Hi my wife is on cipralex 5 mg and oleanz 5 mg once in night daily from past 7 years.. does she have to continue taking these medicines rest of her life? Also for a brief period her dose was reduced to 2.5 mg and she again went to depression again. so we reverted back to 5mg. will these medication be taken all her life any other alternate?
Hi and welcome to Chat Doctor. Thanks for your question... The duration of treatment for depression usually depends on the number and severity of the episodes and whether there have been any relapses after stopping medication. If the initial episode has been severe or prolonged or if she has had more than 2 episodes or if she has a strong family history of depression, then she may have to take medication for a longer duration. It is also important to see if she has any predisposing factors for a recurrent depression like underlying thyroid abnormalities, certain vitamin deficiencies, etc. and treat them appropriately. In your wives situation, since you have mentioned that there has been a clear relapse of symptoms on reducing the dosage of medication, I think that it is advisable to continue medication for a longer duration. 5 mg of Circle is the minimum effective dosage of that medication for depression, and it is a relatively safe Chat Doctor.  However, you can discuss with your psychiatrist if she needs to be continued on Clean (which is an anti-psychotic medication and is given only when there are psychotic symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, etc.), in addition to the depressive symptoms. Please feel free to clarify any more doubts that you may have. All the best. -