Has anyone else here ever completely stopped antidepressants after many years of being on them?

Question

Just completely weaned of antidepressants after 10 years of being conistently on them. My doc and I have already discussed things that might happen during the withdrawal process. But I'm just curious about how anyone else who may have gone through this, reacted to it (both physically and mentally) Any input would be very greatly appreciated : )

Answer 1

Expect to get answers from a lot of ******* whenever you mention depression... (like #1, everyone else sounds cool)

Only took them on strong orders from a doctor. a little over a year, maybe 18 months, they really messed up my head worse than it was. Doctors promised no dependency or withdrawl. They lied. I did what you are NOT supposed to do and stopped the Paxil cold though it was a moderately low dose. Overall didn't feel any worse. Long term, much better, though I still have battles with my inner self. Expect extreme light and sound sensitivity. Halos around bright lights. Expect to be easily startled. Some visual hallucination. Oh and yeah, a much healthier sex drive. You will start to feel again. The Paxil made me feel dead. Not much use in living if you have no emotions and only the underlying sadness you started with. I will never go back on that stuff.

The "withdrawl" that they say doesn't occur lasted about 3 months. I WOULD follow your doctor's advice regarding withdrawl and cut the doses down gradually. Especially if your brain is not used to making it's own chemicals over the past 10 years or you were on a high dose. Give it a chance to ramp up production.

Most psychiatrists who actually study depression, not just write scripts will tell you that they are a short term fix. The lasting fix is cognative therapy of some sort, meditation, exercise, or escape from a situation (like a woman leaving an abusive husband). Be prepared for some real feeling again. Love, anger, you know... the stuff that makes us human. practice the exercises you should have been taught in "right thinking" and don't let yourself get sucked into the abyss again.

I'm rooting for you!

Answer 2

I don't understand the question very well. You say that you have never taken any drugs for your depression and social anxiety. But then you say that you are giving it all up because you feel that there is something more deep strong and radical than something that can be cured with antidepressants. Either I am being very stupid and missing the obvious. Or you do not understand what you really want. From the question it seems that you don't want to try drugs. But perhaps I am getting the wrong end of the stick. As an alternative to drugs, you can try therapy. But again I don't know if you have tried it yet. What has also worked for people I know is activity retreats (e.g yoga) where you can go and join up with a group and get to know each other and see the better aspects in life. You also get a good positive vibe. Hokay, so the other possibility is drugs. Yes you probably can take them for a long amount of time, but remember they also come with quite serious side affects. This is a brief but by no means complete outline. Side effects of SSRIs: -Nausea -diarrhea -agitation -headaches. Sexual side effects are also common with SSRIs, such as loss of libido, failure to reach orgasm and erectile dysfunction. The Food and Drug Administration requires Black Box warnings on all SSRIs, which state that they double suicidality in children and adolescents. Fairly Coman side affects of TCA's (tricyclic antidepressants): -dry mouth -blurred vision -drowsiness -dizziness -tremors -sexual problems -skin rash -weight gain or loss. Rare side effects of MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors): -hepatitis -heart attack -stroke -seizures. When you take anti depressants you have to be aware of the deit you eat and always have to take other pills in conjunction such as mood stabilizers. You also have to bear in mind that while taking them you will not be yourself, but someone completely different and when you decide to come of the drugs you will also receive withdrawal symptoms just like you are coming of any drug. However they might help you with your depression, I would go in and have a long conversation with your doctor, discussing other options before you start taking drugs.

Answer 3

I've taken antidepressants on and off for the last 9 or 10 years. I start feeling pretty good and don't see the point. I do real well until so much stress starts making me go crazy again.

The doctor seemed to think that I shouldn't stop taking them. My thinking is, I'm not taking this medication if nothing is wrong. I've gone a year or so without taking them, but it never fails, my life gets so stressful that I end up taking them again.

When stopping, I've never had any side effects or withdrawal symptoms. My only problem is that it seems like I always end up taking them again.

Not taking them now, but sometimes feel like I should be.

Answer 4

I've taken them for many years and gone off them twice: once was cold turkey when I didn't have money to go to the doctor for a refill and the second time was very gradually weaning myself off them (but ended up going back on them after 3 months.) Both experiences were bad, but the first was a horror. (I had no idea there were even going to BE any side effects, so they caught me by surprise.)

Even with weaning yourself off them you may still experience nightmares and weepiness. I wanted to sleep a lot also. Stay in close contact with your doctor because you may get suicidal thoughts that will come upon you quick and strong. Knowing they may come helps to combat them. Have a plan for calling a good friend or your doc. Best of luck to you.

Answer 5

Well i have been on them for 2 years however i never actually was on just one medication, the doc kept changing them cause they never worked to well, i am now off of them completely but the one i was taking for about 8 months then i just stopped taking them no weening or anything and i didn't really have any side effects just a Little emotional but that's to be expected just stay away from stress as much as you can if something comes up that you cant help just say bugga it wont help worrying about it so oh well!! Good luck!!

Answer 6

i tried them off and on for many years. nothing really worked. i then found out that it was a viral infection causing my depression. i went on treatment and have not had to use antidepressants since.

i had no problems coming off antidepressants. however, i did not steadily take them either.

if your depression comes back do yourself a favor and get tested for the known viral infections that pass the blood brain barrier.
mine was hcv. ask your doctor to test you.

usually depression is a first clear sign of something foreign in the body/brain that causes the chemicals to misfire/communicate.

depression doesn't happen on it's own. there is a reason for it.

nonetheless, stay well hydrated. that will lesson any affects you have coming off the meds and will flush the meds a lot quicker.

good luck and congradulations!

Answer 7

I stopped taking Welbutrin cold turkey about 6 months ago. I just couldn't stand it anymore and stopped. I felt really great when I first started taking it and now I feel even better that I've stopped taking it. I didn't discuss this with my doc. I just did it.

I wouldn't advise doing anything without talking to your doc first, but this is my body I'm talking about and I just FELT that it was the right time to do something different.

Answer 8

I took antidepressants for about a year and stopped taking them when things settled down in my life. I feel fine now. I think possitive and that helps a whole lot. Exercise helps too. It's been a long time for you to be on them so take it easy; you may find you always need them. Good luck and God bless.

Answer 9

You have to wean yourself off. You can't just stop. You could have severe physical withdrawls. I was on a very low dose after my son was born. I ran out and didn't think much of it even though my Dr. warned me not to ever just stop taking them. I felt aweful. By the 4th day, I couldn't even remeber why I was feeling so bad. When I decided to stop taking them I cut back to 1 every other day for two weeks, then half of one every otherday for another two weeks. then a fourth every other day for two weeks. I don't advise it. I was on them for a year when I decided to stop the meds.

Answer 10

Ive stopped taking antidepressants more than once in my life after taking them for long periods of time. I usually do well for as long as my stress level is low. i can tell when i need to get back on them because i start getting more depressed and irritable more often and alot more sensitive to everything that happens.
good luck