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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To worry about a life without anti depressants

25 replies

IAmKenAdams · 03/07/2019 18:03

Have been on them now for 6 months following a pretty horrible time.

It has suggested by someone in my family that I speak to the Dr about when is best to come off them and deal with the situation.

AIBU to be scared of this? I feel 'ok' for the first time in a very long time. I don't ever want to go back to feeling how I did.

I don't think I will stop them yet but if there comes a point when I do, AIBU to be incredibly scared about this? I can't take them forever though can I?

The Dr said he doesn't believe it will need to be a long term thing as my depression had a very obvious 'trigger' but I just can't picture ever feeling okay without them.

OP posts:

Stormwhale · 03/07/2019 18:05

I think the fact that you feel like this shows you are not ready to come off of them. Have you had any therapy over the trigger? The anti depressants cant fix what happened, or help you feel ok about it, so you need to find another way to do that before coming off the tablets.

Zbag · 03/07/2019 18:09

6 months is not a long time to be on antidepressants. I've been taking citalopram for years now, and I am finally starting to reduce them. Personally I think the fact that you are worried about not taking them maybe shows that you aren't ready to come off them?

HelloyouKant · 03/07/2019 18:09

Do not rush to come off them. Sadly it can be quite difficult to stop them. No way should you be coming off them until you have been feeling A1 for a good 6-12 months.

SimonJT · 03/07/2019 18:12

Why would you stop necessary medical treatment?!

Original poster

IAmKenAdams · 03/07/2019 18:18

I'm not planning on stopping, just that this person made me think about when I will eventually stop them and it really scared me.

I have had a bit of therapy but couldn't really engage with it properly until I'd started the ADs as I was having severe anxiety/panic attacks which were making me not want to go.

OP posts:

granadagirl · 03/07/2019 18:43

If it’s any help
I had a very bad episode of anxiety which lead to severe depression.
The ad’s I was on wasn’t doing anything and in the end ended up seeing a psych.
She changed my ad’s and it seemed at the time mths & mths to get my anxiety/depression under some control.
Anyway, when I was functioning better and she signed me back to gp she actually told me I could stay on the indefinitely if I wanted too.
But I had to be in good health for at least 12-18 mths before even thinking of dropping dose.

So I wouldn’t even listen to anybody who mentions your meds(as there your concern not there’s)

I also get what u say about not going back into that space again 100%
That’s why I’m still on them 6 yrs later and I’ve also upped them, as I’m not going there again

bridgetreilly · 03/07/2019 18:46

You can be on them forever if you need to be.
If you're only just feeling normal, you do not need to be thinking about coming off them at all at this stage.
Use the time of feeling better to help you deal with the trigger cause - counselling, making life changes, etc.
If you get to a point where you feel better and the trigger causes have been dealt with, then start talking to the GP about coming off the pills, slowly and carefully, whilst being monitored.

CloserIAm2Fine · 03/07/2019 18:51

Firstly, don’t ever let someone make you feel like you shouldn’t take them for as long as you need them. If your depression is situational and the situation improves then you most likely will be able to come off them at some point, but not until you’re ready.

If you and your doctor agree, you’ll be weaned off them slowly and with supervision. Some ADs do have withdrawal symptoms, but they are temporary. If you’re struggling then the weaning off can be slowed down (halving pills, taking them on alternate days etc). And if you can’t cope then your doctor can put your dose up and you can stay on them.

PapayaCoconut · 03/07/2019 19:03

Many, many people are very suspicious of antidepressants, in the belief they induce some sort of artificial state of bliss - hence the term "happy pills". Surely if they did they'd have some street value...

I know people who've been on them for many years and I don't think it's all that different from taking insulin if you need it for diabetes. My Dsis has been told by her GP that her mood disorder is caused by a chemical imbalance and that she is likely to need her SSRIs for the rest of her life. She's fine with that, because they keep her feeling healthy.

Fairylea · 03/07/2019 19:07

6 months isn’t normally long enough.

Dh has severe depression and has been on them 4 years now and expects to be on them for the rest of his life.

If they are helping you, continue to take them! You wouldn’t stop taking any other medication if it made you feel better would you?

ThePurpleHeffalump · 03/07/2019 19:13

Bet the person that said it has never been on them, and is part of the ‘fresh air and walk in the woods’ squad.

user87382294757 · 03/07/2019 19:34

MN is always very pro anti-ds. Maybe have a look at Surviving Antidepressants site for some info on withdrawal syndrome. It's a thing- and often worse the longer you stay on them. YANBU to think about the situation when you come off. I was on prozac on and off for 20 yrs and now finally off and the withdrawal was pretty bad. I'm kind of through it now though and would never go on SSRIs again

user87382294757 · 03/07/2019 19:36

They are trying to help people come off them more slowly to make it easier

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-48457980

neversleepagain · 03/07/2019 19:43

I have been on Citalopram for about 10 years, at doses ranging from 10mg to 40mg. In the past year I was unable to regulate my mood at all, I would be raging with anger for no apparent reason and couldn't see any logic or calm and the anger would escalate. Obviously this was having detrimental effects in my relationships with everyone around me. My GP never really listened to my concerns. I decided one day to stop taking them and the change is enormous. I am able to self regulate my emotions and feelings, I haven't had this insane outburst for over 6 months now. While the antidepressants worked initially I think, after so long, they were having an adverse effect.

