19 Jul Why I Needed A Doctor For My Depression Part Three

Part 3: I’m not doing as well anymore. Is it because I came off of my medication?

I have been off of my antidepressant for about two months now, and I am feeling a bit off, although I am not sure if it has anything to do with my antidepressant. I am having problems sleeping at night; I wake up a couple of times during the night to go to the bathroom and it often takes me 30 minutes to an hour to fall back asleep. I am also told that I am much more irritable — I can be impatient with my friends.. I feel different and I am not sure why; the past few months that I have been off my meds have been fine! I have not had any other problems. I have a few pills left in my cabinet, but I am not sure if I want to start taking them again because this just doesn’t feel like depression. Is something else wrong with me?

Medical Perspective:

When people start feeling better as a result of taking their antidepressants, many decide to either lower the dosage or stop taking them altogether. When doing so, it is extremely important to keep an eye out for these three early warning signs that your depression may be returning:

1. Insomnia
2. Fatigue
3. Irritability

When these symptoms are caught early, the onset of depression can usually be quickly stopped by restarting your previous antidepressants at their previous levels. However, many people do not fully understand their symptoms, so they do not do anything about them, thus allowing their depression to reappear and possibly worsen. When people do not sleep at night, they are irritable and tired the next day, and it is only natural to overlook those symptoms and blame them on their poor night of sleep. However, the root problem is depression, which causes insomnia which in turn makes people feel tired and irritable. A low dose of the antidepressant is now not enough to address the problem at hand. Get to a physician promptly and have an evaluation. Only a trained clinician can put it all in perspective and get you back on track to health…again!