Feelings of depression are back...

Hi Nicole

No, the meds don’t stop working.  You may have been through a stressful period maybe that brought some familiar feelings to the surface?  However it may be the 40mg dose is too much for you as this can give you constant side effects - I’ve seen this happen to a few people on here.  40mg is the maximum dose here in the UK and it doesn’t suit everyone.

You may be overthinking it, but equally, as said it may be dose.

Anxiety - we actually do this to ourselves in effect and get stuck in a cycle of anxiety / fear / anxiety.  Anxiety starts (usually from stress - its the body’s natural response) and because anxiety is so frigthening we recoil from it and dread another panic attack or simply dread anxiety itself.  Anxiety produces physical side effects and makes us overthink - this in turn makes us worry about the side effects, we try and run away from our thoughts, fear them which in turn creates more anxiety.  All this keeps us in a constant cycle.

We can’t see this when we’re in the grip of it and continually try and fight our way out, constantly search for an answer - and above all, live continually fearing it all.

Sorry, I went off on a tangent thee ..... but understanding anxiety plays a huge part in recovery and in keeping you well too.

So you may want to relook at your dose because it may well be this giving you constant symptoms.

K x

Hello, i think anti depressants do stop working, mine certainly felt like it, so i switched. First new one didnt work, but my second one has. Did you initially improve after your dose increase? You mention incressed feelings of depression, what about your anxiety levels, what are those like? The symptoms you suggest, seem to me, to suggest they have stopped working, as your depression has got worse. For an accurate assessment, try to see a pyschiatrist, they will give you a much more accurate assessment, than a doctor. I paid to see one, and it was the best thing ive ever paid for. Xanax would lower your anxiety, but its unlikely to improve your mood.

What makes me think they stop working, when my long term one did, and i started to recover i looked back at how i felt, and it seemed like it had gradually stopped working over the last few years.

Actually, i was incorrect in saying your anti depressant may have stopped working. It depends on the degree of depression you have, and what your current symptoms are. It may be a bad period you are going through, and you will come through it fine on cit. A doctor will be able to make a guess at what you need to do, a pysc will give you a much more accurate assessment.

Thank you everyone for the replies. I took a Klonopin last night to help me sleep. I am feeling alright so far this morning. Going to the psychiatrist in a few hours. Will update later. 

Hi Nicole, these meds cannot solve all our problems, I see them as supporting us and we need to give them a helping hand.  I hope you feel much better soon.

Yes, antidepressants can quit working. The medical term for it is tachyphylaxis, but it's also known by it's layperson term, "Prozac poop out" (even when it's not Prozac;-). I did a lot of reading about it when Cit quit working for me, and from what I read it happens eventually to about 30% of people who take an antidepressant. Some people can go for decades before their meds poop out; others, just a few years.

?For me, Citalopram quit working after 5 years. I was on 40 mg, and doing great until it pooped out, not so much as even a blip. It was sort of gradual: I first noticed my face twitching at times when I was nervous, which I hadn't done since I started the Cit. I then started to get a few short moments of a racing heart in certain situations. After that, it just sort of snowballed until I was having full fledged anxiety again.

Since I was on the maximum dose, I had to switch medications. I was switched to escitalopram, and, after a very slow and gradual increase, finally got to 10 mg today.

?Xanax would probably help you, but I think most doctors would be very reluctant to prescribe it to you as long term solution. Due to the potential of abuse, the fact that it can be very hard to withdraw from, and you can build a tolerance up to it, doctors seem to be more cautious about prescribing benzos than they used to be.

?Good luck :-). It's really scary when a med that worked well for you previously quits working.