lexapro and nausea

[lisadallasr]

hi everyone, i have a question for anyone who maybe has taken lexapro, my doctor put me on 20mg last tuesday and i have been feelig very nauseas since taking it, wondering if anyone else has felt this.

[irlandes]

I don't know about nausea. But, I wish to warn you about possible problems with withdrawal. People who attempt to withdraw from Lexapro can have horrid, horrid problems, even after using only a few weeks. Not all people, but some.

My son, a medical student in the US, started taking Zoloft for anxiety, and gained a lot of weight, which it turns out is normal for zoloft. So, he withdrew slowly, and changed to Lexapro, which made him groggy. Being in med school, he realized he couldn't tolerate that, so after 4 weeks, he decided he better stop taking it. He phased it out over 2 weeks, but about ten days later, his brain sort of exploded.

We found a major message board dedicated to "lexapro withdrawal' and learned many people have severe withdrawal problems, there were 244 pages of postings in 2 years for people begging for help. The problems include 'brain zaps', which is sort of like an electronic shock in your brain. He had them only two or three a minute, but some people get them more than once a second, and frankly, not everyone can live with that much anguish.

Also, extreme fatigue, including a need to sleep 15 hours a day -- med school students can't do that.

After reviewing the patient feedback, he took 7.5 mg about 7 pm, and within two hours his system went back to normal. After three days, and final week exams, he dropped to 5 mg a day, and that seems to be okay, while possibly dealing with anxiety attacks. He thinks he will hold at 5 mg a day.

The consensus seems to be drop 25% and hold for three weeks, then another 25% and wait another three weeks, etc. (Three weeks is because the problem often shows up only two weeks or so after stopping.) And, if there are problems after a week or two, increase upwards and start reducing more slowly.

The problem is, the prescribing doctors don't seem to be informed of this problem, and there is a class action lawsuit filed against the maker for not properly informing doctors and users of this problem. (Some with this problem have committed s**cide because the brain zaps are so intolerable.)

I looked up the safety report here in Mexico at the pharmacy of my best friend, and all it says is phase it out over two weeks. We theorize the withdrawal problem may come with those who get more than their body needs, and 20 mg is a lot. One girl was prescribed 20 mg a day, for gritting her teeth, (!!!!!!!!!) and is still trying to withdraw after two years.

Nausea sure sounds like a chance of taking more than you need. Do try to talk to your doctor about this. If he or she is kind of blah about your concerns, or seems to dismiss withdrawal as a problem, take charge of your own life on this.

My son is in med school, and he is fast losing all respect for his peers. We are hoping this makes him an unusually good doctor.

He says there are doctors who are flown to the Bahamas in the winter to take 'classes' on meds, paid by the drug companies, in hopes they will prescribe their drugs.

I hope this isn't true, but he says they come back with all the 'scientific' studies showing those meds are just the thing. So, they don't think there is any problem. he also says these old people who are taking 30 or 40 pills a day, most of those pills are to treat side effects of other pills, and some old people really use most of their money for pills,have little left.

I am a believer in informed consent, which means we need to take what the doctor tells us, and do our own research as to side effects, etc. not just blindly accept what they push down our throats.

[Lyssie]

You're supposed to taper on and off these drugs because your body cannot handle the sudden withdrawl. That's *WHY* it says to consult your physician when you want to stop taking them. If your physician did not warn you of this, they should have, and if you/your son did not read the package insert that came with the drug (or should have) that is your fault.

Doctors are not flown to the Bahamas in the winter to take "classes" on medications. This is a lie. It's illegal.

The old people have the option of not taking the drug/drugs which could/do save their lives daily. In which case, they wouldn't need to worry about taking other drugs to counteract side effects that *their* body has, that not *EVERYBODY* has.

My doctor does not easily prescribe medication. I go to her because of this. MY son's doctor does not give out medication unless it's necessary. THere are a ton of doctors who believe in not giving out meds like candy.

Lisa - if I were you, I would ask my doctor (as I would with any medication they were prescribing for me). They can say if it's a known adverse reaction, or if it's not.

[Kiasmama]

I've read on some other message boards that lexpro does cause nausea. It was suggested to take it with food for a few weeks. Most of them noted the nausea did fade after a few weeks.

And please don't let the withdrawl post scare you. EVERYONE is different. You need to talk to your doctor about it if/when you get to that point. The benefits of being on the drug probably outweigh any negatives at this point...I woudl guess.

[DAWNIMMEL]

Hi, I have been taking Lexapro for almost 3 years now and I even went off it once and tried st john's wart (which did not work), and I went back on the lexapro. I have never had nausa with the lexapro, and I have a terrible digestive system. Maybe you could call your doctor and tell him that you are nausiated with the lexapro. I was also on Celexa before and had no problem with that. I had no problem weaning myself off the lexapro, but I did it under the guidance of my doctor. Whe I started with same symptoms again, She put me back on the lexapro. It works the best for me. Good luck. Dawn

[macmom6]

I was on Lexapro and I was sick to my stomach with it. I would check with your doctor.

Take Care,

[Atkid]

Originally Posted by lisadallasr

hi everyone, i have a question for anyone who maybe has taken lexapro, my doctor put me on 20mg last tuesday and i have been feelig very nauseas since taking it, wondering if anyone else has felt this.

How are you feeling now? Generally when starting lexapro I think they start you at 10mg and then move you up if you need to. When my son was taking 20 mg. he always looked like he was on drugs but does fine with the 10 mg. The nausea may have been a dosage issue.

[lisadallasr]

Actually i quit taking it, I really try not to take meds unless i just have to. I do take klonopin when needed, and it really helps to relax me. The lexapro just kept my stomach in knots, so i did not take it long eneough to see if they went away or not, i only took it for about 5 days.

[MissMel]

Hi...I am just now weaning off of Lexopro onto Zoloft.
I used Lexopro off and on for 2 yrs and never had a problem going off of it. As for Nausea yeah, I got that too. My dosage is 20 mg and I try to take it with my breakfast because if its on an empty stomach the nausea is much worse. The nausea did get better with time and starting out at 10 mg and then slowly going up to 20 after a couple of weeks.

Other side effects for me is night sweats. I made the mistake of saying they were Hot flashes and the Dr. and my Gyn. assured me that it wasn't my hormones and it wasn't from the Lexopro yet I was waking up drenched everytime I took a nap or slept at night. I finally sat down with my Dr. and he went over the side effects and when he said Night Sweats...it was an A HA moment. So beware of that. It also greatly diminished my sex drive and even using Wellbutrin didn't help with that.

I am only switching because I went off of my med for 4 mos and then went back on for the past 3 wks and the 20mgs isn't working for me. Instead of upping it and having my sex life get any worse lol I have decided to give Zoloft a chance.

Good luck...

[amylouna]

Hi Lisa,

Sorry to hear the Lexapro was causing so much trouble for you. Remember, there are a lot of options out there and antidepressants have come a long way in the last year or two. Don't be shy about talking with your doctor; it's possible another med, even another very similar med, would work really well for you with fewer or less severe side effects.

I'm the same way with not wanting to take any medicines unless absolutely necessary!

The last time I spoke with my doctor about depression and anxiety, the first thing he asked was "are you exercising regularly?" After a few minutes of my giving him various excuses as to why I still had not been exercising regularly he said something important: "The exercise is part of the prescription."

Be honest with your doctor. If you don't have a doctor with whom you can be honest, find another one!

Good luck being Lexapro-free and good luck with the Atkins!

Take care!

EDIT

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