Relapses & meds stopping working

[sarah1984]

Can medications stop working? I was wondering what other NMP members think?

I was first prescribed Seroxat at the age of 14 (back in 1999) and I took it until 2006 when I experienced an episode of severe generalized anxiety disorder and had to take a year out from uni. The psychiatrist I was seeing at the time concluded that for some reason Seroxat was no longer working for me and switched me over to Cymbalta in June 06. I made a full recovery from my GAD and I was really well from Nov 06 till July last year. So well in fact that I decided to wean myself off Cymbalta in Jan 10... I did it really slowly over the course of 3 months and I was fine taking no meds from March till July. Then, literally over night, I plummeted back into anxiety/depression on July 2nd and I've been struggling ever since.

My GP put me back on Cymbalta straight away and everyone kept telling me (GP, psychiatrist, crisis team, friends & family) that it would only be a matter of time before it started working again. My dose was raised from 30 to 60 to 90 mg before I made the big decision with my psych in Jan that it wasn't working. I've now switched to Venlafaxine (75 to 150 to 225 mg) and I also take 75mg Seroquel.

Basically, I'm confused as to why I managed to go for 3 months taking nothing and feeling absolutely fine. There was no trigger whatsoever for my relapse and my life literally went from being heaven to hell over night. Also, why did Cymbalta not work for me if it worked before?

I'd be really interested to hear from other members who have had experience of meds stopping working & relapsing after stopping meds.

Thanks very much!

[ElizabethJane]

Hi Sarah I agree that meds can stop working. I was taking dothiepin for sixteen years and latterly I expect it was having limited success in alleviating my depression. I went to see my (then) new psychiatrist who put me on mirtazapine and upped my lithium. A while later I managed to withdraw successfully from dothiepin. I was also on cymbalta (duloxetine) I was very ill whilst taking duloxetine so I was taken off that. It is difficult to get the balance right with psychiatric drugs. I have felt over medicated in the past on high doses of dothiepin (up to 200mg) I think that the idea was that while I wasn't ill the drug was benefitial to me.I have been on other anti dperssants in the past. including seroxat and older ones such as bolvidon and frisium. When I relapsed they just upped the dose or added in something else. If you are suffering from severe recurrent depression then the illness will keep coming back. This has been true for me with or without meds. I have always relapsed without meds. With newer anti depressants such as ssris and snris people are on them for longer as a preventative measure. Thirteen years ago I was put on lithium as my depressive episodes were frequent and severe and my moods erratic. Meds can be reduced when you are feeling well and have had a period of stability. I have had far fewer relapses with this new regime of meds and I am hoping to reduce the mirtazapine in the near future. I know how bad it can get and meds provide that stability so I can get on with my life. EJ

[Geoff2301]

From what I read and experienced, the whole antidepressant thing seems very hit and miss and makes very little sense and appears to defy all logic!! As you say, if it works once, then why does it not work next time? Most depressions will lift on their own given time...... if that happens when you're taking a certain pill you tend to wrongly credit the recovery to that drug..... it's not really suprising then that that drug proves ineffective when you get depression again (as it wasn't responsible for you getting better in the first place!) if you see what I mean.

[ElizabethJane]

From what I read and experienced, the whole antidepressant thing seems very hit and miss and makes very little sense and appears to defy all logic!! As you say, if it works once, then why does it not work next time? Most depressions will lift on their own given time...... if that happens when you're taking a certain pill you tend to wrongly credit the recovery to that drug..... it's not really suprising then that that drug proves ineffective when you get depression again (as it wasn't responsible for you getting better in the first place!) if you see what I mean.
The most effective combination for me to enable me to stay well has been a mood stabilser and an anti depressant. I believe that drugs can help and if one doesn't appear to work then another might. They might help someone to be brought back from the brink of a suicidal depression. I write this knowing that a friend has lost another dear friend to depression as he took his own life. So very sad and so preventable. EJ.

