How Long Does the most recent Ssri Anti-Depressant Drug Take to Work?
Drugs belonging to the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (Ssri) group are used for the treatment of depression and anxiety symptoms. They act by restoring the balance of serotonin, the mood-influencing biochemical that is predominantly found in the brain cells. However, Ssris, without exception, come with their side-effects which can be severe. The severity of side-effects spurred healing study and led to newer Ssris, the newest of which is Lexapro (Escitalopram Oxalate).
How Long Does the most recent Ssri Anti-Depressant Drug Take to Work?
Known as Cipralex in most west European countries, Lexapro has been demonstrated to be excellent over its predecessor Ssri in terms of promptness of action, lower dosage, and more manageable side-effects if taken faithfully as prescribed by the physician. Despite its advantages of dosage and lower side-effects, the most vital benefit of Lexapro is that it acts quicker than the others.
Importance of quick action: Usually, Lexapro begins to show distinct effects within 10-to-14 days of the start of treatment (in some cases, it starts within a week). Faultless healing does not come about within this time span, but the patient makes sufficient progress to maintain belief in the medication. This belief is crucial because depression and anxiety are psycho-somatic illnesses requiring the patient to have faith in the treatment.
Though, as stated above, onset of improvement in the patient's health ordinarily happens within 10-14 days of start of Lexapro treatment, it takes four-to-six weeks for the full supervene to be seen. Thereafter, under healing advice, the treatment may continue for several weeks more if warranted or is tapered off (never instantly stopped, to minimize relinquishment symptoms).
Comparison with other Ssris: In contrast, other Ssris take longer to act; some take four-to-six weeks. For a reasonable comparison, let's look at study findings on two sets of patients who didn't respond by the end of the eighth week of treatment. One set was being administered Lexapro, and the other set Celexa (Citalopram), an additional one Ssri drug. At the end of the 24th week, it was found that 55% of Lexapro patients achieved relief, compared to 51% of Celexa patients.
In other words, 4% of Celexa patients had to be administered Celexa for more than 24 weeks to reach the relief-level that Lexapro patients achieved in 24 weeks. The fact that the Lexapro dosage was half (10-20mg a day) the Celexa dosage (20-40mg a day) is extraneous to the point.
To conclude, though we have compared Lexapro with only one other Ssri, Celexa, it is prominent to note that it is the immediate predecessor of Lexapro in the Ssri family. The gap between Lexapro and Celexa in terms of speed of only widens as we assess Lexapro with Ssris older than Celexa.
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