Strategy For Stopping Treatment Plan with your family for your future use of AntiDepressants. Most people need AntiDepressant medication for 6 to 15 months, and can then stop without immediate return of Depression. Knowing the usual duration of treatment, the MSer can agree to stay on the AntiDepressant dose for at least six months. After that time the MSer will begin to reduce the dose by one increment each month. If Depression still does not return, the MSer can continue to reduce the medication monthly over a period of several months.
Most people begin to decrease the dose before their Depression is over so it returns.
The standard group of AntiDepressants are TriCyclic compounds with similar chemical structures. The newer AntiDepressants are chemically diverse. The possibility of a more rapid onset of action is an advantage, but all of them have delayed onset action in some people. So the waiting time between dosage increments is unchanged to guard against too rapid increase of dose among persons whose response will appear, but not at the accelerated time. Usually, depressed people do not accept first barometric reports that storm clouds loom on the horizon.