SSRI: Lexapro
Concept of SSRI’s (Lexapro) Half-Life
Lexapro is an SSRI antidepressant approved by FDA to treat generalized anxiety disorder and depression. Lexapro is also used by medical professionals to help OCD, according to NAMI (Ballinger, 2022). Premenstrual dysphoric condition and anxiety disorders are two additional off-label uses. The FDA approved physicians’ use of Lexapro to treat the teenage major depressive disorder in the year 2009. Every antidepressant has a half-life, a terminology employed in describing the amount of time taken by medications to reduce to half its initial dosage in the human body. The half-life of Lexapro starts from 27 to 32 hours according to the body type of an individual. For instance, in an individual consumed one dose of 10mg Lexapro in a range of 27 to 32 hours, the dose is likely to be halved to about 2.5 mg. It will continue to halve until it wears off from an individual’s bloodstream.
How Long Does Lexapro take to Reach a Steady State
Lexapro’s biotransformation is entirely hepatic. When individuals take a single dose, the concentrations of the steady state of their plasma are often achieved in about seven days (Wang et al., 2021). For individuals with MDD, improvements can be noticed within one to four weeks of drug administration. The amount of escitalopram taken has the biggest impact on how long it stays in a person’s bloodstream. The typical daily dosage of Lexapro is between 10 and 20 mg. As a consequence, individuals who quit escitalopram and just take 10 mg a day are likely to eliminate the medication from their systems without serious side effects. When thinking about stopping Lexapro abruptly, it is strongly advised that they should speak with the doctor. But if they cease taking Lexapro abruptly, individuals who take greater amounts of the drug may develop symptoms of withdrawal. Because of this, doctors frequently wean people who take higher doses of escitalopram, and they may even recommend a different drug for the individual to briefly substitute for escitalopram.
How Frequently the Medication should be Dosed
Lexapro’s dosage is likely to be unique from one patient to another. Patients are advised to follow their specialists’’ directions or orders on the label. The right dosage of Lexapro depends on the medicine’s strength (Ballinger, 2022). Besides, the amount of dosage taken by individuals daily, the time length for taking the medication, and the allowed time between dosages are dependent upon the type of diagnosis. Individuals diagnosed with depression are advised to take 10mg every day in the morning and evening. The specialist is likely to adjust the dosage but it is often not more than 20 mg per day. For individuals with GAD, 10mg per day is advisably taken in the evening and morning. Older adults are advised to consume 10mg either in the evening or morning. Children’s dosage and use have to meet the doctor’s determination. If patients miss a dosage, they are advised to take the medication soonest. Conversely, if the time for the next dose is almost due, individuals are advised to skip the missed dose and then go back to the normal schedule of dosing. People should not attempt to take double doses.
References
Ballinger, J. (2022). Lexapro Review. https://www.csuperb.org/lexapro-review/
Wang, X., Fan, Y., Li, G., & Li, H. (2021). The efficacy of escitalopram in major depressive disorder: a multicenter randomized, placebo-controlled double-blind study. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 36(3), 133-139. DOI: 10.1097/YIC.0000000000000350
