Antidepressant Treatment. Lexapro

If you have been experiencing anxiety for a long time, you are probably aware of the practice of using antidepressants in the treatment of anxiety. Antidepressant treatment of anxiety disorders is one of the preferred forms of treatment by most doctors, and this could be true for your doctor as well.

Antidepressants are used in the treatment of anxiety because they are generally safe, effective and non-addictive. The good thing about using antidepressants in the treatment of anxiety disorders is that it does not seem to have serious long-term adverse effects although it may cause a few minor side effects, which are generally tolerable.

During the course of treatment, if you do not respond to a particular antidepressant, your doctor can easily switch you to another until you find one that works for you.

The antidepressant drugs used in the treatment of anxiety are classified as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). These drugs have been shown to significantly reduce the level of anxiety felt by up to 70% of those who take them.

One major drawback in the use of antidepressants in the treatment of anxiety is that some side effects may be felt in the first few weeks of taking the drugs. For example, side effects associated with SSRI’s include weight gain, headaches, insomnia, vivid dreams and even anxiety.

Anxiety is also another side effect seen in people who use SNRI’s, aside from insomnia or sedation, vivid dreams, nightmares and weight gain. These side effects are most often the reason why some people discontinue taking antidepressants for the treatment of their anxiety because they feel that the drug is not working or that the anxiety is getting worse.

The initial trial period for the use of antidepressants in the treatment of anxiety attacks is three months, which is the ideal time for the dosage to be adjusted correctly, for the side effects to subside and for the benefits of the drug to become clear.

The side effects of antidepressants when used in the treatment of anxiety will only last for a couple of weeks and will gradually diminish over time. Your doctor may lower your dose or advise you to take the drug at a different time of day in order to minimize some of the side-effects.

Depression is a mental disorder that is characterized by appearing of such feelings as sadness, disappointment, hopelessness and some other feelings. A person who doesn’t suffer from depression exhibit one or more of such symptoms several times during  lifetime, but in fact such l problems are occasional and are not diagnosed as depression. But it becomes a medical condition if such symptoms are deep and long-lasting so that it destroys a normal life. If it happens it’s important to seek for medical assistance. The medications that are prescribed by the doctors to help the patients who suffer from depression to cope with and overcome depression are called antidepressants.
Any antidepressants can’t be taken without the doctor’s consultation and medical prescription.
This is explained by the fact that all antidepressants have a number of adverse reactions, some of which might be very serious. If a prescribed medicationdoesn’t show desirable results, the physician will change the drugas there are a lot of antidepressants available in the market today and as a rule they are effective on all patients in different ways.
One of the most popular antidepressant available in the US market these days is Lexapro, which is the brand name of Escitalopram Oxalate. Lexapro refers to the type of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor medications. This group of medicationsinfluences the brain by balancing the serotonin level. It’s proven thatserotonin has an influence on the person’s mood. Lexapro is the newest SSRI medication and has a number of advantages over old-fashionmedications that follow the SSRI group among which areCelexa, Paxil, Zoloft, and Prozac.
As a rule Lexapro is prescribed under one of the following medical conditions: patient has not started treatment yet, patient has started to use another medication but it hasn’t brought the desirable results or it has led to some adverse reactions.
The strongest reasons for choosing Lexapro as the treatment ofdepression are: less adverse reactions, lower dosage and prompt action.  But remember that one shouldn’t choose this medicationthemselves, this should be doneby a doctor.