month 8 for my daughter.

Treatment and medication
1

today is the day my 19yr old begins coming of the medication. we saw the dr and asked for the liquid dose, she was on 20mg tablets , and is now taking 2.5ml of the liquid. Thats equivalent to 10mg of tablets.

the only side effect left is night sweats, and she is back to her normal self now, so the dr thinks the time is right to come off. i hope its an easier journey than when she went on them, and hopefully by taking a smaller amount each day it will be better than what the dr suggested of missing tablets every other day. so, wish us luck, and keep smiling. xx

2

Hi Karen...

Wow! Good luck...yes i would say that reduction sounds better than cold turkey.

I too hope trhat it is a lot smoother coming off than going on... I am now just about settled (I think) on 60mg ... I'm going to be on this for a while longer than I thought... I do think it was worth the journey. I hope that I can come off it next yesr some time.

Please keep us in the picture about your daughters reduction. Obviously all of us are on this for different reasons, but it would be soooooooo great to hear what it is like to return to normality.

Good luck to you both

3

Hello Karen

Lovely to hear from you, and glad to hear your daughter has done so well.  Coming off medication is best done as slowly as possible ..... adjust to the reduction, let things settle, and reduce again etc until completely off.  

My my son is back to his normal self too after an horrendous journey with depression and the medication, and is still taking it.  Not sure when his time will come to come off them ..... we'll see.

Best of luck to you both and keep in touch throughout the medication reduction journey.

K xx

4

thankyou for replying Rich, it was a rough journey with her getting to this point, and i see that my daughter still gets anxiety, she didnt suffer with this before, so im guessing its a side effect of the pills maybe, if we are going round a roundabout in the car and she cant find the exit, she goes all screamy, and panicked, or, if something is worrying her, she will have a drama, with arms waving , not all the time does she behave like this. but then i think, does it mean she isnt ready to come off the meds.? hey ho, we will soon find out. i hope today is a good day for you Rich, and keep smiling. somewhere from about last october i did a diary on here about my daughters journey, it might be helpful. xx

5

hi Kate!!  lovely to see you, im thrilled to bits your son is in a "good" place right now. im stressed to the hilt, first the dr told daughter she couldnt have the medicine, only a hospital can give it, and she just had to start missing tablets out, and by week 4 she would be off it!!!!!!

i went bananas, went back to see him, and he agreed to the liquid dose, made it clear he thourght i was a pushy mother, and still insisted within 5 weeks she needs to be off the meds. He said fluox needs to be out the sysytem quickly to avoid side effects, i could of jumped on him and slapped him about the head, he wasnt having any of what i was saying. i had even printed out what the collage for psychiatrists, and MIND charity say. ooooo enough of my rant, how are YOU my love, are you well?

6

Hi Karen...

Yes anxiety is a side effect of this drug. I do suffer from it but my trigger is much different from most. With me (especially now) it is a case of others that panic me, and I crumble. I need to be in a position to be strong whilst this is happening - I am getting there. When the main issue is resolved, the drug will be unnecessary and will then just need to get off the meds in the smoothest way possible.

It is not so simple, and sometimes (another reason for the meds) think I am not going to survive the journey.

I just keep talking...

7

OMG really?  Why does she have to be off them within 5 weeks?  I'm not surprised you ranted at him - I'd have slapped him too!!  I've done the same with my son - at his very first appointment (early one morning after I'd found him at the side of the road in pieces - I was still in my pj's) ..... because I raced home with him to quickly shower/dress to go to doctors, we were 10 mins late maybe, the receptionist sneered and said we were too late, and she'll see IF we could be seen.  Nope.  I leant over the desk and hissed at her how I'd just found my son and I wasn't going anywhere til we'd been seen!!!  By the time we got to see the doc, it was me in pieces and in tears then :-(  If my son had gone on his own and was treated like that, lord knows what he'd have done in his vulnerable state.

I've also complained at how slow it was at getting him to see a psychologist and the psych team, and it wasn't until my son did something drastic was he seen immediately.  I told them it was disgusting that vulnerable people at risk were kept waiting for months.

That along with other stresses along the way was why I ended up on meds too.

You are not a pushy mother - any mother would lay down in the road and die for their child.  Has your doctor had to witness his own child's struggle with depression?  I bet he'd do the same.  What an a.r.s.e.  Fluoxetine and other SSRI's do not need to be out of the system quickly - what's wrong with him?  It needs to be done slowly to avoid withdrawal effects.  Stick to your guns, YOU and you're daughter are the patients and you have rights.  He's not on the meds.  I would absolutely insist.

Is it because it's the liquid form, or is he talking about Flu in general?

When I came off SSRI's years ago (before I restarted last year) I took months.  Halved my dose and waited for my body to get used to it before I did the same again until I got to the lowest I could cut my tablets too, then took it every other day, then spaced that even further until I stopped.  I still got some withdrawal effects too.

