Newly diagnosed and 4 days on Lexapro...

Calexx

New Member

Joined : May 2005

Posts : 10

Posted 5/7/2005 2:44 PM (GMT -7)

I have read the posts here on Lexapro and depression but I have to say that while I am waiting this very first week out, I am very unsure and I am afraid. On Febuary 9th of this year I ( out of nowhere) had a Grand Mal Seizure. I was getting ready for work and it happened. Thank God my brother was here visiting and he knew what to do. And that I was not driving to work at the time.

I was in the hospital for 3 days semi-conscious. It turns out that I am a childhood survivor of Viral Menningitis and seizures were happening (what I thought were "blackouts" or faintings) for years before this.

Having to take seizure medication, no being able to drive and the fear of it happening again, has crippled me.I am a completely different person, introverted and afraid. Not eating- which is nothing to me anyway.

I realize that there are other people in worse situations than I- but all I could think about until this week was- something terrible. I really dont want to hurt myself. Because I have a family, a good job and oppurtunities that other people dont have.

I want to know. Lexapro users- will I ever, ever, be productive and happy again? You know what? I dont even care if I am happy again. Will I be okay. Just okay enough to want to take a shower?

Thank you for reading......

C. Alex

MANDY4U

New Member

Joined : May 2005

Posts : 7

Posted 5/7/2005 3:44 PM (GMT -7)

Fistly welcome calexx,i have been depreesed now for 3 years and fighting all the way ,i have been on many different meds and coped with different feelings that they give you.i had a stroke when i was 27 and being a mother of 4 found life so bad i wanted to give it up.but i have been fighting all my mite and finally i am seeing the light at the end of that nasty tunnel.
im glad to here you have your family around you it really helps because that was the luck that i had,.
You will survive i just know it you sound like a very kind person and have a very careing family,the medication just wants to give your mind a chance to heal and just go with it until YOU feel ready to take your first steps to recovery.i wish you all the luck and also your family ,as depression affects all around us my husbands been great,i bet at times he has wanted to cry but he also manages a smile for me and the kids .
speak to you soon mate and take care.

AlwaysRosie

Veteran Member

Joined : Jan 2005

Posts : 8616

Posted 5/7/2005 6:46 PM (GMT -7)

Welcome Alex!!

So happy to hear that you are getting some help!! Are you in counseling as well as taking meds?? If not, it would be a good idea so that you can work through some of your feelings.

I do take lexapro. I have been taking it for a couple years. I have also tried 3 other anti-d's. Each person is different, but Lexapro has been the best for me. I feel like "me" again. I also have a chronic illness and depression just seems to go hand in hand with lengthy illness.

Lexapro is an SSRI . . . this class of drugs helps your brain to retain seratonin (which has probably been spilling from your body too quickly to be used properly by your brain). That's why the meds take as long as 3 weeks or more to kick in fully. Your body has to accumulate enough seratonin to make a difference to your brain. These kinds of brain chemicals help you to think rationally and receive information correctly. I actually felt much better within a week. Part of that might have been believing that relief was coming. I hope you have the same affect.

Please read and post as much as you wish here. I hope you'll keep us updated on your progress. There is also an epilepsy forum here which might interest you. BTW: one of my brothers has a seizure disorder and he was depressed for many years before he would agree to take an anti-d. He finally agreed to go on an anti-d and it has made him a new person. He is his old self again (still has seizures . . . but is a much more balanced person).

Blessings!

In His Grip,

AlwaysRosie

Psalms 139

_UCTD _{(Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease),}_Hashimoto's,_{High BP,}_{GI Inflamation,}_{Diverticuloses}

_{Plaquenil, RX Motrin, Lexapro, Amitriptylene, Salagen, Lotrel}

_{Please help HealingWell help others. Donate today:}_{https://www.healingwell.com/donate/}

Having2LeftFeet

Regular Member

Joined : Feb 2005

Posts : 472

Posted 5/7/2005 10:18 PM (GMT -7)

HI,

Reading your post made me think is was just like me. 10 or so years ago, I owned my own company and worked my arse off. I could clean 2 super large houses a day when working alone. When I assigned a team to me, we would clean up to four a day. I lived a very active life. Now, I am a hermit. I feel useless and unimportant too. I too have epilepsy and can't drive. I have to depend on my husband for everything and thank God for him. Family is 8 states away so that's not an optiion. I am taking Depakote, 1500 mgs AM and 1,500 mgs PM. Started on dilantin when first diagnosed. That didn't work so I was put on Neurontin. Didn't work. Depakote works well, and I have my levels checked every other month. My husband is a wreck and never knows when he will walk through the door and find me dead or having a stroke. It's hard for him.

Being depressed comes with the territory. Think about how different our lives are from others who aren't depressed or say the're not and then add the seizures and you have a mix for total depression. The way I cope with depression may sound weird, but that's just me.

When I am really down, I get out one of my
"comfort feel-good" movies like Steel Magnolias or A League of their own for a laugh. I also do things around the house like cleaning a closet of waxing the cabinets. Anything as long as I can push my depression out of my mind. Then I think about the poor people that have died in the war, their families, 9-11, innocent victims of violence and I pray a lot. God and I have an understanding. When I call His name, He comes running. He is always there, He doesn't falter, He doesn't turn away, He loves me and comforts me, He always forgives me when I have done something displeasing. He is the first person I count on. Remember, you had to crawl before you learned to walked. It will not happen overnight. I will put you in my prayers. God bless!

"Lefty"

There is no such word as can't. Can't simply means wouln't. Grab as much as life as you can. Future is a long way away for those who don't believe. Don't build a foundation of life on sand. It will take it away with the tide. Love a little more, be unkind a lot less.

Calexx

New Member

Joined : May 2005

Posts : 10

Posted 5/8/2005 5:21 PM (GMT -7)

Thank you all very much for the replies. It may be very unrealistic to think that I will feel better after 5 1/2 days on Lexapro. If and when I do feel better I will post it so your responses wont be wasted.

C. Alexander

AlwaysRosie

Veteran Member

Joined : Jan 2005

Posts : 8616

Posted 5/8/2005 7:03 PM (GMT -7)

C.,

Post as you go along. No need to do this alone. Hope things are starting to feel better for you.

In His Grip,

AlwaysRosie

Psalms 139

_UCTD _{(Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease),}_Hashimoto's,_{High BP,}_{GI Inflamation,}_{Diverticuloses}

_{Plaquenil, RX Motrin, Lexapro, Amitriptylene, Salagen, Lotrel}

_{Please help HealingWell help others. Donate today:}_{https://www.healingwell.com/donate/}

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