Hey, all. I'm going to Korea. I'll be living there for a year, and I'm pretty excited about it. The only negative thing is that I've had to quit my anti-depressants cold-turkey so that I will be approved for a visa. It sucks. I have been having terrible headaches, I've been really moody and cranky, and I've been feeling suicidal. Does anyone know how long this will last? Has anyone else here just stopped taking their anti-depressants before?
There's a reason why you should always taper off antidepressants, and you are experiencing it. The worst should subside in a week or two, but it will probably be over a month before you're feeling like yourself again. Good luck!
I wouldn't do anything without the advice of the person that prescribed you the medication. Did this person tell you to quit cold turkey? Have you talked to them about what you're experiencing? I also fail to see what being on prescribed medication has to do with getting a visa.....
This is very dangerous and quite frankly you should never tinker around with your medication schedule, as it were, without consulting and being overseen by a doctor. SSRIs especially are known to cause issues if not tapered off due to withdrawal. I'd suggest you speak to a doctor about this and tell them when you quit cold turkey so that they can assist you in making this as safe as possible, whether that's to take it again and then taper off, some other option, or at least to, again, make this as safe as possible.
This is something that you really need to do with the assistance of a doctor. There is a reason why when going off of these drugs people are tapered off instead of just being stopped cold turkey. There are a lot of bad side effects and permanent damage that can be done if you do not stop these drugs correctly.
Aw, thanks for your answer. It's already been a week, so hopefully I'm almost done with the worst of it. I know it's dumb, but I didn't tell my doctor because I know he'd just tell me not to stop taking it. To apply for my visa, I had to fill out a medical self evaluation, which asked me if I had any history of mental illness, was on any medication, etc. My recruiter told me that if I didn't answer "no" to everything on the sheet, I would probably be denied my visa. When I enter the country, I will be go to a hospital to have a medical evaluation, and if my answers don't match up, my visa will be revoked.
I'll repeat what everyone else has said, and share my personal experience with getting off anti-depressants. It is very dangerous to do this without the advice of a physician, and his/her specific direction on how to taper it off, no matter how noble your motivation. You don't know that he would tell you not to get off them. or if he is that adamant, maybe there is a solid reason. or if not, you could always go to another doctor for a second opinon. Sometimes they will even need to give you something else as you taper off. Don't play with this! So here's my experience. I was on Paxil, and quit cold turkey. it was awful. finally I told my shrink. He brought me in right away and got me on something else. He told me that I could have had seizures from just stopping it like that. and seizures can kill. you just can't play with this stuff. he then put me on effexor for a period of time, and then eventually I was guided through tapering off of that. all told, the process of getting off the anti-depressants took longer than if I had just done it the right way and told my shrink that I wanted off. please, don't take chances with your health like this. and think about this, if you need these meds now, you will probably need them again when you get to Korea and the novelty wears off. what is your plan at that point? everyone here cares about you, and nobody wants to see you take chances with something so serious. (&&&)
I went from Zoloft directly to Celexa. Only your doctor can make this change. Going off one SSRI and not replacing it is dangerous.
I understand why this is important, but your health (and your mental health) is more important than getting a visa. First off, if you cold-turkey off of any SSRI, in addition to the headaches and so forth, it's going to have a drastic effect on your mood. In some cases, people have become suicidal because the effect of SSRIs is increasing availability of serotonin, which mediates mood. Your body gets used to the levels of serotonin that are available and your body's natural serotonin cycle and balance -- which is extremely delicate to begin with -- comes to depend on the SSRI. When you suddenly drop the Zoloft, you're essentially taking a sledgehammer to a delicate Swiss watch mechanism. There's no telling what side effects you're going to have, and it could be several months worth of side effects. Furthermore, if you go to the hospital for tests when you arrive, it's likely the blood work will show telltale signs that you've been on Zoloft, as it affects a number of things. If they have any reason to suspect you've had any mental health issues (which, if their evaluation people are worth a shit, they will), then they'll likely be able to tell you've been on Zoloft... that's if it isn't obvious because you're a weeping, depressed puddle on the floor. I'm sorry, and I'm trying to be compassionate here, but your "recruiter" is a piece of shit and giving you *terrible* advice that is grossly unsafe, not in your best medical or mental health interests, and could potentially be physically or psychologically dangerous to you.
Look, I'm sorry, I appreciate the concern, but this my only chance of getting into Korea, which is something I've been working on for a long time now. I know it's not a great idea (I already feel like shit), but this is something I really want. I just wanted to know how long the side effects would last.
there are always other chances. just do this one thing, just go to your psychiatrist, explain to him/her how important this is to you, and ask him/her for his advice. s/he can't force you to take his/her advice, so what do you have to lose by listening to what s/he has to say. you've wanted to do this for a long time. can't you just wait a few months until the next opportunity. If this is an English teaching job, they are so desperate for those that you can be sure the opportunity a few months from now. the recruiter is not your friend. they just want to make their quota. your doctor is concerned about your health and your life. you've got all these red flags flying. please reconsider.
yeah, I looked up the requirements because it sounded weird, and what he is saying is true. and then there is the problem of getting the meds once you get there. there is a lot of advice about that on the web, but that just says what a tough situation it is. so a doctor can help someone get off the meds safely, but that wouldn't solve the problem of how to deal with depression once you're there and it happens again, and that's what all the web chats are talking about
That's like asking a diabetic to give up his insulin to have the visa! That's quite reckless on their part! But they do have sertraline in S.Korea, so maybe you can start getting there. I'm a doctor myself and getting off an SSRI suddenly can have some abrupt and harsh withdrawal symptoms but mostly will resolve soon. Feel better and speak to your doctor as soon as possible. Good luck! ***Sorry I though your were the OP.
you should consult your prescribing doctor asap and if you feel any worse visit the emergency services. why didn't you have time to taper presumably this has been planned for a while? either way not tapering is very dangerous. it does not only produce horrible side-effects but some of those side-effects can become life-threatening in certain people. it isn't so uncommon, so be very careful. people think that yes, the side-effects from abruptly stopping medication is bad, but it will clear up, but this isn't always the case. especially neurological implications of abruptly stopping medication can cause a threat to the life of a person!
