Lexapro is a SSRI antidepressant drug, which is based upon Escitalopram active substance. It’s a relatively safe isomer of famous Citalopram, world’s top antidepressant. Lexapro has been synthesized to be a better solution for generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. Typically, there are no cases of Lexapro overdose death/fatal or other serious problems. Even acute overdose of the medication doesn’t usually result in irreversible damage; at most, patients get tachycardia, dyskinesia, clonus or hypertonia, which can be timely solved by medical specialists in hospital.
Of course, it doesn’t mean that you should go overdose Lexapro and never worry about the consequences. The side effects depend on Lexapro overdose amount: thus, Lexapro overdose 100 mg/60 mg doesn’t usually result in any severe complications, though it is dependent on the individual tolerance to the drug. However, if you take over 600 mg of the drug, you’ll definitely have serious problems. In such case, you should contact a health care specialist immediately, and seek medical help. We shall discuss the treatment of Lexapro overdose later on.
Usually, if you consult a doctor before taking Lexapro (which is definitely the best practice), you can rest assured that you have no contraindications and safe from interactions with other medications, while on Lexapro. Depending on the initial dose, Lexapro overdose effects may manifest during the first week (three weeks in some cases), and then you’re fine with the therapy. However, if you have not adjusted the dosage of the drug to your individual needs properly, trying to self-medicate or ignoring the doctor’s advice, you may face Lexapro overdose long term effects.
There is no evidence that Lexapro overdose suicide effect has been proved. The increase of suicidal behavior in patients taking Lexapro is believed to increase insignificantly (approximately 80%, which is not that much in this case); it is more likely related to abrupt withdrawal of the drug and the associated withdrawal syndrome, including depression and irritability. As well, Lexapro overdose with alcohol hasn’t been studied, but is not likely to make any difference compared to usual overdose. Thus, in most cases you can ignore minor overdose events; what is really important is to set the proper daily dosage of the drug (perhaps, with help of a professional medic).
Nevertheless, accidental overdose Lexapro may happen to anyone, and it also may result in unwanted complications, and even severe side effects (in rare cases, for example, in patients with severe renal impairment, consequentially overdosing the medication for months). Overdose of Lexapro results in such events as tachycardia and agitation, beyond normal. In this case, you’ll want to contact your doctor for an advice, perhaps reducing dosage of the drug for a while. In case of severe overdose (and events as hypertonia, clonus, dyskinesia), you should contact a medical specialist immediately, and follow his instructions. Depending on the cause, you may have to abandon the usage of the antidepressant or switch to another medication.