Mental Health Success coming off SSRIs?

Anyone able to do it? Did you taper off? How long we're you taking it and for what disorder?

I just started ssri for mdma induced panic disorder. The panic is just starting to subside and I am wondering how long I should be taking it. I don't want to become dependent. One of my docs says a year, and I'm like fuck no. Thinking maybe 4-6 months?

Thanks.

It's perfectly doable, don't worry about that. In my opinion, pretty much any drug will cause some form of dependency if used long enough as your body will adjust to its presence over time. Luckily, SSRI drugs generally have pretty benign withdrawal symptoms (or "discontinuation syndrome" if you like the psychiatric jargon) and you shouldn't have any major issues when tapering off them. Some are worse than others of course, but the problems most people have usually come from abruptly stopping the medication without properly tapering. I honestly believe you should listen to your doctor when it comes to this, if you prematurely quit your meds after a too short time, you risk getting the panic order symptoms back, which could be way worse than any withdrawal symptoms you may get after taking them for a year and then properly tapering yourself off them.

Who knows, maybe you don't have to take them for that long, I think it really depends on how you will be doing in a few months and you can always discuss with your doctor after 4-6 months if it might be a good idea to stop them earlier than one year.

Depends what sort of anti-depressant it is. Those with shorter half-lives tend to cause trouble when you try to get off them (the big one here is Effexor), but others like Zoloft with a longer half-life seem not to induce acute withdrawal effects.

Polluted_Mind said:

Depends what sort of anti-depressant it is. Those with shorter half-lives tend to cause trouble when you try to get off them (the big one here is Effexor), but others like Zoloft with a longer half-life seem not to induce acute withdrawal effects.

Click to expand...

Just to point out, Effexor isn't SSRI though, it's an SNRI.

I came of ssri's really fast against medical advice. I was on luvox, effoxor, seroquel, depakote, topomax, klonopin. Maxed out on everything. I still take klonopin. I stopped the meds one at a time the seroquel was the hardest which I did a taper over several months. I exercised ALOT as in 6 miles walks everyday. I ate very healthy and ate alot of vitamins, oxycodone, and benzos. Honestly I dont think I ever needed that shite and I had 3 psychiatrist drop me as I came off this stuff. My family physician writes my klonopin now and Im all good there mental health-wise.

Congrats dopemaster. If you can handle tapering off all that, I'm sure I can handle tapering mine when the time comes.

I didn't taper off both times I come off from 7+ months of 40-60mg citalopram..

Was fine.. no withdrawals or anything..

I've mainly had rebound depression issues when abruptly stopping escitalopram (Cipralex / Lexapro) medication at 10mg a day dosage, but I believe I have an uncommonly strong reaction to them so maybe that played part in it.

HarrytheHead said:

Anyone able to do it? Did you taper off? How long we're you taking it and for what disorder?

I just started ssri for mdma induced panic disorder. The panic is just starting to subside and I am wondering how long I should be taking it. I don't want to become dependent. One of my docs says a year, and I'm like fuck no. Thinking maybe 4-6 months?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Something to consider....Why do you think the panic is subsiding? Prolly because the medicine is working. What will you do if you quit taking it and the panic comes back?

IME the longer you are on a drug, the longer you should take tapering off. Whatever you decide to do, it is best to communicate with your doctor on what you're doing.

Depending on the illness, quitting all your meds against your doctor's wishes can be a recipe for disaster. Yes, some people can do it but many can't and shouldn't. ymmv

I was on high dose Prozac (120mg) for nearly 5 years, for OCD & depression, and I had no w/d symptoms coming off it. I simply stopped taking it one day when it didn't seem to be helping any more and I'd gotten all I needed from being on it. I've also withdrawn with a slow taper from high dose Effexor, an SNRI, which wasn't too bad.

