Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 319194

Shown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

Paxil and Alcohol

Posted by redmaryjane on March 1, 2004, at 18:14:14

I've been on 25 mg. paxil cr for four months now. It seemed to be working well for the first few months but since the holidays I can't stop drinking.I have had a craving for alcohol almost every single day. I have never in my life been this interested in drinking. I don't need lots of it, just a few glasses of wine. I am BP II with depression and anxiety. In the a.m. I take a small dose of xanax as needed. Lately things just seem so out of control. I don't know if the paxil is working or not. I just know that I feel not right. Has anyone else experienced this? I have found a lot of discussions/articles online about serotonin levels and that sometimes people on paxil and prozac and a few other ssri's will crave alcohol. Any advice and similar stories would be helpful. I have also gained 15+ pounds since being on paxil and it is NOT helping with my depression.

Feeling out of control in California,
Red Mary Jane

 

Re: Paxil and Alcohol

Posted by SummerSanders on March 1, 2004, at 18:34:45

In reply to Paxil and Alcohol, posted by redmaryjane on March 1, 2004, at 18:14:14

I must say that when I was on Paxil I wanted to drink and go to happy hour all the time. I also noticed that you can drink a lot on it, but do end up getting extremely drunk and disorderly..Or at least I did.

 

Re: Paxil and Alcohol

Posted by redmaryjane on March 1, 2004, at 19:32:19

In reply to Re: Paxil and Alcohol, posted by SummerSanders on March 1, 2004, at 18:34:45

You know it's funny...I feel like I get less drunk and disorderly, which is interesting to me. My family is a long line of alcoholics and typically I am a crazy (fun and a bit wild) drunk. I was, at least, in high school and college. Over the past 10 years I have been pretty mellow and during the past two years I had no alcohol at all. So that is my concern, why now, when on paxil I should be calm, am I seeking out alcohol? It's so weird.

 

Re: Paxil and Alcohol

Posted by Metalblade on March 1, 2004, at 19:48:50

In reply to Re: Paxil and Alcohol, posted by redmaryjane on March 1, 2004, at 19:32:19

I've drank on paxil meany times and it dosen't really intensifiy the feeling of the alcohol of make me sleepy. Now drinking on wellbutrin really made me feel drunk. I couldn't belive how much that stuff intensified it.

I have SP and BP2 and find that the paxil calms me down enough to where I want to go out, but I'm still not calm enough to talk to people and I start thinking about alcohol.

 

Re: Paxil and Alcohol

Posted by nicky847 on March 2, 2004, at 9:46:26

In reply to Re: Paxil and Alcohol, posted by redmaryjane on March 1, 2004, at 19:32:19

you know I am the same way with my SSRI (Lexapro)and alcohol in that i feel LESS drunk now when i drink than i ever did...but it takes a loooong time to get over a night out...and the exhaustion can help bring on panic attacks/depression symptoms..so its good to avoid alcohol as much as possible..a drink or two is ok but from my experience drinking too much on SSRI makes for a rough next couple days and its not worth it...
> You know it's funny...I feel like I get less drunk and disorderly, which is interesting to me. My family is a long line of alcoholics and typically I am a crazy (fun and a bit wild) drunk. I was, at least, in high school and college. Over the past 10 years I have been pretty mellow and during the past two years I had no alcohol at all. So that is my concern, why now, when on paxil I should be calm, am I seeking out alcohol? It's so weird.
>
>

 

Re: Paxil and Alcohol

Posted by linnie on March 2, 2004, at 10:11:36

In reply to Re: Paxil and Alcohol, posted by nicky847 on March 2, 2004, at 9:46:26

