A balancing act. (a Google image)
Following on from my last post "Are we there yet? Anti Depressants" I'd like to briefly mention an observation of mine when my wife was taking anti-depressants.
It was great to see the transition of my wife from a sad non functioning mother to one that could smile and enjoy herself again. Things were looking up and I began to feel a little optimistic about the near future.
After 4 or 5mths on medication we took a short holiday for a week before I was to return to work ( I had been off on pay using up hard saved entitlements).
On our return drive ( a good days drive) I noticed my wife seemed to be saying things that she had said earlier before the medication began to help.
It was a shot in the dark but I asked her had she stopped taking her medication fully expecting her to say "don't be silly".
To my surprise she said yes, she had stopped taking them because she felt back to her old self. She wanted to know why I asked. I told her. I also asked her to keep them going because I noticed the difference in her. I guess this became obvious (and upsetting) to her because I had actually guessed or wondered.
This didn't make her happy but she said she would and check with her doctor before.
Further down the track she did see her doctor, he advised against stopping too early and to possibly cut down on doses, but certainly not stopping outright. Medically not a good thing to do to the body, emotionally not good either.
It seems that my wife isn't the only one to have done this either. As it turned out, two friends of ours had both been suffering from depression but kept it to themselves. One told us she had started on anti-depressants and felt better, then decided things were fine and stopped. It was during this period I had talked to her and noticed how unwell she sounded. She went back on her medication and found herself balancing out again.
Apparently that's what the meds do. They help correct a chemical imbalance in the brain which is associated with depression. The mind and body has to get it together again and the meds help with the process.
I really do understand that taking medications is something hard to accept and it may be for a lot longer that anticipated. But if these little tablets help make life happier again, stopping them, especially way to soon, just isn't worth it.
Has anyone else experienced the same reluctance and results from stopping anti-depressants?
It was great to see the transition of my wife from a sad non functioning mother to one that could smile and enjoy herself again. Things were looking up and I began to feel a little optimistic about the near future.
After 4 or 5mths on medication we took a short holiday for a week before I was to return to work ( I had been off on pay using up hard saved entitlements).
On our return drive ( a good days drive) I noticed my wife seemed to be saying things that she had said earlier before the medication began to help.
It was a shot in the dark but I asked her had she stopped taking her medication fully expecting her to say "don't be silly".
To my surprise she said yes, she had stopped taking them because she felt back to her old self. She wanted to know why I asked. I told her. I also asked her to keep them going because I noticed the difference in her. I guess this became obvious (and upsetting) to her because I had actually guessed or wondered.
This didn't make her happy but she said she would and check with her doctor before.
Further down the track she did see her doctor, he advised against stopping too early and to possibly cut down on doses, but certainly not stopping outright. Medically not a good thing to do to the body, emotionally not good either.
It seems that my wife isn't the only one to have done this either. As it turned out, two friends of ours had both been suffering from depression but kept it to themselves. One told us she had started on anti-depressants and felt better, then decided things were fine and stopped. It was during this period I had talked to her and noticed how unwell she sounded. She went back on her medication and found herself balancing out again.
Apparently that's what the meds do. They help correct a chemical imbalance in the brain which is associated with depression. The mind and body has to get it together again and the meds help with the process.
I really do understand that taking medications is something hard to accept and it may be for a lot longer that anticipated. But if these little tablets help make life happier again, stopping them, especially way to soon, just isn't worth it.
Has anyone else experienced the same reluctance and results from stopping anti-depressants?