This should also not be the parents decision. 'Tired and lazy' is something that should be discussed with the doctor to see if there is a more suitable medication.

I once went into involuntary withdrawal because my doctor was on vacation and my prescription expired. worst two weeks of my life!

I'm a person on antidepressants, and some of the side effects are super rough. You think she has trouble waking up now, wait until she's got brain zaps. (Which feels like a combination of electric shocks and your brain trying to throw up.)

@Feathered Dinosaur, beat me to it, also an MD, but not in psych. I *see* a psychiatrist (PTSD) and can attest that people do indeed think we should simply "quit" etc. Right, I'm gonna ignore the entirety of decades of research, my own education, my shrinik's education, b'c someone else said so? No.

One of my dearest friends who was also an actor stopped taking his cold turkey because he "felt better" I told him that it was dangerous to do that and was really scared for him...he committed suicide by hanging a week later :(

Even 'Dr Google' will tell you that accurately. (Although I think it genuinely can help for people with expertise to weigh in, just noting that parents *could* easily access the accurate information.

I stopped taking mine to fast and I didn't sleep for 3 days and never felt so unstable.

OMG!!! If i miss ONE DOSE, i'm off.

Yes, I tried going "cold turkey" once on my anxiety medications and got very sick for a few days, followed by a series of panic attacks that made me feel absolutely crazy. Never again!

And if the OP actually… went all the way, the mother would be all “I don’t know how this happened, I knever knew about this!” acting all shocked despite the fact that they were told repeatedly.

I have personal experience of exactly that.

Can confirm. Stupidly did this last month because of how miserable Sertraline made me. I thought I was suicidal before but good lord! Rapid withdrawal from them was the dumbest thing I ever did. There is a hump I'm over now but I would now always recommend tapering off before stopping

The immediate issues of stopping anti depressants isn’t primarily suicidal ideation, that tends to be an issue further down the line. I’m not a “medical doctor” but I know that the immediate side effects of stopping medication like that can lead to seizures, headaches, nausea, insomnia, muscle cramps, low blood pressure, sweating, respiratory issues and arrhythmia.

cool my moms a nurse, she works in the NICU!

I had to be weaned off the ani-anxiety med over a period of months because I could have had bad effects if not. Over and including death. This child need to be taken away from these parents.

Time to bring charges against the parents

Took a year to wean my daughter off Effexor. If the Dr dropped it too fast she became extremely ill. That sucked.

For real. Even tapering off, the nightmares were the most intense I've ever had. I miss sleeping at night without them but I can't afford medicine and treatment right now, so I live with nightmares.

I couldn't agree more

"I did some research" means "I watched a Joe Rogan video" or "I found a YouTube video that matches my preconceived buttons on the topic".

Reduce the medication amount bit by bit so your body has time to adjust and work off the reliance. It’s like smoking, stopping cold turkey would cause withdrawal symptoms since the chemicals in your brain are imbalanced. It’s better to gently ease off.