>I am on lex too and I find that I think I can drink as I don't feel it. But I am actually more high than I think. So I am finding alcohol not my friend. I also have the next day panic/anxiety stuff and it takes longer to stabilize.
l


you know I am the same way with my SSRI (Lexapro)and alcohol in that i feel LESS drunk now when i drink than i ever did...but it takes a loooong time to get over a night out...and the exhaustion can help bring on panic attacks/depression symptoms..so its good to avoid alcohol as much as possible..a drink or two is ok but from my experience drinking too much on SSRI makes for a rough next couple days and its not worth it...
> > You know it's funny...I feel like I get less drunk and disorderly, which is interesting to me. My family is a long line of alcoholics and typically I am a crazy (fun and a bit wild) drunk. I was, at least, in high school and college. Over the past 10 years I have been pretty mellow and during the past two years I had no alcohol at all. So that is my concern, why now, when on paxil I should be calm, am I seeking out alcohol? It's so weird.
> >
> >
>
>

 

Re: Paxil and Alcohol

Posted by nicky847 on March 2, 2004, at 11:31:49

In reply to Re: Paxil and Alcohol, posted by linnie on March 2, 2004, at 10:11:36

Hi Linnie-
Im sorry to hear that alcohol gives you the panic/anxiety the next day but also glad to hear im not the only one :)..im bouncing back pretty good though..i guess you live and learn..

nick

> >I am on lex too and I find that I think I can drink as I don't feel it. But I am actually more high than I think. So I am finding alcohol not my friend. I also have the next day panic/anxiety stuff and it takes longer to stabilize.
> l
>
>
>
>
> you know I am the same way with my SSRI (Lexapro)and alcohol in that i feel LESS drunk now when i drink than i ever did...but it takes a loooong time to get over a night out...and the exhaustion can help bring on panic attacks/depression symptoms..so its good to avoid alcohol as much as possible..a drink or two is ok but from my experience drinking too much on SSRI makes for a rough next couple days and its not worth it...
> > > You know it's funny...I feel like I get less drunk and disorderly, which is interesting to me. My family is a long line of alcoholics and typically I am a crazy (fun and a bit wild) drunk. I was, at least, in high school and college. Over the past 10 years I have been pretty mellow and during the past two years I had no alcohol at all. So that is my concern, why now, when on paxil I should be calm, am I seeking out alcohol? It's so weird.
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>

 

Re: Paxil and Alcohol

Posted by anxiety66me on March 3, 2004, at 15:17:48

In reply to Re: Paxil and Alcohol, posted by nicky847 on March 2, 2004, at 11:31:49

The same thing happened to me. Tell your doc. My doc was shocked. He said that it is probably very underreported. Check out the book "Prozac or Panacea." I have written many posts and responded to many on here regarding SSRI's and alcohol. I have recently sworn off all SSRI's. Doc said I seem to be genetically unable to handle them w/out having a craving to drink. It has something todo with the makeup of DNA. Smoking was also increased by a lot. Do a search at the bottom of this page for SSRI's, alcohol, Paxil or (what I was recently on) Effexor. There was a link which someone providid that I found helpful. Get off this drug if you are drinking. Alcohol kills brain cells and makes people do stupid things to get them in trouble. Why increase the chances of this??

Here is some things have received from my research:

Thank you for your e-mail to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIMH conducts and supports research and distributes information on mental health and mental disorders.


Information on medications can be found in our Medications booklet at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/medmenu.cfm. Included are descriptions of mental illnesses and the medications prescribed for them.


For information on your specific topic of antidepressant and increased craving of nicotine or alcohol, you may wish to try contacting the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a part of the NIH at:


National Institute on Drug Abuse
National Institutes of Health
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5213
Bethesda, MD 20892-9561
Phone: (301)-443-1124
Email: Information@lists.nida.nih.gov
Website:http://www.drugabuse.gov/NIDAHome.html


We also suggest you search on MedLine Plus and PubMed, services of the National Library of Medicine. MedLine Plus provides information on numerous health topics. You may access MedLine Plus at: http://medlineplus.gov. PubMed is a searchable database of over 11 million scientific research abstracts and citations. You may access PubMed online at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed.


We hope this information is helpful to you.


