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low dose escitalopram- any permanent problems?

escitalopram

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#1 protoject

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Posted 26 May 2013 - 08:43 PM


I'm just wondering if anyone has experienced any long term problems from taking low dose escitalopram.

By low dose I mean 2.5 mg, but if you're a little lower or a little higher I won't complain.

I'm seriously considering this for dysthymia and anxiety after hearing some wonderful things about it.

But. I have hesitated for so long because I am not ready for any long term side effects. Not really sure if it's worth the risk.

Thanks in advance!

#2 Tom_

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Posted 26 May 2013 - 10:08 PM

Other than there is no consistant evidence for efficacy at less than 10mg I can't imagine side effects will be paticually problomatic.
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#3 Doktor

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Posted 29 May 2013 - 05:00 PM

I wouldn't bother, but that's just me.

I saw negligible benefit at doses of 20mg everyday... but then again I am now positive that my depression was actually a product of my ADD, as Vyvanse has knocked all my issues right out.

You should be aware that Escitalopram has a host of negative side effects: I personally gained 20 pounds (lost it as soon as I quit without changing exercise/diet), became very apathetic, lethargic... all SSRI's seem to do (to me and most other people) is dull your emotional response, and likely some of your physiological processes (sexual excitement/stimulation, weight maintenance, etc).

Also, escitalopram gave me a solid month of withdrawals, which impacted my anxiety and sleep more then even a past experience with heroin withdrawals, so keep that in mind... SSRI's are far less benign then most people seem to believe.

Also, SSRI's are becoming tied to birth defects, but that has been around for a while now... Sorry, I am at work and to lazy to find a citation, but if you google its all there. I personally would try and avoid drugs which alter your DNA and reproductive health...
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#4 Thorsten3

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Posted 02 June 2013 - 09:29 PM

I took it at 1.25mg for about a year. It was great for the first 9 months, then, started pooping out. I was hesitant to go to higher doses, because, what's the point? Take a higher dose then watch the same thing happen again? But this time, it'll be even more of a bitch to come off, due to higher dosage? The drug either works, or it doesn't. I had 9 months of joy (felt great), so, it obviously worked. Increasing dosage = increased potential problems further down the line, IMO. Perhaps, permanent sexual dysfunction, or something fun like that. I read about people who can't even orgasm after taking these drugs in 'prescribed doses', for 'prescribed periods'.

It wasn't fun coming off 1.25mg. To this day (about 10 months later), my erectile function is still not what it was. Fortunately, the quality of my orgasms are still very good, but, I struggle with erectile strength issues. In the morning it's fine (no issues, at all), but, at night, it can be difficult to get it up at all. This problem was not present prior to my commencement with SSRI drugs. The issue could be totally unrelated, but, my hunch, is that it is related. My libido is still high.

Escitalopram, even in the paltry 1.25mg dose, also made it impossible for me to EVER get sad, emotional, unhappy, angry or experience anything in the realms of human emotion. This alone, resulted in me losing the quality of a lot of my relationships, over that year long period. We all like to see weaknesses that exist in others, because it makes them appear more human to us. It makes us want to help them and care for them. Modesty that can exist between us, can connect us together and build friendships. I didn't make any friends on SSRIs. I was just the happy guy, who never got stressed and didn't care about anything.

SSRIs just provide artifical happiness and mask symptons. I wouldn't even class them as true anti-depressant drugs. They're more like 'damage limitation' drugs. Used by those, who are majorly depressed and will most likely need to be on such drugs, for the rest of their lives.

Escitalopram was by far the best AD I have taken, though.
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#5 protoject

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Posted 12 April 2014 - 05:30 PM

Hmm, that's quite scary about not being able to get proper hard. I've been worried about that and that's one reason I haven't started. One reason I haven't done too much in the way of SSRIs, including escitalopram, is because insomnia is my huge issue. However my insomnia is currently addressed and I want to take a further step with Escitalopram, because my mind is slow and I'm extremely unmotivated to do anything ever. I'm hoping the escitalopram would help.

 

For those of you who are curious, I believe I've seen some evidence that 5ht2a antagonists can reverse the effects of sexual dysfunction when you are on antidepressants. I believe the study I read may have been with eplivanserin but I can't remember and am currently too lazy to look it up, it might have been ritanserin. regardless I do have some eplivanserin in stock so if I do take escitalopram I will take it along side it.

 

Yes I am the poster boy for selective 5ht2a inverse agonists/antagonists... :)



#6 nowayout

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Posted 12 April 2014 - 06:41 PM

For those of you who are curious, I believe I've seen some evidence that 5ht2a antagonists can reverse the effects of sexual dysfunction when you are on antidepressants.

