(If a person who isn't depressed takes antidepressants, they do not improve that person's mood or functioning - it's not a "happy pill.") Rarely, people experience apathy or loss of emotions while on certain antidepressants. When this happens, lowering the dose or switching to a different antidepressant may help.
In the case of SSRIs, SNRIs, and related medications, the effects of taking antidepressants when not depressed can include developing a condition known as serotonin syndrome. Symptoms of this condition include the following: Confusion. Agitation.
Although this is beneficial for someone who's depressed, for someone who does not have depression, taking antidepressant medication can cause serotonin to build up in the body, resulting in serotonin syndrome. When serotonin levels are too high, the person may experience symptoms like: Agitation or restlessness.
These drugs — including Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, and Lexapro — alter the way the body handles the “feel-good” brain chemical serotonin — a hormone responsible for regulating mood and happiness. As a result, things that once provoked strong reactions may now leave the same individual unaffected or even apathetic.
It works by helping to restore the balance of a certain natural substance (serotonin) in the brain. Escitalopram belongs to a class of drugs known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). It may improve your energy level and feelings of well-being and decrease nervousness.
Lexapro is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). SSRIs work by slowing the reabsorption of serotonin back into nerve cells to maintain higher serotonin levels in the brain. Serotonin is a chemical your body produces. Doctors believe that it helps stabilize mood and causes happiness and a sense of well-being.
Headache, nausea, diarrhea, dry mouth, increased sweating, feeling nervous, restless, fatigue, or having trouble sleeping (insomnia). These will often improve over the first week or two as you continue to take the medication.
An unwanted side effect of SSRIs, especially — though not only — in people taking them for a long time, is a diminished emotional response to both unpleasant and pleasurable events, referred to as “ emotional blunting .”
When first starting antidepressants, you may not feel like yourself. Though your depression symptoms might have improved, feelings of extreme sadness can sometimes be replaced by an emotional numbness in which you are neither able to cry nor enjoy a real belly laugh. If you feel this way, you are definitely not alone.
Lexapro (containing the active ingredient escitalopram) is a safe and effective treatment that is commonly prescribed for anxiety. Lexapro is an SSRI, which regulates serotonin production and reuptake in the brain to improve your moods and overall mental wellbeing to reduce symptoms of anxiety.
The length of time it takes for Lexapro treatment to start working can vary. It's common for some symptoms — like improved energy, sleep, and appetite — to improve within a week or two.
Each person will experience slightly different side effects, but the most common side effects are drowsiness, headache, insomnia, nausea, and vomiting. These effects may emerge during the first weeks of starting Lexapro. If the starting dose of Lexapro is too high, these side effects may be even worse.
Perhaps the fundamental reason why antidepressants are so widely prescribed and used is that they fit with the 'medical model' of mental illness, which has become the standard view in western culture. This model sees depression as a medical condition which can be “fixed” in the same way as a physical injury or illness.
There is new reason to be cautious about using popular antidepressants in people who are not really depressed. For the first time, research has shown that a widely used antidepressant may cause subtle changes in brain structure and function when taken by those who are not depressed.
If you haven't noticed any improvements after using an antidepressant for two months or longer, it may be a sign that your medication isn't right for you, or that you need to adjust your dosage. Your healthcare provider may switch you to a different type of medication or adjust your dosage to provide better results.
Yes, escitalopram (Lexapro) is one of the first-choice options for the treatment of depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) because of how well it works and how safe it is. If you're diagnosed with depression or GAD, your provider will decide if escitalopram (Lexapro) is right for you.
You may experience strong fatigue while taking Lexapro. Don't drive, operate heavy machinery, or engage in dangerous activity while taking the medicine.
“If your depression symptoms get worse as soon as you start taking an antidepressant, or they get better and then very suddenly get worse, it's a sign that the depression medication isn't working properly, and you should see your healthcare professional right away,” Hullett says.
Escitalopram may cause some teenagers and young adults to be agitated, irritable, or display other abnormal behaviors. It may also cause some people to have suicidal thoughts and tendencies or to become more depressed.
Approximately 70 percent of people taking SSRIs suffer from sexual side effects. But these drugs may also compromise the ability to feel love.
In post-hoc analyses, escitalopram seemed to have an effect on agreeableness. Further, a trend was found for increased conscientiousness. Thus it is possible that SSRIs may have an effect on aspects of personality such as agreeableness and conscientiousness independent of the treatment effect on depression.
In time, the brain readjusts and people should experience a return to their normal state. If depressive symptoms do arise and gradually worsen, it's best to consult a psychiatrist or doctor, if they don't improve within a few weeks or if they become severe.
Common side effects of Lexapro include nausea, sexual side effects, and insomnia. For some people, these go away as your body gets used to the medication. More serious side effects of Lexapro are rare. These include suicidal thoughts or behaviors, abnormal bleeding, and serotonin syndrome.
Do not use escitalopram with buspirone (Buspar®), fentanyl (Abstral®, Duragesic®), lithium (Eskalith®, Lithobid®), tryptophan, St. John's wort, amphetamines, or some pain or migraine medicines (eg, rizatriptan, sumatriptan, tramadol, Frova®, Imitrex®, Maxalt®, Relpax®, Ultram®, Zomig®).
You may experience side effects during your first week on Lexapro, including anxiety, difficulty sleeping, drowsiness, headaches, and nausea. These effects usually dissipate as your body adjusts to your medication.