Thinking to stop antidepressant!

[dixon]

Can anyone share if you gave up antidepressant after quitting AL and you don't need them more?
Are you living normal life after giving up antidepressant?
Any personal experience or information are hearty welcome here.
Thanks
Dixon

[Supercrew]

Thinking to stop antidepressant!

Hi Dixon,

I would have to say to make sure you consult with your doctor before you go off any medication. That being said, I have never heard of anyone going off antidepressants. This is one of the reasons I was afraid to then decided never to try them. Because what is a normal state of consciousness? How does someone know what I am supposed to feel like? Aside from my experiences that I can synthesize happiness in my own mind. I found with focus I can make myself feel happy or sad. We truly control our own emotions, so adding a drug to try to change the way we feel is basically the same as adding alcohol, except there have been many many studies on what alcohol does, and still we don't always know the outcome. With AD's it's hit and miss, and most people will never find the true happiness and contentment, because they don't know if they are feeling it or not. Chemicals change our circuitry so to speak, so how do we really ever know what true happiness is? Here is a clip I think you will find interesting.

Dan Gilbert: The surprising science of happiness | Video on TED.com

[nancy]

Thinking to stop antidepressant!

going off ADs

This isn't advice from any kind of a professional, just a person...

How long have you been on them Dixon?

There's some uncertainty about how they work exactly. It might be that there's a sedative effect. There's also a big placebo effect, so if you go off them you might chalk things up to going off them when in fact that might not be true. It seems you haven't been sober that long (May 2012) so I would advise staying on them for now. Why rock the boat? Don't be in a huge rush. It may be that the anti-depressants have helped you so far. So it makes sense to me to stay on until you are sure you are stable. Anti-depressants don't cause any harm that I know of.

But down the line, it's a good idea in my opinion to get off of anti-depressants, with input from a doctor and a therapist, and you scale the dose down over 3-6 months.

I have never had any problem going off them once stable for a good time. Never noticed a difference. I think they're useful in a crisis.

[Supercrew]

Thinking to stop antidepressant!

Sorry for going off on a tangent, I was talking to someone else about AD's today. I should have just stuck with the first sentence. Everything else is just me ranting my overbearing opinion about something I have never taken.

[Nelz]

Thinking to stop antidepressant!

After seeing what happened to my wife when she decided on her own to stop taking some meds............dont do a DAYM thing until you consult with your doctor.

I have seen what can happen when one makes changes with meds without telling anyone. I hope you can eventually stop taking them, as I wish my wife could. But I do know she needs them.

[pingu1997]

Thinking to stop antidepressant!

Nelz;1363048 wrote: After seeing what happened to my wife when she decided on her own to stop taking some meds............dont do a DAYM thing until you consult with your doctor.

I have seen what can happen when one makes changes with meds without telling anyone. I hope you can eventually stop taking them, as I wish my wife could. But I do know she needs them.

amen
from personal experience

[SKendall]

Thinking to stop antidepressant!

Hi Dixon. Many people go off anti-depressants because they are feeling better- but they may be feeling better because of the anti-depressant.

Like the others have stated, please consult a doctor, it's very uncomfortable to come off them without a very slow downward dose.

Congratulations of 90 days.

[LibraryGirl]

Thinking to stop antidepressant!

Dixon, Please be very careful about stopping AD's. If you do decide to, then you will need to quit slowly, and preferably with the advice of a health professional.

It is a common misconception that people who truly need AD's are relying on medication.

[Cashregister]

Thinking to stop antidepressant!

LibraryGirl;1363133 wrote: Dixon, Please be very careful about stopping AD's. If you do decide to, then you will need to quit slowly, and preferably with the advice of a health professional.

It is a common misconception that people who truly need AD's are relying on medication.

Absolutely LG!

Clinical depression is not an emotion it's an illness that requires medication in many instances. You don't control that type of depression, it's not that simple. Antidepressants save lives. If they are over prescribed by doctors for the wrong reasons that is a separate issue. They are not addictive but they can have nasty symptoms if you come off them too quickly - and I am speaking from personal experience of a long term nature

[nancy]

Thinking to stop antidepressant!

timing

I think it depends on how stable your life is. Antidepressants have been shown to be useful in the most severe cases of depression but questions have arisen about mild or medium cases. I think you experienced a huge amount of disruption with your family, as I remember, to crisis level. That's the kind of thing that they can help with. If you stabilize for a good amount of time you may well be able to go off them. I have done it three different times and had absolutely no change in mood. Please talk to your doctor or better yet a psychotherapist.

[dixon]

Thinking to stop antidepressant!

Hi guys,
Loads of information here!!.Many thanks to all of you.
Sorry to put you in confusion saying to quit antidepressant but it is my attempt to gather information and your practical experience at the moment.Of course,they are helping to raise will power to stay AF now so withdrawal of AD at the moment would be disastrous for sure.Taking the yours advises into consideration I definitely will take doctors advice before quite them at all.To be honest with you I have already titrated down by 1/3 doses and quite feeling well.I will slowly go down and quit if my doctor agree with me.
My intention is that to know that if I am really depressed and in need of medication or it is just because of AL abuse ?.
As my doctor was prescribed when I was already abusing alcohol.
Anyway,I will keep AD in stock even if I give up them for any emergency requirements.

Therefore,I will cut down gradually for sure and taking supplemenrd to cope with its placebo effect.
Will comeback again with your individual concern later when I get extra time.
Now time to go on bed.
Good night.
Dix

[nancy]

Thinking to stop antidepressant!

cushion from an AD

I think if it provides a cushion it's a good thing Dixon.
The reality is that we are depressed when our life circumstances are bad. I can't remember your whole story but it sounds like you were and maybe still are dealing with some very heavy family issues and loneliness. If those things are still problems, then you may still need medication. I realize that the problems are caused by alcohol. Good luck.

[dixon]

Thinking to stop antidepressant!

Nancy,
You are true in my case.
I don't go for quitting totally but would watch and feel its effects cutting down and very slowly.
Dix

[dixon]

Thinking to stop antidepressant!

Hi guys,
Loads of information here!!.Many thanks to all of you.
Sorry to put you in confusion saying to quit antidepressant but it is my attempt to gather information and your practical experience at the moment.Of course,they are helping to raise will power to stay AF now so withdrawal of AD at the moment would be disastrous for sure.Taking the yours advises into consideration I definitely will take doctors advice before quite them at all.To be honest with you I have already titrated down by 1/3 doses and quite feeling well.I will slowly go down and quit if my doctor agree with me.
My intention is that to know that if I am really depressed and in need of medication or it is just because of AL abuse ?.
As my doctor was prescribed when I was already abusing alcohol.
Anyway,I will keep AD in stock even if I give up them for any emergency requirements.

Therefore,I will cut down gradually for sure and taking supplemenrd to cope with its placebo effect.
Will comeback again with your individual concern later when I get extra time.
Now time to go on bed.
Good night.
Dix

[Nelz]

Thinking to stop antidepressant!

Thats kind of what I "thought" you meant by your post, but I just wanted you to be fully aware of the dangers of just stopping cold turkey.

Hope it works out for you my friend