A few posts ago I wrote about tapering antidepressants. Right after I wrote this, there was a very good article in the New York Times on April 7, 2018, about withdrawing from antidepressant medications. The article is entitled “Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit” by Benedict Carey and Robert Gebeloff. As the title suggests, the article highlights people who have had issues with stopping antidepressants. In fact, some people have had such trouble with stopping the medications that they have chosen to remain on them instead of dealing with the withdrawal symptoms. What really struck me was that the term “discontinuation syndrome” was used. Isn’t that just a fancy way of saying withdrawal?
Regardless of what you call it, there are many people who struggle with stopping antidepressants, even if the drug may not really be giving much of a benefit to the individual. There is some research being done on tapering protocols, but the article also mentions that many people have taken tapering into their own hands and have tried to make it work for them without any help from a medical professional. Of course, drug companies don’t necessarily have any strong desire to work on protocols to help people safely stop the medications they are selling.
I think this article is yet another call to think about what works for you as an individual, assuming you are taking antidepressants. Can you stop an antidepressant without any issues? Would you prefer to try a taper instead? Perhaps the taper may take months or even over a year to complete – is that alright with you? What side effects are you willing to accept and how long are you willing to accept them? This article is further proof that antidepressants may not necessarily be the wonder drugs many people think they are.