Saturday, 07 November 2009
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I'm Not Depressed Anymore: Should I Still Be on Medication?
Three and a half years ago, I went through a bout of Major depression. Major depression is defined by persistent feelings of loss or sorrow, a loss of interest in activities, significant changes in sleep patterns and weight, and difficulty concentrating. I had all of those symptoms. I couldn’t sleep and I lost twenty pounds in about five weeks. With the help of an excellent therapist and medication, I was able to heal and move on with my life.
Although I am not a person who generally likes to take medication, I was willing to do whatever it took to get better. I went on Lexapro and I remember feeling as if someone had greased my rusty brain so that it could function normally again. It just made everyday problems so much easier to deal with and gave me a base level of calm that I really needed. I was on Lexapro for about six months. As soon as I felt I didn’t need it anymore, I weaned myself off of it.
But sometimes, I wonder if I did the right thing. I know myself. My brain is always going to tend towards a touch of melancholy and though I have developed a lot of strategies for coping with and counteracting this, sometimes I think that I should still be on medication. I think it would just allow my brain the little extra bit of light that it needs to function. I wouldn’t have to work so hard to make sure that my head was in the right place. Besides, I have had shorter bouts of depression since recovering. I wonder if medication would help to prevent that. Although I try to be vigilante about my moods, my depression really is chemical and sometimes my brain slips into a rut before I realize it.
Has anybody else been in this situation? How have you chosen to handle it? What advice do you have?
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About the Author
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- From: lindsaya
- Name: lindsaya
- About Me: I am a teacher/writer who lives in New York city and I am always on the go. In between my various jobs, obligations, and activities, I try to make time to lead a healthy and balanced life. I love to run, swim, do yoga, and try new activities. I am also a long-time vegetarian who is constantly struggling between my desire to eat healthy foods and my love of all things made out of bread or covered in cheese!
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Comments (28)
Depends. Some medications are designed to build long lasting effects and keep your brain producing the happy hormone. I quit taking my meds and I do pretty well without them now, but I may need them again in the future.
that's a question for your doctor
if you go off meds you should never just cut cold turkey, you should wean, but you should wean under supervision because they are still drugs and you can go through withdrawal and thus recurring symptoms. With depression persons can usually be taken off meds, it isn't always a life long ailment.
I agree that this is absolutely something you should talk to your doctor about, and not consult an online blogging community.
comeonalice is right! You can't just stop taking them, you have to be weaned off them. (my sister was on antidepressants) You should definitely talk to your doctor and not just stop them.
Your body becomes used to the supply of chemicals from the meds. If you stop taking them suddenly, your body will be without them. You have to wean yourself off and re-teach your body to begin to make those chemicals on your own.
You will need to be weaned off them. Sometimes, you are no longer depressed because of the pills so they wean you off of them slowly to make sure you don't slip back into it. Plus sudden removal of the medicine can cause your body to make you beyond depressed to suicidal.
Did no one notice that she said she weaned herself off them? Although, I agree it's a matter of talking to your doctor about it, I believe that if you can get by and function without meds it's a good idea. However, you should keep a close watch on how your feeling. Sometimes it's hard to realize your depressed. I went through about four years of depression before I realized it. I didn't even realize until I stopped being depressed. I don't see why not taking them is a problem as long as your doctor agrees. Also, if your not seeing a therapist and your off meds I'd consider it. Just because it helps unload the stress and they'll help you with coping. Talking to someone was the first step in my recovery.
I am on my psychiatric mental health rotation in nursing school right now. It is interesting to me that you would ask this question because we are learing about Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) right now. I have my book in front of me right now:
"The course of MDD is variable. At least 60% of people can expect to have a second episode, individuals who have experienced two episodes of major depression have a 70% chance of experiencing a third, and those who have had three episodes have a 90% chance of future episodes" (Varcarolis, 2009 - Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing).
I don't know how old you are or if you have ever had an episode of MDD before. If you are young, say 20's, then chances are that you may relapse. However, if you are in your 50's and this is your first episode, it may never happen again. One other important point to consider is whether or not a life crisis precipitated the episode of MDD you are refering to. Did someone close to you pass away? Did you lose your job? Did you fail at something? If you cannot identify the cause it would be more likely that you would experience another episode.
With all of that being said, it really depends on how likely you are to experience another episode. Did the Lexapro work well for you? If this was your first ever episode, I think it would be acceptable to see how you function without the medication? However, if that was your second or third episode, I would stay on the medicatioon if I were you. When you are not experiencing a major depressive episode, it may be necessary to ask your Dr. to prescribe you a lower maintenance dose. I hope this helps! Good luck!
diane_iris is misinformed. Lexapro does not supply your brain with hormones and your body still makes them. Lexapro is categorized as a a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Its mechanism of action is to block the reuptake of serotonin, thereby making more of of the neurotransmitter available at the synaptic gap. Your body is using its own serotonin, it is not supplied by the pill.
