Vickyloo - nananina again. Hi Kizzie!
I suggested coming off ADs with GP supervision because I thought it was just mine that were useless about MH in general and especially about coming off them. So I will tell you how i came off ADs (trycylic) not an SSRI liek you are on, so I don't know if it would work the same.
I saw a psychologist who was an expert in helping people come off the major tranquillisers (Valium) etc., she wrote a book and included ADs - she got her doctorate through writing this book.
She told me that the problem with GPs were that they always wanted you to keep to some sort of schedule (I had done this twice under the supervision of 2 different GPs and suffered withdrawal symptons both times) although thre drs told me it was a return of the depression. The psychologist said that trying to keep to a schedule was not the right way to come off meds.
At the time I was on 100 mg imipramine and had been on them for 14 years since my first severe episode of depression following the death of my closest and dearest friend - I was an inpatient on a psych ward for 3 month and had so trusted the drugs I was afraid to come off them. However I agreed to try. She said I needed to be in control of the decrease and asked me what I would feel safe reducing - she said I could safely start with 25 mg but I was too scared and said I would only try 10mg and she said that was fine. So I reduced 10 mg per day - she said to stay on that level of reduction until I felt safe enough to try another 10mg - she said some people did it in 2 weeks, others 4 weeks but I should take as long as I wanted. In the end I was happy to reduce 10 mg per month and came off in 10 months.
That's the good bit. BUT 5 months after stopping altogether I had a further severe episode of depression (again 3 months on psych ward) and allthe medics were convinced it was because I had come off the meds. This episode was last Easter and I still haven't fully recovered (many blips along the way, or setbacks or whatever) and it is exhausting and frustrating. The cons psych says I must now stay on them for life (now on 200mg) libido is NOT a problem for me as I am 67 and left all that behind a long time ago!
I am however convinced that the psychologist was right about reducing whereas with the medics it seemed like think of a number, and one told me to take one every other day and she was horrified, saying this was the worst way to do it.
Had I not had another episode I would be shouting her name from the rooftops. Mind I will never know if it was coming off the ADs that caused the last episode because I had been physically very ill for 3 months beore the episode emerged. Trouble is there is so many unknowns with mental illness and yes yes yes.....depression is a bugger - a big bugger!!