Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think anyone can come off antidepressants successfully

84 replies

passwordnotsecure · 14/06/2022 07:09

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

OP posts:
Original poster
passwordnotsecure · 15/06/2022 06:55

RenegadeMatron · 14/06/2022 21:46

OP - why have you asked quite such a provocative question, that is, ‘am I being unreasonable to think anyone can come off antidepressants successfully?’

You're clearly only asking about yourself - and even then it doesn’t read as if you do think you can easily come off them?

But - why are you posing the question to suggest that anyone can come off them? It’s - and I’m sorry, but I can’t think of a better word - inappropriate.

Surely it’s entirely obvious that no, anyone can’t just come off antidepressants successfully?

And besides, what does what anyone do, have to do with whether you can?

I just wanted stories of those who had been able to live without them successfully. I never meant for it to be inappropriate.

OP posts:
Original poster
passwordnotsecure · 15/06/2022 06:57

RedPlumbob · 14/06/2022 21:07

Which papers are those, OP? Because they’re very easy to misinterpret. Or do you mean you read a newspaper article that cherry picked quotes from a scientific paper? Because there’s a real fucken problem with that and has been for a very long time.

Neuroscience, or specifically, Neuropsychopharmacology is a very niche area of expertise.

I would be dead without mine. I’ve been under a Psychiatrist for years, and am A Lifer. My brain didn’t get to form properly in my formative years and so I’m in constant Fight or Flight mode without them, to name just one issue that a childhood of abuse causes, and has enabled me to break the generational curse/traumas with my own children, who have never/will never suffer what I did, nor ever know what I went through, because on the outside, I’m “normal.” And that’s mostly due to my meds.

There’s a difference between 20mg of Prozac that the GP prescribes and what a Psychiatrist prescribes.

Additionally, that 20mg of Prozac that people take every day for years/decades/all their life is what keeps them alive, and anyone who begrudges people that, can fuck right off.

The scientific paper I read was a very good study from a scientific journal, not a newspaper. It was years ago and my GP read it and asked if he could keep it.

OP posts:
Original poster
passwordnotsecure · 15/06/2022 07:00

TotalRhubarb · 14/06/2022 22:47

I've been off them for about ten years now, having spent about 6 years on them before that. I had severe depression and severe GAD, requiring a month in a psychiatric hospital at one point and years of being unable to work or do anything much.

It was hard to come off but I weaned down very, very slowly. Still got side effects, but they were tolerable - just - when the taper was slow (ignore any GP recommendations to do it in 4 weeks - that is just ridiculous).

I've been fine since and am now a very different person to who I was when I was ill. This has come from a shitload of private therapy that has changed my life. I was fortunate to be able to pay privately and have as long as I needed, which was way, way more than the NHS would have offered - we're talking weekly therapy for years. I put my recovery down to the fact I have healed trauma, changed my beliefs and ways of thinking and now take much better care of myself. The effects of all this are way more effective than the meds ever were - but it was a long old road and I'm conscious not everyone is lucky enough to be in a similar position.

So OP, my question to you is do you think you have resolved the factors that caused you to get and stay depressed?

Thank you. This is the kind of story I was after. I also have done some work through private therapy, not as much as you, but the job change made a massive difference.

OP posts:
Original poster
passwordnotsecure · 15/06/2022 07:02

Thank you SecondhandTable this is what I was looking for, a hopeful story.

OP posts:
Original poster
passwordnotsecure · 15/06/2022 07:03

Thank you

OP posts:
Original poster
passwordnotsecure · 15/06/2022 07:04

Sorry, I thought by hitting reply it would quote who I replied to. Thanks babdoc

OP posts:
Matchingcollarandcuffs · 15/06/2022 07:12

DSis had had depression and anxiety since she was little. She was a school phobic and I’d not at nearly 40 seeking diagnosis for ADHD

I wish there was just an acceptance that some people will always need the meds, she seems to locked into an endless cycle of starting, continuing for a bit and then withdrawing.

She is the only one of us who was not subject to trauma weirdly but has just got an oddly wired brain. And strong history of bipolar in the family.

I wish there was more acceptance that some people will always need to take the meds.

i am just starting on duloxetine and having a hell of a time, but it’s for pain so I may just call it quits. I’m like a zombie with gastritis

Original poster
passwordnotsecure · 15/06/2022 07:15

Darksides · 15/06/2022 03:06

This thread has got me really worried.

I’m suffering from a lot of anxiety and depression. I’m in a really dark place and having massive panic attacks which is impacting my work (I have a stressful professional job).

my GP has prescribed Citalopram but I was worried about taking it but he assured me I could stop anytime and it wasn’t a long term thing. I said would I have to wean myself off and he said no, at 10mg to take while I needed and then easy to stop.

Ive only taken a few days worth but reading this I really think it might be best to stop now before they change my brain chemistry in a way that sounds very addictive…. I’m terrified of them.

I'm sorry this thread has you worried. I would say in your position, as I was, absolutely follow through with the meds as they are very necessary. My question was more focused on whether someone should be on them for life if their circumstances have changed. If you've read my longer explanation, after I got slated for posting my original question, you'll see that my stressful job caused me anxiety. Getting out of that job alleviated my anxiety. However, at the time I was told due to relapses whilst being in the job, I needed to take them for longer. Now I'm out of that job, I wonder whether my brain needs them, IE whether I'll suffer other situations due to stress and get anxiety badly, or whether I've dealt with enough in therapy to equip me to live meds free.
Please get therapy for the issues you are facing because otherwise you may need to stay on meds for longer. There are risks with any medication. I took the pill which gave me an increased risk of breast cancer. However, I knew I wouldn't be taking it for life. If I had a heart condition and needed meds to stay alive, I would need to take the smaller risk of medication. I am totally pro ADs but if it's possible for the taker to use them to rebalance brain chemistry, get over some difficulties, get therapy and get well, then I think that's a healthy way of looking at them. I understand there are some people who for different reasons need them for longer. I just don't know if I'm one of those people. I wondered if anyone who had needed them for a few years had been able to come off them.
You need to get well. Please continue to take them. If I was that unwell, I would again.

OP posts:
PresidentEllenWilson · 15/06/2022 07:31

OP I'm following this with interest as currently trying to withdraw myself from sertraline after a year. I started them due to extreme anxiety manifesting in physical symptoms as well, but I do believe that was due to a specific set of circumstances at the time, all of which have now been resolved and my life is very different for the better now.

At the moment I've halved my dose and feeling a bit low already so I'm not sure what the answer will be for me but want to see how I get on. If it turns out that I don't cope well without them even with things being better in my life then I will have no qualms about taking them for longer/forever if necessary. I put it off too long due to my idea of the stigma of antidepressants and they helped me immensely to cope with a very difficult time in my life.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread