Relapse after 14 years!!! I don't understand

Treatment and medication
1

i was diagnosed with clinical depression right after my son was born 14 years ago.  i guess the stress triggered it.  It runs in my family.  I was put on 200 mg of Zoloft..It took a couple months to start working, but i've been great ever since!  14 years!!!

A couple years ago i went to 150 mg because i was always drowsy.  Still, everything was good.

Then i decided to quit smoking cigarettes.  I tapered down 2 less everyday.  I was vaping once in a while to get some nicotine.  The 10th day off of cigarettes i had a massive depression relapse.  Worse than 14 years ago.  Suicidal thoughts, non-stop crying, etc.  You know the hell.

My doctor increased my dose back to 200mg.  Its been 9 weeks.  I am feeling better, but not where i want to be.  Last week i experience anxiety.  Had to leave work.  This is something new for me.  I don't recall getting anxiety....just depression.  Also, the day i relapsed i got terrible ringing in my ear and it hasn't gone away.

Another dr. started me on some klonopin a month ago.  I don't like it and i'm trying to taper off.

Why was i soooo good for 14 years, try to quit smoking, and get a relapse that is taking even longer to go away.  i don't understand!

Can anyone relate?   Encouraging words?  Anything?

Thank You!

2

Hi my name is John.

First you have come to the right place for sound advice and help.

Don't beat yourself up trying to work out what happen. Think positive at least you back on right track.

Well done for stoping the cigs and the anxiety is probably from your body getting used to not having all the chemicals that are in cigs.

I stopped for 2 years and then before Christmas found myself smoking heavily again.

I switched to the e-cig which my body did not agree with to start but it's been 4 week now and I started to feel normal again

It is normal for your body to get used to certain anti ds.

I have switched to fluoxetine and am beginning to feel the benefits after only 10 days

Hope this helps

John

3

thanks John.   i forgot to mention that i started smoking again the second i had the relapse.  its the only variable that changed.

4

Hi,

I tried to quit smoking last year but with similar side effects, I was so miserable I ended up feeling more depressed and even more lethargic than I did before I quit.  A friend recommended Allen Carr easy way, it's a fab book and got me finally off the cigs without any symptoms.  I feel I can now taper off Sertraline 100mg but it is only recommended that you taper by 10% a month to reduce the side effects.  

I do hope you feel better soon, it feels like a lonely place when you're depressed or anxious but there is always someone out there going through or been through something similar who can help. 

Crissy 

5

Hi madhattr88. 

I'm sorry you are going through this.  What nobody explains to those of us taking antidepressants for years is that we develop a tolerance to them, and though we may be going along fine while this is happening, a big stressor or change, like quitting smoking (plus nicotine affects acetylcholine and its receptors) can trigger tolerance withdrawal to manifest itself with depression and anxiety being symptoms, not relapse.  How is your sleep?  Often insomnia will begin under these conditions as well.

Doctors usually respond with an increase in dosage (to overcome tolerance) but this may not help or won't help for long before tolerance sets in again.  The other response is that doctors will switch us to another AD, but then you will REALLY have withdrawal from the first drug for which the new one may not cover completely.

What really is best is to come off the med.  Typical of many of us long term users, you kept taking the drug past when it had helped you.  These meds were never proven safe beyond 6-8 weeks before going to market, and now the writing is on the wall:  long term use causes treatment resistant depression, studies have shown.

You are wise to taper off the klonopin, as benzos are a whole other ball of wax as far as dependency is concerned; just two weeks of daily use can cause it.  You should not taper two drugs at once.  How are you coming off?  Were you using it daily and if so how long?

I will caution you that you are at risk of being labelled biopolar at this point, a very common sequellae to mis-diagnosed tolerance WD.  Bi-polar has become epidemic as the number of long term AD users rises; it is caused by the drugs and is not a real condition to be medicated with additional meds.

I also have a family history of depression, with many relatives medicated.  However there has never been a disease process identified for depression, no imbalance that the drugs treat.  In my family's case it is more likely poor coping passed from generation to generation.  Cognitive behavior therapy and meditation/mindfulness have been proven to be more helpful than medication, without the side effects and risks.  We can learn how to cope with stress in a healthier way.  

So, the good news is that tapering off of Zoloft slowly will lead you to feeling better, not worse.  You didn't need meds until childbirth, right? That was chemical upset, not YOU.  The meds are likely your probelm now, not YOU.

I'm going to send you a link that will hopefully clarify things for you even more.