Conclusion: Compared to placebo, venlafaxine was associated with a lower incidence of dizziness, while desvenlafaxine, sertraline, and vortioxetine were associated with a higher incidence of nausea/vomiting. In conclusion, desvenlafaxine, paroxetine, venlafaxine, and vortioxetine had reasonable efficacy, acceptability, and tolerability in the treatment of adults with stable MDD.
Escitalopram side effects
Across 135 first-hand reports, people mentioned a side effect 28 times (about 21 per 100 reports). The most common: emotional blunting, withdrawal, fatigue. User reports show what people notice — they can't tell you whether Escitalopram is safe for you.
Reported side effects
emotional blunting7
withdrawal6
fatigue4
sexual dysfunction4
brain fog3
weight gain2
insomnia1
stomach issues1
What got worse for some people
In their own words
“Escitalopram is what makes me feel normal, i react to it very quickly too, but it seems to induce hypomania on first days of intake. Brings me back confidence, ambition, motivation, energy, relieves anxiety, kicks depression.”
“I was on it for 7 months and improved my mood and lowered my anxiety. But it also made me apathetic/unmotivated, caused emotional blunting and sexual dysfunction.”
“I've had a positive outcome, have no more anxiety, and these personality changes are welcomed.”
“doctors prescribe stuff like cymbalta/lexapro (both of which I have been on and had bad side effects and even worse withdrawal symptoms)”
“I love my Wellbutrin. Hated Lexapro. It was indeed hard to quit for good. I tapered down for months.”
“Lexapro(I think) can have nasty withdrawal effects that feel like electric shocks going through your body.”
Is Escitalopram safe? What the research covers
AResearch: Strong219 meta-analyses · 659 randomized trials on PubMed
Mol Psychiatry · 2023
Antidepressants for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder in the maintenance phase: a systematic review and network meta-analysisBMC Psychiatry · 2023
Escitalopram versus other antidepressive agents for major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysisConclusion: Escitalopram was superior to other ADs for the acute phase treatment of MDD in terms of efficacy, acceptability and tolerability. However, no significant difference was found between escitalopram and other ADs in early response or follow-up response to treatment of MDD.
Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry · 2021
Gastrointestinal side effects associated with antidepressant treatments in patients with major depressive disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis