Getting off/back on anti-depressants

Drink alcohol. It's better for you.

Let me tell you one thing Brotha, you just gotta keep on keepin on...ooooh yeaahhh!!!!!

Yes, you’re going to feel horrible when they start going back into your system. You need to make sure you speak with your physician if you try to get off of them again. There can be some terrible side effects if you don’t do I the right way. Disregard anybody on here who is a self-proclaimed doctor. Your physician knows what is best for you, so keep him/her involved in any decisions you make. It should only take a few days for your body to get used to them again. Good luck to you

I have been taking 20mg Paxil for a little over a year now. I love the stuff.

My guess on the severity of what you are going through now is your brain is now used to getting those chemicals from the pills instead of generating them on its own.

If it is now generating less of the chemical than before you went on the drugs, then coming off of them would be harder than when you went on them.

As far as kicking them goes, I’m familiar with what happens if you are mostly using them to treat anxiety. You pretty much have to be able to manage stress better than when you were on them.


Less sure of what happens if you were mainly using them to control depression instead.

This will probably sound stupid and cliche, but you should probably try to exercise more because the activity should release endorphins to make you feel better. You don’t need to run marathons but having more activity than before should hopefully jumpstart your system enough to get past the depression you’re seeing upon coming off the drugs.

Stop self-medicating. Consult your doctor and do as he says. Don’t fart around with your mental health.

Same thing happened to me.

I tapered off as directed, and a few weeks later I had symptoms. They enviably went away and I felt great.
2 years later the anxiety came back ten fold.

Some people need them for life, or for longer than others.
See how you feel a month or two off of them. Two weeks isn’t enough time.
You can google symptoms after tapering off an AD. Plenty of information to help you deal.
Just remember everyone is different.

Listen to your Doctor. You’ll get a million different opinions on the internet. But sometimes you’ll find someone you identify with, that will help.
Good luck, just hang in there, it’ll get better.

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Yes, you’re going to feel horrible when they start going back into your system. You need to make sure you speak with your physician if you try to get off of them again. There can be some terrible side effects if you don’t do I the right way. Disregard anybody on here who is a self-proclaimed doctor. Your physician knows what is best for you, so keep him/her involved in any decisions you make. It should only take a few days for your body to get used to them again. Good luck to you

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This. Talk to your doctor.

Most antidepressants require a taper period. Don't try and stop or start on your own without discussing with a real doctor.

I recently started taking 10mg of medication for anxiety...I was constantly worrying about things, getting minor panic attacks, tension headaches, couldn't focus, couldn't get excited about anything, etc.

The first time I took the medicine, I got extremely dizzy and thought I was passing out...just didn't feel right at all. But it got better and seemed to have started working at about 3 weeks.

I tried to get past it naturally by exercising, eating right and doing more activities. The problem is, you can't engage in fun activities every day and it was the quiet time at work or at home where the anxiety would really kick in. At that point, I knew I needed some sort of help, even if it was medicine.

Never try talking about anxiety issues with someone who's never had it. They think all you have to do is "snap out of it" or "have a drink". You won't get anywhere talking to them about it....speak to professionals or people who have had the same issues that you're having.

If you get back on the meds, you'll have to go through those 2-3 weeks of feeling "not yourself" but once they kick in, you'll be ok.

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What did we do as a species before anti depressants, ADD meds, etc?

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Suffered, had a terrible quality of life, committed suicide, and probably some other stuff.