To be annoyed that taking SSRIs for the rest of my life is the only option?

[Snowtigerss]

Just that really. I don't want to be on SSRIs for the rest of my life but my brain doesn't work properly without them. After 3 months without them, I'm a wreck.

Are there really no alternatives?

@saminlondon yes exercise helps me and so did counselling. But when I was suicidal, sat on the floor and thinking "I can't actually get up and live" and I couldn't work out in my head how to cope for another minute, a workout was the last thing on my mind
Neither was diet when I was having intrusive thoughts of how to kill myself
Antidepressants saved my life, exercise helped improve my mood. Totally different things
And counselling? Unless you go private... I waited 18 months for CBT

On the medication everything seems a bit numb, bit the alternative in my case is not pleasant and it's better to be here and healthy than not here at all.

You don't have to fit in to a bog standard for this! Work with the meds and your GP to find the dose that works enough without the zombie effect. It takes time but you can get to that sweet spot - just ask anyone that has to inject insulin to regulate blood sugar!

Glad things have got better cheeseonion, the discontinuation effects do seem to be a big issue, I agree. I wonder if the NHS try to play them down because it might put people off taking them.
Unfortunately I think it's hard to detect what is discontinuation and what is a relapse. I'm not a professional in the field but from experience I have no idea how to tell one from the other.
Thanks for the suggestions, I will look into them

I haven't tried st John's wort yet alwaysfuckingtired, sound like it might be worth a try, thanks.

The pill has already be mentioned, but really, do be careful. It interacts not just with the pill, so do a google search before combining with any medication. (Obviously also ask a doctor, but there's no guarantee a doctor would know)

I have been on SSRIs now for 22 years. I have weaned off twice, but have had to go back to them pretty quickly both times. I think SSRIs do have certain side effects which make them a less than perfect solution, and I wish I didn't have to take them, in a way that I don't feel about my asthma meds and the meds for my blood disorder.
For those who don't understand why so many of us with depression try to come off our meds, I'll try to explain: SSRIs tend, at least for me, to dull the highs as well as the lows, so you don't experience the full emotions of life. I can't cry and haven't in years which, believe or not is really not nice. On top of this, I cannot experience pure joy, lose myself in happiness or laughter. My emotions are dull, it feels like a half-life. This may be better than the no life I would have without my meds, but it is not a particularly fulfilling way to live.
I have tried many SSRIs over the years and my current one is the one which stops me feeling suicidal, but the price is that I don't feel much else either. So, no it isn't because I'm ashamed or embarrassed about my depression that I have tried to come off them, but because I want to experience a full life. But I can't.

Thank you to the pp who suggested exercise, therapy, and diet. In the last 22 years I have explored all of these avenues, but such is my brain chemistry that I need ssris to survive,alongside these lifestyle choices.

It sucks op, you have my sympathy. Being on them for life is what I am resigned to, and it is a lot better than the suicide my grandfather died from or the ECT my grandmother was subjected to, but it's far from perfect and yanbu in being annoyed. It's a shitty hand to be dealt.

Thank you Snowtigerss I will keep on going on it's all we can do

YABU

I am so grateful for my anti depressants, they make me feel well.
I am happy to be on the for life because my life is awful without them.

All that talk about exercise reminds me of this

I’m on anti psychotics and an ssri for life. I struggle with that but it’s less of a struggle then dealing with fluctuating moods, very low mood or feeling angry.

OP have you ever tried to wean down to a lower dose (rather than coming off completely.)
For some people a half dose can still work but can also reduce the size de effects like ‘numbing.’

Do be careful with st john’s Wort. It can interact with quite a few medications as it affects an enzyme in the liver. Maybe check with gp that no major intersections with current meds first? And if taking it then always mention it to doctors when they ask about meds.

I agree with other posters, I think some people just need to be on them long term. I had anorexia as a teenager, then in my 20s an episode of self harm and developed OCD, which became severe and debilitating at one point. A low dose of fluoxetine has kept me on an even keel for 4 1/2 years now. I'd tried venlefaxine in the past but the side effects were bad and it never completely did the job. I have ME too now and despite many physical limitations I'm the happiest and calmest I've been for most of my life. The recommended dose for OCD did turn me into a grumpy zombie, horrible on top of my fatigue, but a lower dose just turns down the anxiety enough for me to cope and be happy.

