SSRIs and Suicide -- long term risk?

I'm a little afraid to ask this question because I know some people are very cautious about meds anyway, but I am wondering about other people's experiences with SSRIs.

I was put on Zoloft a few months ago and started experiencing really severe suicidal thoughts to the point where I planned and nearly attempted suicide. I have never done anything besides think about suicide before starting Zoloft, and even that was really benign and I would stop thinking about it right away.

Anyway, I was taken off Zoloft almost two months ago, and have since started Lamictal (an anticonvulsant also used for things like bipolar disorder, which I actually do not have). After stopping the Zoloft, before starting Lamictal, and while I have been taking Lamictal I have seen very little decrease in my suicidal ideation. I am not as impulsive about it as when I was on the Zoloft, but I think about it a lot as an option and have difficulty not thinking about how I would do it.

I was talking to my psychiatrist, and she said that it may have been triggered by the Zoloft. At this point it is not chemical, but it kind of created a pathway of suicidal thinking where it is now easy to go down it when I have certain triggers because I have gone down it before. Sort of like never drinking alcohol to avoid problems, but once you start that is automatically what you think to do when you are stressed.

So my question is: has my taking Zoloft for a month caused me to essentially deal with this suicidal thinking for a very long time (I am afraid to say lifetime, but who knows)? For those of you who have taken SSRIs or otherwise know about it, what do you think?

Hi Kim,

I am not a medical professional but in talking to ones I know who are familiar with psych med withdrawal, if you were taken off of a med too quickly or cold turkeyed off of it, that can cause rebound withdrawal symptoms like suicidal ideation. It is hard to say when it will disappear as everyone is different.

Why were you put on Lamictal if you're not bipolar? Also, I am wondering if that drug is contributing to your feelings of suicidal ideation since most psych meds can have that side effect?

At the risk of scaring people, I am going to briefly share my story. Ritalin and Prozac caused suicidal ideation after my doses had been doubled. I then got worse when I was cold turkeyed off of them.

At that point, it was obvious the answer was that these meds were bad news and I simply needed time to recover. Instead that was the start of my descent into what I call the psychiatric meds treadmill that just greatly worsened my life until I got off of the meds.

Obviously, you have to do what you think is best in your situation but I felt I would be remiss if I didn't share my experiences.

Good luck!

Printer

I went through SEVER suicidal thoughts, and even a few attempts. I've never thought of it, but it was while I was on an SSRI.
The scary thing, now that i read your post, is that my pdoc never took me off them after the attempt.
I'm now on Wellbutrin, works great as and anti-dep and no more suicidal thoughts.
When I stopped the SSRI cold-turkey from 20mg/day, I was violently ill.

Thank you both for your replies. I am on Lamictal for bulimia, self-injury, and depression/anxiety symptoms. I haven't seen a lot of research about Lamictal's use for these, but my pdoc said that the triggers for bipolar symptoms is a similar pathway as the things I experience. It does seem to be getting better, but I am just wondering how long it will last.

It's hard to determine what the long term effects of taking these meds is going to happen to us who take them. But, I know that I need them now because I would become suicidal without the meds.

I remained suicidal when I tried lamictal--it just did not work for me. Maybe it will help you--it's hard to say because everybody is different. Maybe after you have been on the lamictal for a time you can tell your pdoc and she can give you a different med. There are a lot of meds out there and it sometimes takes awhile to find the right one.

I know this is not much of an answer, but it's my experience with psych meds.