I have been taking anti-depressants for the past 3 years in response to dealing with some of my menopause symptoms. I have recently tapered off and have been feeling OK.
My question is, are anti-depressants a normal solution. If they are, is there a way to get support with planning to stop taking them?
Hi Tiaann, thanks for posting. I would say there is not a one size fits all to menopause care. Mood disturbance related to peri-menopause and menopause often responds well to hormone replacement therapy (HRT) so, where this is the main contributor to mood disturbance, I would normally offer HRT as a first choice. That being said, not all women will want (or can have) HRT, and many women have multiple contributors to low mood and anxiety - not just the hormonal changes of peri-menopause/menopause. Anti-depressants can often be helpful for women who may not want HRT, or have medical reasons (such as previous breast cancer) which would mean we would want to avoid giving HRT. For women who have a clinical diagnosis of anxiety or depression, anti-depressants can be a very good treatment for this. In practice, I often find that there are multiple complex factors which contribute to mood, so sometimes women benefit from a combination approach of being on HRT and an anti depressant.
To answer your question about coming off anti-depressants, this is something that it is usually good to discuss with your family doctor, so they can come up with a plan to help you step off them, if you felt that you wanted to try this. It is safe to come off anti-depressants and, if both you and your family doctor agree it is a good idea, they can come up with a plan for tapering them down. Many women can step off anti-depressants safely, with the right support. Hope that helps!