Could you cope with life without your antidepressants?

[RJB73]

According to Google, there are approx 8 million people in the UK on antidepressants so I am hoping some of you on here to advice me.

I have struggled with poor mental health since I was a small child (anxiety, obsessions, ocd, irrational thoughts and in later life, depression).

I have had an irrational fear of medication for years, more due to the fear of side effects and the medication potentially causing diarrhoea. I have suffered from daily IBS for decades, due to this I have developed the diarrhoea equivalent of Emetophobia, if such a thing exists, and with diarrhoea being one of the most common side effects from antidepressants I have always shied away from them due to the fear.

However, I have reached a point in my life where there is so much stress going on and I am not coping at all. If I don't try something to help change my life around (have tried literally everything else other than meds but still struggle with my mental health) then I will end up a recluse and completely ruin not only my own life but my dc and dh's in the process.

Could you cope without your antidepressants or have they given you back some kind of quality of life? Do they deserve the negative reviews?

I really don't know what else to do.

I was on them for about 5 years, they helped me get into a position where I was well enough to access therapy and I was lucky that I was able to access decent therapy for me via the NHS.

i have been off them for about 3 years now because I now have tools to help me. I still need the occasional propanol when my anxiety gets too bad, and who knows if in the future I will need to go back on them but for now they have done the job I needed them to!

i wouldn’t discount trying them

It took a while for me to be on the right ones and that was the hardest part. But ultimately it was still the right thing to do. So what I would say is if you get put on one type and they're not right for you for any reason then do ask to switch to another kind.

I have IBS and it's no better or worse being on anti depressants. Doesn't really affect it.

Absolutely not. They've transformed my life. I actually have a life now.

I really wish I could pluck up the courage to try them, I keep trying to re-word my fears by saying what if they actually helped instead of making things worse. Argh, why do I have a mind which is constantly against me all the time,

OP, if you are not convinced about antidepressants, read the book ‘lost connections’ and get help to figure out why you have suffered from anxiety since you were a child.

Was there some trauma that you suffered, loss of a parent, loss of a home, abuse?

There may be ways to treat your trauma, although you may need specific therapy depending on what caused it.

I only just cope with them, without them I’d be an absolute mess. I also have IBS, with and without is the same for me. I wish you luck.

I didn't experience any trauma, nothing major happen in my childhood. My mum and her parents (and most of my grandad's family) all suffered from anxiety disorders so I think it may be down to learned behaviour.

I have had lots of therapy including going back through my childhood but that hasn't helped.

Thank you Fussypud

Please give them a try, OP. I'm a GP, and diarrhoea is not a very common side-effect of taking antidepressants - only 16% of people will experience it, and it's usually temporary. So there's an 84% chance that you won't ever have this. Whereas the psychiatric symptoms you have often respond really well to treatment, in my experience. You sound really distressed, and you deserve to have the best possible chance of recovery

I was prescribed antidepressants for a short time many years ago. My depression was caused by a particular situation and the medication helped lift me out of my depression enough to be able to deal with that situation. Even 20 years later I can remember very well how hopeless I felt and how much they helped me. Although I did feel really nauseous for a couple of days when I first started taking them.

I have a friend with clinical depression and severe mental health problems. I daren't think what would happen if they stopped taking their antidepressants.

I was on them from Nov 2021 to summer 2023 and then went back on this summer . I will try and come off again next spring but if I need to be on them to live a normal life I will .
Did the opposite for me in terms of diarrhoea as I was suffering when I was really anxious and when I went on them it stopped that .

No. I tried to stop them recently. Slowly got them down to 3 a week and all seemed fine. Switched to two and all it was chaos. Have had to up them again.

I was also recently diagnosed as autistic and one thing I noticed was how bad my rumination is when I'm not on them and actually they help my anxiety a lot too.

I don’t think I would be here if I came off them. My MH s really poor and I struggle daily. I don’t leave the house. I’ve been highly suicidal in the past, plus had psychosis which is a whole different ball game! I’m on a high dose of sertraline, about to increase again as I dropped down for a while and that’s not worked. I also take olanzapine and lamotrigine to support my MH.

If I didn't take them I don't where I'd be, to be honest.
I get periods of time where I think I don't need them any more but within a few months I'm back to being a mess.
They enable me to have a normal life and I've just had to accept that I need to take them.
Fwiw, I tend to get IBS type symptoms when my anxiety is bad, and obviously the medication helps with that! So I wouldn't discount taking them because of that.
I hope you find some peace, it's no way to live in a state of anxiety and depression all the time

No. Without them I wouldn't be here, it's really that simple. They have made things so much better for me

Thank you, I really needed to read that. I was getting myself into quite a frenzy stressing over the potential side effects.

My gp has prescribed me Escitalopram, I will have to at least try them.

I am sorry you are struggling, I really don't think people appreciate how controlling poor mental health is, I am only living a half life and have done so for quite some time now.

I hope the increase of the sertraline helps you.

I was allergic to them - tried by my face swelled up (not a pretty look), so I've had to live my life without and learn strategies to survive.
I take St John's wort though, had a lot of cbt, really practice self-care (mindfulness/meditation/journalling to really recognise why I'm going through a low or anxious phase) and also having the incredible support of my friends and family who are also able to recognise warning signs and support me whatever (telling me to leave jobs where they can see it's affecting me negatively and supporting me whilst I find something else etc).

I'm on citalopram and it changed my life. I hadn't realised that in addition to the intrusive thoughts and anxiety that I was really snappy and impatient with my family. My sense of humour came back and just taking day to day things in my stride.

I've forgotten to take them occasionally and I really feel it.

They definitely help me and get rid of all the noise and negativity in my head. Only thing is I feel reliant on them now. I've been on and off citalopram for ten years.

No reason to stop taking. You wouldn't stop taking pills for a bad leg or a bad heart.
Mental health is just the same except for you can't see it.
I wonder what happened before antidepressants though.
How lucky we are to live today.

Nope, I’d probably be dead without them, and certainly living a very unhappy life, unable to work or anything like that. Taking one little pill every day isn’t here nor there. Why would I not?

fiddleleaffig

You are so fortunate to have good people around you who understand mental health. I think that goes a long way to help with management and recovery.

I used to have a wicked sense of humour but it left me years ago, I'm so serious these days, I would love to laugh again.