Antidepressants

[Eyessoblue]

I've been on citalopram for. Nearly 16 years. I spoke with my dr recently and said I don't think they are working anymore.
She said oh antidepressants don't stop working it's not possible, it probably means you're feeling more depressed and need to 'up' your dose.
I came away feeling a bit unsure, I know none of you are dr's, but I would have thought like most tablets your body would get used to them and the effects would ware out after a time?
Does anyone know if this is the case with antidepressants, has anyone switched to a different one after a long time and got better results?
I just feel like I'm taking one every day and still feel really depressed, how would I be if I didn't take them etc, I know I'd have to be careful coming off as I've been on them so long, but I'm quite tempted to do so just to see if they actually do make a difference or not.

[Blueberry]

I went off citalopram once (I just didn't bother to take them and that ended up turning into idk 4-6 weeks.) I didn't notice a difference right away. It took a few weeks but I did eventually notice a significant difference. Idk how long I'd been on them up till then, a number of years certainly. Maybe 4 or 5? I'm now on a reduced dosage and have been for a year or so.

My doc is pretty laid back. When I told him I'd gone off them and this is what all I notice: increased brain fog, inability to feel joy... etc etc he said that it was good that I noticed all Citalopram had done for me. Idk how relaxed other docs see this or if going off them can be dangerous, even if it wasn't in my case.

[Libby183]

Hi, Eyessoblue.

I remember that we have talked about anti-depressants before and that you were considering stopping them.

Just based on my own experience,  I think that they do stop working. I am sure that after ten plus years of prozac, it had no effect.  I'm not sure it was ever really effective,  just took "the edge off things"  and made me feel that I was trying something. 

When I stopped duloxetine more recently,  the withdrawal was unpleasant but I don't feel hugely more depressed without it. My depression is focused more now on the feelings of hopelessness that therapy produced, and I can't see that going back on antidepressants would really help that.

I gave up reordering the duloxetine and the gp surgery has never followed this up at all, despite the warnings about abrupt cessation of antidepressants.  I do wonder whether your doctors response is just an easy,  "up the dose" response.  I know I am very mistrustful of doctors but my daughter is a neuroscience researcher, in the area of "stress" and based on many studies she had read about ,  she says she has next to no belief in their value. This is, of course,  just my thoughts,  but I do trust my daughter much more than I do any doctors.

Hoping very much that you are coping and taking care of yourself.  It's all so hard, to know what to do for the best.  Let me know how things go.

Hugs.

Libby

[Eyessoblue]

Thank you both of you. Yes Libby, I remember you saying that and that's really interesting to hear well done for you doing that.
I've been to anxiety Clinic today and we are getting very 'deep' with things which I'm finding quite hard to deal with at the moment so I've decided that now isn't probably a good time to do anything drastic, it is definitely something I'm considering in future months tho.
I hope you're doing ok?

[mikeydjay]

I know this is a bit of an old thread, but just wanted to describe my experience. I've was on Sertraline, max dose of 7 years, last year I started therapy with a clinical psychologist and one of the first things we talked about was antidepressants and their effect on feeling emotions, I wasn't feeling anything at the time, just living in this entirely numb bubble, so in May this year without input from any doctors or anything I decided to come off the Sertraline, I'd already stopped taking any other antidepressants, mood stabilisers, antipsychotics and tranquilizers beforehand and have to say now around 3 months after stopping taking Sertraline I can feel so much more, and for the first time in as long as I can remember I actually feel alive.
When discussing the effects of antidepressants and other medication with the psychologist and having read about it quite extensively I came to the conclusion that they don't stop working as such, but what they do end up doing is preventing the natural variation in brain chemicals that lead to you feeling happy, or sad or anything really (at least in my case), I believe there is a strong case for taking antidepressants, but at least for me I probably took them for about 6 years to long. I believe there is research out there that does recommend not staying on antidepressant for too long, I think in my case I'd been "depressed" for around 3 years before starting to take antidepressants and the benefits of taking them had worn off after about a year, i.e. the benefit in terms of raising my mood had worked after about a year, but then following 6 years that I took them just left me feeling flat or numb.
Just my experience.

[Boatsetsailrose]

Hi eyes so blue wondered what you did about your medication ? I'm wondering if to up my meds at present

[Eyessoblue]

Hi boats, I have just stayed on them for now, going through quite challenging to with my cptsd so didn't end up doing anymore.

[Boatsetsailrose]

Ah that's understandable ...
Sending you warm wishes and that your getting the care you need

[Eyessoblue]

Boats, thank you, hope you're ok?

[Boatsetsailrose]

Had v diff wk last wk but seem to be out of ef now eyes so blue

[Kizzie]

   to you both

[Gromit]

I am not sure if this helps or not. Having CBT last year and starting attending ACoA where they say it is important to feel your feelings I decided to come off Citalopram. I never got round to telling a doctor but I have come off anti-depressants before so knew how they tell you to withdraw. I did it much more slowly, a quarter of a tablet at a time, over a month or several weeks at a time for each reduction. Finally off them just before Christmas 2018. There were some rough times then, my OH acting up because he was worried, but I have got through it without medication. I must admit I have only ever been on the base dose of 20mg of whatever drug they prescribed. I was mindful as I cut down that I could easily resume the full dose if I wanted to, so I watched my mood.

It does help that I am not in the stressful work situations I was in before, it also helps that I now know I have C-PTSD, before I was lost, unable to explain what I felt, having the knowledge I have found and the support here and elsewhere has helped me have the confidence to come off the drugs.

G