Addiction or Need - where is the line?

[Simon123]

Hope you are all feeling good in yourselves today :-)

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience of where the use of meds becomes an addiction?  Is there a point where you want the meds but no longer need them? 

I am on and off meds (normally on during winter) every year but sometimes get them at other times of the year for stress/anxiety based relapses.  At the moment, I have just shaken the discontinuation syndrome from Citalopram after not doing any for a month.  I can feel the dark clouds circling again (no motivation, irritability, no focus, lathargy etc) but I am not sure if its just my head missing the comfort of the meds.  The disont. syndrome was my brain trying to adjust (which it clearly didnt want to) to the lack of meds.

If I went back on meds to appease my brain and restore comfort I would essentially be giving in, to what could prove to be a long-term need for meds without yearly breaks. 

Am I addicted? do I give in to the Dark clouds too easily? do I just need long term meds?  or is there something else?

Its a bit of an odd post but I thought i would put it out there anyway.

[Sweetpea]

Its not odd, I do understand.  I personally think that maybe you need the meds, I have come off meds a few times, only for a few months later for it to come back.  My dr said that I should maybe try a maintenance dose for life as I seem to one of the people who is prone to depression.  I am quite happy for this, as I have to go through feeling so bad each time it comes back.

Hope this makes sense to you and hope it helps explain how I feel about it.

S x x

[CharleysAngel']

I don't know if you are, some people believe that you can only become addicted to meds that are addictive and others say that any drugs are addictive if you abuse them.

I know this is not quite the same, but I will go through phases where I will take painkillers all the time, whether I need them or not. I just feel better knowing that I have taken them and that I have reduced the risk of feeling pain later if that makes sense. Sort of a ' just in case'. I wouldn't class that as an addiction though. Ibuprofen is not physically addictive, although mentally if can be.

Sorry if this has no relevence to your topic at all, that's just my experience.

[Simon123]

Thanks to both of you for the responses.

Shaz, thats what i am heading for I think because summers just arent as great for me as they used to be.

I am just exploring the difference between Anti D's and drugs like Heroin (first example I can give).  A heroin addict thinks they need the drug and so carry on taking it; someone on Anti D's needed the drugs at some stage but who is to say that the only need after a while is the Brains need to function optimally as opposed to just functioning?  right now am I depressed compared to how I was pre- meds? or just lower than I would be on Meds (which is still higher than when without meds)?

IceLolly that does make sense and is kind of what I mean: preventing the depression before it happens even though it leaves no way of knowing if depression ever existed after the initial onset.

Has anyone got experience of trying a stop-start medication usage and prefered to go full term with a maintenance dose?

[SteveW]

I operate with a fairly tight definition of addiction. Three things have to be present ideally.

1)Tolerance- people have to take more of the drug to get the same effect.
2)Development of psychological craving for the drug.
3)Physical withdrawal symptoms when the drug is withdrawn.

That fits Heroin and Morphine perfectly. It’s not quite so good with Amphetamines and Cocaine-no physical withdrawal symptoms. SSRI’s like Citalopram barely even merit serious consideration as drugs of addiction. There are SSRI withdrawal symptoms but not everyone gets them and they are mild. I’m not even supposed to use the term withdrawal symptoms. The drug companies prefer the term “SSRI Discontinuation Syndrome”. It makes the punters who take them feel more psychologically comfortable and less like junkies.

I’ve taken anti-depressants permanently even when I haven’t been depressed. This is because there is evidence that that can prolong the gap before the next episode. I didn’t go for a maintenance dose either I went for the full dose that got me out of the depression before, which in my case happened to be the maximum dose.

[Micky]

I've been told that most of today's anti-depressants are fine to take indefinitely. I used to take Escitalopram for panic attacks. Just 20mg to stop them building up again and it worked. The doctor said there was no need to worry about being on that dose. In the past I've come off them and felt the symptoms coming to the fore again. If it works and it's not doing you physical harm then why worry.

[Got]

I’ve taken anti-depressants permanently even when I haven’t been depressed. This is because there is evidence that that can prolong the gap before the next episode. I didn’t go for a maintenance dose either I went for the full dose that got me out of the depression before, which in my case happened to be the maximum dose.

This is what I intend to do, thats if I ever get to a stage when i'm not depressed.