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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 14 of 14. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Deniseuk190466 on January 21, 2007, at 5:08:20
Hi,
Has anyone out there gone off an SSRI which they had become tolerant to then gone on it at a later date and then responded to it again?
Thanks......Denise
Posted by blueberry1 on January 21, 2007, at 9:13:02
In reply to SSRI drug holidays after tolerance develops, posted by Deniseuk190466 on January 21, 2007, at 5:08:20
I guess it could happen, but more often than not there are many stories of people going off their ssri, returning to it later only to find it doesn't work anymore. Same with maois and snris.
I was on prozac for years and it worked fairly well, never perfect. It finally started giving me problems and not working so well, so I went off it. I got worse. Upon restarting it, I always found it helpful in the first day or two and then deteriorated after that. It just never worked again. Side effects on repeat tries seemed a lot worse too. I got all kinds of strange side effects I had never had before. Almost like my body was saying no, no, no, not that stuff again!
Sometimes switching to a different ssri works and sometimes not.
Don't know why, but a strategy worth trying before stopping a med that has pooped out is to add something to it to kick it back into gear. Common things that seem to work for that, according to actual users at remedyfind, are provigil or wellbutrin, with provigil having the highest unscientific success rate.
Posted by laima on January 21, 2007, at 9:19:48
In reply to Re: SSRI drug holidays after tolerance develops, posted by blueberry1 on January 21, 2007, at 9:13:02
My experience was one of those typical ones: used prozac for almost a decade before it pooped out. It worked miraculously for about the first half of that decade. Then I used zoloft for about a year, and it worked so-so at best, and only for a few months. Tried prozac again- no response, even at higher dose. Later cycled through a few different SSRIs, no help. The last one was cymbalta, and it made my depression much much worse. No more ssris for me. If I find a medication that works well for me again, I am going to be careful not to go off of it unless I have to, lest this happen again. I hope cycling through selegeline/Emsam doesn't impair how I will respond to other MAOIs, if that turns out to be my next direction.
Posted by Phillipa on January 21, 2007, at 11:03:58
In reply to Re: SSRI drug holidays after tolerance develops, posted by laima on January 21, 2007, at 9:19:48
I always think of exactly that. If you do cycle through them they what? Love Phillipa
Posted by Sebastian on January 21, 2007, at 16:17:51
In reply to SSRI drug holidays after tolerance develops, posted by Deniseuk190466 on January 21, 2007, at 5:08:20
Yes.
Posted by polarbear206 on January 22, 2007, at 10:53:32
In reply to SSRI drug holidays after tolerance develops, posted by Deniseuk190466 on January 21, 2007, at 5:08:20
Have you ever discussed with your Doctor the use of a mood stabilizer to augment your antidepressant? You might want to check into it. Maybe a low dose of Lamictal would benifit you. Lamictal has a low side effect profile and shows some AD properties.
Polarbear
Posted by Clockwork Ange on January 23, 2007, at 15:59:07
In reply to SSRI drug holidays after tolerance develops, posted by Deniseuk190466 on January 21, 2007, at 5:08:20
> Hi,
>
> Has anyone out there gone off an SSRI which they had become tolerant to then gone on it at a later date and then responded to it again?
>
> Thanks......DeniseHi there-
Oddly enough, this has happened with me... with Paxil. Twice Paxil has "pooped out" on me, seem to stop working after about 2 years, they took me off the first time and had me off all ADs for about 6 months, then they put me back on Paxil, and it worked.... and then, about 2 years later, if stopped working again... and that time they tried some other ADs, none of them worked (I'm Bipolar, and the other ADs sent me into a mania) and after about 6 months, they put me back on Paxil and it started working again... It was very odd, both time, for me, and I almost didn't want to bother going back on... but it worked.
Posted by blueberry1 on January 23, 2007, at 18:02:41
In reply to Re: SSRI drug holidays after tolerance develops, posted by Clockwork Ange on January 23, 2007, at 15:59:07
Cool story. Gives me hope.
You have a cool name too.
>
> Hi there-
>
> Oddly enough, this has happened with me... with Paxil. Twice Paxil has "pooped out" on me, seem to stop working after about 2 years, they took me off the first time and had me off all ADs for about 6 months, then they put me back on Paxil, and it worked.... and then, about 2 years later, if stopped working again... and that time they tried some other ADs, none of them worked (I'm Bipolar, and the other ADs sent me into a mania) and after about 6 months, they put me back on Paxil and it started working again... It was very odd, both time, for me, and I almost didn't want to bother going back on... but it worked.
>
>
Posted by Clockwork Ange on January 24, 2007, at 9:09:48
In reply to Re: SSRI drug holidays after tolerance develops, posted by blueberry1 on January 23, 2007, at 18:02:41
> Cool story. Gives me hope.
>
> You have a cool name too.
>
> >
> > Hi there-
> >
> > Oddly enough, this has happened with me... with Paxil. Twice Paxil has "pooped out" on me, seem to stop working after about 2 years, they took me off the first time and had me off all ADs for about 6 months, then they put me back on Paxil, and it worked.... and then, about 2 years later, if stopped working again... and that time they tried some other ADs, none of them worked (I'm Bipolar, and the other ADs sent me into a mania) and after about 6 months, they put me back on Paxil and it started working again... It was very odd, both time, for me, and I almost didn't want to bother going back on... but it worked.
> >
> >
>
>Good Good :)
And thanks!
Posted by deniseuk190466 on January 31, 2007, at 8:01:02
In reply to Re: SSRI drug holidays after tolerance develops, posted by blueberry1 on January 21, 2007, at 9:13:02
Hi Blueberry,
Thanks for responding. How long did you come off prozac before going back on it again?
I might give provigil a try at some point (not that I have much choice in the matter about what I take and what I can't take :-))
Denise
Posted by deniseuk190466 on February 1, 2007, at 8:01:05
In reply to Re: SSRI drug holidays after tolerance develops, posted by Clockwork Ange on January 23, 2007, at 15:59:07
Hi,
During the six months, were you not taking any medication or trying out any treatment at all?
Also, do you think your response to Paxil again might just have coincided with an uptime in your cycle?
Thanks.....Denise
Posted by Sebastian on February 2, 2007, at 19:41:52
In reply to Re: SSRI drug holidays after tolerance develops, posted by blueberry1 on January 21, 2007, at 9:13:02
I think drug holidays are good. When you come back to it it's like starting all over again. It erases all the bla. You find out how bad it is without the med, you get a taste of reality.
Posted by notfred on February 4, 2007, at 19:20:29
In reply to drug holidays after tolerance develops, posted by Sebastian on February 2, 2007, at 19:41:52
Drug holidays were popular in the 80's, till it was discovered they make people worse. There is also this to take note of:
http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070201/msgs/728681.html
Posted by Phillipa on February 4, 2007, at 19:29:13
In reply to Re: drug holidays after tolerance develops, posted by notfred on February 4, 2007, at 19:20:29
Happened to me paxil first ad at l0mg I stopped bit by bit cause my Son was coming to live with us and didn't believe in meds and now none of them work. I've tried paxil several times. Ditto. Love Phillipa
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