user87382294757 · 03/07/2019 19:47

Yes, me too! I was on prozac since 19 years old, stopping for DC and then when I took it again it started having adverse effects like I was sensitised to it, a bit like fibromyalgia and also awful fatigue. It took me around 6 months to wean off it slowly, (some people take even longer) I still get some of the pain / shakiness (a bit like flu) from withdrawal - I do now feel emotions and don't miss the horrible sexual side effects. Saying that it helped me for quite a while. Ones with shorter half lives are meant to be harder to come off, but some people move onto prozac to do that.

TheDarkPassenger · 03/07/2019 19:56

I’ll probably be on Prozac for the rest of my life. Will definitely be on lithium for the rest of my life. There’s nothing wrong with that, you wouldn’t stop taking insulin randomly would you?

Original poster

IAmKenAdams · 03/07/2019 20:33

I am taking Sertraline at the moment.

Yes my depression was/is situational, I don't know whether that situation will ever change though which is what sets off the anxiety.

I think they meant if I dealt with how I react to my situation, I might not need them but I just don't see that as a possibility.

I guess you can't ever say how you'll feel in however long but I just can't picture ever wanting to stop and risk going back to how I was.

OP posts:

Vibiano · 03/07/2019 21:00

You don't need to stop. If they are helping you then you should stay on them.
Things will change, it might be hard to see that right now and there may be a right time in the future (or there may not and that's fine) but you can put that in a box for now. It's something to think about in the future but not now.
I took them for 2 years. They really helped and I knew when the time was right to wean off.
Try to look on the positive side, you say you feel better than you did. That's great! It really is!
When you feel strong enough you will be able to deal with the things that you can and hopefully learn to cope with what you can't change.
If you are on an even keel now, that's a good thing.
I hope things continue to get better for you and maybe you consider whether you want to continue to share details about your mh with the person who presumably meant well but has shaken your confidence.
For you

candycane222 · 03/07/2019 21:24

I've been on a very low dose if citalopram for ages and honestly I can't see any point in trying to stop. I suffer from anxiety and when I habe neen in phases of not taking anti-ds I tend to feel a sort of free floating fear/horror that isn't conned to anything. Yes as a pp said, despite lots of exercise and walks in the woods. I just think it's my brain chemistry and luckily for me a low daily dose keeps the feeling at bay and I can just get on with life. I still feel stressed and worried about stressful worrying things, but I can deal with it 'normally' because it's real, as opposed to invented by my brain chemistry.

If the tablets are helping you feel more normal that is absolutely great and how long you take them for is between you and your doctor to decide, and if your doctor is as good as mine they should be led by you. Mine checks every so often that im still hapoy with my treatment. Ansd as i am, so is he. No-one else's business!!

candycane222 · 03/07/2019 21:25

Not connected to anything, d'oh!

Ihatehashtags · 04/07/2019 06:37

Definitely do not come off them after only 6 months! All evidence points to being on antidepressants for less than 18 months as being a recipe for relapse after relapse. Why are you listening to a family member with no qualifications in health? Take them for the appropriate time then speak to your doctor about gradually weaning off them. But be aware some people need to be on them for good.

Original poster

IAmKenAdams · 04/07/2019 11:06

Thank you. I definitely don't feel ready at the moment like you say.

I am only just starting to feel okay again but even now I still have moments where I think I'm falling again. The difference is I seem to be able to bring myself round to rational thinking quicker now.

OP posts:

MereDintofPandiculation · 04/07/2019 11:44

When I was suffering, my GP was signing me off work for 2 weeks at a time, and I found it very stressful - spent the second week worrying myself sick about having to return. I told the GP, and he promptly signed me off for something like 3 months. Weight lifted, and I started to recover.

Seems to me you're in much the same situation. I suggest talking to your GP, and getting reassurance that you needn't come off the tablets. Then you can just ignore the family member, and just shut down the conversation immediately every time they raise it.

You don't need to think about a time when you might come off it - that's way over the horizon.

M3lon · 04/07/2019 11:47

The optimal pathway is taking the ADs until you are stable enough to deal with the issues. Once the issues are dealt with you honestly will neither need nor in fact want to stay on the ADs.

It was like a light switch for me. One day I was terrified of life without the ADs, two days later I was merrily reading up on how to phase them out.

When you don't need them you will know - and it won't feel scary.

SpookyMulder · 04/07/2019 11:49

Why do you need to come off them?

It's only been 6 months.

I've been on mine 12 years and am not planning on coming off them. They make my life infinitely easier so why would I?

Would someone with diabetes feel pressure to come off insulin?

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