Effexor

is there a good chance of me being able to get off of this medication if i do well on it for about ayear.. and change my life around... or am i probably destin for depression for forever

[LeftCoastChick]

Depression is an illness, like many brain disorders. Have you been diagnosed and/or seen by a psychiatrist? What has s/he had to say? I just had a chat with my pdoc today and was told there's about 5 different types of depression and you can have more then 1, I have 3 *gulp*. I was told that being on a mood stabilizer would be a lifetime thing for me, it's not so bad. It's better then getting those serious depressions catch you off guard don't you think? It's hard to get away from the stigma of diagnosis, but once you do, it's easier. I've had depression in one form or another since I was 7 and I am 40.

[therese83]

Depression can pass.  My sister had very severe depression 20 years ago.  She recovered fully.  It took 9 months to get better, now she was very bad.  It lifted naturaly.

It is different from person to person.

I got off Effexor.  It was not so bad for me giving it up.  I have since relapsed, but am doing well now on medication again.

Maybe you want to stay on it a while longer,  Because you feel good now, but give some time to get into this habit.

[Hensley258]

There are some people that can overcome depression and eventually discontinue their medication.

For many (myself included) the condition is very cronic (chronic) and a discontinuation of meds always results in relaps.

I think that if your depression was caused by life trama that you have a good chance of beating it, but if your condition is completly Non-situational then meds are often a fact of life.