[PUGLETMUM]

:)ive been taking 20mg of cit for the last four months and im starting to wonder whether its not working now or if im just having a difficult time - surely anti'ds dont stop you from experiencing bad times and stress? and ultimately the med wont change those outside things but can maybe help you to not feel bad about yourself while you are going through them - so like anyone depressed or not, on meds or not you will have good times and bad times - however i have reason to feel rubbish - not everything is good for me - so i dont know how it must feel to get depressed when things have been going well - im always depressed about the same things - both sisters arent close to me although i wish they were, mum dead, dad absent, quite difficult husband, rubbish job, isolated due to anxiety and depression but now at college 2 days a week, regret at past behaviour and how ive lost friends and now spend too much time alone, fear that ill never get myself into a better postion, and also sadness that i only have one child when id have loved more but feel that under these circumstances i cant go ahead and try again -i dont think i would be depressed if my life was good - i think im depressed becasue my life has been quite difficult and a struggle with not enough support and help from others - does anyone else feel like this?:)

[suzy-sue]

Most depressions will lift on their own given time...... if that happens when you're taking a certain pill you tend to wrongly credit the recovery to that drug..... it's not really suprising then that that drug proves ineffective when you get depression again (as it wasn't responsible for you getting better in the first place!) if you see what I mean.


Im sorry but I have to strongly disagree with you Geoff .You could say this for Anxiety but not for Depression .I suffered for years with Mild depression and tried everything to heal myself ,Im not one to sit idle and let something win without giving it all ive got .Nothing worked and the Depression got worse .Ive lost people in my life because of it .We are talking of a mental illness here and if moderate to severe ,needs Drugs alongside therapys .I find your remarks quite unbelievable ,and they could prevent someone from getting well if they were to believe this .Depression isnt a low mood ,it doesnt go away .Lack of certain chemicals in the brain are responsible a lot of the time .THE DRUGS WORK and keep many people well ,and from commiting suicide .. If they dont work again there are always others you can take .Sometimes other drugs you have taken in your life you become allergic too .I did with a type of antibiotic .The bodys natural chemical changes causes this .We are constantly changing through out our lives .Maybe this is also a contributing factor with antidepressants ..Anyhow whether it is or not I know Id never tell someone to not worry about being depressed it will go away on its own ,Thats for sure .Maybe if they were suffering because of a bereavement or major life change ,Councelling would help and could be tried first .But Id never discourage someone from taking drugs for it if it was having a major impact on their life .It just might save it . Sue

[sarah1984]

Geoff - I have to say I have my doubts too sometimes about anti-depressants, though it could well be my depression talking. I do wonder whether sometimes the brain goes through cycles of functioning properly and then going awol, then righting itself over time. And I believe you are correct in thinking that depression will go away over time by itself. My mum has a book published by Mind that explains that depression caused by chemical imbalances of the brain (as opposed to reactive depression, triggered by a response to external events eg bereavement, divorce, redundancy etc) will cure itself within 18 months even without medical intervention. So if I hang on in there till Jan 2012 I should get better of my own accord.... This was obviously what happened to people in the old days prior to the discovery of anti-depressants. However, I do believe anti-depressants can restore the balance of chemicals more quickly than just leaving things to nature and they can reduce the likelihood of relapse. I just wish I could find an anti-depressant that I could believe in!

[Geoff2301]

Sarah... yes, I too am searching for that magic anti-depressant which I can believe in (and works!!) Have been on many over the years but have yet to find a permanent solution to recurrring bouts of very bad depression.... it just seems to clear up with no obvious reason at the time...... and returns again when it feels like it!
Read a fascinating book the other month...... "The Emperors new drugs" by prof. Irving Kirsch..... in which he explores all the evidence for antidepressant use and alternative treatments. In a nutshell, they appear to show very little, if any, advantage over a placebo, dummy pill and he does state quite convincing facts and evidence which appear to backup his arguments...... you'd have to read the book yourself to make up your own mind and I'm certainly not going to say AD's are a waste of time as I'd be shot at dawn!..... Interestingly, talking/CBT therapy and even just plain exercise, would appear to be the most effective treatment according to prof Kirsch and his research.

[deepreason]

AD's are well known for sometimes just stopping working. If you do a google search for "prozac poop out", feel free to replace Prozac wit the AD of your choice, you'll see it's a pretty common phenomenon.

I've had experience myself of returning to an AD, that had previously worked for me, only to find it now did nothing at all to help. The only advice I can offer is to keep on working down "the menu" until you find one that does work at the current time.