Lexapro or Prozac?

I have bad major depression which alot of medications have not worked for. I just did a trial of LUvox which did nothing I also have tried effexor which caused brutal heart pounding side effects.One of my biggest issues is anxiety and agitation so my question is: would Prozac or Lexapro cause more agitation and edgyness as a side effect? I would love to hear from people who are taking or have taken either of these medications. Thanks so much

shift

thanks for the info. Did Prozac cause any side effects like agitation?

Do you remember how long it took Prozac to start working?

I took lexapro a couple years ago and it worked wonderful, I was on 10mg.  I went off to try to have a baby and had a horrible relapse so I went back on after 5 months of being off.  I had to go up in dose very gradually because I did get alot of anxiety but then it did level off and was really working well, got through the holidays wonderful and as my old self but very busy which is really better for me, now that they are over I am feeling very depressed and a little down not sure if I need to increase the dosage or if the let down of the holidays being over needs to wear off plus I am better with routine and am completely out of mine right now oh yeah add pms to that.  Just don't want to do this again I felt so good the last couple months  however I would definitely give lexapro a try it has worked wonders for me.  Feel better

scaredycat

do any of you experience pms even though you are on the lexapro. 

hi shift, i am currently taking prozac 20mg per day. i think it kinda depends what dose you are given. but it started working for me after about 4 weeks, now i have lots of energy, i feel a lot more positive, and not as down in the dumps. i do find it difficult to concentrate at the mo tho, which is something i will address with my doctor, but he did say it was only a short term thing.

i think anti D's work differently for different people and its a case of trial and error, i guess im lucky that i hit it right first time with prozac. good luch with your quest !! :)

Hi shift, I have taken both. The prozac made me more likely to be edgy, but it pulled me out of the hole fast and worked well for me for 8 years as long as I took a low dose of trazodone at night. I'm on Zoloft now and it takes care of the depression as well as the anxiety. So I guess it depends on your anxiety level really. Lexapro was ok, but if your depression is major, you may need something else. It worked well for me for awhile, then I had a major upheaval in my life and I needed to go back on the prozac with a higher dose of Trazodone at night. I've tried quite a few SSRI's and I gotta say prozac is my failsafe if I see the abyss headed my way.
Paxil made me feel doped and didn't help me at all.
Cymbalta gave me headaches.
Lyrica whacked me out.
Wellbutrin made me paranoid but I lost weight.
Pamelor made me suicidal.
Surprisingly enough, Dr has me on Neurontin(actually an anti-seizure drug) now for pain and I feel it has helped my anxiety a LOT. :)
Serzone didn't help me much.

But everyone responds differently to each med and also after awhile a med can poop out and you get to start all over again. I think as long as you have a Dr you have a good relationship with, that is your best bet. He'll help you find what will work for you. Most importantly, don't give up. And give each med a minimum of 6 wks to see if it'll work or not unless you just can't handle the side effects.
Good luck and God Bless. :)
Savvy

Thanks for the help and advice. Savvy63 have you ever had a Lyme test from a reputable lab. Your symtpoms (arthritis, psych stuff, fibromyalgia) sound like they could be LYme disease. There is a Lyme forum you can check out or google Lyme symtpoms and it might be something to look at. Most Dcotors don't have Lyme on there radar screen.

Shift

I was on Prozac last year and it helped me a lot. I stopped taking it because I thought I was "better." My doctor informed me that this was a poor decision because it was the Prozac working to make me better. Prozac made me feel somewhat emotionless (not as bad as zoloft) and that is why I didn't like it. Here is my question... I was put on Lexapro the other day. Within the first day I had 4 panic attacks and by the 3rd (and last) day I was suicidal and out of control with anxiety. I was prescribed Prozac again because it worked for me in the past... I am worried though that I will have panic attacks and suicidal thoughts like I did with the Lexapro when I start the Prozac today. Is this likely? I don't remember having problems the first time with Prozac, but I am naturally just... scared... please let me know any opinions you have!

I also wanted to know if anyone here would be interested in starting an anxiety support group forum (online). If you can give or need support for anxiety or stress please let me know. I would love to know that I am not alone...

Hi A.Rose, Welcome to the depression forum. I hope those who have experience with Lexapro and Prozac will be by to share their experiences and opinions with you. If you feel comfortable doing so, you might want to start your own thread on this topic, since the most recent post on this thread is almost two years old. I also noticed that you were asking about an Anxiety support group. I would encourage you to visit the Anxiety and Panic forum here at Healing Well. There are a lot of kind and supportive people there who would love to talk to you. Please come back and share with us some more.....we'd be happy to get to know you better.

Hey :)
I guess I just thought I'd share my thoughts :) It really is a personal thing, because everybody's different, and (I know I sound like a medication commercial here), but everybody's depression and anxiety is different, too. So you can be the same age, height, weight, everything, but that doesn't necessarily mean the same prescription works for both of you, unfortunately it really is just trial and error. I can tell you, however, that I also lucked out with Prozac (I have depression and anxiety issues). But, just make sure you don't let horror stories scare you away from treatment, it tend to be the lesser of two evils! :) Also, if you think Prozac (or even Lexapro) is too expensive, they are both available in generic forms, and even cheaper at Costco! (30 days for under $8, and it gets A LOT cheaper if you buy 2 or 3 months at a time!)
I really hope this helps :)
Good luck!