Knowing When To Medicate
One may first wonder why I am even writing about this topic on my blog. The answer is quite simple. My blog not only represents my professional endeavors but also the relationship between my personal life and its professional ramifications. Having endured a couple of years now of mood swings and inexplicable behavioral changes, I have decided to delve further into my understanding of depression and treatment. That brings me to the topic of medication. Generally speaking, I am against drugs for almost any reason. I rarely take headache medicine. I am not currently on any prescribed medication. In fact, the most I take is pepto-bismol and even that is questionable. However, it has been suggested by my therapist that I consider a prescription for Lexapro. Certainly we have all seen the commercials and heard about the product. But what is it?
Lexapro is an antidepressant and a member of the family of medicines known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Lexapro was developed by isolating the medicinal component of CELEXA® (citalopram HBr), a molecule known as an isomer. As a result, Lexapro is able to provide effective and well-tolerated therapy for patients.
How does Lexapro work?
Lexapro helps to restore the brain’s chemical balance by increasing the available supply of serotonin, a substance in the brain believed to influence mood.
I have a tremendous number of reservations about this. First of all, it take 4-6 weeks to even begin to see results. In the meantime, many patients say they experience fatigue, nausea, headaches and diziness. That does not sounds conducive to my life. It may also decrease sexual appetite and has even been reported to cause mild erectile dysfuntion. That alone is not something a thirty year old male wants to hear. However, the positives are that 79% of users report remarkable results after two months of consistent usage. It is covered by most health insurance policies and doesn’t seem to come with any sort of medical or social stigma.
I would love to hear from any of y’all that have taken it, are taking it or have some experience with anti-depressants. This is no easy step in my life and any advice is welcome.
April 13th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
I would try St. Johns Wort first. It has been known to give the same effect as an anti-depressant, but is natural (non-man-made chemical!). I’ve used St. Johns Wort and it tends to stabilize my mood.
“Numerous studies report St. John’s wort to be more effective than placebo and equally effective as tricyclic antidepressant drugs in the short-term treatment of mild-to-moderate major depression (1-3 months).”
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/st-johns-wort/NS_patient-stjohnswort
April 14th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Very good idea. I have been reading up on some non-chemical treatments too and have heard St. Johns mentioned several times. I think with your secondary rec. I will give it a try.
April 14th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
I asked Josh about this, and he said he has no suggestions at all.
Sorry. I did try.
Good luck with your “wort”.
Let me know how it goes.
April 22nd, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I was on Effexor for awhile and it REALLY helped. It really leveled my mood off to where I wasn’t depressed all the time, yet I wasn’t high on life either. I was just kind of in between. The side effects alone were worth it just to have a better outlook on life. That allowed me to see things in a more functional way, and learn to have different coping strategies while I worked my way off the meds later. I am all for something that can give you that positive boost. I did hate going off it though, because the withdrawal was hard. However, I didn’t do it the ‘desired’ way and kind of went cold turkey. I don’t recommend that. You sound really informed about everything though and I think it would be a good choice for now. All of the herbal/non-medicinal treatments that I tried didn’t work. Sometimes drugs are good, and your doctor or therapist would have the best suggestion of which one to try. Some people have to try a couple of different types, so if it doesn’t feel like it’s working right away, give it some time before switching. For all I know….
May 2nd, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I can’t believe that you didn’t consult your personal pharmacist this question