 

Hydroxyzine is one but has never helped me with tramadol sexual side effects.

 

I am one of those who are too anxious about these sides to take an SSRI.  I got a Lexapro scrip filled 2 weeks ago and could only convince myself to take one half pill (10 mg I think) only the first day.  I wasn't able to have an erection for almost 2 weeks after that one pill.  Now of course I'm anxious about what I'm going to say to the pdoc next week.  I kind of feel I want to please her and there doesn't really seem to be anything else she can do for me. 


Edited by nowayout, 12 April 2014 - 06:43 PM.


#7 nupi

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Posted 12 April 2014 - 08:03 PM


I am one of those who are too anxious about these sides to take an SSRI.  I got a Lexapro scrip filled 2 weeks ago and could only convince myself to take one half pill (10 mg I think) only the first day.  I wasn't able to have an erection for almost 2 weeks after that one pill.  Now of course I'm anxious about what I'm going to say to the pdoc next week.  I kind of feel I want to please her and there doesn't really seem to be anything else she can do for me. 

 

 

Frankly that sounds more like your own head playing with you than the Escitalopram. It has a relatively short half life (short enough for me to never to make it through a whole day with morning dosing) and 10mg is not a big dose.



#8 nowayout

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Posted 12 April 2014 - 08:14 PM


Well, duh, of course it's my head. That's why she wants me on an AD in the first place. But that's the catch-22 of getting hypochondriacs to rake these drugs in the first pkace.


I am one of those who are too anxious about these sides to take an SSRI.  I got a Lexapro scrip filled 2 weeks ago and could only convince myself to take one half pill (10 mg I think) only the first day.  I wasn't able to have an erection for almost 2 weeks after that one pill.  Now of course I'm anxious about what I'm going to say to the pdoc next week.  I kind of feel I want to please her and there doesn't really seem to be anything else she can do for me. 
 

 
Frankly that sounds more like your own head playing with you than the Escitalopram. It has a relatively short half life (short enough for me to never to make it through a whole day with morning dosing) and 10mg is not a big dose.

Answer came out inside quote above.

#9 BlueCloud

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Posted 12 April 2014 - 08:25 PM

I've been taking escitalopram for the last two weeks or so, at doses between 2.5 to 5 mg. Apart from one serotonin syndrome incident, and another almost similar incident yesterday ( cold shivers all night ), I haven't seen any positive effects so far. My anxiety isn't lowered, in fact it's higher at doses of 5mg and more. No serious effects on libido, maybe delayed ejaculation. The only positive is an interesting interaction with Buspirone if I take both : It almost completely suppresses the nausea and dizziness I usually get from buspirone, making it more tolerable.

I'm giving escitalopram another week trial, but I'm not expecting much. Plus this news doesn't make me warmer towards SSRIs : http://www.longecity...tory-mechanism/



#10 BlueCloud

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Posted 18 April 2014 - 02:57 PM

As an update to my post above, the increased anxiety it was provoking for the last month has almost disappeared as of yesterday, and is being replaced with a very palpable reduction in physical (rather than mental ) symptoms of anxiety . 

To be continued...

 

 

 

I am one of those who are too anxious about these sides to take an SSRI.  I got a Lexapro scrip filled 2 weeks ago and could only convince myself to take one half pill (10 mg I think) only the first day.  I wasn't able to have an erection for almost 2 weeks after that one pill.  Now of course I'm anxious about what I'm going to say to the pdoc next week.  I kind of feel I want to please her and there doesn't really seem to be anything else she can do for me. 

 

 

Starting with 10mg of escitalopram can be a pretty heavy dose for some people. It made me wanna crawl out of my skin. I suggest you start with a much lower dose, 5mg or even 2.5mg.  5mg is all I can tolerate at this moment.

 


Edited by BlueCloud, 18 April 2014 - 03:19 PM.


#11 StevesPetRat

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Posted 19 April 2014 - 09:04 AM

I was on 10 mg for a while, a little under a year. Not exactly the lowest dose, though. It worked well to pull me out of a depression. But I was extremely aggressive about expanding my social circle and exercising at the same time, which were much more important I think. The side effect of difficulty with orgasm took about as long to resolve as the duration I was on it.

The real long term side effect is that I have tried it again twice since then and it was useless... or rather I got the sexual side effects without any benefit.

You didn't ask, but I would strongly recommend niacinamide 100 - 500 mg X 3 - 4 daily for anxiety and depressed mood. I used it recently and it helped me recover from the darkest place I've ever been. It also had a small but noticeable nootropic effect at high doses. It is a very mild GABA agonist, but I didn't notice any tolerance issue. If you do go this route, at very high doses you may want to get your liver function checked periodically.

