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Anyone on long term antidepressants?

31 replies

Ticktockbigclock · 20/06/2022 17:33

Hello. Been on and off for 15 years. Done cbt and counselling etc. However when I come off them very slowly my mood plummets. Anyone else? I don't think I'll ever be off them.

OP posts:
AlienatedChildGrown · 20/06/2022 17:52

I’ve only been on them for just over a year and have no intention of ever trying to come off them. 35 fecking years I tried to positively think my way out. I thought I’d done it. Suicide ideation was down to a few times a day and I could brush it out of my head. I honest to god didn’t think I was depressed any more, because it was nowhere near as dark and draggingly painful as I remembered it in my teens. I just thought I was moody.

One fab new GP during the pandemic later. Christ on a bike I didn’t know humans could feel so light and free. I did have a bit of a wobble when I wondered if I had a brain tumour due to a strange feeling. It took a while cos I hadn’t felt it for so long, but a l8ng faded memory returned, not a tumour just what mild optimism feels like.

I’m not going back. Don’t give a crap what anybody thinks. Don’t even care what the doctor thinks. I’d buy on the black market if I had to. If this one stops working I’ll try everything on the market until I hit pay dirt again.

The really stupid thing, all the stuff that people tell you will lighten your mood, meditation, pos. thinking, healthy (ish) eating, coaching, walking, exercise, fresh air… actually works…,, when you aren’t so depressed you can’t face another step, another bite, another second of trying to think more +ly.

If I have an off day all the recommended stuff is a tool I can access now. Before antiDs, Nada. I tried, I really really tried to make myself well and unbroken, but a pill worked a miracle in a matter of months, whereas decades of slog didn’t make much of a dent. I’ll be on them til I die and I’m fine with that.

AchillesLastStand · 20/06/2022 17:53

I’ve been on them for 20 years or more. First Citalopram (I couldn’t tolerate any other SSRIs), now Amitriptyline. I tried to come off them when I was pregnant but couldn’t. I’m prescribed them under a psychiatrist but my main issue is anxiety rather than depression. Some people’s brains have a chemical imbalance and I can’t ever see me living life unmedicated unfortunately.

Kfjsjdbd · 20/06/2022 18:15

What @AlienatedChildGrown said. I’ll never come off them. Currently on Citalopram 30mg.

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VoyageInTheDark · 20/06/2022 18:26

Same @AchillesLastStand I've been on them 20 years (all different ones) and tried to get off them before getting pregnant and ended up with really bad withdrawals despite going really slowly with it as well as massive anxiety. I don't see me ever getting off them now. I'm on them for ocd and anxiety.

RedCarsGoFaster · 20/06/2022 18:30

I came off citalopram twice - both times too early. I was off everything for a year or two but it didn't work, so went onto sertraline. I hated the side effects though, so whilst my anxiety was better, my moods still weren't that stable so I weaned off it a while ago.

I'm now on St John's Wort, and tbh this is the most stable I've been in many years for both mood and anxiety. I've just finished a course of counselling, and have a new assessment this week for a form of CBT / thinking therapy of some sort.

I think I'll be on something for many years to come, and if it means I can sit in a car as a passenger without my hands over my face whenever the driver is reversing or on a hill (control is a major issue for me!) that's just great! 😂

Basilbrushgotfat · 20/06/2022 18:34

AlienatedChildGrown · 20/06/2022 17:52

I’ve only been on them for just over a year and have no intention of ever trying to come off them. 35 fecking years I tried to positively think my way out. I thought I’d done it. Suicide ideation was down to a few times a day and I could brush it out of my head. I honest to god didn’t think I was depressed any more, because it was nowhere near as dark and draggingly painful as I remembered it in my teens. I just thought I was moody.

One fab new GP during the pandemic later. Christ on a bike I didn’t know humans could feel so light and free. I did have a bit of a wobble when I wondered if I had a brain tumour due to a strange feeling. It took a while cos I hadn’t felt it for so long, but a l8ng faded memory returned, not a tumour just what mild optimism feels like.

I’m not going back. Don’t give a crap what anybody thinks. Don’t even care what the doctor thinks. I’d buy on the black market if I had to. If this one stops working I’ll try everything on the market until I hit pay dirt again.

The really stupid thing, all the stuff that people tell you will lighten your mood, meditation, pos. thinking, healthy (ish) eating, coaching, walking, exercise, fresh air… actually works…,, when you aren’t so depressed you can’t face another step, another bite, another second of trying to think more +ly.

If I have an off day all the recommended stuff is a tool I can access now. Before antiDs, Nada. I tried, I really really tried to make myself well and unbroken, but a pill worked a miracle in a matter of months, whereas decades of slog didn’t make much of a dent. I’ll be on them til I die and I’m fine with that.

I could have written your post.

Especially the bit about now being well enough for other tools to help.

I have adhd so lower dopamine levels than neurotypicals and if a daily pill is what I need to be able to function then that's absolutely fine by me.

jeanne16 · 20/06/2022 19:20

Same here. Been on them for over 20 years. Have tried twice to come off them but my mood plummeted. Will stay on for life.

RollOnWinter · 20/06/2022 19:22

I had 20 years on Citalopram (20mg), then the past 4 years on Mirtazapine (45mg). If I'm on them for the rest of my days - I'm 63 - I'd rather have that than ever feel so utterly terrible without tablets.

