i don't want to take anti-depressants anymore.

i've been taking zoloft for help with depression, my ed, and a little ocd.. but i just don't feel like they're working. i was on prozac, but that didn't work either.

i don't feel like a pill can change the past, or the present, and can make me happy. i feel like if they do work, i'll be living a lie.

i'm supposed to take 100mg capsules a day, should i just stop taking it? what do i do?

i feel like i can get through this, without drugs.

Do NOT, I repeat do NOT just stop taking your anti depressants. I'm speaking from experience. If you're concerned about your meds. I highly suggest that you talk to your doctor or psychologist about your feelings. Tell them how you are feeling on them and maybe they could prescribe something else..OR...limit it so you take less and less until you can safely go off of them. It is very unwise to just stop taking them once you've been on them for awhile it could lead to a major breakdown or really bad withdrawl symptoms.

So if you are having doubts please discuss this with a professional on your options for your best interest. Good luck.

TALK TO YOUR PHYSCIATRIST FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm not kidding, my sister went off them unexpectedly, tried to kill herself and nearly succeded.

Hold off until your next appointment, and talk to the doctor, they'll help you out.

I don't want what happened to my sister to happen to you. She was on zoloft for depression and OCD too.

Be responsible.

Hi, I was on zoloft last spring. I felt the exact same way..that medicine cant change the way my life is, and i dont want to artificially feel better about the same situation (which i dont think it even did that). if you want to get off it, i suggest slowly weaning yourself off it..go down to 75 mg per day, then 50, then 25 then every other day etc. I stopped it pretty abruptly and didnt tell anyone, and tried to kill myself after i had been off it for a week. but after that day, everything got so much better, and i havent been on any meds for depression since. but i suggest talking to a doctor before getting off of it yourself because it can be dangerous.

good luck and if you have any questions just ask me!

As has already been said, stopping cold turkey is that absolute worst thing you can do. I did it when I had PPD and the results were terrifying. You HAVE to be weaned from anti-depressants, preferably with the aid of a physician.

How long have you been on them? They do take some time before they start working. It can take up to 6 weeks I vaguely remember though it's been awhile since I've been on them.

alright, i have an appointment in 2 weeks, so i'll keep taking them until then.. but as soon as i see my psychiatrist, i'm telling him to take me off the medication. he can't say no, can he?

i've been on zoloft for roughly 5 and a half months, so i think it's safe to say that i've given them enough time.

i just wanna be able to beat my ed, and be able to get my life in better shape without the help of pills.

most of the time the only thing i feel sad about is my weight, so i think if just could quit binging, and lost the weight.. i'd be much happier. i'm not sure if that's a really "ed-ish" thing to think, but whatever. 

I think you should switch to another medication such as paxil. That's why I take. And if you're not feeling very happy whilst you're on zoloft, imagine what it would be like without it. I'm just one of those people who believes some people are only able to cope with the help of chemicals. Counselling can only help to an extent.

There's nothing wrong with taking antidepressants.  I take Effexor, and lead a much happier, more fulfilling life because of it.  I also have hypothyroidism, so I take a thyroid pill.  If your body is lacking something, and medicine can give you what you are lacking, why not take it?  Taking an antidepressant is no more shameful than taking iron supplements, or thyroid pills, or cholesterol medications.  If your psychiatrist suggests that you continue on an antidepressant, ask him or her to switch you to a different medication.  They are all very different.  I have been on prozac, wellbutrin, and I think one other in the past, and effexor has been the only one that has worked.  I was off effexor when I was pregnant with my youngest child, and after my baby was born, but before the effexor kicked in, my world was a very dark and scary place.  Don't go there.  Admittedly, I was also suffering from postnatal depression as well, but I would never wish that on anyone.  Find a medication that works, stick with it as long as you need it, and let it help you improve your life. You'll be stronger for it in the long run.

Please Erica listen to me. DO NOT I repeat DO NOT get off them. I was in your position and felt the same way. If they are not working then switch or ask him to up your dose. I weined myself off and felt great for 6 months. Then I was hit with depression like a BUS. I couldn't even get myself off the floor. I still am not 100% but have gotten better on them.

