Wrinkles

What happens if you take antidepressants for years?

Those who had used antidepressants for >3 years reported more severe side effects, including “weight gain”, “addiction”, “feeling not like myself ”, “withdrawal symptoms”, and “suicidality”, than those who had been on antidepressants for ≤2 years.28-Jul-2016

Is it bad to be on antidepressants for a long time?

Some recent studies have suggested serious potential risks. People who used antidepressants had a 14% higher risk of heart attacks and strokes and a 33% greater risk of death, according to findings in a meta-analysis of 17 studies that was published in 2017 in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

How many years can you take antidepressants?

Clinicians generally recommend staying on the medication for six to nine months before considering going off it. If you've had three or more recurrences of depression, make that at least two years.

Do antidepressants take years off your life?

The analysis found that in the general population, those taking antidepressants had a 33 percent higher risk of dying prematurely than people who were not taking the drugs.

Do antidepressants change your brain forever?

Some believe it is unlikely that antidepressants cause any permanent changes to brain chemistry in the long-term. Evidence seems to indicate that these medications cause brain changes which only persist whilst the medication is being taken, or in the weeks following withdrawal.

Can you stay on SSRI forever?

And luckily, as long as the benefits of the medication outweigh the potential side effects, there's no strong evidence that long-term use of SSRIs poses any major problems. “These medications have been around for decades,” says Dr. Jin Hee Yoon-Hudman, a psychiatrist and medical advisor at Minded.

Do antidepressants ruin your brain?

We know that antipsychotics shrink the brain in a dose-dependent manner (4) and benzodiazepines, antidepressants and ADHD drugs also seem to cause permanent brain damage (5).

Can you stay on sertraline forever?

Most doctors recommend that you take antidepressants for 6 months to a year after you no longer feel depressed. Stopping before that time can make depression come back. Is it safe to take it for a long time? For most people, sertraline is safe to take for a long time.