Tolerance – When Psychiatric Drugs Stop Working

Thank you <3
I never really felt any improvement with medication, but I do feel worse after I stop?
I wasn't well while taking them, but I am worse without them, but that is not enough for me to convince me to keep taking them. I need to feel OK, not good, but at least OK.

Hi Natasha:) I've only experienced one "poop out" of seroquel, I'd been on it for a year. I'm now on symbyax and it is working well, hopefully it doesn't stop. My husband has depression and has had several instances of meds that stopped working. It took awhile but adjusments seem to be helping, not completely,but he is getting somewhat better.

It took me a few tries on google to find this, I suddenly after 2 years on lamictal started slowly then rapidly cycling. I had no idea what was going on... I am scared... It started with the insomnia and then over sleeping, then with huge bouts of agression... and finally and most concerning self mutilation. I am scared to tell my docter because I dont want to be hospitalized...

Hi Chelsea,
Please, please call your doctor immediately. I don't know what your doctor will do, of course, but I can tell you that mine wouldn't hospitalize me in that situation - but it's _important_ you deal with it now before you get to the point when you _really_ need the hospital.
Ignoring the problem will just let it get worse and not make it better.
- Natasha Tracy

I realize I am a little late to the party on this thread, but wanted to throw in my two cents. I have a science background, all be it an earth science one, and have spent some time learning amateur psychiatry/psychopharmacology. I just finished a 19 month run with Parnate, an antidepressant in the MAOI class. Worked wonderfully for the first 12 to 15 months, then started the "poop-out" phase. Dose increase brought more side effects with no real relief from the returning symptoms. Doc and I tapered off and are now looking at other options.
The point here is that all these things are, as they state, "treatments". They are not cures. Through my amature studies I have drawn a very strong but humble opinion: there will not be a 'cure' for psychotropic issues (and other illnesses for that matter) until we find a way to safely and effectively understand and then rewire the individuals genetic makeup. It is in fact our genes that tell the CNS how much serotonin, dopamine, etc. to produce. Introducing an outside agent to modify it will last until the genetic programming readjusts the amounts to get everything back in back in balance.
Unfortunately I don't think the above hypothesis will be proven in my lifetime (I am 41 now, 42 on March 28th), but I can see no other way to permanently modify the neurochemicals that take away the depression-anxiety-OCD, etc. I am personally just happy we have some things that help us for a while before having to look elsewhere.
Paul

I was on Lamictal for 4 years. It would work great, then an episode would hit so we would increase it. Then it worked great again for a while. Finally after being on it for 4 years or so and finally maxed out, it just all of a sudden quit working. Pdoc didn't think that was possible and wouldn't change my meds all the while I continued to get worse and finally ended up overdosing and back in the hospital. Hospital pdoc let me try lithium and so far it is working great. i just wonder how long I have till it quicks working for me.

It has taken me years to find this I have BPD and am taking antidepressants to combat some of my particularly volatile symptoms, the problem I have is it seems my body builds a permanent tolerance for them and most recently my welbutrin/buspirone combo has stopped I've been on "every thing" and I can't function without them my Dr treats me like I'm an idiot/looking for drugs and getting a second opinon isn't really an option. Do you know of any scientific articles about anything related to this that I could perhaps bring to him?

I have experienced the phenomena in the past. My current AD med is Cymbalta. It has served me well for several years but it, also, has a high instance of sexual side effects that viagra and cialis were unable to compensate for. I have attempted to try others but I have found out I have severe withdrawal symptoms. My Dr. has tried weaning me off over time but even that didn't work. I guess as long as I'm not wishing to die I should count that as a win.

There is potentially misinformation in this article because stopping your medications can cause a tolerance to grow that can hinder their effect when started again.

I was taking Paxil for panic disorder and agoraphobia for 15 wonderful years. Finally, it stopped working. I've yet to find anything that works as well. I wonder how long you have to be off before you can go back on it again and it will work.

I have taken lithium from 18 years old I have always been well I'm 56 years now had no support from family but managed to have a beautiful daughter a wonderful husband I only worked part time retired at 54 years seroquel lamactoltablet are great too I have had 13 lots of EAT that helped me so much my reasons for bipolar my father has it and my sister abused me at the age of between 5 years to 7 years the pain of keeping that a secret was an enormous feeling of losing my childhood she went on to having anorexia 5 stone and my dad was drinking heavy too it was so difficult to cope but my advice is NEVER drink and take tablets good luck friends xx

I am schizoaffective, lamictal keeps my mood in check for the most part but I'm struggling to find a good antipsychotic. Haldol worked wonders for years then I started to get the tardive dyskinesia symptoms so I had to stop it. Over the course of 20 years I've been on basically all the atypicals, I'm trying Fanapt right now and I hate it. I want to try and go back on one or another med that had stopped working in the past. I'm very frustrated, the haldol is out of my system but the Fanapt hasn't kicked in yet and I'm experiencing psychotic episodes. Between this and some medical issues, I'm just glad I have things to live for or else I'd just end it.

