I must be mad - quitting ADs now.

Hi Faerie

Firstly I would like to say that you are very brave making the decision you have made.

I know your GP has suggested an increase and you feel that if the AD's were working you wouldn't have to take more but different people need different doses depending on the severity of their symptoms. One person may be able to achieve what they require on 10mg but another may need 30mg. It is a bit of a trial getting it right at first and it does take about 6 weeks before you start to show any improvement.

It's entirely your choice to take them or not and it will probably take you a couple of months to taper off them if that's the route you decide to take.

Gook luck lovely, we will all be here to offer you support should you need it. x

Are you sure it's a good time of year to be doing this? WOuldn't it be better in the spring?

Thanks Faerie9, I went to the doctor, no problem at all, we had a little chat about the side effects,then increased the dose(amitriptyline50mg), they do have drowsiness as the main side effect but I take them at night ,so thats ok.

I'm afraid for you.

I went off my meds this fall, right in my worst season, and not just to go off, but to try another a.d. w/a clean slate. It was the most terrible timing, but I'd been trying to taper since spring and it just took that long to do it w/out making my whole spring/summer hell too.

What a terrible, horrendous mistake. I thought I remembered how bad the depressions were w/out meds, but they are either worse than I remember, or just plain worse than ever. I've been in a very dangerous place trying to get my dosage back up.

Please take this into consideration. Spring is just the other side of winter if you really need to do this, but please be as careful as you can. I thought I was, but I can't be w/out meds or I could lose my life to this disease.


jeanne

Thank you for your concern Jeanne, I've thought about it a lot and I know it sounds mental, but I feel like I need to give it a try. I'm fully prepared (read: not really but trying to be!) to move to Sertraline if I can't hack life without meds! But I think I've taken Citalopram as far as it can go.

Linda, I felt like you did about ADs and natural medicine for 6 years, and I never managed to crack it with regard to my depression/SAD. I started taking meds once I accepted I'd done as much as I could without them, and needed to try them. I'm now concerned that I've been on drugs a year, and while they were great for a while, I'm effectively back at square one again, and so I want to leave them behind for the time being. I'd love to be able to control my condition without meds. I believe in my heart that it is possible, but experience tells me it's not easy at all in reality.
I'm making a concerted effort to drink plenty water, eat healthily and get more exercise, all of which I know are a cornerstone of good health in general. Oh and I bought a lightbox too. So we shall see!

Faerie, please come on back here for support. I've not much to offer as far as the med advice goes, but what others have said sounds very sensible. Be very careful and don't make sudden, dramatic changes.

Could you keep a diary of your mood to see if it's getting worse? Sometimes we just don't think very clearly or remember things well... Even if you jot down your dosage and give your day an overall 1-10 rating of how happy you felt.

I wish you all the best and please be very careful.

Thats good advice from Amalthea......

Keeping a diary has been fundamental in my coping stratagies. You don't always feel like filling it in but it is amazing when you look back at how you felt on a particular day and how things have changed over a period of time.

I think the admins are working on it, Faerie.

You can also make notes on your calendar, its easier to remember. I'm summing up what I'm going through this year, because it will help for next. Unfortunately, it didn't do that last year and I regret it, it sure would have helped.

I have to suspect that your meds are helping you more than you think. That;s been my experience this year when I went off. I don't seem to be able to stabilize now, even though I'm finally back to the dose that worked last year. I'm pretty sure its because I was too depressed by the time I went back on my old meds. You could be heading for the same thing.

I hope that made some sort of sense, I'm pretty muddled, and this is a better day. I hope I'm not seeming too pushy, I just don't wish this hell on anyone. I totally understand your wanting to go off, the timing is dicey though.


Jeanne

If you want to pm me faerie, my email addy is in my profile.

Glad to hear that you are feeling well now Jenni, have a good New Year!