Krys

I want to start off by saying that I in no way believe that an antidepressant is 100% responsible for any addiction, but has anyone else ever heard of one contributing to cravings? My abf is on one and has been for a few years, and there seems to be a link. When he first said that he thought they were part of the problem I thought it was just another excuse, but in seeing how he is since tapering off of them, and through some research they do seem to bring out the cravings in people who may be predisposed to addiction. His psychiatrist seems to agree that there is a link...and there is a lawsuit in the works (he is not a part of it). Just wondering if anyone has heard of it or has had personal experience with it.

lizatola

Yes, my AH upped the binge drinking shortly after starting taking Paxil. He told me that he felt that the paxil contributed to the 'drinking too much in one sitting' problem but he did nothing about it. He got a DUI, too, and swore off drinking but kept taking the paxil and I know he's been drinking and hiding it since. So, yes I've heard of it. Also, Glaxo Smith Klein has alcohol abuse listed as a neurological possible side effect to the drug so even the manufacturer is documenting it now.

Krys

Thanks Liz! He is on Zoloft which is one of the drugs mentioned in the article I read. He is slowly tapering off of it. She gave him Klonopin to go with it originally, but thankfully he rarely takes them. He has never really liked the Zoloft and in the beginning he told her that and she just increased his dosage and told him he would get used to it. I think that with his current problems and past addiction it may have just helped create the perfect storm. I'm not letting him off the hook, but it's nice to know that he wasn't making it up...or that it wasn't all in his head. So your AH has no plans to give it up or switch meds even though he knows it could be contributing to the problem?

lizatola

Pretty much. He went to his psych. doc a few weeks ago and came home with another 3 months worth of pills. He also takes trazadone, which is another antidepressant that's prescribed for sleeping mostly. He plays with his meds, too, sometimes skipping a few weeks or changing the dose on his own. Yeah, like that's a good idea, DUH! He doesn't communicate with me about his meds and doesn't want my input. He's very unstable when he tries to mess with his dosages and it's one of the other issues in our marriage along with the alcohol abuse(among other things).

akalacha

My A was on an anti-depressant for 6 months and he actually stopped drinking for that time. But then that particular drug was no longer available. His dr. switched him to another one but it made things worse. He got depressed again and started drinking again. Was switched to another different drug with the same results. He went off the anti-depressants, continues to drink, refuses to go back to the dr.

RevivingOphelia

I've read and wondered about this too.

I was on Celexa (now on Lexapro--similar) and I did wonder about its correlation to the increase and severity of my binges. It felt like I could drink more w/o getting as drunk and the cravings became stronger.

I don't know if it was the anti-depressant or the circumstances in my life?

If I knew it was directly related, I'd try to stop Lexapro. However, now that I am not drinking (early days), the meds might actually be working as they should.

Katiekate

Anti depressants are very difficult to come off of and there can be terrible withdrawal symptoms. I think there in lies the problem, medicating the symptoms of withdrawal with alcohol, not cravings per se, just trying to feel better. It's a vicious cycle.

It really blows my mind that a doctor would prescribe klonopin, another very powerful and addictive med to help with withdrawal from anti depressants.

The world of medicine has gone haywire. JMO

soberbrooke

When I took anti-depressants I always craved more alcohol. I think they made me feel better, and what a great excuse for drinking even more!
I think there is definitely a correlation!

Learn2Live

I have found that when I am so involved in someone else's healthcare, cravings and choices that I start researching causes of relapse, solutions to problems, etc, I am enmeshed in their addiction and seeking to control outcomes. I take a HUGE step back when I realize I am doing this because I know it is part of my Denial.

totfit

Any personal experience or evidence for me pointed to just the opposite.

Linkmeister

My EXABF was taking Paxil and Wellbutrin, for depression along with Seroquel to help him sleep. Along with the alcohol, it made for a very unstable guy and the more he tried to adjust the doses, the worse it got.

When I read the article about Glaxo-Smith Kline's complicity with the first two drugs, it finally all began to make sense to me about his behaviour and increased # of binges. Then, I read another article about the over prescription of drugs, of which Seroquel was cited as one that was prescribed for the wrong reasons.

If I had read this a year ago, I would have spent hours researching this, looking for answers and solutions, telling EXABF all of this, hoping he would do something. His doctor kept prescribing these drugs, no questions asked. I would have been on a tear, going off against doctors, the drug companies, wondering how they could do this.

But, I read these articles last week a year and a bit after I left the EX and I could look at them a lot more objectively, knowing that I left that chaos behind me, hoping that the he will find his way out of the haze of the mix of these prescription drugs and alcohol. I happened to see the ex a c ouple of weeks ago, in the grocery store and after he checked out, headed right to the liquor store. In other words, nothing changes, but nothing changes.

It's all such a vicious cycle-one addiction begets another, whiule not getting to the core of the real problem.