How long do you give an anti-depressant?

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by Listener2307

About 8 years, for me. 1997 - 2005.
I used Effexor and when I decided to get off, I backed off very slowly. It probably took me 2 months or longer.
I had several depressive episodes in my life until '97, but none since I used medication and gave myself time to find a new 'me'. I am 73 years old.

I was on Luvox. I took about the same amount of time to wean myself off.

[Eeko156]

I talked to my doc and we are going off the Zoloft (again) and going with Prozac. I really like the calmness that Zoloft gives me, but the brain fog is too much. I can't do my job. I was on Prozac a long time ago and it made me feel quite sharp, but did not do much for anxiety. Some days my social anxiety is crippling. I get very nervous dealing with people. I don't even like shopping (except for the grocery store because no one bothers me there). Sometimes I get nervous even with family.

[townshend]

Originally Posted by Eeko156

I talked to my doc and we are going off the Zoloft (again) and going with Prozac. I really like the calmness that Zoloft gives me, but the brain fog is too much. I can't do my job. I was on Prozac a long time ago and it made me feel quite sharp, but did not do much for anxiety. Some days my social anxiety is crippling. I get very nervous dealing with people. I don't even like shopping (except for the grocery store because no one bothers me there). Sometimes I get nervous even with family.

Though most SSRIs (= selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; Zoloft is a case in point) have FDA approval to treat both depression and anxiety, my experience (as a provider) is that, generally speaking, they work better for depression than anxiety.

Another way to conceptualize it: it may be that depression is "easier to treat" than anxiety. Only "easier" in a occasional relative sense.

A patient will normally be fine with mild anxiety on an SSRI. But if the anxiety is in the moderate to severe range, sometimes the SSRI struggles to treat that intensity of anxiety.

With severe social anxiety (and yes, folks, it is real and can be crippling), it may be that it would be a big help to --at least periodically -- have a benzodiazepine, a different class of psychotropic medications that treat anxiety by working on GABA (= gamma-aminobutyric acid). I am referring to Xanax (alprazolam) and Klonopin (clonazepam).

Sometimes primary care doctors don't mind prescribing SSRIs for mild to moderate psychiatric illness, but they don't want to prescribe benzodiazepines, because of the potential for abuse (all benzos . . . are controlled substances; specifically C IV). And some psychiatrists are hesitant to prescribe them as well.

Regardless, your social anxiety is severe (note: it is social anxiety with agoraphobia), I definitely recommend seeing a psychiatrist for treatment. He will understand because he has seen this before. Best wishes.