[Hopefull]

I have a new insurance plan which doesn't cover mental health. I will get a 10 to 30% discount on any prescriptions. I am currently on Lexapro which is the only anti-depressant that I have ever tried. It works for me.
My T suggested that I consider trying a generic of one of the other SSRI's. I left a message for Pdoc's nurse. She says that Pdoc will be back on the 26th. I think that he knows his medications but I don't know how well he knows me. I don't want to have to have an appointment with him for a while if possible but I might have to if I am going to figure this out. But, I hate to spend $1-- to talk to him for 20 minutes. Ugh!
Have any of you had to change drugs due to insurance reasons? Was it easy or hard to get off the original drug and switch to the other? I was off Lexapro for two days because my first Pdoc was out sick. I was dizzy by the second day and cried my head off at the end of the day (part of that was because pdoc used the "resistance" word in our session.)

[sunrise]

Hopefull, I have some good news for you. Lexapro is basically a fancier version of Celexa, but it is pretty much the same thing. The patent expired on Celexa, so it is now available in generic. Try asking your pdoc what he thinks about your swtiching from Lexapro to Celexa. Good luck!

Citalopram is the true name for Celexa, which is the brand name.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celexa
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Citalopram was originally created in 1989 by the pharmaceutical company Lundbeck and the patent for it expired in 2003 , allowing other companies legally to produce generic versions.

Lundbeck has recently released an updated formulation called escitalopram oxalate (also known as Cipralex™ or Lexapro™), which is simply the S-enantiomer of the racemic citalopram, and acquired a new patent for it. In the United States, Forest Laboratories licenses the rights for both Celexa and Lexapro from Lundbeck, which is based in Denmark.

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[tranquility]

Hi there

I work with someone who went from lexapro to celexa because her lexapro co-pay went from $30 up to $50. She switched a few weeks ago and has been fine so far

Tranquility

Not sure if this is part of your concern or not, but generics must go through rigorous testing before they are put on the market. Basically they have the same ingredients as the brand name medication but are simply made by a different company and sold for less. They are required to prove their effectiveness. As a certified pharmacy tech, I can tell you in my experience it has been very, very rare that I have seen a patient require a brand name for medical reasons.

[Hopefull]

First, I know about the fact that Celexa, prozac and Paxil have generics. As for the person above, I only have a bachelor's degree in biology (chickened out of med school-Ok I didn't chicken out. I discovered that I can't deal with emergencies. I tend to freeze up and think about how dumb I am in emergencies. A doctor can't do that. I HATE MY LIFE.) and work in a drug store. I just don't like to change what works. I will of course ask about Celexa. I am mostly curious about pricing, how easy it is to change a drug. I didn't like the dizzyness/crying from being off Lexapro. I mean do I have to go through withdrawal in order to do this? What is that like? (I'm spoutting some because I work in a drug store and my manager reduced my hours. Now some stupid NEW pharmacy tech gets more hours than I do. I mean that's probably just an associate's degree like I almost have for my addiction counseling studies). She even tried to tell me that Organic Chemistry is harder than Biochemistry. Yeah, right. Biochemistry was harder than Organic Chemistry for me. She even tried to boss me around a little. I know that store better than her. I pull tags better than her. Why does everyone get promoted over me? Is it because I can't stand stress? I miss my T. She is out for two months for shoulder surgery . She told the name of a substitute T but I don't even know her. I will schedule something with her for next month. But I don't know if I can even self-disclose much to someone that I don't know.

Sorry for going off on you guys. I am just in a crappy mood and feel like I could have been something if I could be less of a negative thinker. I so smart yet I come off as stupid as times.

[sunrise]

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Hopefull said:
I didn't like the dizzyness/crying from being off Lexapro. I mean do I have to go through withdrawal in order to do this? What is that like?

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I think since Lexapro and Celexa are basically the same thing, you will probably not have withdrawal (but don't quote me on that!). Maybe you could even do Lexapro one day and substitute with Celexa (or a Celexa generic) the next day. Not sure if it would work, but since the drugs are so similar, maybe.... Ask your pdoc for sure when you are ready to make the switch.

I'm sorry you are missing your T, Hopefull. It's hard when they go away. You don't sound stupid to me!

[sunrise]

Now I've gotten way too interested in this question, so I googled it.

Here's one opinion:
http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/M...s/Q152956.html
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lexapro-vs-celexa
Dec 15, 2003

Question: Hello-in Nove. 03-I started taking lexapro-5 mg-once a day-After a month on the med. I had a significant improvement in mood. Then I was told that my insurance would not pay for the med. I was switched to celexa 10mg. per day. I was told that it is essentially the same med. I seem to have lost the improvement in my mood though. Is lexapro and celexa the same. perhaps my mood change is not related to the med. change. please respond soon if possible-I have been so depressed and if the med is different-rather than suffering I want to try to get back on lexapro again. Thank you

Response from Dr. Horwath
Answer: Lexapro and Celexa are similar drugs, but not the same. First, these 2 drugs are most effective at different doses. The usual dose range for Celexa is 20 - 40 mg/day. Lexapro 5 mg/day is approximately equivalent to Celexa 20 mg/day. If you didn't respond to 10 mg of Celexa, you may do better with 20 mg/day.

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There are a lot of Celexa vs Lexapro stories all over the Internet.

Good luck!