And it seems like no one is listening to what the author said, she DID wean herself off of the meds, so why is everyone telling her that she needs to wean herself off? She already did that!
Thank you for sharing this, it made me feel more comfortable to share my own story. I feel we have a lot in common actually and I think I will enjoy reading all of your future posts!
People that suffer from depression tend to have relapses so you should follow instructions and not take yourself off of the medication because you felt better. Not being compliant is one of the reasons for many drugs becoming ineffective (eg. penicillin). My advice is that you should definitely discuss any concerns or problems directly with your doctor.
Please stay on the meds. I recently tried to get off of them because i was no longer depressed, a few tramatic things happened, i sunk down deeper than ever. I look at it like it is, i have a chemical inbalance in my brain. I am only taking an inhibitor, not a narcotic. It's no different than someone having to take a drug for hypertension.
@smsinger1@xanga -I said wean UNDER SUPERVISION, its one thing to take yourself off of your own accord, another to do it under supervision, you should consult your doctor about going off you meds, not just make the decision, they can tell you how to properly wean.
Do what you feel is best for yourself, unless your doctors vehemently disagree. If making lifestyle changes is enough to help the depression subside, then that's great. If you relapse, you can always go back to your shrink and ask to be put back on the medication. Just be conscious of the changes and don't let yourself get to the point of no return.
I have schizoaffective disorder, which is essentially schizophrenia coupled with a mood disorder -- in my case, major depressive disorder. I've had a lot of problems with about a dozen medications, and I ultimately stopped taking them altogether. Eating right, exercising (intense cardio helps me the most), regulating my sleeping patterns, and avoiding stress as much as possible has worked better than any medication or medication cocktail I've ever tried.
Dont get off ur meds, the doctor will always say even if u feel better still never get off of it because the pills is what makes u feel better but the second its out of your system u will go right to feeling depressed. im also clnicly depressed and my doc tells me the same thing all the time never get off of your meds even when u feel better.
I THINK YOU SHOULD SPEAK WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE WEENING YOURSELF OFF THE MEDICATION BECAUSE THEN THEY WILL TELL U IF ITS A GOOD IDEA TO GET OFF OF IT RIGHT NOW OR NOT. GOODLUCK!!!!
One thing if you are on any anti depressant medication - wein your self off, I have heard that u can have a seizure ...
I have been on medication since I turned 45 - about 15 years .... Im not sure if it helps, but Im afraid to go off in case that is what is keeping me sane - If you are young, turn to other methods, as you get older, then the medication will help ...
My mother took lexapro.
She thought she was better, so she went off of it. And again, she was back to her old habits. Not just hurting herself, but hurting her family too... She had no idea.
I'm usually very anti-medicine in general. I think that we can generally heal ourselves naturally. But in this case, I would say let your doctor decide if you should be going off of them or not... because the medicine can 'trick' you into thinking you're all better.
But yeah, everybody should read. She did wean herself off of them... You can't do that twice. Haha
If you wrote that you had a heart conditions that required meds, no one would tell you to wean yourself off of them. Why are so many people against long-term use of antidepressants?
Depression is due to chemical imbalance -- it's physical....not just something you can control by trying to think differently.
Sometimes depression is short-term, etriggered by a one-off stressor, and once that stressor is gone, so is the depression - with or without meds.
From your description, though, it sounds like you have dysthmia, which is a long-term low grade depression. Go back to your therapist and talk about whether long term use of anti-depressants is a better idea than just trying to get by. Good luck.
I would suggest consulting your doctor about this. Also, I've found that going to cognitive therapy has reduced the attitude I have that triggers depression spells, which you may want to try after weaning yourself off of your medication.
I've got to agree with the others about seeing your doctor. MDD isn't something to mess with and you may not realize it yourself if you start to slide into the pit again. If possible, I suggest having a family member or good friend keep a casual eye on any possible reappearance along with you. My sister spots it early on and tells me. But if I'm not around her, I may not realize it. Just be careful, okay?
I was first diagnosed with depression at the age of 13, due to the risk of teens on medicine (and the fact that the doctors were big morons) I wasn't put on anything and turned to drugs and alcohol. Ended up an addict by the age of 15, was drinking heavily before being diagnosed. Finally after a bad break up I basically had a mental breakdown, and was finally forced to take medicine and seek treatment. Full diagnosis was depression with general anxiety and panic attacks. I had been sober from drugs for several years at this point but still drank. Once I got everything under control and learned coping methods, I was able to be off of the medicine. As an addict I don't like taking any medicine that I don't HAVE to take. I go back on them when I have "bad spells" but when I am feeling okay I don't take them.
