AIBU to think anyone can come off antidepressants successfully

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Just that really. Interested in hearing people's stories please. I've been on them on and off for more than ten years.
Thanks

Do you mean manage without them or how to come off them ?

i have been doing on and off them a few times. Best to wean yourself off them. Really depends on what you are on, the dose and your mental health. Are you u dear the care of a psychiatrist or gp?

Tell us your story op, have you come off them easily in the past ?

Yes I did. I weaned myself down super slowly

I am taking them permanently. Agreed with many medical professionals. Have come off them several times over the last 25 years and had major breakdowns.

So no not everyone can come off them, some of us have an imbalance and need to stay on them long term.

No one has an ‘imbalance’ that was debunked years ago.

some people struggle to come off them because they permanently change your brain chemistry:

news.sky.com/story/long-term-use-of-antidepressants-could-cause-permanent-damage-doctors-warn-11688430

If no one has an imbalance of neurotransmitters, then why would selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors be prescribed?

I was thinking the exact same thing.

Not sure I could 225mg Venlafaxine - even missing one dose is hell 😕

If no-one has an imbalance, why would they be prescribed in the first place / at all?

I did - have been on and off sertraline in varying doses for last 10/12 years. I weaned myself down super slowly - so cut the dose down slowly with my doctor then started taking one every two days. The brain zaps were horrendous for the first few weeks but eventually wore off!

Very, very, very slowly is the way to do it. Missing a dose is a huge amount and isn’t comparable to dropping down slowly - I think it took me 7 months and was not pleasant. But too many side effects from them.

I did fairly easily BUT was t on them for very long, less than 2 years. I was on paroxetine if that makes a difference. It look me a couple of months, very slowly with my gps support.

DH did - successfully. Just stopped. But I was always sceptical about his "diagnosis"

have you ever heard of "money"?

Have you ever heard of demand incentive?

@woodencoffetable and what money is it that you think GPs in the UK get for giving people anti depressants?

Don’t give a shit about money, or long term damage.

If l wasn’t on anti depressants I’d probably be dead. It’s as simple as that.

YABU, there is very little that applies to 'anyone' in the simplistic way you have posted.

Get medical advice before coming of ADs, it is not an easy matter for some.

It took me 8 months to come off Citalopram (only 20mg too!) after a decade.

Tried a few times doing it too quickly and had awful side effects, doing it very very slowly was the way to go.

I went to 15mg for ages, waited til that felt okay, then 10 for 3 months, then 5 for a month or so, then 5 broken in half to 2.5 every day, then 2.5 every other day. It was still horrible when I stopped completely, but much less so/for less long than it had been before when I'd tried.

Weirdly, despite my mental health generally being in a better place than it's been in a long time, I now cry very, very very easily since coming off them. I probably cry 5-6 times a day - almost like a reflexive action to any emotional stimulus at all, nice or not. Something like someone making me a cup of tea sets it off - it's like my emotional response is wonky. GP thinks it's related to coming off them but has no ideas for fixing it, which is incredibly frustrating.

BUT yes - it's possible, just do it slowly and carefully.

Pretty much this. Whether the imbalance theory has been debunked or not isn't relevant. Some people need this help for life, just as people need help for other conditions which have the potential to be life limiting if left untreated.

The way taking anti depressants is seen as a weakness and something that should be stopped asap is very damaging. You wouldn't shame someone into not using insulin or ventolin because they should just try and get better, but people with mental health conditions are somehow exempt from this understanding.

This societal attitude is one of the reasons people with severe mental illness try to stop taking their pills, potentially putting themselves in danger and causing huge upset for their families- at which point everyone will say 'they knew they had this illness so why did they stop taking medication???'

It's fine to be on anti depressants long term, or to be on and off them depending on how life is going, just as it's fine with similar medications or treatment for chronic illness. Personally, I have clinical depression, currently on 150mg sertraline and 20mg amitriptyline- has been more, has been less. I never have a problem telling people this as it isn't something to be ashamed of.

Ive been off a bunch of different anti anxiety/depression meds now for 5 years after 8 years on them, won't be going back either.

Depends how you define "successfully"

I've tried to get my self off before and failed. This time I've bee. Doing it over about 3 months with the guidance of a pharmacist, and am almost there!

I came off them for couple years but didnt like the person I was without them as my moods are liked to mental cycle. Sertraline makes me a calmer, happier person.