Do Anti-Depressants stop working in time

[yorkshireguy]

I was wondering does anyone find that anti-depressants stop working in time?

I've been taking for Cipralex for 4 years now and i have been taking 10mg for the majority of the time but recently it got dropped to 5mg and i'm feeling terrible lately but i don't think it's all down to anxiety but i was just wondering if there was any chance that they could have stopped working?

[Tom_M]

According to scientists, they do keep on working. I'm not sure about the SSRI's, but the older ones that I've been on in the past, have always worked for me, even though I was on and off them over six times. The longest I was on them at any one time was ten years.

[missy_c]

I don't know if they do or not, but from my own personal experience, I have found that I have relapsed whilst on antidepressants. I was taking citalopram for a few years, got better and came off them. The panic returned, and I started to feel low again, so the doctor put me back on the citalopram, but the panic attacks didn't stop and I didn't really feel that they were helping me in the way they did before, but I carried on takingthem, just in case I got any worse! After a bit of a traumatic split from my ex partner, I found a real low, and my meds were upped to the maximum dosage (actually probably beyond as I was on 80mg/day), but no change in my mood. I ended up being admitted to hospital with the depression, and they changed me to mirtazipine, which I truly believed saved my life. Everything was fine for months but a while ago my panic attacks have started to return, so the psy has added Effexor to the mirtazapine to see if that will help.

I worry the medications may have stopped working...BUT it could have been situational circumstances that got me to that low (like the split with my ex etc). Its worth doing a bit of "googling" on the subject, as it seems very much like the jury is out on whether they stop working or not. We'd all like to hope that the answer is "no...they work forever!!" x

[Phill2]

G'day Mate,
I've been on 10mg for about 3 yrs now and would love to get off due to what they do to your sex drive.
Did you go to 5mg in one go or decrease slowly?
Phill

[Catwoman]

I dont know what doctors say but as for my own experience of being on a number of different pills I definately believe they do 'wear off' after a while.

I can start a pill and be fine and dandy for like 2 years then then after a while I start feeling bad again. I believe they do. Maybe my body gets used to them. Body's can get used to other medications, so why not anti depressants?

[Franz]

I was wondering does anyone find that anti-depressants stop working in time?

I've been taking for Cipralex for 4 years now and i have been taking 10mg for the majority of the time but recently it got dropped to 5mg and i'm feeling terrible lately but i don't think it's all down to anxiety but i was just wondering if there was any chance that they could have stopped working?

I was on 100mg clomipramine for a while, which sorted out my OCD good and proper. But I went back to that dose a few months ago, when my OCD got worse again, and there was no improvement. I also noticed that some of the old side-effects were less apparent - I didn't get the drowsiness, the dry mouth or the blissful feeling of physical calm.