I can't go so far as to say it saved my life, but I'm part of that cohort of 10% of men who develop postpartum depression. Taking a small dosage of Lexapro had zero side effects for me and helped me deal with not just the anxiety and depression I was experiencing but also a lot of pre-existing anxious behavior that I didn't even realize was abnormal.
Huge quality of life improvement. 10/10 would medicate again.
Lexapro made me feel like I was randomly being dropped down an elevator shaft for 6 months after I stopped taking it. I’m glad it worked for you, and am not minimizing that, but these medications have a side effects profile a mile long and should be a therapy of last resort in my opinion.
The problem with antidepressants are that while we know, more or less, what they do, we don't know why they work for some and not for others. Escitalopram (Lexapro) was a vast improvement for me over Citalopram. Then it plateaued and a year later, left me anhedonic. Tried an SNRI that would give me brain zaps every day a few hours before my next dose and it was horrendous to quit using. It also messed with my ability to meditate for a long while. Basically, I could put myself in a mental state that would trigger the same kind of painful brain zaps that withdrawal from the SNRI caused.
I can't go so far as to say it saved my life, but I'm part of that cohort of 10% of men who develop postpartum depression. Taking a small dosage of Lexapro had zero side effects for me and helped me deal with not just the anxiety and depression I was experiencing but also a lot of pre-existing anxious behavior that I didn't even realize was abnormal.
Huge quality of life improvement. 10/10 would medicate again.
Lexapro made me feel like I was randomly being dropped down an elevator shaft for 6 months after I stopped taking it. I’m glad it worked for you, and am not minimizing that, but these medications have a side effects profile a mile long and should be a therapy of last resort in my opinion.
They have a half life and you cannot stop taking them cold turkey without these symptoms, your psychiatrist should help you ween off of it slowly.
The problem with antidepressants are that while we know, more or less, what they do, we don't know why they work for some and not for others. Escitalopram (Lexapro) was a vast improvement for me over Citalopram. Then it plateaued and a year later, left me anhedonic. Tried an SNRI that would give me brain zaps every day a few hours before my next dose and it was horrendous to quit using. It also messed with my ability to meditate for a long while. Basically, I could put myself in a mental state that would trigger the same kind of painful brain zaps that withdrawal from the SNRI caused.