# Lexapro

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/lexapro/

8 people recommended Lexapro in Hacker News comments and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 12 months, in 3 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

5 of the 8 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants”. These are opinions from Hacker News comments, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor.

**Verdict:** People credit it with easing anxiety and depression, often at low doses. Most common caveat: unpleasant effects when stopping or changing the dose.

Summary written by Claude from 11 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 10 of those comments still count.

## Why people recommend it

- Life-changing benefit for many (3 comments in the sample): "it was life changing (in a good way) for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49473228)) "literally life changing for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49473048)) "For me it is a miracle drug." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46811126))
- Eases anxiety, depression and mood (2 comments in the sample): "Taking a small dosage of Lexapro had zero side effects for me and helped me deal with not just the anxiety and depression I was…" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46813294)) "Taking Lexipro has made a massive improvement on my emotional bandwidth." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46810524))
- Works well at low dose (1 comment in the sample): "For her a fairly low dose of lexapro enables her to live her life like a normal person." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46813886))

## What people warn about

- Withdrawal-like symptoms after stopping (2 comments in the sample): "Lexapro made me feel like I was randomly being dropped down an elevator shaft for 6 months after I stopped taking it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46812292)) "No change in my mindset, just the unpleasant side effects when we changed or discontinued my medications." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45992288))
- Unpleasant side effects on change or stop (1 comment in the sample): "I had worse brain zaps in the past from Lexapro, that was bad enough I’d lose focus on whatever task I was doing." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46572741))

## Other antidepressants people recommend

- [Prozac](https://hackerapproved.com/p/prozac/): 10 recommend, 2 mixed, 28 criticize
- [Ketamine](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ketamine/): 8 recommend, 4 mixed, 5 criticize
- [Bupropion](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bupropion/): 8 recommend, 4 mixed, 3 criticize
- [Wellbutrin](https://hackerapproved.com/p/wellbutrin/): 6 recommend, 0 mixed, 2 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Lexapro", https://hackerapproved.com/p/lexapro/ (8 recommend, 0 mixed, 3 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.