Cipralex/escitalopram for SA

[BritishPeace]

Has anyone tried this medication before? What are your opinions? My doctor has considered me going on it. I have a mixture of problems not just SA but also depression (comes and goes), OCD, and body dysmorphia.

[Ajax Amsterdam]

I've been on it since it first came to market. It's all subjective of course, but my experience of it is that it has helped me a lot. Pre-meds I was very unstable. I could go to bed ok one night and be all over the place the next day for no apparent reason. I could have reactive depression, but also become depressed at other times for no apparent reason.

This med has really ironed out the depressive episodes that came without apparent cause. I've also had far fewer depressive episodes in reaction to life events.

I've done a hell of a lot of work on myself and I'm in a much better place now than I was before taking this med. Being on the meds brought a level of stability that simply was not there previously, and it's been upon this more stable base that my own work and progress has been built.

Seeing as such meds are not a quick fix, but rather an assistance to your own work and any therapies, life changes etc, in my case the use of meds has been productive.

Apart from a dreadful experience on an old med when I was 17, Cipralex has been the only med I've taken for SA and depression. I had a horribly rough first six weeks or so on it where I actually felt worse, but after that it's been a good med for me.

[BritishPeace]

Would you consider coming off it ever? I have worked on myself a lot too, but I still go into depression for no reason (I know the reason really but I can't fix it) and am socially anxious. However, I am worrying about my sex drive.

[Ajax Amsterdam]

^
Well, my GP thinks I should stay on it. This is due to seeing what has happeneed when I've gone on reduced doses and once came off the med and was suddenly hit by a life crisis and ended up in the hands of the MH Crisis Team. It seems, for me at leat, the pros of staying on it outweigh the cons. My GP and I have discussed it a number of times, of course.

Staying on is not ideal, but it's a small price to pay really because pre-meds I was desperately stuck and so unstable I could not sustain any progress. I know the sex drive thing can be problematic for some. It has reduced mine, but I'm also 54 now and that may have reduced due to age anyway. I suppose it's a case of any individual working out the pros and cons of med usage in their case and making an informed choice from there onwards. For some people, the cons will no doubt outweigh any benefits they gain, but I suppose you have to try it to know for sure.

[BritishPeace]

Originally Posted by Ajax Amsterdam

^
Well, my GP thinks I should stay on it. This is due to seeing what has happeneed when I've gone on reduced doses and once came off the med and was suddenly hit by a life crisis and ended up in the hands of the MH Crisis Team. It seems, for me at leat, the pros of staying on it outweigh the cons. My GP and I have discussed it a number of times, of course.

Staying on is not ideal, but it's a small price to pay really because pre-meds I was desperately stuck and so unstable I could not sustain any progress. I know the sex drive thing can be problematic for some. It has reduced mine, but I'm also 54 now and that may have reduced due to age anyway. I suppose it's a case of any individual working out the pros and cons of med usage in their case and making an informed choice from there onwards. For some people, the cons will no doubt outweigh any benefits they gain, but I suppose you have to try it to know for sure.

Might try it then you have to try to know for sure as you say, if it's no good it's no good.

[Ajax Amsterdam]

I hope you find it helpful. If not, at least you know and can bin it off.
All the best.

[Utopia]

Yeah, that's meant to be really good for SA and generally keeping calmer in general.