Starting antidepressants after 18 months of being unwell

[Mummyoftwo28]

I've heard you need to be on antidepressants for atleast the length of time that you have been feeling unwell - in my case 18 months. My therapist said if I start them, I need to wait until I start to feel better and then continue for another 18 months.

Is that true? Will it still help me even though I've waited for so long ?

I’ve not heard that before. They often take a couple of months to start working properly and it’s best to stay on them for a few months once you feel better to get stability.

If you would like to, then yes they will help you even with that period of prior depression. They will also take several weeks to work and may give you some odd days both mentally and physically while they get up to speed. I was very scared about what that might mean, but for me at least those symptoms were manageable (in fact not unlike being pregnant in early days with unpredictable stuff going on due to that).

I have also taken them for about 18 months which was about twice as long as I wanted to, and tapered off very slowly to stop. Never increased dose to what would be considered quite high. Again, this is not super easy but didn't have long lasting ill effects (except possibly quick weight gain but that could be due to a range of things).
I am told they give therapy a very good chance of working but have never tried the 2 at the same time. The therapist will support you.

I have never heard that before, although they do take a while to really take effect. For me it was about 6 weeks, I am not "cured" and may never be, but they have given me the ability to cope and enjoy life more than I could before

I have heard this and then 6 months after as well.
Why are you worrying about it? Surely it's better just to taken them and worry about coming off them once you're well and then some?