Lexapro versus the generic brand Citalopram

Hi Anna,

Welcome to the forum. I am sorry that the generic isn't the same as the name brand. That happens. The doctor's often wont admit, or maybe don't know. But the generics aren't always as good. I hope you find what works for you. Keep posting and know that we all care.

Hugs, Karen

Hey ! Ive been on citalopram 20mg for the last year and seeing as that aint going well for me changing to Lexapro 10mg , basically changing the opposite way , doing my research on it now, it seems pretty similar and the doc said while it;s a smaller dose it has the same strength

I have read (and that means no one knows whether it's true or not) that the the chief difference between the prescribed medication and the generic form of it is in the fillers. That's where the problems are occurring for some people; so if one feels better on the original prescribed form, he (or she) should stay with the original medication rather than switching to the generic form.

That might be a legitimate reason to challenge the insurance companies who are requesting generic issuance of medications rather that the manufacturer's design of the compound.

It's Genetic

Post Edited (It's Genetic) : 4/21/2012 5:36:16 PM (GMT-6)

Citalopram is the generic form of Celexa. It makes sense what Mr. Steve said about his doctor telling him that Celexa (or Citalopram) works more like Xanax. I was told by a therapist before I went on it that her clients who were on Celexa had a very hard time getting off of it. But I couldn't afford Lexipro so I went on Citalopram for anxiety/panic attacks. I have been taking 20 mg for over 4 years and have unsuccessfully tried to ween myself off of it a few times. It seems that within a couple months of getting down to 10 mg my anxiety returns and is unmanageable even with meditation, acupuncture and natural remedies. As soon as I go back up to 15 or 20 mg, boom! The anxiety is gone in less than a week . So based on my experience, it does perform like Xanax. I wonder if this is why it is so hard to get off of? I'm concerned that it has permanently altered my brain and I will never be able to go off of it. I am in the process of applying for free Lexipro through the local health clinic, in hopes that eventually it will be easier to get off of. After reading many of the posts, it will be interesting to see if there is a difference for me between the Citalopram (Celexa) and the Lexipro.

I have been on Lexapro for 5 or 6 years now and it has worked wonderful for me.  I was picking up a refill when my pharmacist advised that my insurance had refused to pay for it.  My insurance wanted me to take Citalopram instead, because it is so much cheaper.  I pay $90 per month for Lexapro (with insurance) and I could get a 90 day supply of Citalopram for less than $10 !!!  Oh yes, I was happy.  I talked to the pharmacist about it and she even said she switched from Lexapro to Citalopram and could not tell a difference.  Well, I'm on my 2nd month now and I CAN tell a difference.  My panic attacks are more frequent, dizzy spells, etc.  I am also a heart patient and I can't afford the panic attacks (which make me afraid that I'm having another heart attack)!!  It is a miserable feeling!!!  The Citalopram may work the same for some, but not for me.  I am calling my doctor today and going to fight with my insurance to let me take Lexapro.  It is a crying shame that our insurance dictates what we can and can't take.  It's our bodies and our minds, we know what works best for us.  We pay them monthly and they should pay their part of our drugs, no matter what it may be that works for us!!  I'm so upset with insurance companies, can you tell????

49 years old, heart attack, stent, diabetic and anxiety/panic attacks!!

Best wishes and health to everyone!!

I have taken Lexapro 20mg for 5 yrs now, I love it and had absolutely no side effets. I just got the new generic for Lexapro ( Escitalopram). I understand it to be the exact ingrediants, however I have experienced insomnia and Restless Leg Syndrome and feeling somewhat out of it. Through my insurance the gereric is free. I am willing to pay for Lexapro because it works for me and I don't want anything affecting my behavior. Has anyone else had difference since changing to generic? Is it really the same?

Citalopram is the generic for Celexa. The pharmaceutical company Lundbeck created Celexa in 1989 for treatment of major depression. When the patent for it ran out in 2003, it was made generic, and Lundbeck created a new formulation of the drug called Lexapro in 1997. Lexapro has been shown in lab studies to be more tolerable and effective than Celexa.

Now the personal experience. I first started taking Lexapro in 2007. The Lexapro helped my depression and made my life tolerable. My doctor suggested I switch to Celexa in 2009 because I lost my health insurance and Celexa was WAY cheaper. Celexa worked pretty well for my depression, however I have more side effects on Celexa. Namely feeling tired a lot and a complete lack of sex drive. I can live with the side effects so have been on celexa since and my dosage was just raised last week (3 years later) because it didn't seem to be working any more. This week I am starting to feel a bit better again.

