What are some side effects of lexipro?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

I have taken lexipro for about a year. The common side effects are drowsiness, headaches, unsettled stomach, and there can be sexual side effects. Overall the side effects are suttle and can be controled by continued steady use.

Answer 2

Side Effects
Lexapro® (escitalopram oxalate) is well tolerated by most adults. In fact, patients in clinical trials who took 10 mg of Lexapro experienced overall rates of side effects comparable to patients who took a placebo (sugar pill).1,2 If you think you are experiencing side effects, you should talk with your healthcare professional about your concerns. A simple adjustment in dose may be all that is required.

The most frequent side effects reported with Lexapro are nausea, insomnia, problems with ejaculation, somnolence, increased sweating, fatigue, decreased libido, and anorgasmia.1,2 Patients taking Lexapro typically have mild to moderate side effects which tend to go away with continued treatment. One study of patients taking 10 mg of Lexapro showed that these side effects usually do not cause patients to stop taking Lexapro. In that study, only 4% of patients stopped taking Lexapro due to side effects, compared with 3% of the patients taking placebo.1,2

Side effects of Lexapro in studies of depression
In a study of patients with depression receiving either Lexapro or another antidepressant, Effexor® XR (venlafaxine HCl), Lexapro was found to be not only as effective, but also better tolerated. In this study, fewer Lexapro patients stopped taking their medicine because of side effects (4% for Lexapro vs 16% for Effexor XR).3

In general, people taking Lexapro do not suffer from agitation, nervousness, or anxiety any more than people not taking Lexapro. Additionally, in controlled studies, clinically important changes in body weight were similar for patients treated with Lexapro and those treated with placebo.2

In another study of patients with depression, patients who started on one medicine but did not respond to it were switched to Lexapro. The other medicines were Celexa, Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft. In this study, patients were able to be quickly and safely switched to Lexapro. In fact, fewer than 7% of Lexapro patients stopped taking medicine due to side effects after switching.4

Side effects of Lexapro in studies of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
In clinical studies of people taking 10 mg a day of Lexapro for GAD, the number of people who stopped taking Lexapro due to side effects was low.5,6*†

A head-to-head trial was conducted to compare Lexapro and Paxil® CR (paroxetine HCL) in the treatment of GAD. In this trial, patients taking Lexapro and patients taking Paxil® CR experienced improvement of their GAD symptoms. However, fewer patients stopped taking Lexapro due to side effects as compared to patients taking Paxil® CR (7% for Lexapro vs 23% for Paxil® CR).7

In addition, in this trial, clinically significant weight gain occurred less often in patients treated with Lexapro over 24 weeks (8% for Lexapro vs 18% for Paxil® CR).7

References: 1. Burke WJ, Gergel I, Bose A. Fixed-dosed trial of the single isomer SSRI escitalopram in depressed outpatients. J Clin Psychiatry. 2002;63:331-336. 2. Data on file, Forest Laboratories, Inc. 3. Montgomery SA, Huusom AKT, Bothmer J. Escitalopram is at least as effective as venlafaxine XR in the treatment of depression and is better tolerated. Poster presented at: 15th ECNP Congress; October 5–9, 2002; Barcelona, Spain. 4. Zimbroff DL, Bose A, Li D. Escitalopram treatment of SSRI non-responders can lead to remission in patients who fail initial SSRI therapy. Poster presented at: 157th Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association; May 1-6, 2004; New York, NY. 5. Goodman WK, Bose A. Wang Q. Poster presented at: 23rd Annual Conference of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, 2003; 6. Lexapro [package insert]. St Louis, MO: Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; 2004. 7. Bielski RJ, Bose A, Chang C, Keller MB. A double-blind comparison of escitalopram and paroxetine in the long-term treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. Poster presented at: American College of Neuropsychopharmacology; December 7-11, 2003; San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Answer 3

I know one major side affect it bad headaches. I took it for a brief time, but I already suffered from headaches and this medication just made them much worse. There are other side effects such as loss of libido, dry mouth, hallucination and possibility of thoughts of suicide. These side effects do not happen to everyone who takes it, but during studies, every side effect that a study participant mentions gets recorded and listed on the side effect list. Take a look at the site below.

Source(s):

http://www.lexapro.com/english/about_lex…

PS - Bernadette copied the entire posting she wrote from the Lexapro site which is my link above. Oh look, Dottie (below me) did the same thing, copied it. Well gosh, you could have done tthat yourself huh?

Answer 4

Side Effects
Lexapro® (escitalopram oxalate) is well tolerated by most adults. In fact, patients in clinical trials who took 10 mg of Lexapro experienced overall rates of side effects comparable to patients who took a placebo (sugar pill).1,2 If you think you are experiencing side effects, you should talk with your healthcare professional about your concerns. A simple adjustment in dose may be all that is required.

The most frequent side effects reported with Lexapro are nausea, insomnia, problems with ejaculation, somnolence, increased sweating, fatigue, decreased libido, and anorgasmia.1,2 Patients taking Lexapro typically have mild to moderate side effects which tend to go away with continued treatment. One study of patients taking 10 mg of Lexapro showed that these side effects usually do not cause patients to stop taking Lexapro

Source(s):

http://www.lexapro.com/english/about_lex…

Answer 5

How old is the person taking Lexapro? My son was on this. Though it was better than the Effexor he was on, it did not help his depression much. If a child is taking it, watch for Anger and violence...many anti depressants will cause this in kids, they can also cause them to attempt suicide (my son did). Now he is off ALL medication and I have heard my son laugh, smile and be happy for the first time in 6 years....he has Tourette Syndrome, which caused the depression. Back on topic....other side effects include:

Dry Mouth
Sweating Increased
Central & Peripheral Nervous System Disorders
Dizziness
Gastrointestinal Disorders
Nausea
Diarrhea
Constipation
Indigestion
Abdominal Pain
Influenza-like Symptoms
Fatigue
Psychiatric Disorders
Insomnia
Somnolence
Appetite Decreased
Libido Decreased
Respiratory System Disorders
Rhinitis
Sinusitis
Urogenital
Ejaculation Disorder
Impotence
Anorgasmia

Source(s):

http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/lexapr…

Answer 6

The most noticeable side effect I experienced was that I'd have really vivid dreams on Lexapro. In the mornings, I'd have a hard time getting out of bed because I wanted to go back to dreaming. I wasn't necessarily sleepy, I just wanted to dream.

It's actually the same reason I stopped. I was getting to work later and later. Bad news for just about anyone.