MASS CONFUSION REIGNS AGAIN ... for me anyhoo

[TEAH35]

I have a wee dilemma that I am hoping some of you wil be able to put to rest for me. As many of you may be aware, I need to take copious amounts of medication. For my restless legs, my major depression, and bi-polar. And of course, mixed in with all of that is ... anxiety, OCD, and extreme mood swings. I would very much like to discuss 3 drugs with you.

And they are:-

* LEXAM

* LEXAPRO and

* ESCITALOPRAM

I have prescriptions for them all in my possession. But I'm extremely confused as to why I am taking them. (FYI ... so is my GP for that matter), I have tried to Google them, but that only seemed to increase my confusion. According to the internet, escitalopram is an antidepressant that helps with anxiety and depression.

Lexam is another anti depression treating anxiety and depression and mood swings particularly with those suffering from bi-polar.

From what I can gather from the net, escitalopram is another name used for both medications. Herein lies my confusion. Is it me, am I not explaining myself clear enough. FYI ... my GP was somewhat confused as well.

So, if there is anybody out there on this site, who believes that they can help me sort this little quandary out, I would be exceptionally appreciative. Thank you to you all for reading this and thank you in advance to those of you who have been able to sort this out for me.

I just had another squize at the description offered by the net, and just to confuse the issue even further, it appears that they all do the same thing. They are all considered to be antidepressants and they all contribute to the help of anxiety, major depression, OCD, and patients suffering from bipolar. So it would appear that I am basically covered for all of my woes. I just find it hard to understand and believe that I need to take so many different types of antidepressants. They also mentioned the use of Zoloft, (which is taboo for me to take), as it is for all RLS patients.

[LotteM]

Dear Grany, my short bout of searching on the net seems to reveal that all three are the same. Lexam and Lexapro appear to be brand names for the generic substance name Escalitopram. It is a SSRI.

What I would do on your situation, is firstly to trace back whom prescribed each of these and when, and secondly have your gp check with the prescribing specialist (I presume) to do a review of your meds. The review should include all your meds.

Hope this helps.

Please also check out rlshelp.org (treatment page) for info of antidepressants and other medicines on RLS.

[Hidden]

Sorry about quick short response, drugs have both an "approved" name no matter who manufactures them, and a "brand" name, the name given them by the manufacturer.

Escitolopram is the approved name for a Selective Serotonin Reuptake inhibitor, (SSRI). It is manufactured by various companies.

One company calls it Cipralex, another calls it Lexapro and a third, Lexam

The three are one and the same. Escitolopram being an SSRI is useful for any condition which is associated with anxiety and/or depression, i.e. including OCD.

SSRIs aren't especially noted for bipolar disorder.

I'm surprised your GP is confused.

[Jelbea]

Hi Grany. I second the replies you have already received. Escitalopram is the generic name. In America it is known as Lexapro, in the UK it is known as Cipralex and in Australia it is known as Lexam. Hope you manage to get this sorted quickly and easily. Good Wishes from UK

[Madlegs1]

Your pharmacist should be able to sort this out. They are highly qualified to do so.

[Hidden]

Sorry to add to your confusion, but I know that at least Lexapro and Escitalopram are the same thing. When I lived in the States I was on Lexapro; here in Norway I’m on Escitalopram/Cipralex. Also, back when I was being treated for extreme mood swings my psychiatrist put me on a drug more geared towards that (Stavzor/Orfiril) in addition to the Lexapro/Escitalopram/Cipralex.

I thought you were seeing a psychiatrist? Surely they would know all this?

When I moved here I had to make sure I was speaking the same drug language. Why all drugs can’t be under the same name is beyond me.

[TEAH35 in reply to Hidden]

Yeah everybody has replied with basically the same advice. I only see my shrink probably 3/4 times per year, but you're right he's the one that should clear this up for me. I'll check in with him soon I guess. But as usual .. this group has come to my rescue.

[Hidden in reply to TEAH35]

I’m glad we’re here for you!😀

Your psychiatrist is the good-looking one (apart from raffs, of course), so it’ll give you a good excuse to see him again.😅

BTW, mine was as well. (I’ve stopped treatment with him since we last chatted)

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

They have different "brand" names because they are made by different companies. The actual name of the drug (un branded) is the "approved" name. When a company first develops a new drug, they patent it and give it a brand name. No other company is allowed to make the drug. When the patent runs out other companies ate allowed to copy it. The copy is " generic". Generic drugs have the same active ingredient as the original patented drug. They may however have different excipients in them. They are usually less expensive than the branded version because the company copying the drug has no development costs to recover.

This is why, in the UK, an NHS doctor will not be able to prescribe Cipralex, they will only be allowed to prescribe Escitolopram, they are not allowed to prescribe Mirapex, only Pramipexole, not Viagra, only Sildenafil and so on.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the explanation! 😀 I never connected the term “generic” to a “copy” of the original. I just new there were two terms: “brand” and “generic”, with generic being lots cheaper.

[restlessstoz]

Hi Grany, it worries me that you're on all three drugs as you're tripling the dose of the same drug which could cause all sorts of issues! You must get this sorted out ASAP as you could be doing harm to yourself in the process.... I too would suggest you go to the pharmacist for some advice if your not going to your psychiatrist or GP soon. And a big 'YES!' to all the people who've responded to you already. They're a great bunch and full of wisdom and knowledge. Good luck.

[TEAH35 in reply to restlessstoz]

No I'm not taking Lexapro. I have the scripts but the confusion stopped me

[restlessstoz in reply to TEAH35]

Glad to hear that. Sometimes I wonder if we didn't think for ourselves, we'd all have been overprescribed or miss-prescribed a lot of times. I do hope you can sort out the issues soon.

[Hidden in reply to TEAH35]

Yes, it only just occurred to me that you are taking a triple dose or perhaps only a double dose of Escitilopram.

Whatever prescription you've got whether Lexapro, Lexam or just Escitilopram it will say on the box something like "Active ingredient", but it will state the approved name of the drug Escitilopram even if it also says (perhaps in larger letters) Lexapro.

[lynnmcguire24]

I do research for my fibromyalgia blog. Zoloft is on the list for causing RLS. Also, antidepressants cause RLS, too. But, in answer to your question; I´m seeing that you were given 3 scripts that are for the same thing. If it were me I would feel like the doctor was triple dosing me.