Your meds - don't stop taking them

To medicate or not to medicate, that is the question. If you've ever been diagnosed, or even if you've only considered seeking medical help for your symptoms, odds are you've dealt with this question. Medication offers the promise of many benefits - in combination with therapy, it's been shown to be the most effective treatment available for mood and anxiety disorders (OCD included). But of course, medication often carries side effects. Some are just a pain in the ass. When I first started taking meds, I was on Prozac. Although my depression and obsessions improved somewhat, I couldn't sleep. I eventually had to switch to Zoloft as a result.

Others, however, are more problematic because they bear a striking resemblance to the conditions you're taking them for. Take a look at the side effects for most SSRIs, and you'll see nervousness and anxiety on the list. That your meds might make your anxiety worse is bad enough. Even worse, though, is the paradox this can create. Let's say you start taking meds, and gradually your condition improves. But maybe not everything goes away. Maybe the depression gets a lot better, but you find that anxiety and obsessions are still lingering. Eventually, you might start to think that your depression is gone, and you might actually start blaming your meds for the anxiety (it's listed on the bottle, after all).

You'll find a bevy of articles and forums posts urging you not to do this. After all, if you're feeling better after taking meds, why stop? If you're like me,though, you'll do it anyway. If you're like me, you'll also regret it. I was supposed to go to the psychiatrist about a month and a half ago. At the time, I was doing fairly well, both in terms of depression and obsessions. So I forgot about the appointment. When I checked my voicemail about 3 weeks later and found out I had missed the appointment, I wrote it off. I was doing well, after all, so why go back to a doctor who would make me talk about my problems? I decided to leave well enough alone and just assume that the storm had passed. Mistake.

I ran out of Zoloft about 3 weeks ago. And about 1 week ago, things stated to go downhill. My obsessions returned, I started feeling depressed, etc. I've set up an appointment to go back to the psychiatrist,but I can't get in until April. In the meantime I'm hoping my Dr. will write me a hold-over prescription until she can see me.

The moral of the story - don't stop your meds abruptly. Depression, anxiety, and OCD are chronic conditions. Some people need to take medications for years, others might need them their whole life. This is nothing to fret about. After all, many diseases require lifelong treatment (diabetes, for example). Never give up on your treatment because your feeling better - those pills just might be the reason you're doing as well as you are. I know I'll sound like a commercial when I say this, but seriously, only your Dr. is going to know when and if you should be changing medications and doses. If you really disagree strongly with their opinion, than get a second one. But trust me, don't let the second one come from you.

Anyone else stopped their meds and regretted it? Or the opposite - any stories of successful withdrawal?