In response to a private message I recieved...

The writer of the message is taking the anti-depressant Paxil, and was wondering if she might ever be able to go off. When she has tried reduing her dose, she gets "shaky."

The medical answer for this is...unknown. Some people take anti-depressants for a year, some for a few years, some for ten years, and some for their entire life.

My personal opinion is that it depends on many things, most importantly, the length and severity of the illness. But, perhaps it's the old nature-nurture dilema again. Perhaps if the illness is due more to nature, the medicine will always be needed.

I had a good friend who never experienced a panic attack until she was about 40. She was going through some very tough things in her life about that time. Her doctor put her on Prozac. Then slowly, the tough times came to an end, and she made some changes in her lifestyle too, like resuming her daily practice of yoga (which she had done for most of her adult life). She went off of the drug about 2 years later. She has been off for a few years now. She will occasionally use a xanax, but for the most part she's panic free.

Another person I know, struggled with panic from a very young age. It was very severe for many, many years. For this person Prozac was a miracle drug. It completely gave him his life back. He has no plans of ever going off of the drug.

I understand the desire to not take medication. I didn't want to be taking a drug for the rest of my life, but I certainly would have, if the panic returned. The first time I tried to go off of my meds, it was simply because I didn't want to be taking medicine anymore, not because I really didn't need medicine anymore. Finally, years later, after many changes and virtually years without panic, I tried again, this time, because I felt ready. And I went off very, very slowly.

I did have a time in my life, which was my worst time, when I always felt anxious. Every moment of every day, I think. It was awful.

And if someone needs to take this medication for the rest of their life, what's wrong with that? My cousin will take her insulin the rest of her life, my son will take his asthma medication the rest of his life, my father will take his heart medicine...you see where I'm going with this?

I hope I answered the question and hope to hear from you again.

Jeanne