many, and not for others.  I do believe perhaps being on Zoloft  or another for years first may have something to do with it.  Some people report bad experiences however; it could be that they hadn't been on another med prior to its use.  Doctors can also prescribe Wellbutrin in addition to another medicine such as Zoloft.  Zoloft could be more used to calm down the emotions more such as crying a lot etc., and the Wellbutrin to give you the motivation to do something while not so down.  Everybody really has to do a trial and error to figure out what works best for them.  For others Paxil or others might have worse side effects for them.  I believe there are about 3 different types of these antidepressants with differing main ingredients, so some people do better with a drug from one of the families of drugs, while others do better with another.  I don't think you can really go on somebody else's experiences, as you'll find extremes either way probably for every medicine.  If it was a new drug not used much lately, then I'd think extreme responses to your question would be more worrisome.   Trying anything is better than nothing, and you can always switch after the appropriate amount of time.  I agree with the other response about your age, if you are younger perhaps trying another would be better given the potential for higher suicide risks.  Your doctor will probably ask to see you in two weeks to check on your progress; call their office if your worried about effects before then.  Good look and remember you're not alone!
93865
SSRIs like Zoloft, Prozac, Paxil work great. Effexor is one of the newer medications that works well also.
981999
Zoloft is also used to treat depression and other illnesses.  I think it would be best to stay out of it all together.  This is the woman that your son chose and the one who makes him happy.