In any case, it really depends on the specific SSRI, because they all work slightly differently and have varied half lives. Because Prozac lingers in the body for so long, w/d symptoms are virtually unheard of. Also, the longer you're on an SSRI, the more receptor down regulation you have, and that down regulation is believed to be responsible for the therapeutic effects. This explains why it takes weeks for SSRIs to start working, and why their effects continue after you've stopped taking the drug.

SSRI dependence isn't necessarily something to be worried about, especially not at the cost of your mental health. I don't know how severe your panic disorder is, or how much MDMA you used/abused that triggered your condition, but I do know that longer-term SSRI treatment of anxiety disorders is quite safe and more effective than short term therapy. You feel better now most likely because your SSRI has started having significant effects, and if you stop treatment too soon your symptoms could return. Listen to your Dr; there's a reason he wants you on the SSRI for a year.

I didn't taper and jumped off after 8+ months on Lexapro. I don't remember what dosage I was on but I know it was high. They just didn't seem to do much for me. I had no problems with going cold turkey with these.

I was also on Seroquel (for sleeping issues) for 6+ months and had no issue coming off 250mg with no taper.

I think the biggest question is not whether anyone had withdrawal symptoms, but if anyone had a reemergence of whatever disorder/depression they had that put them on medication in the first place? Like my fear is if I have mild depression/anxiety now, and I simply rely on the medication without addressing underlying issues (through mindfulness/therapy), once I stop the medication it will all come back again.

Any experiences on this?

If you don't address the underlying issues then it is likely that it will resurface in the future. If you're learning coping mechanisms as well as dealing with the issues in therapy, then chances are you will be able to deal with it if they do resurface.

I am going in for an appointment next Friday to speak with someone very highly recommended for dealing with panic attacks. I'll let you know what I learn.

^

I've been on quite a few SSRIs/SNRIs and have never had problems coming off of any of them, I was practicing mindfulness as well which may or may not have decreased withdrawals. It seems like it really does depend from person to person and medication to medication. My best advice would be to follow your doctor's advice. They know you, your condition, and the specific medication.

I've tapered twice but my brain quickly dissolves into a painful, slow black mush. I've been taking anti-depressants for 9 years now - I feel so much more alive with them. They're for me You won't become dependent, you'll suffer mild symptoms when you taper. Just keep a close eye on your mental state over a period of 2 months. Learn how to untangle and quash bad thoughts before they have chance to manifest into monsters. Meditation is key!

HarrytheHead said:

I think the biggest question is not whether anyone had withdrawal symptoms, but if anyone had a reemergence of whatever disorder/depression they had that put them on medication in the first place? Like my fear is if I have mild depression/anxiety now, and I simply rely on the medication without addressing underlying issues (through mindfulness/therapy), once I stop the medication it will all come back again.

Any experiences on this?

Click to expand...

The first time I was on Prozac, right after I was diagnosed with OCD, I stopped taking it after 9 months. I felt better and was fed up with not being able to orgasm.Within a year my OCD was worse again and I also became depressed. After a couple years majorly depressed I went back to the Prozac at a much higher dose and it enabled me to clean my life up. It's been 5-6 years off Prozac but I'm thinking of going back on it.

You may not need as long a treatment or have a lifelong mental issues, but it's not unlikely that stopping your SSRI treatment too soon will mean you'll have to go back to it in the future.

I should mention I came off the medication against medical advice and it may have been dangerous. I feel like I never needed the meds and I dont remember if I had wds. I exercised so much, I was high on life. I lost 80 lbs in 4 months. I am not recomending not taking your meds. Im just relating my experience. Im sure there are some people who cannot stop taking that stuff without consequence.

I should mention I came off the medication against medical advice and it may have been dangerous. I feel like I never needed the meds and I dont remember if I had wds. I exercised so much, I was high on life. I lost 80 lbs in 4 months. I am not recomending not taking your meds. Im just relating my experience. Im sure there are some people who cannot stop taking that stuff without consequence. Feel free to message me if you want message me if you want me to post more about my experience, I just want people to know its not medically advised to do what I did, but I dont have much faith in psychiatrists.