About Escitalopram 20 mg Tablet
Escitalopram 20 mg Tablet contains Escitalopram 20 mg. Escitalopram is an antidepressant of the SSRI type. It is used to treat depression and anxiety disorders, including generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder and social anxiety. It usually takes 2 to 4 weeks to start helping, and treatment often continues for several months. It is taken once a day and should not be stopped suddenly.
Uses of Escitalopram 20 mg Tablet
- Depression (major depressive disorder)
- Generalised anxiety disorder
- Panic disorder
- Social anxiety disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Benefits
In depression and anxiety
It can improve mood, sleep, energy and interest in daily life, and reduce worry, fear and panic. Keep taking it as advised even after you feel better, to lower the chance of symptoms returning.
Side effects
Some side effects such as nausea are common in the first weeks and often settle. Talk to your doctor if they bother you. Do not stop the medicine suddenly.
Common
- Nausea
- Headache
- Trouble sleeping or sleepiness
- Sweating
- Dry mouth
- Sexual problems such as low desire or delayed ejaculation
Get medical help if you notice
- Thoughts of harming yourself or ending your life, or worsening mood, especially in the first weeks or after a dose change (more likely in people under 25) — contact your doctor straight away or seek emergency help
- Agitation, confusion, high temperature, sweating, shaking, muscle twitching or fast heartbeat — may be serotonin syndrome; seek emergency care
- Unusual bleeding or bruising, black stools or vomiting blood — contact your doctor
- Headache, confusion, weakness or unsteadiness (especially in older people) — may be low sodium; contact your doctor
- Fast or irregular heartbeat or fainting — seek medical help
- Very high mood, racing thoughts or reduced need for sleep — contact your doctor
How to use
Take it exactly as your doctor prescribed, once a day, in the morning or evening, with or without food. Swallow the tablet with water.
How it works
Escitalopram increases the amount of serotonin, a natural chemical messenger in the brain, by blocking its re-uptake. This helps improve mood and reduce anxiety.
Safety advice
Alcohol Unsafe
Avoid alcohol. It can worsen depression and add to drowsiness.
Pregnancy Consult your doctor
Use only if your doctor advises it. Do not stop suddenly; talk to your doctor if you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy.
Breastfeeding Consult your doctor
It passes into breast milk. Ask your doctor before using it.
Driving Caution
It can cause drowsiness or dizziness. Do not drive until you know how it affects you.
Kidney Caution
Tell your doctor if you have severe kidney disease.
Liver Caution
Your doctor may use a lower dose if you have liver disease.
If you miss a dose
If you miss a dose, take it when you remember the same day. If it is nearly time for the next dose, skip the missed one. Do not take two doses together.
Quick tips
- It can take 2 to 4 weeks to start working — keep taking it.
- Do not stop suddenly; your doctor will lower the dose slowly to avoid withdrawal symptoms such as dizziness and irritability.
- Tell someone close to you about your treatment, and seek help at once if you have thoughts of self-harm.
- Tell your doctor about all other medicines, including pain killers and herbal remedies such as St John's wort.
Substitutes
Same salts in the same strength from other makers. Only switch brands on your doctor's or pharmacist's advice; our pharmacist checks every order against the prescription.
Same salts, other strengths or forms
Fact box
- Chemical class
- Bicyclic phthalane derivative
- Therapeutic class
- Neuro-psychiatry / antidepressant
- Action class
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)
- Habit forming
- No
- Prescription
- Required
Interactions with other medicines
Tell your doctor and pharmacist about every medicine, vitamin and herbal product you take.
| Medicine | What can happen |
|---|---|
| MAO inhibitors (including linezolid and selegiline) | Risk of serious serotonin syndrome — must not be taken together |
| Pimozide and other medicines that affect heart rhythm | Higher risk of an irregular heartbeat |
| NSAIDs, aspirin, warfarin and other blood thinners | Higher risk of bleeding |
| Tramadol, triptans and other serotonin-raising medicines | Higher risk of serotonin syndrome |
| Omeprazole and cimetidine | May raise escitalopram levels |
This page is general information to help you understand your medicine. It is not a substitute for advice from your doctor or pharmacist. Do not start, stop or change a medicine on your own.
Written by the Asthra Health Care team from the approved prescribing information (Escitalopram prescribing information (CDSCO-approved labelling); US FDA boxed warning: antidepressants and suicidality; NICE BNF: escitalopram). Pharmacist review pending.