Posted by bleauberry on April 14, 2009, at 19:06:07
In reply to Prozac vs. Lexapro, posted by moviemom on April 14, 2009, at 9:55:21
With no knowledge of what meds you've tried, reactions, or history, I would go with prozac because it does more stuff. It is dirtier. That's a good thing. Lexapro does slightly beat prozac in metastudies, but not by much, and those studies have many flaws and biases. My local town doctor has as many patients on prozac as all the others combined, if that means anything.
If you go with prozac, be sure, and I mean it, not kidding, get the brand version. It costs more and is worth it. Absolutely refuse generic. Chances of failure are already high enough in this game. Keep the odds in your favor with the real stuff. My doc sees a big difference between the two. If you do well on it, you can always try a switch to generic a few months later.
Lexapro I think generally has fewer side effects. It is basically weight neutral to weight gain, if that is important, while prozac is generally weight neutral to weight loss. Prozac is usually a bit more energizing by day, more insomnia, while Lexapro is usually a bit more lethargic by day, yet insomnia can be a problem for many people, especially in the early going. With either med, insomnia usually turns into good sleep several months later. It takes a while to get there.
Insomnia. A very low dose of another antidepressant along with your prozac or lexapro is the best bet. While there are a handful of options, I would look no further than these:
5mg-25mg Amitriptyline; 7.5mg Remeron.
A good sleep med meant as a sleep med is Lunesta. Many people use 25mg-50mg of the antipsychotic Seroquel. I would save that option for last.Just my opinions.
poster:bleauberry
thread:890606
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090408/msgs/890728.html