I'll share my experience with Lexapro. I took Lexapro for just over a year. I was new to panic attacks until the year before I began Lexapro (10mg). It did an EXCELLENT job at addressing my anxiety. Side effects have been:
1) insomnia -- I cannot go to sleep "naturally" while on Lexapro; insomnia had never been a problem for me before Lexapro; now I HAVE to take Ambien CR to fall to sleep..and I always feel I have not had enough sleep.
2.) Muted emotions -- I have not cried a drop or even produced a tear in over a year; sometimes wonder if I care about anything anymore. It is a strange state to be in.
3.) Decreased libido -- is it my getting older or just the drug?
I have been weaning myself off Lexapro. I went to 5mg for 3 weeks and then to zero. It has been one week since I have been off Lexapro. Withdrawal symptoms have been some dizziness (just from turning my head quickly at times) and some head "noise" (sitting hear now I can sense this "buzzing" in my head). Libido is back up (it WAS the drug, ha!), but insomnia & emotions haven't returned to "normal". Also, my anxiety remains under control.
The "withdrawal" so far has been manageable and no "brain zaps" as others have described. Side effects: Insomnia, muted emotions, decreased libido. I purchase Lexapro through reputable http://www.gofmanpharmacy.com/ they've been very reliable so far. Check this FDA link about Lexapro http://google2.fda.gov/search?client=FDAgov&site=FDAgov-Recalls-Safety|FDAgov-Consumers|FDAgov-WarningLetters-ICECI|FDAgov-ImportAlerts-Industry|FDAgov-MedWatch-Safety|FDAgov-Section-Drugs&output=xml_no_dtd&proxystylesheet=FDAgov&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_q=lexapro&num=20&btnG=Search&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&restrictBox=FDAgov-Recalls-Safety&restrictBox=FDAgov-Consumers&restrictBox=Medwatch&restrictBox=FDAgov-WarningLetters-ICECI&restrictBox=FDAgov-ImportAlerts-Industry&restrictBox=FDAgov-Section-Drugs&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&sort=date
Hope i helped.
1) insomnia -- I cannot go to sleep "naturally" while on Lexapro; insomnia had never been a problem for me before Lexapro; now I HAVE to take Ambien CR to fall to sleep..and I always feel I have not had enough sleep.
2.) Muted emotions -- I have not cried a drop or even produced a tear in over a year; sometimes wonder if I care about anything anymore. It is a strange state to be in.
3.) Decreased libido -- is it my getting older or just the drug?
I have been weaning myself off Lexapro. I went to 5mg for 3 weeks and then to zero. It has been one week since I have been off Lexapro. Withdrawal symptoms have been some dizziness (just from turning my head quickly at times) and some head "noise" (sitting hear now I can sense this "buzzing" in my head). Libido is back up (it WAS the drug, ha!), but insomnia & emotions haven't returned to "normal". Also, my anxiety remains under control.
The "withdrawal" so far has been manageable and no "brain zaps" as others have described. Side effects: Insomnia, muted emotions, decreased libido. I purchase Lexapro through reputable http://www.gofmanpharmacy.com/ they've been very reliable so far. Check this FDA link about Lexapro http://google2.fda.gov/search?client=FDAgov&site=FDAgov-Recalls-Safety|FDAgov-Consumers|FDAgov-WarningLetters-ICECI|FDAgov-ImportAlerts-Industry|FDAgov-MedWatch-Safety|FDAgov-Section-Drugs&output=xml_no_dtd&proxystylesheet=FDAgov&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&as_q=lexapro&num=20&btnG=Search&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&restrictBox=FDAgov-Recalls-Safety&restrictBox=FDAgov-Consumers&restrictBox=Medwatch&restrictBox=FDAgov-WarningLetters-ICECI&restrictBox=FDAgov-ImportAlerts-Industry&restrictBox=FDAgov-Section-Drugs&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&sort=date
Hope i helped.