I'm fine thanks Karen - we're enjoying family life once again, having all got through the dark days.  Life is good at the moment :-D

Stick to your guns Karen xxxxxxx

8

you will get there Rich, but it is a slow journey, just accept that, and each small step along the way is good. my daughter used to be so out going, but then got that she couldnt leave the house, there is always hope, and each day she managed to achieve something, even if it was just having a shower. hang in there. xx

9

im chuffed your home life is good at the moment, i hope it stays that way. Her dr is a bloke, who has been ok in his support, but not fab. today is day 4 of the liquid dose, and all is well so far. last night was a turning point for me, daughter was singing and nattering all the way through a tv program just like she used too!!!!! OMG, i was soo happy, i thourght she was back to herself, and then realised last night, for the first time that she actually was being herself again. I didnt realise how much i had missed the constant nattering!!

she has a photo of her "safe" place, the chair with all the snuggle blankets, and her "breathe" poem, so if she gets shakey whilst reducing the dose, they are her first port of call, but so far so good. I do realise that from roughly today the new dose will be active in her system, and the higher dose will be out, so fingers crossed all stays good.

my heart goes out to you for your boy, as a mum to witness this horrid illness, its heartbraking, and like you say, we would lay down our life for our kids. keep smiling today. xx

10

It's lovely isn't it, when you hear your child singing again - my son too!  I hope she continues well on the lower dose and progresses to coming off it completely.

My son's 21st in just over a week ..... happy days :-)

Keep posting your progress :-)

K x

11

Hi Karen

I have been meaning to type somthing on here for months, I used this website back at the begining of the year and it really helped me. I have suffered with this for a few years now and have been off and on like a yo yo in the past. 

I am a 40yr Male for your information.

I wanted to give somebody some feed back on my latest bowt:

Started in decmeber 2014 as I was the worst id ever been. I was that bad that I new I needed to get back on my tablets.

However It didnt work like the 1st couple of times. (1st/2nd time after 4 weeks I usually felt a little better ,so im told).

I started before xmas 2014 and in Jan feb 2015 it hadnt started to work. I was then very low and worried, but carried on with them.

7 - 8 months on life is good again, not because of the tablets but because you regroup and are able to solve your problems which in turns make you feel better.

It was the start of April before I started to feel i would beat it again.

Every one please be aware that the tablets arent the answer to all your problems. 

Sorry to Ramble on but:

To answer your question I have come off them prior to this time very easily, infact I just stopped them. (This isnt recomnded but I found that I could do it). 

This time my wife has said she will kill me if i just stop them. LOL

So my wife has been away for a week and I forgot to get my prescription renewed. I havent taken for 7 days. (Feel ok again but worried that it may just be because the dossage is so high and is still in my system).  dosage is very high 60mg.

I have to be honest and am getting them again to try coming off slowly as I dont want the yearly cycle again.

I must book a doctors appiotment to talk to him about it.

Again nothing is the same for everyone, but everyone please take some positives that they do work but are not the big over night problem solver. 

Feeling depressed is a terrible thing and only sufferes will know what I mean

Good luck on your journeys.

Stay strong and try to smile. (Easier said than done I know).

Please feel free to ask me any questions should you need to.

Goood luck Karen your daughter will be fine. 

Regards 

Spinko.

 

12

Thankyou so much for sharing your story. Life can be cruel times, its by writing about your experiences that help others, and this site was invaluable to me when my daughter was first diagnosed.

Did you get any side effects when you started the pills Spinko? Daughter is one week in on the lower liquid dose now, and no side effects so far, she says she feels good, better than she did on the 20mg tablets.

Im no expert but im guessing after 7 days the tablets will be out of your system mostly, good idea to chat to your GP, see what they recommend.

And yes, keep smiling, it really does help. Xx

13

Paul

Thanks for the update... you have hit on the exact reason I am on this med.

A dear friend of mine told me when I started on this that it will give me a chance to see things clearer and then to deal with the issues without the extra burden of the anxiety. I am stronger. Im not yet strong enough.

It has been 5 months of ever increasing doses now - I am on 80mg (just upped from 2 months of 60) and now just about feel that I am living again....

14

Hi Rich 

I have no doubt that anyone can beat depression. Horrible horrible ilness that only a sufferers will understand. 

It really worried me going on the them and all the rumours that go with taking the stuff. 

I was very concerned that I was on 60mg as I only usually had previously taken 40MG.

Everyone is different of course but on the other hand we are all made up the same way. 

How life changes stragne things im worrying about now: 

I'm now worried about feeling happy. WTF

Was happy on a monday moringing. Mind you didnt last long as I went to work. 

Roll on Fiday 

Regards 

Paul