Never stop "cold turkey." In many cases, the best way to stop taking most antidepressants is to slowly cut back your dose under the guidance of your doctor. This is called tapering. Tapering helps your brain adjust to the chemical changes and can help prevent discontinuation symptoms.
When experiencing withdrawal symptoms or antidepressant discontinuation syndrome, increasing physical exercise or changing the diet to include more fresh food may help ease symptoms by making a person feel reinvigorated and less lethargic.
SSRIs like Paxil (paroxetine), which has a half-life of about one day, should be tapered down over a longer period than drugs like Prozac (fluoxetine), which has a half-life of two to four days. To avoid withdrawal symptoms, professional guidelines recommend that patients should not stop antidepressants abruptly.
If the symptoms develop later or gradually, they may constitute a relapse of the depression. Ultimately, these withdrawal symptoms will improve with time, but they can be unpleasant for days and possibly even weeks. In time, the brain readjusts and people should experience a return to their normal state.
Vitamin B-3 and Vitamin B-9 can help people with depression because B vitamins help the brain manage moods. Vitamin D, melatonin and St. John's Wort are recommended for seasonal depression. Omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium and vitamin C may also help with depression.
It's important that you do not stop taking antidepressants suddenly. A dose of antidepressants should be slowly reduced, normally over 4 weeks, but sometimes longer. This is to prevent any withdrawal symptoms you might get as a reaction to coming off antidepressants suddenly.
If you decrease your daily calorie intake as a result, you could potentially lose weight by stopping your antidepressants. On the other hand, if you experience loss of appetite with depression, and your depression comes back after stopping antidepressants, you may also lose weight.
In most cases, withdrawal symptoms are fairly mild in the first one to three days and may intensify on the fourth or fifth day before they subside and may persist for up to three weeks. If you're having a relapse of your depression, however, the symptoms may get worse.
Your doctor might recommend stopping your antidepressant if: You're feeling better, and you and the doctor agree that it's time to stop. You have been taking the medicine for at least 6 months.
To minimize the risk of antidepressant withdrawal, talk with your doctor before you stop taking an antidepressant. Your doctor may recommend that you gradually reduce the dose of your antidepressant for several weeks or more to allow your body to adapt to the absence of the medication.
A person may experience withdrawal symptoms due to chemical changes in the brain. The body adjusts to changes that an antidepressant such as Zoloft may cause. Stopping or reducing the antidepressant can throw the brain into a state of imbalance. This can have a physical and mental impact.
Antidepressant detox involves gradually stepping down doses until the user can safely stop taking them. To be able to taper off an antidepressant medication successfully, we want to do it slowly. So, it can take a month or six weeks or two months. But we just simply step the dose down slowly over time.
You get sick.
Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome, also called antidepressant withdrawal, occurs when a person abruptly stops taking antidepressant medication. Many people who experience antidepressant withdrawal feel like they have the flu or a stomach bug. They may also experience disturbing thoughts or images.
Most people can quit antidepressants with the help of a physician. If deeper problems exist, like a drug or alcohol addiction, then counseling and rehab may be necessary.
The few studies of antidepressant withdrawal that have been published suggest that it is harder to get off some medications than others. This is due to differences in the drugs' half-life — the time it takes the body to clear the medication once the pills are stopped.
Increasing serotonin levels can be done naturally. The best ways to do this are eating well, getting out in the sun or supplementing with vitamin D, exercising, taking adaptogens, and managing stress. Serotonin can also be increased synthetically with antidepressants.
The following fruits had a high serotonin concentration (mean +/- SEM) expressed in micrograms/g weight: plantain 30.3 +/- 7.5; pineapple 17.0 +/- 5.1; banana 15.0 +/- 2.4; Kiwi fruit 5.8 +/- 0.9; plums 4.7 +/- 0.8; and tomatoes 3.2 +/- 0.6.
While there is no substitute for professional medical treatment by psychologists, psychiatrists, and professional medical treatment by licensed providers, there is evidence that natural remedies such as vitamins or dietary supplements may help relieve symptoms of depression.
Higher intakes of both Vitamins B12 and B6 reduced depressive symptoms over time. Vitamin B12 levels were reported to be correlated with melancholic depressive symptoms more than non-melancholic. Supplementation of Vitamin B12 along with anti-depressant therapy greatly improved depressive symptoms.