To offer the converse, I had a very traumatic event in my life and was put on an SSRI, which helped me function. After almost 2 years of taking it, I didn't think I needed it anymore and I tapered myself off very slowly but regularly, keeping logs and setting alarms. While in the beginning I felt some vertigo and other symptoms, I tapered very gradually, and was completely free at the end of my taper. My symptoms never come back and the SSRI helped me make very real progress on my issues. I'm eternally glad for my SSRI use and a medical system that knows when to prescribe it, as I would have probably not been able to hold down a (at the time, very stressful) job during the initial phases after the event without the help of the SSRI, and it probably would have taken me many years to recover. For those that SSRIs work on, it really works.
Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit
31–40 of 233 posts
Re: Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Modern medicine is not in the business of curing diseases. I know enough people in the field of modern medicine to know that that is hyperbole. At least in the European countries that I have lived in. EDIT: I am sorry to hear from the responses to this that this may not be quite so hyperbolic in the US. I hope that trend will be reversed somehow.
Before you downvote op for an admittedly over-broad opinion you truly need to experience the USA model of overprescription, drug ads on billboards and all over TV shows targeted by demographic, all sorts of IP shenanigans to extend IP/re-patent/pointlessly reformulate/roadblock generics/cherry-pick studies for new drugs that have no real benefit but a higher price. European medicine is indeed worlds different, and th…
To put it in perspective, I live in the US and I have an ad for Xeljans stuck in my head. With the tagline "If methathrexate didn't work for you, maybe Xeljans is right."
It's that insane right now.
Re: Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit
#33I hope that this doesn't come over as sarcastic, but the pharmaceutical industry is a business , and they will always operate like one: A business is about making the most money possible: Maximizing revenue is about minimizing the main costs which are generated by the activities of: (a) acquiring the customer (through: advertising and marketing) and, (b) retaining the customer (in this case: through dependency). Ther…
You are suggesting that depressed people may want to take LSD in lieu of SSRIs, which is horrendous advice that can, for example, trigger panic attacks in those with comorbid anxiety. Please don't.
You are saying that. Please don't.
Re: Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is psychiatry . We don't know how to cure the underlying diseases, because we don't entirely understand them. When the field can actually cure them, like for PTSD and certain anxiety disorders, it's very happy to.
It doesn't cure any of these disorders. All they can do is reduce the symptoms just enough between each pill you pop.
You say that like it's a bad thing! Reducing symptoms of depression has saved lives.
Re: Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit
#35The "Chemical Imbalence Theory", although heavely popular and promoted, is largely unfounded on science:
https://joannamoncrieff.com/2014/05/01/the-chemical-imbalanc...
Re: Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit
#36I hope that this doesn't come over as sarcastic, but the pharmaceutical industry is a business , and they will always operate like one: A business is about making the most money possible: Maximizing revenue is about minimizing the main costs which are generated by the activities of: (a) acquiring the customer (through: advertising and marketing) and, (b) retaining the customer (in this case: through dependency). Ther…
You are suggesting that depressed people may want to take LSD in lieu of SSRIs, which is horrendous advice that can, for example, trigger panic attacks in those with comorbid anxiety. Please don't.
Cannot agree enough. Thanks.
Re: Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you saying that people are not trying to cure diseases? And instead they are only trying to manage them? If so, that is unequivocally wrong and misinformed.
They are trying to cure symptoms of underlying diseases, and even that, only in ways that will require lifetime intake of drugs and followup tests.
That's not what any doctor or scientist is trying to do, they'd all prefer a cure. They'd prefer to have treatments that work better, and are continuously working to improve them.
To say that a cure doesn't exist because they are not trying for it is 1) wrong, 2) hugely dismissive of the life's effort of tens of thousands of people, and 3) dismissive of the struggle of those using antidepressants.
If you think there are cures out there that are easily achievable, show it. Otherwise you are just perpetuating facile misunderstandings of a difficult situation.
Re: Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit
#38I was up to 10mg/daily of Lexapro for two years. When my doctor and I agreed it was time to stop taking it, his advice was to go down to 5mg for a week, then stop. When I tried stopping after the 5mg dose I had constant vertigo symptoms and incredible difficulty sleeping. What I ended up doing was cutting the pills in half for a few weeks, then quarters, then removing one day a week from the schedule until I was down…
I had the same issues coming off of Lexapro. Weird brain shocks. Bupropion (Wellbutrin) has been better for me all around, but I worry about what it will be like coming down off of it too. The good news is that I'm overall in a good place and feel like I probably don't need it anymore.
Glad you are in a better place than before, hope the process will go well!
I wonder if there is a form of research that could done by following patients who are receiving this treatment, and track how they wean themselves off of it.
Re: Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit
#39That brings back horrible memories. I took an SSRI for several years, initially prescribed by a GP. But the problem was that I wasn't "depressed". I am bipolar, and sometimes got stuck in down mode. The SSRI did make me more functional. But what it mostly did was make me affectless. That is, I could be sad or happy or angry or whatever, and I felt pretty much nothing. However, I still did whatever someone who was sad…
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Re: Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit
#40"Cannot stop" is kind of strong. More like "have nasty side effects while tapering off and puss out".
Having been on the Zoloft,I can say is got a black box warning for a reason and should only be taken if you're seriously in danger of self harm.
Shrinks like it because it keeps people coming back. People like it because they're not willing to confront their real problems and want something to numb themselves out.
Just say "No!".