I have a very good and well respected psychiatrist and he really explained to me why most of the psychiatric community is now keeping people on meds permanently. For every event of depression or anxierty/ocd you have you are twice as likely to have another. They now believe it is far bette to prevent relapse in the first place because them more event syou have the more serious your case will become.  Prevention is KEY.

I too felt that I didn't need the medication to live and I just needed to do a better job handeling my emotions. God was I wrong. He impressed on me that depression is a medical issue. People who struggle with these type of mental illnesses have a problem in how their body regulates seritonin very much in the way a diabetic struggles to regulate insulin. It will NOT just go away. He says the medical community is now looking at it as something that in many people may require life long treatment. Now some people do very well with therapy alone but they are in the minority. The best treatment is both therapy and medication.  You should have your dosage tweeked and if your not already you should also start seeing a therapist who can help instruct you in cognitive behavioral therapy which helps you control ocd, anxiety and depression through different techniques of thinking.

Also you are on zoloft which is the most tested and thus safest drug of its kind on the market, and it the only one that the FDA has currently approved for long term use. 

Please, take it from me, its much easier to address this now while you are somewhat ok rather then hitting rock bottom first.  If you are having symptoms while on the drugs they will only intensify over time if you get off.  Please be careful. 

Hey there...

I was in your same position about 6 months ago and had seriously tried nearly every anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication that was out there; low doses and high doses, just all over the board.

I woke up one day and decided to flush them all down the toilet because I felt they were doing more harm than good. First of all, I wasn't feeling less depressed or less anxious.. if anything, it was worse. My memory was getting really bad and I was just a drugged up mess.

I stopped cold turkey and maybe I shouldn't have, but it worked for me. However, not everyone is built the same way and if you feel that drugs are not your answer to happiness, I'd suggest slowly weaning yourself off of them instead of just flushing them all like I did.

And anyway, at the end of the day it's your body and your mind. You've just got to do what feels right for you. Medicine or no medicine, psychiatrist or no psychiatrist, listen to yourself.

Original Post by pearllillee:

And anyway, at the end of the day it's your body and your mind. You've just got to do what feels right for you. Medicine or no medicine, psychiatrist or no psychiatrist, listen to yourself.

With all due respect, I must disagree.  People commit suicide all the time because they "listened to themselves."  We have professionals for a reason, we should use them.  Everyone IS different, and just because it "worked for you" doesn't mean it will work for the OP.  BTW, what did you mean by, it "worked for me"?  Are you not depressed or anxious anymore?  I am happy for you that you were successful, but I would really hesitate to give that advice to another person who is in a completely different boat.  I am a great example of how the right meds can make a HUGE positive difference in a person's life.  I just think she needs to do whatever she's going to do with the aid of a professional who can make sure she does it safely.

I've been on 40mg of fluoxetine (prozac) for three years - I never really notice a lift in my mood as a result of taking it.. HOWEVER once I stopped (to be rebellious?!!) for about a week and a half and ended up having a minor breakdown which resulted in my being restrained, sedated and NG fed (I was in an EDU at the time.) It was horrendous. Though obviously ED played a part in that, I think coming of such a big dose of prozac so quickly messed up my rationality..I was told I'd be sectioned unless I started taking it again.

I'd say the moral of the story is don't come of any anti-depressants too quickly - it's as bad as overdosing.

I hope you are still reading the responses to this.

I  agree with what's been said about talking to your psychiatrist first because going off medication quickly has severe consequences.

But, when you say that a pill cannot "make you happy," you are right. ONLY taking a pill cannot solve your problems. Medication works for a lot of people, and I do believe that finding the right antidepressant can work for you. BUT medication alone cannot solve everything, you need to be going to regular therapy at the same time. A combination of the right medication and regular therapy can change the past, present, and future.

And I can say from my own experience and the experience of others that this combination can, over time, make you happy.

hokay

you can not go off it by yourself, or all at once. it is a terrible idea.However,I wasprescribed zoloft(200 mg) for depression/OCD at the age of fifteen with TERRIBLE RESULTS including significant weightgain resulting in further depression. Talk to your  psychiatrist.