moving from lexapro to celexa generic...

ANything i need to know in advance? Any weird stuff? Does it help both anxiety and depression as lexapro does? withdrawals in the change? any info is helpful - thanks!!!

i just got back on celexa,i had been on it for a couple yrs about 10 yrs ago,and decided w my psych to try it again.i've never had any probs w side effects,but everyone's different.it seems to be helping me somewhat so far,but my anxiety is so severe at times that nothing helps,except benzos,and i can't take those--i get addicted instantly.celexa may help you, though,w your anxiety.the medication merry go round sucks.

Kiya, Celexa and Lexapro are very, very similar chemically and are both supposed to be good for anxiety/depression and be weight neutral. (YMMV, of course.) Since they're so similar, I'm not sure if you would have any withdrawals at all. People are often switched from Celexa to Lexapro because some people become nauseous on Celexa. Lexapro tends not to have that effect. So if you begin to feel queasy after switching to Celexa, that could be the reason and you'd have to see how bad it is before deciding whether to switch back to Lexapro. However, many people do not have stomach problems on Celexa, and I hope you will be one of them! (Why are you switching from L to C? Is it the cost? On my insurance, Celexa is much, much cheaper than Lexapro.)

Sunrise, Luvdogs - thanks for the info. yep the change is for financial reasons. So I wanted to know all I could in advance. I remember starting on L and was sooooooo ill for like 6 weeks. *not looking forward to change* Hopefully there will be little... *crosses fingers*!!

Perhaps I should switch to celexa myself being that my insurance raised my copay substantially for named brand drugs. I'm just so afraid to mess with my meds at this time as I think I'm doing fairly well. Is celexa *really* similar to lexapro?

Celexa (citalopram) is a mixture of two molecules that have the same chemical formula but are mirror images of each other. Lexapro (escitalopram) is a pure forumula of just one of these molecules. So, yes, they are chemically very similar, and Celexa is actually "half" Lexapro since it contains both molecules. Even though they are chemically so similar, they can have different effects. The study below shows more people with depression respond to Lexapro (76%) than to Celexa (61%). In addition people on Lexapro showed higher decreases on a scale that measures depression (depression index decreased 22.3 pts) compared to Celexa (depression index decreased 20.4 pts). To me, this latter difference seems negligible. If you do well on Lexapro and want to save money, I think there is a good chance Celexa would work well too. However, you just have to try--there are no guarantees, as everyone's biochemical make-up is different.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15812262

Sunrise - wow I'm glad you put that in leymen's terms for us; I wouldn't have been able to make heads or tails out of that. Interesting that in the test the lexapro was at 20 mg and the celexa at 40 mg and the lexapro still did better. maybe i shan't be cutting the celexa in half afterall. i was taking 5mg lex. (cutting the 10mg in half) and the celexa i see is 20mg. As I am already closer to sui. than i've ever been, i definately don't want this to drop me off in a severe depressive episode when i switch.

Kiya, no, no, no! I am really worried now that you will misinterpret the article I quoted. The two meds are not equivalent in terms of mg. This is true for any two different meds. The pills contain way more than the active ingredient. They contain all sorts of filler, etc., plus the active ingredients don't necessarily have the same molecular weight. So, 10 mg Lexapro does not equal 10 mg Celexa! It sounds like 20 mg Lexapro is approximately the same, by some measure that is not stated in that paragraph, as 40 mg Celexa. Do not equate the two meds! Do not change your dose based on this misinterpretation. For help deciding on the right dose, ask your pdoc. Be sure you tell your pdoc about the suicidal feelings.

Oh -duh kiya. Thanks for the clarification Sunrise =)
I don't even have a Pdoc. I have a Practioner's Assistant. I guess they know as much as a doctor since they do all the work of a RN and a doc. I see her Tuesday and I am sure this will be the topic. I already have the new meds in my hot lil paws but I don't start them (i am assuming, I could be wrong) for 14 days after I finish the Lexapro. I am still a little concerned that it doesn't work quite as effectively... but maybe that was just chance on the part of the article.

Kiya, here are the figures in percentages. That might make it easier to see how similarly the two drugs decrease a person's score on the depression test:

Celexa (citalopram)
Decreased score by 20.3 pts/35.7 starting score = 56.9% decrease in depression

Lexapro (escitalopram)
Decreased score by 22.4 pts/36.3 starting score = 61.7% decrease in depression

See how similar the decrease is?

