Sooz438

I have been struggling with alcohol for about the past year. I have been pretty much drinking if not everyday, then every other day for 4 years. I started to feel different lately when I would drink. I started to have panic attacks, & horrible anxiety & withdrawal symptoms that I have never experienced before. I finally realized that I had to quit for good after 2 trips to the emergency room in the span of 4 months.

Long story short, I am 8 days sober. I went to the doctor because I occasionally take Ativan for my anxiety. He also suggested that I try an antidepressant- Prozac to be exact. I hear so many mixed reviews from people online, & people I know personally. Mostly negative.

I know that I do want something to help bring me out of this funk I am in from not drinking. I have no motivation & i just feel like life is so..... boring. I'm just so nervous to start taking it, Ive always been nervous with any medication I've been prescribed.

Can anyone that is, or has been on Prozac before give me any advice? I want to feel like myself again!

LoveHateMerlot

Hi Sooz!! I am an alcoholic, and 9 days sober today. I take Prozac, and cannot live without it! The alcohol basically makes the Prozac not work right, so I notice a huge difference when I stop drinking. I get major depression, and anxiety,but if I take Prozac it makes me manage and cope everything a little easier. It's not a 100% solution though, diet and exercise always play a huge part as well. Are you able to exercise? How is your diet?

Sasha4

I have found great relief of depression and anxiety with Prozac.

Nothing else worked for me.
I am on a low dose all the time.
I doubt I will ever stop taking it.

There is a stigma in taking this type of medication, but the newer therapies are a lot safer than the older tablets.
Many horror stories are without foundation.

Don't drink alcohol with it though.
Give it a chance to work without mixing it with alcohol yep?
Alcohol is known to cause depression.

Forward12

I take zoloft which is another ssri with good results. I know for many of us with anxiety and depression get paranoid about medication, but don't worry, your doc prescribed it for a reason.

Astro

Welcome to SR Sooz. In early sobriety I tried a few SSRI's and finally found one that brought some relief, I hope you find one that works for you. As mentioned, mixing them with alcohol can have disastrous results, and please keep working with your prescriber if something doesn't feel right. It takes a while for any medication to settle in and become fully effective, be patient and take good care of your health.

Doug39

Most of my life I didn't believe in taking anti-depressants and was against any type of therapy. My way of fighting anxiety was to drink alcohol excessively everyday for 27+ years.

I did quit drinking for 4 months in 2013 and tried Zoloft but I didn't give it a fair chance.

Today I am 5 months sober and have been on Celexa and Remeron for over 4 months. Between the medications and AA I am a new person. The first several months were rocky with many ups and downs but life is getting better.

It may take time to find the right meds and dosages but it is worth giving it a shot.

August252015

I agree with this, provided you have a good dr with whom you are honest. Very important. And as al has been said, meds work best (possibly at all) without any alcohol. I took various ones while drinking which was at times dangerous and certainly a waste of money. Here at a little over 13 mo sober, I know that my regimen is doing what it is supposed to do without any undue influence.

I have taken prozac in the past, however it was well before my alcoholism reared its ugly head. Currently, paxil is part of my routine; my dr added it back in Nov when I was around nine months sober and started struggling with a mild depression plus increased anxiety. I also take Ativan daily. I take several other drugs related to alcoholism and mood disorders. My regimen works very well for me- I believe the good news is that there are different meds that different people can take that will help them best. That's part of why the communication with your dr is so important.

My feelings about drugs is that if they are tools to help my sobriety and mental health, therefore overall quality of life and emotional sobriety, they are welcome aids.

Good luck.

Dee74

Hi Sooz
I had experience but not sober experience so take this as you may.

I used prozac a long time ago and although I didn't like the feeling of not being sad when I felt I should be sad, it did get me out of a deep hole.

If I'd had used it without drinking it would have worked even better I'm sure.

If you take it and don't like it you can always go back to your Doc

D

SteveAlex

I took my last prozac last Thursday. Then I drank 3 tall beers. Ended up losing $1000 at a casino and in the hospital. Dr said I had a bad reaction to mixing them and with my type 2 diabetes I shouldnt be drinking anyway. Got seitched to wellbutrin in morning with lexapro at night. Day 5 no drinking. So far so good.

grimm10

first is the path to recovery, once you can hit that and be ok with it, then the meds will fall in and get your back

im 10 months sober, since i was 15 been on prozac, welbutrin, zoloft, cymbalta, effexor,and 1 more i always forget the name, but nevermind that

i will be honest until i found comfort in being sober, after 4-5 months of being sober starting to be around booze without getting that itch i really noticed the meds more, now im not a doctor or play one on tv, but prozac is a start, might not be the right one for you, i was on 300mg of zoloft before i got a test saying i metabolize it to fast... finally after all these years switched to cymbatla and feel better, not great, i deal with my anxetiy everyday no matter, but it does help

i def feel in my heart if you can beat the booze you will find the right meds to get back in the game, your not going to get there after a week or even maybe a month, but you will you just have to believe in yourself (man that sounds corny) but its true, took me so long to figure out why am i having a panic attack after everytime i drink, IMO its your body or mind telling you something...

i hope that was helpful you need anything msg me, also i have xxanxx as a last resort if get panic attacks, but the last time i drank 3 of them couldnt take it away and that usually puts me to sleep...and i say xxanxx as long as its not abused