Information Center
National Institute of Mental Health
E-mail: nimhinfo@nih.gov
Web site: http://www.nimh.nih.gov
______________________________________________________________
Additional Sources of Information from the National Library of Medicine (NLM):


· MedLine Plus http://medlineplus.gov
Provides information on consumer health topics, dictionaries, directories, organizations, and drugs


· PUBMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
A free searchable database of scientific research citations and abstracts


· Clinical Trials Information http://clinicaltrials.gov
Provides information on federally funded and other clinical trials


Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health

 

Re: Paxil and Alcohol

Posted by nicky847 on March 3, 2004, at 15:24:09

In reply to Re: Paxil and Alcohol, posted by anxiety66me on March 3, 2004, at 15:17:48

I'm not much of a drinker and havent really felt an increased craving for alcohol since being on an SSRI..if anything i crave it less b/c i dont really feel any affect from it...(coffee on the other hand!!)

...although i do believe those who say that they do have an increased craving..
> The same thing happened to me. Tell your doc. My doc was shocked. He said that it is probably very underreported. Check out the book "Prozac or Panacea." I have written many posts and responded to many on here regarding SSRI's and alcohol. I have recently sworn off all SSRI's. Doc said I seem to be genetically unable to handle them w/out having a craving to drink. It has something todo with the makeup of DNA. Smoking was also increased by a lot. Do a search at the bottom of this page for SSRI's, alcohol, Paxil or (what I was recently on) Effexor. There was a link which someone providid that I found helpful. Get off this drug if you are drinking. Alcohol kills brain cells and makes people do stupid things to get them in trouble. Why increase the chances of this??
>
> Here is some things have received from my research:
>
> Thank you for your e-mail to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIMH conducts and supports research and distributes information on mental health and mental disorders.
>
>
> Information on medications can be found in our Medications booklet at: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/medmenu.cfm. Included are descriptions of mental illnesses and the medications prescribed for them.
>
>
> For information on your specific topic of antidepressant and increased craving of nicotine or alcohol, you may wish to try contacting the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a part of the NIH at:
>
>
> National Institute on Drug Abuse
> National Institutes of Health
> 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 5213
> Bethesda, MD 20892-9561
> Phone: (301)-443-1124
> Email: Information@lists.nida.nih.gov
> Website:http://www.drugabuse.gov/NIDAHome.html
>
>
> We also suggest you search on MedLine Plus and PubMed, services of the National Library of Medicine. MedLine Plus provides information on numerous health topics. You may access MedLine Plus at: http://medlineplus.gov. PubMed is a searchable database of over 11 million scientific research abstracts and citations. You may access PubMed online at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed.
>
>
> We hope this information is helpful to you.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Information Center
> National Institute of Mental Health
> E-mail: nimhinfo@nih.gov
> Web site: http://www.nimh.nih.gov
> ______________________________________________________________
> Additional Sources of Information from the National Library of Medicine (NLM):
>
>
> · MedLine Plus http://medlineplus.gov
> Provides information on consumer health topics, dictionaries, directories, organizations, and drugs
>
>
> · PUBMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed
> A free searchable database of scientific research citations and abstracts
>
>
> · Clinical Trials Information http://clinicaltrials.gov
> Provides information on federally funded and other clinical trials
>
>
> Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health
>
>

 

Re: Paxil and Alcohol » redmaryjane

Posted by francesco on March 5, 2004, at 19:25:58

In reply to Paxil and Alcohol, posted by redmaryjane on March 1, 2004, at 18:14:14

The same thing happens to me when I'm on serotoninergic meds. I have been on Anafranil for years and drunk a lot every other day. And I mean ... a lot. When I quit Anafranil I quit the over-drinking too. When I restarted it the craving for alcohol occurred again. And the same thing happened with Paxil and Celexa. I was not able to stop myself !!! I have no doubt there's a connection, and now I have a chronic prostatitis, probably dued to ten years of booze & meds. No fun

 

Re: Paxil and Alcohol » anxiety66me

Posted by francesco on March 5, 2004, at 19:33:45

In reply to Re: Paxil and Alcohol, posted by anxiety66me on March 3, 2004, at 15:17:48

Sorry for the blank post. The content was:

May I ask you what are you doing now to deal with your problems ? I want to stay off meds for many reasons, inclunding the alcohol craving, but I seem not be able to think of other alternatives.



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