Hi! I have had generalized anxiety since I was a kid (I'm now 29) and have been taking Escitalopram for a few years and stopped four months ago. The meds worked well but I have always hoped that I wouldn't have to take them for the rest of my life. I was feeling good and balanced and I decreased the dose very slowly over the course of 10 months. Everything went well until I actually stopped taking the smallest dose. My anxiety and panic has been through the roof for four months now, I am very unhappy and unable to do the simplest things like go on a car ride or even walk too far from my home. Today I started taking Escitalopram again and I'm feeling discuraged. I worry about SSRI medications and I am both scared to live with meds and without meds. I guess I'm just trying to find some support from people who have taken SSRI medication, stopped taking it or gone back on their medication after a while. Are you happy with your medication and do you think it's safe?
getting back on medication: Hi! I have had... - Anxiety Support
getting back on medication
“It’s safe”….
I agree with you, I hate to stay on antidepressants such as escitalopram when I am feeling (normal). I went to see my psychiatrist last week requesting my excitalopram 20 mg daily to be lowered but she felt I should not lower it yet. I have been on it a little over a year. I had previously been on sertraline for around 20 years but it finally wore off on me. It did take several months of trial and error to find the correct new antidepressant for me which was escitalopram and buproprion. I will do as she says as I certainly do not want to have major depressive disorder again.
You're right, the nightmare without medication is usually a lot worse than any issues with taking medication. I feel worried about long-term effects, even though I know a lot of people who are happy to take medication for the rest of their life when it allows as normal a life as possible. Maybe I am just overthinking!
I also feel worried about long term effects too!! I would rather have a normal life without taking any medications but in my case, it seems I can't. I read on a post a few years ago that said if you keep going off and on antidepressant medications (which I have done), that if and when you become depressed again it is worsens each time. I agree with that as it has happened to me. The time length of the depression gets longer too. I was depressed for over 18 months last time. I am grateful though that the antidepressant meds help me eventually, as some individuals are depressed most of their lives. I am also grateful that I did not have any depression until I was in my early 40's and it seems like more and more young people are depressed today. I am not going to stop taking my medication again, I just want to take the lowest dose that I can.
That makes sense. I have stopped taking my meds once before and after a few months I hit a new low. But it's great you have medication that works for you! If it will help us live then it's worth it.
Hi.
I avoided medication for many years, feeling like you that I didn’t want to take it, struggling with GAD and suffering so so much. I finally gave in about 4 months ago. Right now it’s given me some peace, life feels better and I can manage to go out again and don’t wake up with that awful fear and dread. Isolating and avoiding people. To me the meds have given me some life so I feel it has been the better option, the side affects of not taking them was taking a massive toll on my physical,health , so I’m not going to worry about taking them the alternative for me in the end was so much worse both physically and mentally ..best wishes.
I'm happy to hear the medication has given you some peace! That's exactly why it's okay to take them when necessary. I wish you the best as well!
You're not overthinking, nobody wants to spend their life consuming pills unless they have real pill addictions. You have two different perspectives: Most medical people disregard anxiety and treatment for anxiety as a "mind-over-matter" issue that shouldn't need medication because they see it as not a real significant medical condition, so they try to get us on some pills and to go away. Our doctors take care of that and want to move on, but we really see the reality of that thing in crisis when we have to go into urgent or emergency care.
I think first a change in how anxiety is view in the medical field will cause a change in how the medical field treats and deals with us when we have anxieties. It's best to seek out reputable psychiatric specialists who puts out training videos and/or articles about anxieties, and the treatments and ongoing care for it to both educate yourself and impart some understanding to those who care for you medically. But not in a prideful "I know more about this than you" sort of way as that could cause them not to want to care for you properly, in a way that is informative as they have a basic baseline in more medical issues. They didn't further focus on behavioral issues to be any good at treatments.
If you don't have a real behavioral specialist, it's best to seek a consult for one. This way, you can work with a specialist who doesn't have to give pills and move on as though that should take care of the issues once and for all. We who suffer with anxieties know that it doesn't.
Hi! Thank you for your answer. I had a behavioral therapist for three years. Where I live I can get support for therapy bills for maximum of three years. After the therapy ended (and at the same time I ended my medication) my anxiety and panic got a lot worse. Only help I was able to get after that was to start the meds again. I don't have money to pay for therapy or any other specialist. The public health sector's doctors pretty much only give you the meds. It's like there is no good options! Right now I'm back on escitalopram and trying to find a way to get therapy again.
