Long term AD use and brain damage.

[dangermouseisace]

That really. I've been on them most of my adult life and I am now middle aged. The past couple of years have been up and down- a lot of down and I'm down again.

I've read stuff on the internet that says that long term AD use can cause irreversible damage to synapses or whatever. I can't remember. But I've got the feeling that I'm fucked and will never be happy. Stopping taking them would appear to be pointless as the damage would already have been done and my brain now needs them.

Does anyone know of any evidence to the contrary? Anecdotal or scientific?

I haven't heard anything like that scientifically or not.
maybe you need to change ad.

Reading stuff on the internet is always a bad idea. A lot of the stuff out there is opinion rather than fact and lots of anti-psychiatry / big pharma.

There's peer reviewed scientific journals that are more likely to be factual, but sometimes you need an academic ATHENS account (thats its name, I'm not shouting ) to access them.

Despite all of our technical advances, the brain and how it works is still a bit of a mystery. Your best bet for search terms would be something like "longitudinal studies changes in brain function anti depressants" and see what turns up under scholarly articles.

Yes I remember ATHENS! I've been on google scholar, which is still crap.

I honestly am not aware that that's a ' thing' - if it were, it would have to be reiterated by the Drs every time they were prescribed.

thanks for the replies. Seems like no one else has found similar stuff.

I am still rather sceptical of it all...I think maybe my spirit animal is lemming and this is just how things are

www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4173468/My-GP-gave-antidepressants-didn-t-need-20-years.html

I thought of this. Not sure where that takes you...

There are some programmes for dysthymia (reoccurring) and treatment resistant depression- those are the terms you need to search for them.

Thanks summers. I definitely have needed AD's in the past and they revolutionised my life where all else had failed. Maybe it is 'treatment resistant' now though or more 'mid life shit life' syndrome.

I think suing someone for over a million could help a bit though (only joking)

Or maybe I'm just irrevocably damaged...

dangermouseisgreat I have been through this source of anxiety and no longer feel particularly worried. Are you OK with a PM? If not, I respect that.