Ticktockbigclock · 20/06/2022 22:00

I look back at childhood and something wasn't right. I just think I have anxiety!

OP posts:
SucculentSunshine · 20/06/2022 22:05

So true about how those things only help when you’re not in the depths of it all. A walk when you’re depressed makes me feel awful. Going to the gym is impossible and I don’t have energy to brush my hair let alone take a bath.

im on sertraline and probably always will. 5 years and I’ve tried coming off three times and always struggled without them (or with a lower dose.) I just have a brain that doesn’t make the right chemicals.

XenoBitch · 20/06/2022 22:09

Been on various meds since I was a teen.. am in my 40s now.
Sometimes, working on your life issues can help. Meds are not the answer for everyone.

LeniGray · 20/06/2022 22:19

Around 25 years for me. I still struggle but I don’t go into active self-destruct mode anymore.

uncomfortablydumb53 · 20/06/2022 22:20

I've taken SSRI/SSRI's since PND with DS1.., He's now 28 and I'm 57
I've been on max dose Duloxetine since it was available and I know I'll be on them for life
I believe it's a true chemical imbalance in my case

NotanotherboxofFrogs · 20/06/2022 22:25

Im on them for life.

I've been taking them daily since I was 15 and I'm now 46 (apart from the 3 times during the first 15 years "when I knew better" and came off them as I didn't want them anymore, it took long hospitalisations to stabilise me again).

I see it as if I was diabetic, if I were diabetic I wouldn't think twice about taking insulin as it would keep me alive, this is like insulin for my brain.

CanYouNotReadTheSign · 20/06/2022 22:36

Been on Sertraline since 2017 and I'll take it for life. Tried weaning off it and I just can't function; my anxiety and depression ramp up massively.

AllAboutMargot · 20/06/2022 22:39

I couldn't believe how much better I felt once the anti depressants kicked in. Like a real person, not just a shadow on the wall.
I remember saying to a good friend that even if I found out that taking them shortened my life span by five years, I would never stop taking them.

TabithaTittlemouse · 20/06/2022 22:43

I’ve been on various antidepressants for over 20 years. I’m happy with my current medication and dose.
I have no plans to come off of them. They allow me to function.

Ticktockbigclock · 21/06/2022 17:16

I do worry about any long term effects to them though.

OP posts:
Ticktockbigclock · 23/06/2022 15:34

Does anyone ever come off them successfully?

OP posts:
dishaiyer · 17/11/2022 11:17

Same shit here. Weaned off twice. Once paxil and then Prozac. Had to restart Prozac. I started paxil when i was 16. Took Prozac from 19-23. Had to restart Prozac when i was 25 and since haven't looked back or thought of getting off them. I am currently 32 and in a much happier state. I got married, pregnant, relocated to the uk pre pandemic and am still stable and i love it.

Even my elder sister takes them on a long term basis and even she doesn't have plans of getting off them.

Rockbird · 17/11/2022 11:24

15 years on 40mg Citalopram. Came off them briefly when I was pregnant with dd2 but went straight back on. Tried to come off them this past summer but it was horrendous. I'll be on them for life.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 17/11/2022 11:26

Yeah 35 years. Been in them all.

Unmanageable anxiety if not on them.

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 17/11/2022 11:27

I'm on just 25mg. It keeps me level without making me feel zoned out. I used to be on more and came off them so this low dose I will prob stay on. GP has never reviewed this though in the last 2 years or so

teaandtoastwithmarmite · 17/11/2022 11:27

My issue is also anxiety

FuckabethFuckor · 17/11/2022 11:28

AlienatedChildGrown · 20/06/2022 17:52

I’ve only been on them for just over a year and have no intention of ever trying to come off them. 35 fecking years I tried to positively think my way out. I thought I’d done it. Suicide ideation was down to a few times a day and I could brush it out of my head. I honest to god didn’t think I was depressed any more, because it was nowhere near as dark and draggingly painful as I remembered it in my teens. I just thought I was moody.

One fab new GP during the pandemic later. Christ on a bike I didn’t know humans could feel so light and free. I did have a bit of a wobble when I wondered if I had a brain tumour due to a strange feeling. It took a while cos I hadn’t felt it for so long, but a l8ng faded memory returned, not a tumour just what mild optimism feels like.

I’m not going back. Don’t give a crap what anybody thinks. Don’t even care what the doctor thinks. I’d buy on the black market if I had to. If this one stops working I’ll try everything on the market until I hit pay dirt again.

The really stupid thing, all the stuff that people tell you will lighten your mood, meditation, pos. thinking, healthy (ish) eating, coaching, walking, exercise, fresh air… actually works…,, when you aren’t so depressed you can’t face another step, another bite, another second of trying to think more +ly.

If I have an off day all the recommended stuff is a tool I can access now. Before antiDs, Nada. I tried, I really really tried to make myself well and unbroken, but a pill worked a miracle in a matter of months, whereas decades of slog didn’t make much of a dent. I’ll be on them til I die and I’m fine with that.

I was going to type a big ol' post myself but you've encapsulated how I feel pretty much exactly. Especially this part:

If I have an off day all the recommended stuff is a tool I can access now.

I lol'd at your black market remark. I have made similar jokes-but-not-really with DH if they ever withdraw the one that helps me sleep. I get like Charlton Heston; 'Out of my cold dead hands...'

Well said, and much support and love to you from a total internet stranger who feels the same as you do. Brew

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