to want to get off my antidepressants asap after this evening’s Panorama?

[GeraniumGirl]

Anyone else feel the same after watching the programme tonight?

I didn’t watch it, what did it say?

Which antidepressant are you on and at what dosage?

And what did Panorama say?

That the evidence suggests that they are not much more effective than placebo and that the difficulty in stopping them and the extent of the associated withdrawal symptoms have been downplayed by the drug companies and the medical profession for decades.

Citalopram 30mg

I didn’t watch it as I pretty much heard it on the news this morning but have also read quite a bit. I’m taking myself off some at the moment. Am down to 2.5mg and it has taken me months. I don’t feel in the slightest bit different mentally but found that taking myself off the last of them made me feel very spaced out and odd so went back on at 2.5 mg dose and I felt better within 24 hours. Will try again in a couple of weeks. My advice is to talk to your GP and taper off very, very slowly.

Not to mention side effects of long term use such as heart disease and diabetes.

Yes a research paper has been released that has led to lots of media attention. Scary as we may have long term.m Withdrawal symptoms.

My issue is anxiety rather than depression. Been on a similar dose of same more on than off since 2008. Not worried but if I was I'd seek a review/discussion with my GP rather than letting a TV programme worry me.

That’s interesting @kafkascastle

Which AD were you on and what dose have you tapered down from?

I agree that the withdrawal symptoms coming off them is massively down played by some.
One GP said to me, just stop taking one per day each week, you'll be off them before you know it. Easy!

Fuck me was she wrong.

Bad BAD advice.

Have you managed to get off them?

30mg is a relatively higher than average dose, I would try talk to your GP first and ask for a controlled and monitored exit, they may have complimentary therapies they can offer or reccomend instead hopefully.

I take 20mg of Citalopram and to be honest it’s saved my life and my marriage.
I haven’t seen the documentary.
But I’ve been on it for years and have come off it a couple of times. Very gradually as I know that’s the way to do it without awful symptoms.
i know now that I need it and it keeps me sane.
A small price to pay and this is coming from someone who hates being dependent on anything.

Panorama are bloody awful lately, absolute tosh on the topics of ADHD assessments and EVs. Take it with a pinch (handful) of salt and read up on the risks/benefits and talk to professionals/knowledgeable persons before making a decision.

Citalopram 30 mgs, same as you. I dropped 2.5 mgs every 3-4 weeks. It’s really important to take it very slowly and to go up a bit for a week or so if you get withdrawal symptoms.

Antidepressants saved my life, twice. They have an important place against severe clinical depression.

They are massively overprescribed though, and that is the big issue.

It also said that the story that depression can be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain is a myth and there is no evidence for it. Pharma concerns adopted this line as it seems to make sense and is likely to get accepted by society. One doctor was saying that 'we have this drug that does help depressed patients, but we don't know what it does in your brain' would describe antidepressants well. They also said that anyone taking them more than a few weeks is part of a massive trial.

They have no clue really.

Haven't seen it. As with anything it's a risk vs benefit weigh-up and this can change if new evidence becomes available. Would not recommend quickly stopping a medication and would speak to your healthcare professional if you'd like to stop them.

As a side note - placebos can be effective so 'not much better than a placebo' is still effective, but I understand that you're concerned more around long term affects of taking medication.

We’ll surely it depends whether you feel they’ve been effective for you?

I was previously on the max dose of sertraline and managed to come off fine, although took it slowly as I felt very funny if I ever accidentally missed a dose

I took them for a while and can honestly say they didn’t make a lot of difference. I was able to come off them easily but I know that’s not everyone’s experience. I just wish they’d worked for me.

My psychiatrist was suggesting I change to another AD (which I’d never heard of) but I’ve had enough of them all now. I swore I’d never take another one 25 years ago but got sucked into the medication lottery again a couple of years ago.

I've tried citalopram and sertraline. Both made me feel even more "wrong" in the world than I do anyway. I felt even worse trying to come off them but honestly glad I only tried short term.

I don't know what to do now though as I need to do something.

It is all stuff that has been in the public domain for years, especially the withdrawal aspect. There have also been reports that it isn’t particularly beneficial in the long term. Panorama are just collating that information.

Having said that, I agree that anti depressants can be life saving and help many people. The problem is they leave you on them for years without knowing if they are really helping.

I'm on a relatively high dose of an SSNI and have been for years. When I miss or am late taking a dose the withdrawal symptoms are horrific and tbh at times dangerous but that is not the primary reason I'm not going to stop taking them - they really have made a big difference to my life.

I see it as balancing potential long-term risk with present benefit - I'm not going to potentially turn my life upside down on the basis of one documentary.