Hi everyone. Day 1 here. After speaking with my dr last week and coming clean about how much I was drinking to deal with anxiety and stress, she prescribed Lexapro for me. I’ve never taken anything before for anxiety & am nervous about side effects (Idk why, I likely feel worse when I’m drunk or hungover) But I’ve committed to her, my family and myself to give this a try and stop drinking.
Just looking for others’ experiences!
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this is what famed author Glennon Doyle writes about lexapro: Jesus loves me this I know, for he gave me Lexapro.
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Haha that’s awesome 
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I’ve been on lexapro for about 4 solid years now. I agree with @Mephistopheles that ultimately sobriety is the best option. Drinking depletes serotonin… lexapro restores it. Remove the drink and maybe you wouldn’t need meds? However, when i started lexapro I was in such a state that I could barely function so it was necessary. It doesn’t remove anxiety or depression but it can turn the volume down. In the past 4 years I’ve had stretches of sobriety and stretches of drinking. I always feel better sober. SSRI can help but won’t fix everything.
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Hi Jen,
The first antidepressant I was prescribed was citalopram. Lexapro is a brand name for esocitalopram, a more targeted form of the same drug with a better efficacy to side effect ratio. As such, and being of the group of antidepressants known as SSRIs it should be safe.
You should know how side effects will pan out for you in about a fortnight and whether it is working within 4 weeks. Everyone acts differently to each antidepressant and each of these drugs will work for about two thirds of people and people have different, if any, side-effects; so there is a lot of trial and error and monitoring to get the best result.
I did not do well on citalopram and stopped taking it after 3 months of days full of hallucinations for little effect. Mind you, I didn’t do the other bit of advice - to stop drinking with them! 
You may have some milder effects like dry mouth to start with. Psychological ones such as dissociation may be less discernible, as you are also giving up booze at the same time, and have underlying anxiety and depression, so keep in touch with your doctor. 
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Personally it was not the one for me. It made my cravings worse. My comment on ssri is the downside is it’s trial and error and you need a solid 6-8 weeks to know if it’s going to work for you. I switched to an snri effexor and it was way better for me!
Stick with it and schedule a follow-up appointment with your doctor to update them on your progress. Nobody can tell you if it will help or not unfortunately, only you will know.
Good luck
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I’ve been taking it for about two years, and honestly can say it has helped tremendously. It helped me manage depression and get my life back together.
I was nervous about side effects too and there are some. Mainly, occasional fatigue, and slightly decreased sex drive. But it helped me from taking suicidal ideation to its conclusion, and has also helped get my anger problems down to manageable. If you have any other questions, dm me I’d be happy to answer.
I will say coming off of it is difficult, and I tried once, and did it for a while, but life is much better for me with the medication. Maybe one day I’ll stop, but for now I’d rather just live my life without constantly having to fight with depression.
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I take Lexapro. It has helped a ton. I also drank to self manage anxiety and whatnot. Lexapro has lowered my anxiety a lot. It isn’t habit forming and I have not any side effects with it. Best of luck!
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Thanks. Looking back to childhood it’s obvious I had anxiety issues even then. Even when I was sober I was always anxious about something. I definitely need a little help right now regardless if I’m sober.
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How long have you been sober if you don’t mind me asking?
I totally understand. I know how bad it feels to be that low. Just wait it out and make a plan with your doctor. You will feel better, i wish you well 
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Here’s the thing, these prescription drugs are often different for different people. I’ve been prescribed Lexapro before before I realized that I simply cannot take SSRIs or SNRIs. But besides that I did gain weight on Lexapro, which for me is simply not an option. But for some people, it works really well.
One thing to be aware of is that you will have withdrawals coming off it, or any anti depression medication. They’re not called that, probably to not scare people, but there’s a change in homeostasis that happens when you ingest any substance long term. SSRIs are meant to change the way your brain works. Thus when or if you get off it, you will have to taper slowly.
I’m not typing that up to scare you, just to give you information. For some people, SSRIs are a godsend. That could be you. A lot of people seem to have good experiences playing the Lexapro lottery, but don’t hesitate to let your doctor know if you don’t feel okay on them.
Good luck!
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I’ve taken it before. Honestly i don’t recall there beingany serious side effects for me personally… But it also didn’t help much.
Everyone’s brain chemistry is different though.
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I’m curious about this also. It’s been about 472 days of no alcohol, yet I still really struggle with my mental health. I know the anxiety and depression we’re not caused by alcohol, drinking just massively exasperated the conditions. I can’t seem to get a consistent ‘grip’ so to speak, and it constantly feels like I’m spiraling - and I’m becoming tired of my own shit …so to speak. I’m very hesitant and reluctant to take medication, but I’m starting to feel like I need to give it a go. Because right now, no matter what I tell myself I am “going to do/change”, I can’t seem to do it. And I feel all sorts of lost and fkd up. Thankfully, I know better than to return to drinking to deal with this. The jury is definitely in on that one… drinking makes everything worse! I want to get better. I’m just lost and confused as to how. Also, the side-effect of a lowered sex-drive is also a real deterrent. But perhaps I should give SSRIs/Lexapro a try… 🤷 If it means getting off the rollercoaster of depression and anxiety…
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Today is day 48 after one night out. Before that I had 150 days. I still get urges but I feel so much more comfortable handling my daily stressors sober than I once did. I’ve lived sober before but I found it impossible to fully relax. That’s when I would relapse. Lexapro has helped a ton. I have a lot on my plate (with school and work and a sick mother) but I finally feel capable and strong enough to handle everything without numbing the stress/pain.
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I started on Lexapro last Friday and found its already made a difference in a very positive way. The only side effect I’ve had is being nauseous for the first couple of days and having a fuzzy headed feeling for about an hour after I take it but other than that it’s great. I was on welbutrin before and it was awful - had really awful aggression. But lexapro is a thumbs up for me
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Hi @jchavez3.
This is a part of my sobriety that I have started in the last couple months. After 2.5 years sober, any chemical imbalances in my brain that remained needed to be addressed. And unfortunately there were quite a few.
I have actually recently been dealing with medication management for myself and Lexapro was one of the drugs I was first prescribed. For me, it did not work. Not because the medication itself doesn’t work, it just wasn’t the right one for me. I learned that I am Bipolar II and needed a COMPLETELY different medication. The Lexapro actually triggered a hypomanic episode that was very frightening, but not out of the ordinary. Thankfully I have been able to sort things out with my MD and am on the right meds now.
The process itself, while a pain on the ass and scary at times, was made MUCH easier by being sober, honest about my history, and compliant with my meds.
For me, the meds are necessary. And I think that in the right context they can be a helpful COMPONENT in recovery. They are by no means a fix. For me, they’ve helped stabilize me so I can function day to day and work through the things I need to.
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Thats how feel. I’m tired of my own shit and I need some time to clear my head and think straight without all the noise. I cant seem to do that on my own. I’m worried about the sex drive too but to be honest it’s already low just because of constant stress and having drank too much.
I definitely don’t think it’s a cure all but also a component that I’m hoping helps get me on the right track!
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