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It's A Crapshoot (But There's Hope)!


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#1 thismoment

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Posted 02 February 2015 - 05:07 PM

crapshoot, noun

1. a risky and uncertain venture

 

Every aspect of antidepressants is a crapshoot!

 

Starting the drug-- sometimes it uploads successfully and proves beneficial, and sometimes not. 

 

Staying on the drug-- sometimes it works for a long time, sometimes a short time, and sometimes unbearable symptoms emerge and the patient has to get off immediately.

 

Withdrawing-- cold-turkey (stopping with less than a month of weaning [my definition]) is usually the roughest. Weaning off may go smoothly and be relatively brief (a couple of months) or it may have a long slow-to-fade discontinuation lasting many months or even years. Long-term weaning (a year or more) has yielded good results that are said to be virtually symptom-free (see Shipko, Mad in America). Long-term exposure (5 years +) seems to yield proportionally longer discontinuation and sometimes withdrawal is precluded and a new drug must be found. Older patients seem to have more difficulty in discontinuation.

 

Re-instating-- there is some correlation between the length of exposure and the success of re-instatement: There is evidence that some long-term exposure patients may not successfully re-instate after being off the drug for some months-- other drugs would have to be tried to stabilize the patient. Re-instatement has better success with those who have withdrawn for just a short time (a few weeks perhaps)-- there are no hard numbers to be found, only anecdotal notes. 

 

The wild card-- what's often overlooked is how the patient is affected by other medications that are taken simultaneously. For example if you have been taking a benzodiazepine for a couple of months and just quit it-- you will have withdrawal symptoms, and possible very severe symptoms. If you are modulating antidepressants at the same time-- like adding one and removing another-- you will have no idea what's causing what-- is it the uploading drug; the drug being reduced; the drug recently quit; or some combination of all three?

 

It isn't always possible to address the drugs one-at-a-time, but if you are able it's surely the best way to go. Being drug-free has no moral resonance with me-- quality of life is all that matters-- however, drug management is very very important. You'd think the physician would manage it for you, but that just isn't so-- you have to be pro-active about where you're at drug-wise.

 

Be Drug Wise-- read about the drugs on the internet. Try to find an unbiased source, like drugs.com. If you are on Cymbalta or Prozac and you go to WebMD, you will have arrived at Eli Lilly's propaganda website and you will be given a sales pitch from the cooker of the drugs. It doesn't take much digging to see who's funding what; same for "medical papers"-- most are funded by drug companies with an agenda. Be careful, be drug-wise, and be pro-active; work with your medical people and strive to establish a meaningful dialogue.

 

Long-Term Prognosis-- It's unknown. Because these drugs are all so new (the first person who ever took the first SSRI fluoxetine [Prozac- approved in 1987] is still walking around), and since it's never been studied in this context, we don't really know the long-term prognosis. There are some long-term unpleasant outcomes that may be viewed though-- see SSRIstories.com. We are all part of this experiment but the logical and rational order of steps in the Scientific Method have simply not been applied to this subject. Hopefully that will happen soon-- but who would fund it? 

 

Self-Advocate-- you have to be pro-active in looking out for yourself or looking out for the loved-one who is taking these drugs. It might be wishful thinking to believe the doctor will take care of you entirely. I really like my doctor and we have a great relationship, but it's clear his calendar is pretty full. Forums like this are extremely helpful, although the information found here is threshold material and fundamentally anecdotal. 

 

There is Light at the end of the tunnel. For those thinking of withdrawing and those in discontinuation, the overwhelming evidence indicates that you can get through this and have a happy and normal life beyond antidepressants. Many people ask, "will I ever be the same?". Let's clear that up right now: you'll never be the same as you were 5 minutes ago-- but "will I ever feel normal and find peace?"-- Absolutely yes and yes! Accept the discomfort of Discontinuation as you accept winter: yeah it's there, but it won't always be there. One day there will be tulips and daffodils and the smell of freshly-mown grass. 


#2 TryinginFL

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Posted 02 February 2015 - 05:19 PM

TM,

 

Thank you for this most informative and knowledgeable post!  There is no one that cannot be helped by reading this - myself included!

 

Many, many thanks!! :)

 

Liz


#3 Pups4Life

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Posted 02 February 2015 - 05:41 PM

I really needed to hear that today! Thank you for posting!

#4 cocopah40

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    I need to know I am not going to go through this hell forever.

Posted 02 February 2015 - 05:50 PM

Thank you for helping me know there is a light at the end of this, and I will find my peace.

There are going to be tulips and daffodils and freshly mowed grass.

As of now I hear my husband plowing from the foot of snow we got today on top of the blizzard we got last week.

I look forward to spring and sitting in my yard feeling the sun's warmth.  

 

This post is just what I needed to read today.  

 

I am truly grateful........

Coco


#5 lady2882Nancy

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Posted 02 February 2015 - 11:38 PM

Wonderful post thismoment, thoughtful and so helpful even for those of us who are a long time off


#6 gail

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Posted 28 November 2016 - 04:27 PM

Bringing this back, words of wisdom!


#7 fishinghat

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Posted 28 November 2016 - 04:38 PM

Ahhh, good ole' Thismoment. How true.





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