Originally Posted by Gilda

Wellbutrin and Lexapro are different types of antidepressant.

There are three neurotransmitters that are believed to be primarily responsible for the regulation of things like moods, sleep, and a variety of other brain functions. Wellbutrin helps to rebalance two of these, dopamine and norepinephrine. The third is seratonin. Lexapro is a selective seratonin reuptake inhibitor, or an SSRI, which effectively increases the time your brain has to utilize the seratonin it produces, producing the effect of increased seratonin levels.

There are a variety of SSRIs. Lexapro is a refinement of Celexa, the refinements coming when the manufacturer's patent expired and generics became available. It does work slightly differently in that it's more selective than its predecessor was, and therefore is more effective at a smaller dose and has a much lower side-effect profile. Lexapro is the most selective SSRI currently on the market.

I took Zoloft for a couple of months last year and experienced some mild to moderate side effects, chiefly in the form of making me more easily agitated, had some anorgasmia (difficulty orgasming), which was troubling because I'm normally easily orgasmic, and making my chronic insomnia significantly worse to the point that I had to stop taking it. Even on a graduated cessation program, I experienced some withdrawl symptoms, having flu-like symptoms for about two weeks.

I've been on Lexapro now for a couple of weeks, and I'm already seeing a lessening of my depression and general anxiety, and even a little easing of my usually severe PMS. There have been no apparent side effects so far, and at two weeks it's working a bit more quickly than expected. My sex drive has remained about the same.