waiting period

[Jimmy1965]

I'm currently seeing a psychologist for Anxiety and depression. I'm the first to admit that you should not do it all with just meds because meds have been very frustrating for me. However, my psychologist has me doing some congnitive behavioral excersise's and they seem to help. My psychologist recomended that I try Lexapro or Cymbalta for my anxiety (which is more GAD) and depression. We'll I decided to try the Lexapro. I've been on Zoloft for 2 months. 50mg for 6 weeks and 75mg for two weeks. I started on  5mg of Lexapro today and my Dr still wants me to continue with the 75mg of Zoloft until Friday then he will taper it down to 50mg. He's doing this very slowly. My question is: Going from one SSRI drug to another, What is the waiting period? Is it still 4-6 weeks before I start seeing results from the Lexapro or will I see the results sooner since Zoloft and Lexapro are both SSRI medications. My point is that I'm not patient and I dont like the idea of waiting another 4-6 weeks.

Thanks,
Jimmy

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

There should be little or no waiting period, and the way to manage that is by gradual reduction of the zoloft while increasing the Lexapro.  Cymbalta is not recommended for anxiety, only depression.

[ABCMomof3]

Well, I know that everyones results are a bit different, but when I started effexor xr ( I no longer take it and it was almost 2 years ago ) but I noticed a difference right away; within 2 weeks all my depression and anxiety were gone. I seen a counselor too ( a christian one )and that really helped as well. Within one week of taking effexor and ativan I was sleeping through the night and not having any more horrible dreams.

I started feeling better so fast that I wondered if I was really depressed in the first place and if I even needed the medication. But I knew in my heart I did, because I went through the depression 2 times before and I suffered with the symptoms for several weeks before I finally got some help; so I know I needed it, but I was just amazed at how fast I felt better. But remember, everyone is different. Keep up with the counseling, I seen a psychiatrist and counselor for 18 months, I am now depression and anxiety free and also medication free as of Febuary.