Nobody can answer the question of if the drug poops out and you go off of it how long do you have to wait before you can go back on it?

Built tolerance to neurontin after 14 yrs. After stopping how long should I stay off to loose some of the tolerance?

i started feeling depressed in 2002. 2 years after my one and only and much needed baby girl came after having 5 wonderful boys. I thought I should have been the happiest mom in the world. I began seeing a script doctor but each and every single anti-depressant just made me feel more depressed. I don't remember how long this went on, "trying new things" but it seemed forever. The last time I went to see him, he told me that we were out of options. There was nothing left. As I got up to leave, he said that he would give me a call if something new came on the market. That raised no hope concidering everything else made me feel worse. I cried all the way home but didn't give up there. When I got home, I pulled out my laptop and started reading every page about depression and medication. I came across "Lamotrogine" and when I read what it was for and side affects, I felt like I was reading my own Biography. I answered every question that placed me as a "Bipola, OCD and ADHD patient" When I brought this medication to my doctors attention, he right away gave me a prescription. I don't remember how long it took but it felt like an angel reached down into my dark cold lonely hole and pulled me out. I couldn't believe that I started enjoying life all over again. In 2013, I was rushed up to the hospital for severe headache and vomiting. They diagnosed me with a very ugly " doc's words", ruptured brain aneurysm. I had a blood clot in my brain, which he had to abandon surgery to get the clot that caused a very small unnoticeable stroke. "He completedthe aneurysm the next year." 5 month's later, I had to uthenize my favorite maincoon cat, "Ralph". The mouring lasted unusually long. Ever since that, I stopped feeling relief from my medication and fell right back into that dark cold lonely hole. 5 years later, "I'M STILL HERE!!!" Come to realize that Bipolar patients shouldn't take anti-depressants. Lamotragine is a mood stabilizer. I seriously don't know how much longer I have. I'm not getting better and a new symptom to my depression and anxiety is a pounding heart. Starts up in the morning and lasts all day. I don't know what to do with myself anymore. I go from room to room, up and down the stairs, sit for awhile then just cry the rest of the time, swearing at God for not taking me when I was "supposed to die from that aneurysm. I cry all day and feel like it's never gonna change. Lately, I've been thinking about just doing it. I can
t live like this anymore. I hope every night I ho to bed, I don't wake up. I think about ending it so often now, it scares me. I even think about when would be a good time to do it and keep telling myself, I need to be here for my daughter's high school graduation. I use to think that people who killed themselves were selfish, but lately, my thought's are who are really the selfish ones here. Your loved ones should never want you to be in such pain 24-7, but they still call you selfish if you were to do it. I call it "ending your suffering" I love my family and I don't want to die. I want this back under control so I can enjoy the rest of my mom and dad's lives and embrace life with my children and husband. Is there anyone out there that can help"? maybe has heard of successful meds? I really don't know how much longer I can live with this. Every morning my thoughts tend to be pulling me towards the negative.

Seroquel stopped helping with sleep after eight years...I take 450 mg. It was great when it worked but now it’s really hard. Almost seems like it keeps me awake now. I would caution people who take it...not trying to scare anyone.

I was on Prozac about 20 years ago. It Worked great for eight years then I became immune to it. Nothing is quite worked his good sense. Do you think if I tried the Prozac now 20 years later it would work again?

It seems with certain types of depression medication won't work because it's situational and sadness and medication can only cover up feelings not chemistry issues for so long. I think one might need to consider counseling because no amount of medication can erase traumatic life events or feelings about current life events that one is not happy with. I
Vs chemical depression that one would think that would need a prescription. But is there a way to change the brain chemistry if the medication is not working without medication. ..??
What is the root of the depression??
How, when and why did the depression start?
Is it thinking certain thoughts that fuel that depression?
I'm sure there is not a one size fits all solution but I def think medication is overused these days.
It seems like everyone is medicated these days and that's not the way it always was. It seems there are more side effects on a medication and problems then then initial first problem...that started one thinking about seeking medication.
There are def people who need medications and can't live without it and need medication to stay stable. (bi-polar,schizophrenia..others)
But if one is trying to coverbad feelings with a medication when there is a source that needs to be looked at and possibly dealt with the depression could be the side effect of not dealing with what is actually depressing you....

I get this... but it happens really quickly. Like, within a month or two of starting the medication. I get really bad panic attacks frequently, and have not found a mood stabilizer/anxiety med/anti-depressant that works, or works for very long.
I'm not suicidal or anything, but my brain is in a constant cycle of feeling nothing to feeling too much, which is so exhausting. I just want something that works.