alcohol-paws-anxiety-panic-depression

[GassyJack]

this may turn out to be a long post - but i have a lot to say so please bear with me as the title says i have seen it all

I was a hard core drinker most of my life with the '80s the worst. i think too i was depressed and it was a vicious cycle - i drank because i was depressed and i was depressed because i drank- Every year from 2000 i quit drinking as a new years rez. but i always started drinking again after about 4 to 7 months sober - got tired of that so in sept 2007 i quit

everything was going great until Oct 07 - horrid panic attack - thot i was dieing and ended up going to emerg by ambulance - much anxiety and panic for next few months - Dr. did all the tests - was "ok" - Xmas 2007 i drank again to find relief- it did not help - quit again - now 19 months later i am happy to say i have not had a drink. Looking back i think the panic was a blessing tho it did not feel like it at the time..but with out that i think i would still be in my yearly cycle of quitting and drinking.

it was during the panic attack days that i found this site - read a lot and posted a bit - but to be honest i just could not be here - just reading about anxiety and panic would trigger an attack - but as time went on things got better and for the last several months been wanting to come back and try to help others and thus

the reason for me posting now was to tell my story and to try to help others that may be where i was - it feels like it will never end - for me it was almost 14 months before the anxiety and panic started to get under control and now at 19months so far it is gone - so keep going - once you get past 12 months things start to improve.

i still have problems with mild depression and been talking herbal anti depressants for years - i tried paxil years ago but quit after 2 days - sexual side FX i could not take

back in Nov2008 the Dr gave me Cipralex to help with anxiety - would not give me any more ativan - The Cipralex been sitting in my cabinet ever since.
i tapered off St Johns Wort and quit last week -wanted to see if i could drug free but the fog/numbness started to come back - could be the time of year too as this is around when i would start drinking.....was going to go back to St Johns but decided to try the Cipralex - if it works it is alot cheaper than St Johns ..and with St Johns u not always sure you are getting the right dose ... so i took the cipralex 10mg tabs - cut in half - took one this morning

it started to work almost immediately - mood got better - dry/cotton mouth but not much else - BUT !!!!
anyone taking Cipralex ..do the side FX subside - one 5mg tab and the sexual side fx are bad and evil - makes you horny but takes forever to finish(could be good in some ways too i guess )

i love the mood lift with this and was going to try 5mg every other day but the above side FX are just too much - so those that have been taking it awhile ..do the FX fade? will stop taking this if they do not.

[otterbearcat]

I dont take prescription anti-ds bc of the sexual side effects.

Ive been taking 5 HTP for about 3 weeks and it is working.

You could consider talking to a naturopath if the Cipralex doesnt work.

[GassyJack]

Originally Posted by otterbearcat

I dont take prescription anti-ds bc of the sexual side effects.

Ive been taking 5 HTP for about 3 weeks and it is working.

You could consider talking to a naturopath if the Cipralex doesnt work.

thanks - but i have tried them all - SAMe. 5-htp. St Johns Wort
There is this i had been taking - Amoryn it has it all in one pill

Hyperforin, the active ingredient in St. John's wort,
5-HTP is used by the brain to make serotonin
Rhodiola is an adaptogenic herb that can increase serotonin
plus
B6, B12 and Folic Acid
selenium
vitamin D3
Zinc
Vitamin C

here is web site
amoryn.com

worked very well for me but stopped ordering it as it was too expensive to ship from US to Canada - they would only use UPS and the border extortion fees (ups brokerage fees) was more than what the product cost

[Cleansing]

yeah what's the deal with The B-vitamins, particularly B-6, b-12, and Folic Acid? I hear that when you're depressed you body is low in these vitamins, but they are needed for a healthy mood.
I'm not sure if it's the depression that depletes these sources, or the anti-depressants we take. There's this product they sell at Rite Aid that's suppossed to be a supplement for those taking Lexapro, Prozac, Effexor and other anti-d's. But the product is mostly B-vitamins.

[Latte]

I had my Vit D levels checked and I was so low. That might be something you could look at.