A rule of thumb is 6-8 weeks after 6-8 months treatment3 or 3-6 months after maintenance therapy. Many patients, particularly those on lower doses, may be able to stop more quickly without adverse effects. If the response to treatment has been unsatisfactory, a switch to a different antidepressant may be necessary.
You are feeling better, and you and the doctor agree that it is time to stop. You have been taking the medicine for at least 6 months after you feel better. You are having counselling to help you cope with problems and help change how you think and feel. You are not worried about the depression coming back.
It's usually recommended that a course of antidepressants continues for at least 6 months after you feel better, to prevent your condition recurring when you stop.
Can antidepressants cause permanent changes to the brain? Antidepressants can cause changes in neurotransmitter levels and brain function; however, these changes are typically reversible once the medication is stopped.
If you're dealing with depression, will you have to take antidepressant medication forever? The short answer is not necessarily, but it's complicated. According to the CDC, more than 60% of patients aged 12 and up who were prescribed antidepressants have been taking them for two years or more.
Guidance from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence recommends that antidepressants are used as 'maintenance' treatment for up to 2 years to prevent their depression returning (relapse). It also recommends cognitive-behavioural therapy to change habits of thought and behaviour.
If you feel like your antidepressant has stopped working, you're not alone. It's common for a medication that once worked wonders to become ineffective, especially if you've been taking it for a long time. Symptoms return for up to 33% of people using antidepressants — it's called breakthrough depression.
People taking Paxil and Effexor often have more intense withdrawal symptoms. These drugs have short half-lives and leave the body faster than drugs with long half-lives. The faster an antidepressant leaves the body, the worse the withdrawal symptoms. This is because of the sudden imbalance of chemicals in the brain.
Summary: It can take nine months or more for people who have used antidepressants for the long term to find relief from withdrawal symptoms. Researchers address the common symptoms of antidepressant withdrawal and steps to take to help improve symptoms.
Long-term antidepressant use may double the risk of heart disease, finds the most comprehensive epidemiological study to date to investigate the health consequences from using the medication over ten years.
Antidepressants can cause dizziness and unsteadiness, increasing the risk of falls and bone fractures, especially in older people. Interactions with other medications can increase this risk. A very small number of people have had heart problems, epileptic fits or liver damage while taking antidepressants.
Perhaps the fundamental reason why antidepressants are so widely prescribed and used is that they fit with the 'medical model' of mental illness, which has become the standard view in western culture. This model sees depression as a medical condition which can be “fixed” in the same way as a physical injury or illness.
Obesity can be a side effect of antidepressants even for those who have never had a problem maintaining a normal weight prior to treatment. Once the medication is out of the body, normal appetite returns for many people, but not for everyone.
Benefits of natural remedies
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.
Initial symptoms appear in some individuals within 1-3 days following an abrupt discontinuation of the medication. The symptoms typically last 1-3 weeks and will typically peak within the first week. Symptoms can be relieved within 24 hours by restarting the antidepressant medication.
Long-acting antidepressants, like fluoxetine, can take weeks to leave your body (most take just days). So, any withdrawal symptoms may develop several days, or even weeks, after reducing the dose.
— Bupropion and venlafaxine were ranked #1 and #2 respectively in highest mortality rates among the second-generation ADs; bupropion had the highest morbidity rate. — Among the SSRIs, citalopram was the most dangerous, and in one comparison, it was four times more likely to be fatal than sertraline and escitalopram.
There also can be other reasons an antidepressant is no longer working for you, such as: Worsening depression. It's common for depression symptoms to return or worsen at some point, despite treatment. Called breakthrough depression, symptoms may be triggered by stress or appear with no apparent cause.
Do I have to take antidepressants forever is a question that some ask as they struggle with depression. This is one of the more common myths associated with the condition. You do not need to take antidepressants forever nor do you need to get a prescription from a counselor or therapist.
So do antidepressants work as a permanent cure for depression? No, they do not, and the reason for this lies in how they work. While they cause changes in brain chemistry, this effect is only temporary. When you stop taking the antidepressant, your brain chemistry will return to its previous state.
What is emotional blunting? “Emotional blunting” is a term used to describe having a limited or muted emotional response to events. This could be different from the reaction that you'd typically expect. With this symptom, you may also have difficulty accessing the full range of emotions that you're used to.