Lexapro® (escitalopram oxalate) is well tolerated by most adults.
If you think you are experiencing side effects, you should talk with
your healthcare professional about your concerns. A simple adjustment
in dose may be all that is required.
Side Effects of Lexapro in Studies of Depression
In general, people taking Lexapro do not suffer from agitation, nervousness,
or anxiety any more than people not taking Lexapro. Additionally,
in controlled
studiesA study in which a test treatment is compared with a treatment that
has known effects. The control group may receive no treatment, standard
treatment (which may be another medicine or another approach to care),
or placebo (sugar pill.), clinically important changes in body weight were similar
for patients treated with Lexapro and those treated with placebo.4
Patients taking Lexapro typically have mild to moderate side effects
which tend to go away with continued treatment. One study of patients
taking 10-mg of Lexapro showed that these side effects usually do
not cause patients to stop taking Lexapro. In that study, only 4%
of patients stopped taking Lexapro due to side effects, compared with
3% of the patients taking placebo.1,4
The most frequent side effects reported with Lexapro are nausea,
insomnia, problems with ejaculation, somnolenceProlonged drowsiness or sleepiness.,
increased sweating, fatigue, decreased libido, and anorgasmiaThis is the inability of a person to ever achieve an orgasm while
having sexual intercourse..1,4
Important Safety Information
Side effects of Lexapro in studies of generalized anxiety disorder
(GAD)
In clinical studies of people taking 10-mg a day of Lexapro
for GAD, the number of people who stopped taking Lexapro due to side
effects was low.2,3*†
*Full antidepressant/anxiolytic effect may take 4 to 6 weeks.
† 8% for Lexapro vs 4% for placebo in the comprehensive GAD
safety database.
References: 1. Burke WJ, Gergel I, Bose A. Fixed-dosed trial of the single
isomer SSRI escitalopram in depressed outpatients. J Clin Psychiatry. 2002;63:331-336.
2. Goodman WK, Bose A, Wang Q. Escitalopram 10-mg/day is effective in the treatment of
generalized anxiety disorder. Poster presented at: 23rd Annual Conference of the Anxiety Disorders A
ssociation of America; March 27-30, 2003; Toronto, Canada.
3. Lexapro [package insert]. St Louis, Mo:
Forest Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; 2006.
4. Data on file, Forest Laboratories, Inc.
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