Posted by bleauberry on March 27, 2009, at 15:04:06
In reply to I've been taking SSRI everyday since 1996...., posted by pattisun on March 26, 2009, at 17:41:01
My own take on your question is that as long as things are stable and fine on your longterm meds, then everything is fine. Your body, genes, hormones, immune system, nervous system, and the drug itself, have all become one and are working as one. The drug has become an integral part of the whole machinery, not just some added visitor.
I think when people really seriously notice that something is drastically wrong with longterm med use is when they stop the med. It becomes obvious at that time that an integral piece of the machinery has been removed, and everything else breaks down. The trauma is too much and overwhelms the body's ability to regroup.
There are theories that meds can shrink and deform dendrites, decrease or increase numbers of receptors, slow down or stop the body's own production of neurotransmitters from proteins, and such. No proof. Decent theories maybe.
A popular critic of antidepressants claims that even when you don't need them any more emotionally, you do still need them for the rest of your life because your body has the lost the ability to know how to function without them.
Just my unscientific take on it is that if things are stable, everything is fine. Logic says if you weren't stable, then obviously everything under the surface isn't fine. That cannot be blamed on longterm med use solely, because there are so many other variables and factors involved.
poster:bleauberry
thread:887127
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090322/msgs/887291.html