It’s ok to be on medication. Diabetics take what they need to stay healthy. So should we. I also tried to go off my escatilopram but I couldn’t. So I’m fine with it. Feel better !
Totally agree!
Thank you, hearing from other people in the same situation gives me a peace of mind!
Hi, The trouble with meds is that if you want to try without them, you don’t start to get better until they are stopped completely as you did. That’s when the body starts to heal and that is the worst time. It can take several months for the withdrawals to stop and it takes lots of courage. That’s why lots of people have to go back on them. If you really want to get off drugs you should do it under the doctor. Sometimes they substitute with a milder drug to help, rather than do cold turkey. Some people of course just have to take meds for their condition and quality of life. It’s being between a rock and a hard place. Wishing you well.
I did not start to feel better until I STARTED my medication???
Sorry l think you have read my reply wrong. This person wanted to try stopping her meds and my point to her was that when she stopped completely it would take some time for the withdrawals to stop before she got better. If you read the end of my post l say that meds are needed for some people as they are my daughter, who is on them for life. Ok ?????
Okay, gotcha! I did not read your post closely enough to realize you meant stopping your meds, my bad! Sorry!
You're right. The doctor was on board with me stopping the meds, but when I started to feel bad and called for help in May, I only got a doctor's appointment last week. They are very busy and it's hard to get help on time. She just gave me the prescription again. I was trying to tolerate the symptoms for a few months but it was just super painful. So I gave up. Maybe I will try to wean off them later in life.
Yes there is always another time. You have to feel right to try and it’s very difficult. At least you tried, No one knows unless they have been there. We are thankful for the drugs to get us through but then we become dependent on them. I wish you well. xxx
No problem. Love and prayers to you xxxx
My two bits worth: I lived with an SSRI + a benzo for almost a decade; more and more meds—including a dopamine agonist—were added until the total number of meds came to seven and I couldn’t but rebel against the change in personality/identity and the overall lifelessness [it wasn’t as bad as the word sounds, but I can’t think of a better word] they brought about. —> I got off everything except the benzo using mega-doses of fish oil to hold my hand as I returned to normalcy, so to speak. YMMV, but it worked for me.
As I (and millions of others—including you—would know), one experiences plenty of reasons to get back on the antideps. Are they safe? Of course they are—if one agrees, as one will, that taking on a modified identity and relationship with the world is “safe.” The strongest reason IMHO against them is the simple fact that they change who you are. One certainly needs a hand-holder, as it were; fish oil (in massive doses) is one thing that works—even at very large doses, pretty much the worst it can do is diarrhoea and upset tummy. Another is a high-dose benzo regimen if your doc will allow it. Look online and you might find more ideas.
Tapering is tempting—but it has to be done really, really slowly; your 10 months would’ve been fine for many people, I’m inclined to think—but if it wasn’t, my two (strong!) suggestions would be either fish oil or a longer tapering period.
Thank you! Sorry it took me long to reply. I have heard good things about fish oil and magnesium. I think I will at some point try to wean off the medication again, but over even a longer time period as you said. 10 months went well until the moment I stopped taking the smallest dose. In a way I consider myself lucky, since escitalopram hasn't affected my feelings or personality that much. I do agree that they can really make a difference to a person and not always in a good way. Hard to find the balance in this life though! How to help myself to try and enjoy this short life on earth!
This is just me thinking aloud—no “advice” or anything of that nature. Thing is, you sound a lot like me in general—“Hard to find ... balance ... how to help myself ... enjoy this short life...” and the fact that the problem began when you stopped taking the smallest dose. That sounds a lot like psychological addiction to me: You know, I’m psychologically addicted to ibuprofen and clonazepam. There are days on which I imagine I’ve missed my daily dose and a mild panic begins; rapid heartbeat and all; it vanishes at the instant when I realise I did in fact take the little pill.
Here’s wishing you luck—and as a wise man (namely, I) often said: Worrying or even thinking too much about meds and lifestyle choices can sometimes be more detrimental than those things in themselves 
And yes, one of the many beautiful things about dogs is that they never worry!
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