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. During your first few sessions, you'll have the chance to talk about your needs and find out whether antidepressants can help.
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.
Clinicians generally recommend staying on the medication for six to nine months before considering going off antidepressants. If you've had three or more recurrences of depression, make that at least two years.
Antidepressants can cause changes in neurotransmitter levels and brain function; however, these changes are typically reversible once the medication is stopped.
It's recommended to keep taking your medication for at least 12 months if you're benefiting from it. This is meant to help prevent symptoms from getting worse again. After 12 months or so, you and your healthcare provider may decide to continue the medication or to gradually stop taking it.
If You Do Have to Take Antidepressants Forever, You Will Be OK. Some recent studies suggest long-term antidepressant use may come with side effects previously unknown to scientists. “These risks include an increased risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, especially for SSRI users,” Dr.
Specifically, weight gain seems to be a common long-term risk, especially the medications that affect serotonin levels. This could be because serotonin is associated with an increase in appetite. There is also a risk of higher blood sugar levels and diabetes with taking antidepressants long-term.
And, since depression is often a long-term disease, people needs long-term treatments for it. “There are clear differences between a healthy brain and a depressed brain,” Dr. Katz says. “And the exciting thing is, when you treat that depression effectively, the brain goes back to looking like a healthy brain.”
Antidepressants balance neurotransmitters in your brain. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, commonly known as SSRIs, do this by balancing the serum serotonin levels to help your brain regulate your moods. While they're called antidepressants, most offer benefits in the treatment of anxiety, as well.
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.
During long-term SSRI therapy, the most troubling adverse effects are sexual dysfunction, weight gain, and sleep disturbance.
Some may want to quit because of side effects such as loss of sexual desire or decreased arousal. In other cases, their prescribers may recommend they stop taking the medications.
SSRIs, along with other types of antidepressants, can cause dependence. Someone with depression and anxiety may need to take these medications long-term to manage their symptoms.
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.
“It appears that SSRI antidepressants rewire areas of the brain that are important for thinking and feeling, as well as operating the autonomic nervous system,” said Koliatsos. Axons are long, filament-shaped extensions of neurons that, together with myelin, are the main constituents of nerves.
Antidepressant therapy can exhibit effects on neuroplasticity and reverse the neuroanatomical changes found in depressed patients.
Research suggests that depression doesn't spring from simply having too much or too little of certain brain chemicals. Rather, there are many possible causes of depression, including faulty mood regulation by the brain, genetic vulnerability, and stressful life events.
“This means that the brain structure of patients with serious clinical depression is not as fixed as we thought, and we can improve brain structure within a short time frame, around 6 weeks,” said Eric Ruhe, from Rabdoud Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands .
Antidepressants may worsen blood sugar control because they can cause significant weight gain. SSRIs and Pamelor (nortriptyline) reportedly worsen blood sugar control in people with diabetes. Tricyclic antidepressants cause hyperglycemia (high blood sugar levels) in humans.
There is no cure for depression, but many different treatments are available to manage the symptoms. The symptoms of depression vary among individuals. A treatment plan that includes medical interventions, support, and lifestyle changes can enable a person to live a normal and full life with the condition.