What You Need to Know About Lexapro
Thousands of Americans will be give prescriptions for medication for depression this year and you may be one of them. Before you start taking a medication that could kill you, destroy your love life and cost you hundreds of dollars, shouldn’t you find out everything you can about it?
What is Lexapro? What does Lexapro do?
Lexapro is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor or SSRI. SSRIs are thought to prevent serotonin (a chemical produced in the nervous system, the vascular system and the gastrointestinal tract that is thought to affect mood) from being transferred between cells. 1
Does Lexapro work?
SSRI anti-depressants have become very popular and prescriptions for them are common. However, recent research has raised questions about their effectiveness.
A review of studies used to get FDA approval of SSRI anti-depressants found that pharmaceutical companies had withheld unfavorable results and falsely presented other studies to make results look more favorable than they really were. Researchers reviewed 74 studies, involving 12 anti-depressants and over 12,000 people and found that manufacturers’ reports of the percentage of positive outcomes was much higher than the FDA’s and that there appeared to be selective publishing of research results, noting “medical decisions are based on an understanding of publicly reported clinical trials. If the evidence base is biased, then decisions based on this evidence may not be the optimal decisions. For example, selective publication of clinical trials, and the outcomes within those trials, can lead to unrealistic estimates of drug effectiveness and alter the apparent risk–benefit ratio.” 2
The results of this review question both the effectiveness of these drugs and the accuracy of their marketing campaigns.
Patient comments in online forums show both satisfaction and dissatisfaction with their experiences with Lexapro.3
What should I go over with my doctor before I decide to start taking Lexapro?
All SSRI’s have depression, suicidal thoughts and suicide as a side effects, including Lexapro. Children, teens and young adults have been most at risk of suicide and developing severe depression when taking these drugs. 4
SSRI’s may also cause two other potentially fatal side effects when they are taken by women who are pregnant.5 Neonatal Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension is defined as the failure of the normal circulatory transition that occurs after birth, the baby’s circulatory system changing from functioning as a fetus to functioning on its own. This can be fatal to newborns, and in some surviving infants can result in lifelong respiratory and neurological development problems. 6
Serotonin Syndrome is a potentially life threatening drug reaction that causes the body to have too much serotonin and, if untreated, can be fatal.7
Other side effects of Lexapro can include hallucinations, seizures and fevers. 8
What if I’m already taking Lexapro?
You should always talk to your doctor before stopping any prescription. Lexapro can cause withdrawal symptoms such as mood changes, irritability, agitation, dizziness, numbness or tingling in the hands or feet, anxiety, confusion, headaches, tiredness, and difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. 9
Learn everything you can about Lexapro before you start taking it.
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1 Michael W King, PhD,”Discover what is serotonin,” http://www.whatisserotonin.com; themedicalbiochemistrypage.org, LLC, “Table of Neurotransmitters,” (last modified 25 June 2012) http://themedicalbiochemistrypage.org/nerves.php#5ht
2 Turner EH et al. 2007, “Selective publication of antidepressant trials and its influence on apparent efficacy,” New England Journal of Medicine. 358: 252-260. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18199864
3 Depression Forums (retrieved 7 October 2012), http://www.depressionforums.org/forums/topic/12126-how-long-did-it-take-for-cipralexlexapro-escitalopram-to-start-working; healingwell.com, Patient Forums (retrieved 8 October 2011), http://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=19&m=1229057
4 Food and Drug Administration, Medication Guide Lexapro, http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm088620.pdf;
5 Food and Drug Administration, “Information for Healthcare Professionals: Escitalopram (marketed as Lexapro)” (July 2006) http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/DrugSafetyInformationforHeathcareProfessionals/ucm084303.htm
6 medscape.com, Steinhorn R, “Persistent Newborn Pulmonary Hypertension” (Updated 20 December 2011, retrieved 6 October 2012) http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/898437-overview
7 A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia, “Hyperserotonemia; Serotonergic syndrome” (last reviewed: July 8, 2012, retrieved 6 October 2012), http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004531/
8 Medline Plus, “Escitalopram,” (retrieved 8 October 2012) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a603005.html
9 Ibid.