How does one cope post antidepressants

Merlyn · Feb 27, 2012

I've always wondered, do antidepressants actually alter the brain so that your neurotranmitters are functioning properly post medication or is it just a temporary crutch and once you stop medications you have to learn to cope with having a shortcoming in your neurotransmitters through cognitive therapy. Or maybe for some people, after a year their brain goes back to normal and the depression was just temporary.

Some antidepressants lift the mood,so you can try to get to the underlining problem,and some have to be taken for a long time while the mind heals and some depending on the severity of the condition have to be taken for the rest of the patients life. Some give the mind a rest others change the path of transmission altogether the big problem is when the meds start to work and patients think because they feel better they do not have to take the med any more. They stop the med, crash and the depression can come back even worst than before.

Davey Do · Feb 27, 2012

I'd like to expand on Merlyn's Well Put Post: The Newer Antidepressants basically work by Reuptaking certain Neurotransmitters in the Synaptic Clefts. These Neurotransmitters include Seritonin, Epinephrine and Norepinephrine, which are commonly present in the Brain. The Newer antidepressants merely keep the levels of these Naturally-Occurring Chemicals at an Adequate Level.

As Merlyn pointed out, if the Underlying Cause for the Depression can be dealt with though other forms of Therapy, then the Antidepressants can be, usually, slowly discontinued. Often times, the Symptoms of Depression do not return to the same level as before the Drug/Cognitive Therapy.

However, in some cases, discontinuation of the Antidepressant will cause the Depressive Symptoms to return. One example is with One who has experienced longterm Alcohol Abuse. Alcohol can deplete certain neurotransmitters and cause them to exist at a Less Than Adequate Level.

It is a Belief that Alcohol Abusers need the alcohol not to "Feel Good", but instead, use alcohol to deal with the Pain of Their Psyche. These People, in Most Cases, may never be able to be Comfortable without some sort of chemical.

There are Other Methods to stimulate Neurotransmitters into action without the Use of Chemicals. And those are Methods in which People Cope Post Antidepressants: They lead a Healthier Lifestyle- A Healthy Body is a Happy Body. Exercise, especially Aerobic, can stimulate Endorphin Production, the Brain's Painkiller. There's also Meditation, Yoga, Art, Religious Practices, Working A Program, Mental Imagery, or just Being At Peace With Oneself are some other Methods to deal with Life and its Trials and Tribulations Post Antidepressants.

Good question, esunada. Good Discussion.

Dave

TopazLover, BSN, RN · Feb 27, 2012

:yelclap::kiss:bowingpur

Davey, great job.

Kathy, the thankful.

46oldnewrn · Feb 27, 2012

Most importantly like Merlyn stated, do not stop taking your medication because you feel better, it could be worse for you. I stumbled upon that quite a bit in my mental health rotation a few years ago, everyone thinks they feel better and then they end up back in the psycho ward. I can sympathize though, I understand why they quite taking their meds.

Catch22Personified · Feb 27, 2012

When it came to my experience with SSRI's it was awful. It made me sleepy, eat more, poor concentration in school, excessive daytime sleepiness (I was kicked out of my med surg class a few times because of this), made me gain a lot of weight, and in general the previous symptoms lead me to be even more depressed. I think I had an awful psychiatrist who was just a pill pusher and kept UPPING the damn dose. My therapist helped me get through it, I think it was a good thing my insurance stopped paying for this doctor and I got a second opinion later on. My 2nd doctor did a very long tapering process but it eventually worked, but I still went to therapy for another year.

It was either go to that pill pusher the school chose or not be allowed to go back to school. But after that first psychiatrist, my faith and trust in the whole mental health system was shaken. Because of that stupid nonsense I am not fit to serve in the military.

Teresag_CNS · Feb 27, 2012

There is a specific syndrome called "SSRI/SNRI discontinuation syndrome" that occurs when one stops taking one of these medications. They must be tapered, and even if they are tapered correctly, symptoms such as nausea and lightheadedness may occur. Google the term in quotes above and read a reliable website on this for more info. (There are many unreliable ones, as you likely know, especially for health information, it seems.) And good luck. - Teresa

ktliz · Feb 27, 2012

I would put it this way-- Antidepressants themselves will not permanently fix chemical imbalances. However, temporary relief from the chemical imbalance gives the person a chance to function normally, so that they can experience cognitions and behaviors that help reshape dysfunctional pathways in the brain.

Some people are able recover fully. Some people's brains are just so imbalanced they need to take meds forever. It all depends.

dirtyhippiegirl, BSN, RN · Feb 27, 2012

I'd like to expand on Merlyn's Well Put Post: The Newer Antidepressants basically work by Reuptaking certain Neurotransmitters in the Synaptic Clefts. These Neurotransmitters include Seritonin, Epinephrine and Norepinephrine, which are commonly present in the Brain. The Newer antidepressants merely keep the levels of these Naturally-Occurring Chemicals at an Adequate Level.

Things might have changed since I last followed the literature on this subject -- but what you're stating here is actually mostly hypothetical and based on the premise that "this is why we think people get depressed, so this must be why anti-depressants help."

You can't actually measure neurotransmitter levels in people while they're still alive. You can look at brain function, and you can autopsy (the most well-known study being something that was done a few decades ago on people who had committed suicide -- low levels of serotonin were found in their brains) but you can't functionally measure neurotransmitter levels in living people.

Unless things have changed in the last three or four years? I'd be interested to read any studies that you could link to.

/can't be the only former psych patient here who was forced to watch that awful Pfizer cartoon on depression that was made in the early 90s, am I?

dirtyhippiegirl, BSN, RN · Feb 27, 2012

Anyway, to add something more helpful -

like several others have said, please do not stop taking your meds immediately. At the very least, you'll probably get sick - nausea, headaches, light-headedness, "brain zaps" etc. More profoundly, you can get rebound depression and even become suicidal. (Pretty much the gamut of discontinuation syndrome.)

I was on SSRIs/SNRIs continuously from the age of 12 to 23. My last anti-depressant was paxil, which caused me to develop severe hypertension. I was weaned very, very quickly and in the ICU. So that's a bit abnormal. Otherwise, I had a good six months of anhedonia and malaise post-SSRI/SNRI use. Very common in people who have used these meds for any period of time. It's not necessarily your depression/anxiety "coming back" but a pro-longed reaction to the medication, much in the same way that alcoholics have a similar pro-longed period while coming off of alcohol.