sunday69

Hi Everyone,

Some of you may know me from a previous post. I'm at day 24 without a drink and I'm alternately depressed and anxious - mostly depressed. The anti-depressants don't seem to be helping at all. I've been getting some good exercise, eating and doing my daily meditation. Nothing seems to help. I almost drank last night - it was the only way I knew to escape the depression for a few hours. I don't ever want to go back, but living like this is absolutely miserable.

Is this PAWS? Has anyone else experienced this? Do I just need to be more patient (60 days, 90 days)? When did it get better for you?

Thanks,

Sunday

eJoshua

To answer your questions: I don't know, Yes I have, Yes you do, around 90 days is when I noticed a big difference.

The key is, remember that you didn't mess your life up in 24 days, so don't expect to suddenly feel better in 24 days. I know 24 days feels like a long time when you aren't drinking, but in reality it is a very short amount of time.

You'll get there, the first few months are really about clearing your head and staying strong, IME.

Dee74

It might be PAWs - none of us are really qualified to say...check out this link though and see what you think

PAWS « Digital Dharma

It may just be depression and anxiety tho - especially if they were pre existing conditions - it took me a little longer than 30 days before I started feeling something like what I remembered as 'normal'

Hang in there - don't go backwards - you're definitely headed in the right direction

D

Bikeguy

I would give it some time. Think about how long you drank, your body and mind needs time to heal and recover. I had anxiety issues for months after I quit but they kept getting fewer and fewer and less and less. It's different for everyone but hang in there, drinking again is just heading in the absolute wrong direction.

YVRguy

Sunday , will it be an escape for a few hours or will it be a lot more?

I can only say for myself , one will lead to a lot more and not a few hours but perhaps days or weeks of insanity.

I had the wrong medications in the past and if they are not working , tell your doctor. It may be that medication is not working for you. Most medication for depression take a few weeks to start working their part.

Hang in there as going backwards will only make day 24 come again.

ZenJen

This is NOT medical advice; this is a relation of my experience.

I used to suffer from both depression and anxiety combined and self-medicated a LOT with booze. Long sory short, I currently still suffer from clinical depression with features of boarderline personality disorder (often misdiagnosed as manic-depression or bipolar disorder). So, I'm not only on an antidepressant (zoloft, which takes up to 8 weeks before being noticably consistantly effective) but also a dose of a mood stabilizer that is meant to support and amplify the antidepressant (my mood stabilizer is Abilify, and it's therapeautic effects present in as early as 72 hours, with it's full effectiveness depends on the presenting of the antidepressant).

I'm on day 23 of sobriety AND taking my meds responsibly. Both you and I are still a few weeks away from being able to acurately judge if the medicine is doing what we need it to do or not. I think PAWS could very well be a solid explaination as well - as early recovery is often no picnic (well, except for random occurances of the pink cloud).

If you feel comforatble with face-to-face meetings, I suggest trying to find a dual-diagnosis/MICD group. Tackling sobreity while battling depression can be dangerously exhausting...... I hope you're able to take it just a day, or even just an hour at a time.

You'll be in my thoughts. Take care!

nvrbeentospain

I agree with the advice to talk to your doctor. Antidepressant meds can take a long time to take effect (like 2 to 8 weeks), but it's possible you need some med tweaking. Either a higher dose or new medication. Also therapy doesn't hurt.

It sounds like you're doing all the right stuff, so good for you. There might be an element of just giving it some time, too.

sunday69

Thank you all very much! I do have some pre-existing anxiety and depression, and I guess I hoped it would clear up when I got sober (as it has in the past for me). Maybe this time I've just done too much damage and let things get too stressful while drinking.

I see my psychiatrist this week and I pray that he'll have some good ideas. SSRI's don't work for me, so I'm going the mood stabilizer route.

I am getting some therapy - probably not enough - and I did go to a dual-diagnosis meeting today.

I appreciate your support and your advice to give it more time. I know that you all know how difficult that can be.

Thanks again and all the best!