“Is it bad to take antidepressants for many years?”
I am a 28 year old female. I want to know is it bad to take antidepressants for many years?
6 Answers
This is a decision that has to be made by the individual taking the medication and their prescribing physician. There are many individuals that take antidepressants for years without detrimental effects.
It depends on the reason why you are taking it. Most of the time when you are taking one particular antidepressant for certain reason, you can tell that you lost its effectiveness after taking it for certain period of times.
No it’s not bad, but you should be trialed to have it lowered at some point with your medical professional. But it also depends on the severity of depression and suicidiality, if any. But talk to your medical provider.
Excellent question! Depending on the reason you were taking the antidepressant, there classically is a time to continue the medication felt to physiologically help your nervous system recover and get back into homeostasis. There are certain situations that require a longer duration after that stabilization, while other factors may also affect the best duration of taking the medication. So, the answer really needs to be individualized. Importantly, talk to a psychiatrist about the pros and cons remaining on a medication for a given period of time. This has become and extraordinarily important personalized approach to the duration which best suits an individual’s needs.
Hope that helps,
Lance Steinberg MD, Inc.
Hope that helps,
Lance Steinberg MD, Inc.
Hell no. Is it bad to take insulin or high blood pressure medicine for years if you need it? Depression is just a neurological problem in the brain, that OFTEN benefits from long term antidepressants. Being on too long usually refers to a person who had one depressive episode, perhaps triggered by a major loss, who feels well 5 years later, but still takes an antidepressANT. i most cases, the doctor will slowly lower the dose to see if the depression comes back. More often than not, it does not come back
There is no evidence that shows any long term issues caused by taking antidepressants for an extended period of time.
