Posted by Racer on August 29, 2008, at 11:04:02
In reply to Going on/off/on/off meds, posted by no_rose_garden on August 28, 2008, at 23:40:23
Some people say that they won't work again, some people say they will work again -- and I say they may work again.
What happens with SSRI discontinuation is that there's a risk of rebound depression. It's not necessarily true depression -- I tend to think of it as more withdrawal, but it can spiral into true depression, so it's worth taking seriously.
The best way to avoid it is to taper off the medications. How slowly depends on the medication and the person -- Prozac, for instance, doesn't have much in the way of discontinuation symptoms, but Effexor does. And some people are more sensitive to the effects than others. (And never underestimate the psychosomatic reactions -- I know I've had psychosomatic reactions to starting medications, and they're *real,* even though I *know* that they're psychosomatic!)
My advice would be to talk to your doctor. If it sounds to him/her like discontinuation symptoms, a single low dose of Prozac can sometimes help a great deal. Or, maybe it's too soon to go off, or maybe there are stressors in your life right now that make this a bad time to go off, etc. Talking to your doctor about all those variables is a good starting point.
By the way, why did you decide to go off?
poster:Racer
thread:848888
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080822/msgs/848972.html