Exercise, pre-ME, did help, but only while I was pushing myself hard at the climbing wall, and then the effect didn't last very long.

saminlondon your post was both irresponsible and incorrect. There may be people on this site who have suicidal thoughts and urgently need to see a doctor but you have claimed that a run and a carrot is just as effective. This may have worked for you ( and if it has i am pleased for you) but for many of us our depression isnt solved by a simple workout and some fruit.

OP if you are taking drugs for the rest of your life but live a happy and fulfilled life whats the problem? I have the opposite worry every time I go to the GP for my medication review I am panicking they will suggest i come off them. I am so happy and at peace and I never want to feel like I did again. What difference does it make? I am happy. It's real happiness

The drugs balance my hormones they don't trick me into feeling something that isn't true. They are not a magic potion or a spell I should be wary of. They correct a hormone inbalance.

dahliaaa that's exactly what's worked for me, a lower dose.

sorry OP I realise now I have posted erroneously as I am on a tricylic antidepressant.

Could you speak to your GP about trying a different drug if yours has side effects. Mine has zero side effects for me and i absolutely don't feel the dulling of joy that pp have described. I feel the normal highs and lows of life, i feel like me but without the depression.

Counselling, dietary changes and exercise are all more effective than SSRIs in treating depression

For some, not everyone. Best not to generalise when it's concerning someone's mental health.

“Counselling, dietary changes and exercise are all more effective than SSRIs in treating depression”

This is such dangerous advice.

I’m on them for life too. Every time I’ve tried to come off has ended in a teary, horrible disaster. I spent a lot of this year weaning down and am back up to full dose, and after today have a bit of added beta blocker for panic. I have OCD, depression and anxiety and I’m ok with the thought of needing pills to help me live. I have a chemical imbalance and my brain doesn’t work properly. Pills and therapy help me live.

.sam I have been a mental health nurse for 22 years and also suffer from depression which has hospitalised me on several occasions and the last episode nearly killed me which is why I have decided to stay on medication indefinitely.
You are right that exercise is actually more effective than medication for mild depression. However, anyone suffering from severe depression will not be able to even contemplate exercise and your advice is downright dangerous.
At my most severely depressed, I stopped eating and drinking and it took all my mental strength to get out of bed and brush my teeth.
I ended up being tube fed and given IV fluids. No amount of yoga, whole grains or positive thinking would have made the slightest bit of difference. The only reason I didn’t kill myself was because I didn’t have the mental energy or ability to plan anything because I was too depressed

Snowtigerss

After many years of depression and some therapy, I've finally succumbed to anti-depressants, that's how I feel about taking them.

They've temporarily stopped the suicidal tendencies and the GP suggests I may be on them long term.

My question is, will my brain get used to the dosage and will I be continuously upping my dosage, if I'm going to stay on them in the long term? I'm taking Fluoxetine and only a low dosage but already feel as though I might need more to cope with current circumstances.

Exercise is the best and number 1 treatment for depression and anxiety. You may feel like you have no energy but a very small amount - walking for example will start a positive cycle - exercise induces the production of your own natural serotonin. Good Public Health England Exercise for depression. Over 22,000GPs now prescribe exercise as a first line treatment before SSRIs it’ll due to its highly effective nature. Ps you don’t have to run a marathon, just small changes.

Sam, you're talking absolute horseshit here.

I'm on more than one antidepressant, along with various pain killers, one of which is strongly linked with dementia, I wish I could come off any one of them, but without them I have such poor quality of life and high pain levels that suicide seems the only option. I'd LOVE to be able to exercise it all away, but it would only cripple me further and increase almost unbareable pain even further, so it's not an option.

emzw As I said up thread, exercise is indeed very effective for mild depression,
I experienced severe psychotic depression and came very close to taking my life and taking my children with me. I couldn’t eve get out of bed let alone go for a walk.
Depression is a killer illness. I have also had mild depression and the difference between that and severe depression is like the difference between shandy and whisky.
Please don’t post such dangerous irresponsible nonsense

If you needed daily thyroxine because you had thyroid issues, or insulin because you had diabetes, would there be a similar thread? I doubt it. And this is just the same - if your body/brain needs it to function then it needs it to function.