#12 FocusPocus

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Posted 08 September 2014 - 11:01 AM

Do please report back your experiences when you experiment with it OP.

 

Im mild bipolar II with GAD and ADD-Pi and my experience with escitalopram at 10mg doses have been high achieving (non academic) hypomania with reduction in anxiety and ADD symptoms. But it numbed me academically and made me apathetic.

I'm a very emotional dude (cry/get goosebumps etc with every movie i watch etc) and I remember this was never an issue too.

 

Im seriously considering doing 2.5mg escitalopram as monotherapy for my problems. Would love to hear your experience with this. 

 

Hope you will report back.


Edited by FocusPocus, 08 September 2014 - 11:02 AM.


#13 tfor

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Posted 08 September 2014 - 09:35 PM

The way people react to SSRI is so weird.

 

I am on 20mg lexapro and I can still get angry,sad,depressed,fearful. It doesn't seem to be doing much at all.

The only thing I notice is that my libido is low which could also be due to other reasons and orgasming is also pretty hard which is annoying when you

simply want to bust a nut and then move on.



#14 blood

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Posted 13 September 2014 - 11:34 AM

It doesn't seem to be doing much at all...


Could be my imagination, but your recent posts to me seem less OCD-ish than usual.

Edit: just read your thread on petting a cat - maybe I posted too soon. ;)

Edited by blood, 13 September 2014 - 11:54 AM.


#15 medievil

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Posted 14 September 2014 - 05:03 AM

Lexapro, generally is the best ssri, it's pretty much side effect free, works, after 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks and has proven increased effectively and it does Def work at 2.5mg which occupy the receptor for 50&, 5mg inhibits the transporter that's what I meant for 90&.



#16 FocusPocus

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Posted 14 September 2014 - 06:07 AM

Lexapro, generally is the best ssri, it's pretty much side effect free, works, after 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks and has proven increased effectively and it does Def work at 2.5mg which occupy the receptor for 50&, 5mg inhibits the transporter that's what I meant for 90&.

 

I'm sorry. whats 50& and 90&?



#17 Dagger907

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Posted 14 September 2014 - 07:30 AM

I've been using Escitalopram(Cipralex/Lexapro) for a while. After titration, I was up to max(20mg/day). It has done wonders for some of my issues, like caring too much about what random people think. After Im done with a few other things, tapering down on this is my next move. Titrating up from 5mgs was hell for me.

5mgs a day is by some/more than some(citation needed) the reccomended dose for nootropic use.

 

What is your goal with low-dose Escitalopram? Real research shows that SSRIs(this case Escitalopram) are only effective in severely depressed patients.



#18 medievil

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Posted 14 September 2014 - 08:53 AM

 

Lexapro, generally is the best ssri, it's pretty much side effect free, works, after 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks and has proven increased effectively and it does Def work at 2.5mg which occupy the receptor for 50&, 5mg inhibits the transporter that's what I meant for 90&.

 

I'm sorry. whats 50& and 90&?

 

The percentage of it inhibiting the serotonin receptor, so at 5mg it pretty much is at its max and except for ocd it's pointless going higher, 2.5mg may work without any side effects At ALL.



#19 medievil

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Posted 14 September 2014 - 08:56 AM

I've been using Escitalopram(Cipralex/Lexapro) for a while. After titration, I was up to max(20mg/day). It has done wonders for some of my issues, like caring too much about what random people think. After Im done with a few other things, tapering down on this is my next move. Titrating up from 5mgs was hell for me.

5mgs a day is by some/more than some(citation needed) the reccomended dose for nootropic use.

 

What is your goal with low-dose Escitalopram? Real research shows that SSRIs(this case Escitalopram) are only effective in severely depressed patients.

No research shows that the effectiveness of the less depressed patients is identical to placebo, but the placebo effect slowly tapers out over months, so after a year there'd be a difference that keeps on getting bigger, there's one study showing this, this doesn't mean they don't work for those patients, just that they are so weak placebo can be as strong at first.



#20 FocusPocus

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Posted 14 September 2014 - 09:12 AM

 

 

Lexapro, generally is the best ssri, it's pretty much side effect free, works, after 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks and has proven increased effectively and it does Def work at 2.5mg which occupy the receptor for 50&, 5mg inhibits the transporter that's what I meant for 90&.

 

I'm sorry. whats 50& and 90&?

 

The percentage of it inhibiting the serotonin receptor, so at 5mg it pretty much is at its max and except for ocd it's pointless going higher, 2.5mg may work without any side effects At ALL.

 

thanks! Could I ask you for a source if possible?



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#21 medievil

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Posted 14 September 2014 - 09:23 AM

I will try to find it, when I say something like that I usually never do so keep reminding me with private messages haha.







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