Best SSRI w/ least Side Affects?

Hi, I was wondering, especially to people out there who have experience taking SSRI's or other anxiety medication, which SSRI have you found to be the most effective w/ the least side affects (esp in regards to weight gain, sexual side affects, and ease of getting off of said medication)? I have never been on any anxiety medication, and was recently prescribed luvox (50mg) as a daily, and klonopin to use on an as needed basis(if a major panic attack arises). I am leery to try or start any medication because I've read a lot of horrible reviews for luvox. I also researched lexapro and saw more favorable reviews & am leaning toward requesting that instead. My issue is panic disorder, Generalized anxiety disorder and some slight OCD. What do you guys think?

its not an ssri, but I take buspar for my anxiety. it is highly effective. I used to hallucinate my anxiety was so bad and that is gone now. and I have no side effects from it. I refuse to tolerate any side effects from my meds. im prescribed 45mg but im only taking 30 a day and seem to be doing fine on that.

I don't think there is a good answer to your question. Everyone doesn't react the same way to any particular anti-depressant med. What works for me may not work for you or 20 other people. A med that causes other people side effects may not cause side effects for me. Some people have no withdrawal effects with A-D meds. Others have miserable experience from withdrawal.
I don't take any online reviews or hearsay anecdotes for meds seriously. If I did I would never have tried Prozac or Efffexor and I would be much worse off than I am now.

I take luvox and for me definitely the least side effects compared to other SSRI's I've been on. I do however notice if I miss dosages, not at once but after 2-3 days. So it possibly could be hard to come off. But then again so can the rest of them so I don't know if it makes it special.

I suffer from panic attacks and would never allow them to put me on SSRI meds period. You do have a say so and you do have patient rights. I take valium only as needed. You should be very aware of all these pharmaceuticals. Many of these companies are not "transparent" with all of the side effects and are being sued up the wazoo. Ultimately, it is your call and your choice.

Hang in there!

Kind regards,
QuasiM0D0

I actually do think an occasional benzo is better to take for panic attacks. Sometimes just knowing you have a quick fix can sometimes defuse an attack altogether. Luvox can help with things like repetitive thoughts but it hasn't done anything for my other kinds of anxiety.

I know many will disagree with me but I find klonopin a "dishonest" med. You can barely feel it until it sort of sneaks in. Which makes people want to stay in that state and sort of might increase chance of addiction. I take the type of benzo that you can actually feel when it starts working, sledgehammering out the anxiety. For me it has been much easier monitoring my use with that kind of med.

But we're all different.

Only because you asked for my personal experience: Prozac has been the best med for me with the least side effects. It did not completely stop my anxiety or help my depression, but it stopped the panic attacks. At the least is put a 'cap' on how high my anxiety got. My anxiety persisted, but it was manageable.

No weight gain or other side effects aside from temporary difficulty sleeping after dose increases.

Lexapro and Effexor are the only other SSRI and SNRI I have tried, and they both caused weight gain (from 130lbs to 170/180.) Lex made me incredibly lethargic. Effexor caused dizziness, restlessness, palpitations ... really, the whole gamut!!

YMMV The only thing you can do is try them for yourself and judge off of your own experience

I am on Lexapro and Buspar and find them both effective with little side effects.

Propranolol is a huge help for my anxiety, although that only really gets the physical stuff, not everything that goes on in the brain.

Just so you know, drugs effect people differently, so you can't always just say "X is the best." Citalipram might be amazing for some people, but it nearly killed me, whereas Prozac worked quite well with me, but some people have had issues with that, too. Just depends on what works for you, I guess.

Zoloft for me. Cant stand benzos.

I was prescribed klonopin at one point, and yeah lets just say it did not work out very well as I ended up constantly taking it and abusing it...but now I am prescribed valium which I have not had that issue with, though at times I wish it would work faster.