Is there anyone out there that thinks they need meds the rest of there life?

Well, I decided to get back on something after things have not made a turn-around for me. I was off meds for over a year and I have been a mess! I am highly sensitive to the drugs and are cutting my pills to tolerate them. They do help a lot, but they still have some side effects..that I will tolerate for now. I think I may need to be on something the rest of my life! I hate being dependant on these drugs, but I stuggle so much without them! I would like to know if anyone out there has been on these meds long term (how long) and have they had problems with them? Do you think it's safe? Do you plan on being on them forever? I read somewhere, that long-term can cause your receptors to shut down and that's why some people build such a tolerance over time, or burn out on them.

[ILADVOCATE]

Most people with a psychiatric disability, myself included need medication for life. Yes some SSRI anti-depressents over time can be less effective (such as what psychiatrists term the "Prozac poop out") but that's a specific medication and it can be replaced. They come out with new medications on a regular basis as regards anti-depressents and completely new treatment modalities are in study. People generally need medication for life and over time it will improve and people's recovery rates are more favorable if they stay on medication then if they don't.

[mjbrown]

I'm pretty sure I'm a lifer!

[Hensley258]

Your doing ok. If you were able to even survive a full year without meds then your depression is not at a severe level.

18 years and counting for me. Without my meds I am completly non-functional. I would have to spend my days in the hospital under lock down without them.

I think you have plenty of hope left. Be happy that just a small amount of any antidepressant works to help you. I must be on 5 different and very powerful medications just to get partial relief.

[EroToo]

I would never stop taking meds even though I am on new meds now.  I have just gotten that Prozac 'poop out.'  Funny, my psych used that term yesterday.  I am suffering from panic attacks severely now until the new meds kick in.

[Kobuk]

Hi, I guess that I'm a lifelong pill taker, I would never like to go back to what I felt before.  I don't know how many times I have tried to kill myself.  If something works, I will take it.  If it stops working, I will try to find something else.  The pills don't make me happy, just out of the doldrums and with help of a pdoc and a therapist I will like myself more.

[Hensley258]

Ahh, the old med poop out. Been there a million times in the last 18 years.
Odd thing is that with each passing year I must change meds more often because after a year or so they stop working.

Used to be I could get 4 years fom an antidepressant before it pooped out. They just don't work for me as well as they used to. Maybe after so many years of taking various antidepressants, my body has just become immune to them.

[RARA35]

The brain is so complex! It's strange how some people can build up such a tolerance, while others (like me) have a hard time tolerating. I actually used to not be like this, but I think something happened to my nervous system when I went through panic attacks a couple yrs ago. I have researched this and have heard similiar stories. I'm not sure what's the lesser evil here! I'm sorry you have to be on so many meds just to feel semi-normal. Have you been like this since childhood? I remember having OCD and mood disorder since I was young. This presented lots of challenges for me and I seem to be a different person on meds!