SSRI Alcoholism

[raggamuffin]

Hi all,

Over a week ago I started on Sertraline. Somewhat by accident - I went to pickup a prescription for the antibiotics i'm still on and they gave me an old prescription of Sertraline. I thought I migth as well try as Citalopram interacts with the antibiotic i'm on. Coinciding with this has been 10 or 11 straight days of drinking in the evening. Normally I will have 3 or 4 ales on a Friday evening and sometimes on a Saturday. But since taking the medication i've been drinking every night.

Tonight i've not drunk anything but the temptation is verging on crippling and so I thought i'd see if other people had encountered this. Seems there's many forum posts on anxiety and depression forums with people experiencing addictions soaring whilst on SSRI's.

To me this seems odd as Citalopram didn't cause any cravings. But right now all my midn seems to crave is intoxication. The past 3 days i've even been considering speaking to old friends to pick up weed...something I quit cold turkey over a year and a half a go.

Get the feeling I should book an appointment with my local GP to see what he recommends.

I really don't feel like myself.

Ed

[em1]

Hi ya :) I'm on 50mg of setraline
What dose have you been taking ?

[raggamuffin]

50 mg myself as well.

Ed

[em1]

50 mg myself as well. Ed

I do drink on the weekends with mine
But I could every night as I love my red wine
Tho it don't make me crave anything
Tho I do find it makes me feel hungry,I've only ever been on this med and it's over 10
Months now and it's working fab I have to say :)

[raggamuffin]

I think i'll need to try a different direction. Seems these cravings for drinking regularly started when I took this medication on the same day. Having read many forum posts on a variety of sites with people experiencing strange tendencies on SSRI's it's left me pondering the connection.

I'll have a word with my Dr about it and in the mean time stop taking the medication and see how I fair.

Ed

[em1]

Good luck whatever you do :) stay strong

[raggamuffin]

Aye it's quite odd. i mean i've had the usual odd stomach, feeling wired, inability to sleep, sexual dysfunction and banging headache + dizziness since starting the SSRI. I say usualll.it's just what my body goes through when I take them and i've never got to the bit where I actually feel any better from the medication. Soon as I stop things revert back to normal...I say normal the anxiety doesn't feel any better or worse but still.

Thing is i'm glad i'm so alarmed by 12 nights of drinking. It shows a change of mindset. A couple of years ago I was happily justifying smoking weed daily and I did that for 7 years solid.

Ed

[Perses]

Interesting. I've taken sertraline for 18 years. When I first went on it, the symptom that really stood out was an increase in appetite. I had been on clonazepam for a year already when I started sertraline, but had, in that rather depressing and anxiety ridden year, kept my weight down to 100 pounds (I'm petite, so that's a fine weight). Once I started on the Zoloft, my weight increased because my desire for food increased. It was really strange; definitely, it seemed a physical hunger, like growling stomach, but also crap food like potato chips. Soooo.... maybe it's reawakened a craving in your mind for drink, or increased that craving. I'd try to fight it. Tell your body no, you don't need to drink. It's not a craving you want Zoloft to encourage.

You need to give Zoloft quite a bit of time to really get working on the brain. I don't remember experiencing any other side effects. But, it was fascinating to see that one kind of drug didn't affect my hunger while the other drug, the Zoloft, did.

I'd definitely see a gp. Seems to me that there are risks with every drug, and it's a cost-benefit analysis situation.

[GeneAllen]

Aye it's quite odd. i mean i've had the usual odd stomach, feeling wired, inability to sleep, sexual dysfunction and banging headache + dizziness since starting the SSRI. I say usualll.it's just what my body goes through when I take them and i've never got to the bit where I actually feel any better from the medication. Soon as I stop things revert back to normal...I say normal the anxiety doesn't feel any better or worse but still.

Thing is i'm glad i'm so alarmed by 12 nights of drinking. It shows a change of mindset. A couple of years ago I was happily justifying smoking weed daily and I did that for 7 years solid.

Ed

Hey friend,
Research has shown that L-Glutamine, in a dose of 500 mg. four times daily, decreases the craving for alcohol. This amino acid is now commonly used in alcoholism clinics.. Peace Bro

[raggamuffin]

Well I stopped the SSRI 48 hours ago and the cravings haven't been anywhere near as strong as they were. it feels a lot more manageable which is good. I have a friend who is an alcoholic and it's a stark reminder to myself to never ever let it get so bad that i'm physically dependent on alcohol.

Just glad I feel more like my old self again.

Ed

[jessed03]

I've read that about the L-Glutamine actually. Helps blood sugar, so good for sugar cravings too. Makes sense as alcohol is just sugar in waiting :)

I personally never found any problem with the SSRI's, but the NASSA and the SNRIs did hit me bad. I just became too impulsive. Not in manic way, but I just struggled with will power. I lost a bucket load of money (friends too) at that time, through gambling, even stealing. I didn't turn much down, drinking included, though thankfully it never hit compulsion stage.

Stopped completely when the drugs were out of my system. I was in no mans land, as they were the only ones working for me at the times.

I'm figuring it was dopamine related, which may make sense given the types of drugs.

I think it was cos my mood lifted, and I just wanted to do fun, free activities? I didn't want the restriction mental illness gave me. I wanted to do whatever I felt like. I wanted a little pleasure.

I think chemical changes are gonna awaken some of what's it your brain for a little bit. Old memories don't die, and not all neuropathways just vanish.
Chemical changes may shake some things up. That may mean some of the bad stuff comes back up for a look around, like old addictive patterns. After all, some never really change, we just get better at resisting them.

Another thing is, serotonin changes (often increases) can lead to obsessive behaviour. I've experienced that with them, though never regarding 'vices', shall we say :)

Mainly just hobbies or relationships. Both normalized in time.

An interesting one for sure.

What do you plan to do now, treatment wise?

[raggamuffin]

Sorry to hear you had a rough time with it too. I'm really not sure what to do at this point. I'm no longer on the antibiotics so I guess I could try citalopram again or a different one entirely. Problem is now i've stopped the antibiotics the epididymitis pains are back in full force.

I can't win :)

Ed