Perhaps a number of greater concern is that more people respond to Lexapro (76%) than to Celexa (61%). That is the number of people who see any decrease in depression. However, those figures are responders among all people, not responders to one drug among people already known to respond to the other drug. My guess is that people who respond to Lexapro are much more likely to respond to Celexa (you are part of this group) than are people for whom it is not known whether they respond to Lexapro. So that 61% figure is likely to be 90% or something for people like you who have done well on Lexapro. So I think it bodes well for you.

I too have a PNP, and mine has all sorts of resources at her disposal for determining drug equivalencies. She did that sort of calculation for me comparing dosages of Adderall to Vyvanse.

I will keep my fingers crossed for you on the Celexa so you can save some bucks. On my insurance plan, Lexapro costs $75/month and the equivalant amount Celexa costs about $5/month.

Thanks Sunrise =)
Yeah i went from getting lexapro for free... to not having that option any more. I got a 3 month supply at Target for $10.
I am still nervous about trusting my health pros. with the suicidal feelings... but i guess i've got to trust someone. I don't want to have this convo with her... but she can't help if I don't speak and I can't seem to help myself, even though i think i ought to be able to.

Welp, i have one more dose and then it is switch time.... and T is out of town.... I am hoping for a smooth transition. MD said I wouldn't even notice it. But then again, she said I'd have no side effects when starting on lexapro (hahahahahaha, yeah RIGHT). She said that is why lexapro is so nice because it has NO side effects. So we shall see....

Hi Kiya - I was on Lexapro and switched to the generic of Celexa. Lexapro was just too cost prohibitive for me, and I was having a lot of problems with side effects, namely serious headaches and inability to sleep. I have been very happy with the switch. I have no side effects I am aware of on the generic Celexa, and I am sleeping so much better. Not to mention it's $10/month vs $75!!

Good luck,
vienna

Vienna, thanks a lot!!! Good to know. Yeah, I am liking $10!

I have used both,10 mil lexapro "works great", but like 50$ for 30 pills even with insurance...switched to 10 mil celexa $4.....but learned it takes 40 mil celexa to even come close to 10 mil of lexapro,also heard celexa works better on women as a replacement for lexapro than men

I take Xanax now and it "WORKS" hands down, cost is cheap, and I could care less if I am addicted since it "helps",beside they do routine blood work to test for any problems that may come up.

Coral - thanks for the info. I just switched last night and didn't feel anything. like taking water. Did you notice if the celexa helped both depression and anxiety?
Kiya

I know I am coming in on the topic a little late, but I wanted to add that I have been using the generic brand for Celexa for over two year now and I am glad that I found this medicine after researching meds myself then talking over the best route to take with my doctor.... this medicine literally saved my life from my once broken mind that wanted nothing more than a death wish to end my inner pain - - - I am glad I am here today and I owe a lot of my progress to Celexa.

The side effects I have from this medicine is:

1. Tiredness if taken in the morning (best to take at night)
2. Sexual - difficult achieving an orgasm... need extra time now

Rhap - thanks, and so far I have to agree with you on how well this is working. The beginning of January found me standing on a cliff over the river ready to end. I've only been on this new one 3 days I think and already I have noticed that I actually want to get up and do things - there's feeling inside me that I can almost call good. I can't remember the last time I felt this. Come to think on it, in three days, I haven't had any suicidal ideation. *crossing fingers and toes that this continues!*
(((((((((((((Rhap))))))))))))) so glad you are still here!!!

Well, i have been all over the mood map since my last rather cheery post. I had a pretty major drop in mood and rise in anxiety about a week later and I really don't remember much since. But I had notice heart palpitations (thanks to Miss C) that have only started up since i started this. I never thought to tell my Dr since I so do not want any extended examination. But I came in here to post that I just was asked to raise the dose and 2 results happened; one was that i actually slept through the whole night *shock!* The other was that throughout the day I fet workse and worse to the point of having to go home because every single fiber, muscle, bone, joint, and organ (most especially my skin) were in terrible pain and causing me great misery. Has any one else had issue with generic celexa like this when increasing it?

I switched from lexapro to celexa and very glad i did i had no side effects. I was on 20 mg of lexapro and switched to 40 mg of celexa. If anything my sex drive went up and i was/am happier.