If I had money/insurance I'd go back on Lexapro. There's my 2 cents :)

I have been on Lexapro for almost 5 years now. For GAD and mild OCD symptoms. It has been smooth sailing for me until earlier this month. I went to pickup my Rx and it was changed to the generic Lexapro(Ecitalopram). At first I didnt thing much of it because I heard that the generic equivalent was now out. So I figured it was the same. Boy was I wrong. I started taking the generic on Wednesday May 2nd and by Saturday May 5th i starting having bad anxiety attacks and feeling really out of it. Sort of the same symptoms that led me to take Lexapro in the first place. The following week was much of the same and then insomnia kicked in. This was really throwing me for a loop and I was thinking the meds are wearing off and I might need to increase my dosage. I started doing a little research and found out that others had this problem when changing so I finally called my doctor to have them change me back to Lexapro. I have now been back on Lexapro for about 12 days. I noticed my anxiety levels have dropped and overall I feel better. I am still dragging a bit though some parts of the day and feel a little sadness come on as well time to time. I wonder if this is normal? I will keep you guys updated..

I took Lexapro for a number of years and it worked well for depression and anger related problems, when I had good health care coverage. When I retired and couldn't afford Lexapro I switched to Celexa. I had the prescription filled at Walgreens and it did ok, but after 90 days I switched to Safeway because the Celexa was cheaper. After a week of HOT FLASHES and chest tightness (the pills did not look the same as my previous pills but Safeway told me they were using a different pharmasutical company), symptoms I had not experienced in years, I switched to WALMART. I picked up the pills today and AGAIN they are different from both Walgreens and Safeway. I will try them but I have no idea what the side effects will be. What I find amazing I am having to experiment with three different drugs that all are supposed to be Celexa (citalopram, same doseages). Celexa does not take the place of Lexapro and I checked with Walmart today about the cost of their new generic Lexapro (Escitalopram) and it will cost me $108.00 a month for a 30 day supply of 20 mg. I still cannot afford the drug and who knows what this generic drug will do. I have been on anti depressants for years and have taen several types. The best for me has been LEXAPRO.

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to throw my 2cents in about the generic Escitalopram vs the real deal Lexapro. I am 31 and have had anxiety (GAD) and depression issues since I was 20. They put me on Paxel years ago but I thankfully got off that pretty quickly with out to many issues. A couple years later they put me on Zoloft... talk about zombie! I was on that for 6 years and I count those as 6 years of a mostly wasted life... Ah well we live and we learn right? I got off the Zoloft in 2008 and did pretty well for a few months until WHAM! I had some major anxiety issues.. you know the ones where your body is just humming and you get all those unpleasant physical sensations along with racing thoughts. Well this was basically a constant thing for 4 months. I tried to deal with it by exercise and activity(was the fittest I've ever been during that time) but it just wouldn't go away and as much as I hated it I decided I needed to go back on meds before I checked myself into the nut house. My Dr recommended a couple different meds but I had heard from some of my friends that they had tried lexapro with great results so that's the one I went with and I am SO SO SO glad I did. It took a couple months to totally set in but it really did change my life when it did. I was able to function like a normal person should and it felt great! I did gain some weight but I attribute that to me not feeling so amped up all the time and actually being ok with being lazy sometimes haha... well that and the Dr pepper I drink all the time.

I've been on the lexapro for a few years now and no my insurance did not cover it but I felt like since this drug was allowing me to work at a job I love with out my crazy issues I was somewhat happy to pay for it. In early March I went to pick up my refill and the pharmacist told me the Generic was finally out!! I was so excited! $15 vs $140 was awesome! I didn't think twice about it because like many of you have said its supposed to be the exact same thing.... WRONG! It is SO not the same thing!!! My anxiety came back, luckily not in full force. Insomnia came back and I cant for the life of me get my butt out of bed in the morning. I just can't and its ruining my life! I also for the first time experienced RLS but that was only twice when I took advil for cramps on two different occasions. I dont know if it was the advil generic combo but that's the only time it happened.


I am glad to say that as of this morning I am back on Lexapro and I am hoping to get back to "normal" soon. The generic was absolutely no good for me.

Hi everyone. I'm brand new to this site, and so glad I found it. I've been on 20mg of Lexapro for 9 years. I switched to the generic escitalopram one month ago. Almost every symptom has returned. I went in for some blood work a week ago because I was wondering what was WRONG with me. (The blood tests all came back fine) Now, after reading these posts, I'm thinking it could be this new generic. It's worth it to me to try the Lexapro again. Thanks for your posts. :)

According to an article I found from consumer news online, generic lexipro should be available in mid september 2012.

Rachelle

Hi Rachelle,
It's already here. :)
I'm currently on it. I really hope getting back on THE REAL LEXAPRO will. Cure all my weird symptoms.....I'll let everyone know. :)