My advice would be, find ways to deal with it if you don't want to be on them all the time, but know when you DO need them and start taking them then.
i would try learning to deal without the medicine but keeping a bottle for backup if times get really tough and you feel you need it and continuing to see your therapist and monitoring your progress. i probably also wouldn't second guess myself about it too much, make a decision and re-evaluate when something arises that makes a re-evaluation necessary.
When I was 15-16 my psychologist recommended I go on an anti-depressant because, I spent my high school years feeling depressed, cutting, multiple pill popping and crying all the time wishing for life to end. The Dr. Prescribed me to an anti-deppressant that did not work for me at first and then we switched to LEXAPRO. I decided when I was 17 that I was better and that the drug did NOT regulate my seratonin (aka happiness spark) in any way. BUT...I did indeed get better. Family, Friends and lots of support increased my moods. Even my biology teacher told me something very important that the psychologist didn't, that all I needed was a bit of sunshine. It's a fact that the less amount of UVB rays we receive causes a change in our moods. Our diets included determine our moods as well. My point is I quit Lexapro COLD TURKEY ( even though everyone told me there was major side affects to quitting w/out slowly reducing the pills consumption use) and I had NO side affects. I remained off those pills as soon as I stopped taking them.
Today I am 20 years old and as any normal person has the normal spurts of emotional moments BUT I am doing just fine w/out the pills and cope in different ways now.I take a moment to calm down in moments that may spark turmoil, I go outside, I breathe, I take it in each day at a time and try to avoid something complicated that could make my feelings worse. Basically if you stay positive you will be fine.
some of the side affects of quitting were: Headaches, Nausea, Diarrhea..etc.
so I would still consult a Doctor first if these things could possibly affect you
I'm not aware of the exact seriousness of the situation or what lies behind your medical history.
Hope this helped.
-Erica
whoops didn't catch the "you weaned yourself off of them" already
but basically what I said WITHOUT weaning yourself off since you already did that.
I was on Celexa for clinical depression. Then, about 5 years after
that, I went to a psychiatrist on campus who prescribed me Lexapro
(partly on my request) because I was struggling with mild OCD. It did
help. I think I got off of it too early, again, at my request. I'm sure
I could have used it during nursing school, when my OCD symptoms were
at its worst and even now to clear my head. Sometimes I will get so
fixated on things, my mind gets cluttered, and sometimes I will be
standing there, not able to think clearly or forget what I was saying
in mid-thought. I am the type of person who does not like to resort to
medications either. Feel free to message me anytime.
I say, if you need medication to help regulate your chemicals in your body (like some people do), take it. No harm done. ALWAYS get the advice of a trusted doctor. Find out the pros and cons of getting on medication to help you regulate your chemicals, and the pros and cons of trying to deal with it, sans medication. Look at each list and consider which has the pros that outweigh the cons. I believe that would be best.
I used to struggle really bad with depression. It still sometimes comes and bites me in the butt. I think my depression was more like your's, in being chemically linked. However, I never got the help you did. After much prayer and years of work on my own part, I was able to get out of my depression for the most part. I still feel like, at times, it's still there... But for the most part, I believe I'm over mine. It may have had something to do with my chemicals regulating themselves as I grew up, but I place most the rejoicing in due to my prayer life. When it's strong, I'm less depressed, and I thank God for that every day! :) hehe
Since I don't know if you believe in Jesus like I do, though, I don't know of how much help He can be to you right now. He was my source of help through my depression. So, I'd say it sounds like medication wouldn't be a bad thing.
In regards to the heart of the question, I think, a lot of people take themselves off meds when they begin to feel better because that seems to be common sense, right? However, when it's chemically based, you need to be a bit more careful. The medicine is what is helping your body to regulate itself, and so naturally you'll get better while on it... However, if you remove the meds and it's chemically based, chances are you will go right back to where you were over time. Make sense? Things like this aren't a common cold phenomenon. Nope. Sometimes, it's best to keep on the meds because they help to regulate your body where it can't regulate itself, so to speak. Make sense?
(Sorry for the long reply -- this is just something close to my heart that I had a class or two on in college. :) *hugs* I hope you find out what you need to do soon! :) )
<3, ~*Akarui Mitsukai*~
@Erica_Loves_Reptiles@xanga - Good advice in regards to a different side of the story. :) All you said is true. Isn't it crazy how things like what we eat and how much time we spend in the sun can affect our moods? :)