How can I stop taking antidepressants and Sleep aids without getting sick?
August 1, 2009 by Depression and Anxiety Tips
Filed under More Depression Answers
Can you answer Gregg B’s question about Depression?:
I have been on sleepaids and antidepressants for a long time and I dont want to be on them anymore I have tried to stop taking them and became very sick. I want these pills out of my system I feel like a zombie. Anyone got any ideas?
New Treatment For Depression
I have been on sleepaids and antidepressants for a long time and I dont want to be on them anymore I have tried to stop taking them and became very sick. I want these pills out of my system I feel like a zombie. Anyone got any ideas?
New Treatment For Depression
Depression Feedback: TAPER off SLOWLY. Like; start taking 2/3 the amount you usually take and if you feel ok; then take 1/2 and so on until you are off them completely.
Depression Feedback: Yuck, I know how that is. You’ll have to slowly–and I mean SLOWLY–taper off of them. It could take a few months if you wanted to be sure that you had no side effects whatsoever. I’m not sure what doses you’re on. Best of luck.
Depression Feedback: Gregg, have you talked to your Doc about how these meds make you feel? And have you discussed trying different meds?
I started on anti-depressants in my mid-20’s. I was noncompliant on my meds well into my 30’s. I’d get better, and think I didn’t need them anymore and go off them. Then another depressive episode would hit and I’d wait until I was crying all the time, wsn’t bathing for days at a time and was feeling helpless and hopeless before I’d go back to my Therapist and get back on meds.
If you are seeing a Primary Care Physician instead of a Psychiatrist for medication management, I urge you strongly to go see a Psy for meds. They are so much more knowledgeable about what drugs work in combination, what the newest drugs are. And be HONEST about how the drugs make you feel. If it’s now working after a couple or three weeks TELL the Doc so you can switch to something that DOES work or that has fewer side effects.
Depression, or Bi-Polar Disorder or any other Mental Health issue is NOT a character flaw and cannot be overcome with WILL and hope. It has to be dealt with by balancing your brain’s chemistry and sometimes with talk therapy, too.