How long can you be on anti-depressants?

@mrmacabre
I have been on and off different antidepressants for over 25 years. I don’t think it is good to be on them forever but coming off them needs to be handled very carefully. I had a really bad experience when weaning off duloxetine. Coming off bupropion and Sertraline wasn’t as bad.

Many doctors put you on medication but don’t really do a good job reviewing them and determining if you could/should come off of them. You should talk to your doctors and pharmacist about your medications and supplements to determine if you could/should come off of some and the best way to do so. I have also tried to come off some because I am getting annoyed with taking so many pills, too.

I you truly suffer from depression why would you get off something that is working for you?
Depression has many genetic components and rather than descend into a bout of depression but tapering off an antidepressant that is working makes no sense to me.
It is kind of like tapering off clonazepam if it is working and you don’t increase your dosage and you don’t suffer any side effects.
This is just my opinion but especially as we age why would you put yourself through that when you are enjoying life.

By instead of but.

Take them as long as you feel they help and what it might be like if you weren't taking them.

I don’t think it is good to come off antidepressants if they are working and helping. I’m suggesting that if they are not working or you have significant side effects or don’t think you need them anymore, it is important to work with your doctors to taper off them carefully. Some are more dangerous than others with withdrawal. Long term brain chemistry alterations with medications may not make it easy for some to come off medications and will have a life long dependency.

I've been on them for 40 years and never got relief. My life sucks but I keep trying. The only relief I get is from alcohol, which you can't do on mods. But I think for many of us the meds are forever.

It happened when I was either having a really bad day, or my stomach was so trashed that I didn't want to add any pills to it. At first, I didn't think that depression could be hereditary, but I found out several years ago that our mom's biological mother had suffered with it so severely that she hanged herself in the barn at the dairy farm where my mom was raised in Wisconsin.
We never knew that the grandma that we knew as our own was actually her step mother.
Finally, I wasn't enjoying life at the time that I didn't take my meds, I was severely depressed.

After 23 years of dealing with the loss of my first wife and trying every anti-depressant known to man, I decided to start the weaning process. It took me eight weeks to get off Mirtazapine. I swore never to play God with my brain again. I tend to have depression triggered by my behaviour which can be questionable and loved ones criticising me or lying. I found my behaviour improve after stopping and decided to start taking medicinal cannabis both CBD and THC. One to drive and function during the day and one to help me relax and unwind at night. It has taken about 6 months for me to change my thought process and I do still have bouts of depression, but they no longer include suicidal ideation. I don't believe in magic pills and think you have to work on changing your mindset as well. I am only taking small amounts of an oil based medicinal cannabis every morning and late in the afternoon, but now I am able to enjoy life.

@mrmacabre I take a number of pills each day including an anti-depressant. I get where you are coming from...lots of pills over and over. I keep multiple pill boxes for day, night, anti-depressant. However, I feel physically pretty good to be honest. The medications helped.

As for the anti-depressant. Sometimes I miss taking a dose. It seems ok, but honestly do I really know? Sometimes I too worry about what effect this is having on my brain chemistry. Will I ever be the same before I started taking them? At the end of the day, if they help keep taking them. If they don't, then a new plan.

I have to admit, my opinion of psychiatry diminished over these past years. I am prescribed an anti-depressant by a consulting psychiatrist who has never talked to me. Every answer seems to be a medication. I personally know a number of psychiatrists in my work. I have had so much more success with good old-fashioned therapy. But even my therapist urges caution when it comes to taking or not taking anti-depressants. She sees them as help and should be thought of in the same way you are treated for hypertension or diabetes.

Bottom line, you have to be your own advocate on this. Whether it is telling your doctors how you feel or getting yourself to taking your medications regularly. Like you, I know that I am only one who knows how I feel.

I just figure it is something I have to deal with the rest of my life.
My mother suffered severe depression and refused to treat it.
She self medicated with alcohol which is a depressant. Needless to say it affected our family in a very negative way.
Both my kids have had to deal with some issues as well. That is why I don’t understand people saying they want to get off antidepressants. If they truly suffered from depression they wouldn’t even think about not taking something.