SelfSeeking

Hello,

I haven't really been into the mental health forum much yet, so if there's a past thread that addressed this issue, feel free to point it out to me. My question is about people's experiences on antidepressants before and after going sober.

I have been dealing with depression for most of my life (I'm 27 now). I've been on and off a few SSRIs and also Wellbutrin, right now I'm on 20mg of Lexapro. I had self-tapered from 20 to 10 a few months ago, then I basically lost my sh!t and became just... wow. Very, very badly depressed and suicidal and just... wow. So I went back to 20 and for the last month have been ok, for sure better than I was doing before! I have been sober for 11 days. I'm wondering if anyone noticed an improvement in their depression after they went sober? Did anyone need their meds adjusted?

TIA for your stories/suggestions.

nandm

I too have fought with depression nearly all my life although I did not recieve any official diagnosis' until I was in early adulthood. By then I was well started on my drinking career. My experience with anti-depressants is that while drinking they did not do much but keep me from being too suicidal. But they did not relieve my depression. I was not on any anti-depressants when I first got sober but did seek treatment at about 8 months sober. I have been on several different SSRI's since then and the diagnosis changed from depression to bi-polar type II. Today my depression/bi-polar are controlled well with the medications I take. I also work with a psychologist as well who feels that part of my drinking was subconciously self medicating my mental health issues (depression/bi-polar/PTSD).

I guess all that is to say that although my depression got worse at a point in my sobriety I do not credit sobriety with it getting worse I think that once sober I needed a more effective way to medicate my illness'. AA did help with my situational depression that my drinking had created but it did not help with the chemical depression.

least

I've been on Zoloft for ten years and I must say that since I started drinking heavily last summer my zoloft wasn't doing much to relieve my depression. Now that I'm 40 days sober my zoloft is again helping me cope with the depression.

I'm still very depressed over my life and circumstances but am better able to deal with it sober.

SelfSeeking

I guess I am afraid of what my brain will spring on me next In the past any surprises have not been pleasant! Of course I wasn't being very nice to it either, bathing it in alcohol all the time. Poor brain.

WishIWasNormal

For me the difference has been amazing since I quit washing down four different antidepressants, thyroid medication, blood pressure meds, clonazapam and Norco 10/325 with wine.

I basically quit everything (wasn't working anyway) including the wine. After a short time (6 or 7 days) of not drinking I started taking the thyroid med and Prozac in the mornings. Then I switched my blood pressure med (a Beta blocker-slows the heart rate) at night along with 50mg of amitriptyline and have been great ever since. I could feel the difference after about two weeks. Same meds, but without the wine. My Dr. kept raising my clonazapam dose until it was 4X/day. I finally wrote a signed letter DCing about three other medications I haven't mentioned and demanded he place it in my chart.

I did have some problems cold turkeying the clonazapam so instead of 0.5 mg 4 X/day I went to once a day, at bedtime with the blood pressure med and the 50mg. of amitriptyline. After 10-15 documented years of a resting BP averaging 178/112, I am sleeping well and everything seems under control. Most people don't realize that the top number of the BP is a measurement of the heart pressure when it is contracted and the bottom number is a measurement of the heart pressure when it is at rest. So the bottom number is actually often more important than the top number. My heart was working very hard even while resting between contractions.

Anyway, to answer the specific question,: Yes, all the medications were much more effective without alcohol and I was able to totally discontinue 3-4 others (for cholesterol etc.)

Freedom1990

One thing I will stand firm on is not adjusting/tapering off antidepressants without a doctor's supervision.

Self-diagnosis/doctoring was dangerous for me.

I know all those years I was drinking, it wasn't very effective taking antidepressants too. No wonder they didn't work since alcohol IS a depressant!

Today I find that a combination of recovery via AA, working on my emotional sobriety, being honest with my doctor, and attending therapy when I do have periods of increasing depression has helped me greatly

I will more than likely be on antidepressants the rest of my life, but they are not the cure in a pill. They are just part of the broad picture in my recovery

justanothrdrunk

I found that the antidepressant I take actually started working when I quit drinking, though it took a few weeks to really kick in.

Doctor tells me that antidepressants are pretty much worthless when drinking while taking them.

StayinAlive

The two months in rehab my doctor(who had been an addict himself) weened me of all meds to get a baseline as nothing was working anyway especially before i was admitted. Its was an agonizing experience and i begged him for something anything to get me by as my heart was heavy and i had no desire for life. He was persistent at squelching my pleas and reassured me i have to push through this to clear my system and wait and see if my body takes over in production of healthy chemistry endorphins etc.
He was right and i am med free to this day with only a occasional bouts of mood disorder based on perspective and with the tools i have learned i can pull myself out of it of it.

Some may have to stay on meds and as said they will actually work when not mixed with booze. But in my unprofessional opinion i think way to many people are on meds than should be but thats another topic bordering on conspiracy.

SelfSeeking

Glad to hear you're doing so much better now, StayinAlive, just, freedom, wish, least, nand