When do i stop taking antidepressants

You set back your treatment. Stopping medication can set back your treatment plan. It can increase the time it takes to feel better or it can actually cause your symptoms to worsen. You contemplate suicide. Not being properly treated may increase your risk of suicidal thoughts. The most common health problem linked to suicide is depression, says the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Other symptoms get worse. Stopping an antidepressant might worsen other symptoms associated with your depression such as headaches, pain, or insomnia.

Additionally, untreated depression can make it harder for you to manage other health problems. According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, pregnant women who have untreated or poorly treated psychiatric health problems, including depression, may be less likely to take good care of themselves during pregnancy.

Let the doctor who is treating your depression know that you are pregnant. And, of course, let the doctor managing your pregnancy know that you have depression and are taking medication.

Together, you can make decisions about how to best treat your depression during pregnancy. Some people with depression stay on their medication indefinitely. Others are able to stop taking it after a period of weeks or months. This involves slowly lowering the dose of medication until you are completely off of it.

Talk to your healthcare provider about incorporating the following lifestyle changes to improve your overall health, lessen the symptoms of depression, and prevent it from recurring:. No two people will respond to quitting antidepressants in the same way. Despite the name, there are still treatments that can….

Endogenous depression is a type of major depressive disorder. Learn about its symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and the outlook for people who have it. Research reveals how depression changes brain structure and function. See your doctor if you get severe withdrawal symptoms after you stop taking antidepressants.

Alternative approaches can be used, such as reintroducing another antidepressant from the same group and reducing the dose more slowly, or stopping completely and managing your symptoms. Read more on the withdrawal effects of antidepressants from mental health charity Mind. Page last reviewed: 3 August Next review due: 3 August Home Mental health Talking therapies, medicine and psychiatry Medicines and psychiatry Back to Medicines and psychiatry.

Exercise makes serotonin more available for binding to receptor sites on nerve cells, so it can compensate for changes in serotonin levels as you taper off SRIs and other medications that target the serotonin system.

Seek support. Stay in touch with your clinician as you go through the process. Let her or him know about any physical or emotional symptoms that could be related to discontinuation. If the symptoms are mild, you'll probably be reassured that they're just temporary, the result of the medication clearing your system. A short course of a non-antidepressant medication such as an antihistamine, anti-anxiety medication, or sleeping aid can sometimes ease these symptoms.

If symptoms are severe, you might need to go back to a previous dose and reduce the levels more slowly. If you're taking an SRI with a short half-life, switching to a longer-acting drug like fluoxetine may help. You may want to involve a relative or close friend in your planning. If people around you realize that you're discontinuing antidepressants and may occasionally be irritable or tearful, they'll be less likely to take it personally.

A close friend or family member may also be able to recognize signs of recurring depression that you might not perceive. Complete the taper. By the time you stop taking the medication, your dose will be tiny. You may already have been cutting your pills in half or using a liquid formula to achieve progressively smaller doses. Some psychiatrists prescribe a single milligram tablet of fluoxetine the day after the last dose of a shorter-acting antidepressant in order to ease its final washout from the body, although this approach hasn't been tested in a clinical trial.

Check in with your clinician one month after you've stopped the medication altogether. At this follow-up appointment, she or he will check to make sure discontinuation symptoms have eased and there are no signs of returning depression.

Ongoing monthly check-ins may be advised. To learn what you can do to get the sleep you need for optimal health, safety, and well-being, but the Harvard Special Health Report Improving Sleep: A guide to a good night's rest. As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content.

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