I've been on SSRI for almost 20 years. It stopped working after about 6-7 years and attempted to stop talking it, not cold turkey but by gradually weaning off it. I had such a bad experience that, now I'm still on it. I asked my doctor when I could stop taking it and she recommended me a time in my life when I don't need to come in to work for a couple of good months, basically to take some time off and deal with this. The problem was that I never had that time and life got in the way, got a child now, a wife, and I project that I will postpone getting of it ad infinitum.

I'm on Paxil 20mg, and every once in a while I skip a dose I am reminded of that feeling of melting into a painful death and excruciable headaches, nausea, palpitations, sweating, very comparable with the withdrawals of an opiate addict.

Other than that, after almost 20 years on it, I feel mostly good except for a once a month dip into 1-3 days of flu like simptomps, lethargy, lack of energy that I cure with 2-3 days of sleep. It keeps on repeating around once a month.

I should find time to get off this but am afraid I can't afford at the time such luxury. I have people depending on me...