Live2Run25

First of all.. i'm not asking for MEDICAL advice.. just asking if anyone has experienced anything similar to me who has been on an anti-depressant? =)

I started taking Paxil in Janurary for anxiety. Anxiety that was getting pretty bad. I could barely drive in the car, my parents couldn't stand to be around me, and I had horrible social anxiety. Of course, I drank on paxil several days a week, and you are not supposed to drink on it. I guess because alcohol is a depressant and it negates the pill.

I am on day 75 sober right now. I feel great. No anxiety, no depression. I feel like I want to start weaning off of the pill (which i know I need to talk to my doctor about) but i'm now wondering if it'd be the wrong idea because i'm just NOW starting to feel the real effects of the paxil because I am no longer drinking?? I don't want to be on ANY pill forever.. but my mom is really upset that I might go off of it. She says she can see a big difference in me. I thought I was feeling good because of being off the alcohol, but now it's occuring to me that maybe the pill just wasn't working...

Anyone ever been in this situation? Did you go off the meds? stay on the meds??

thanks everyone!!

FredG

Only you can really decide this. I'm not a doctor and don't profess to be anything close. Anything I say below is based totally on my own experience with Anti-Ds.

I'm on one called Wellbutrin - also proscribed for quitting smoking

Personally - I wouldn't be too quick to do anything. If the Anti-D is working let it work for a while and get yourself in order. Anti-Ds are given to help balance chemical imbalances in our bodies. Nothing more - Nothing less.

Might be an idea to do some online research of your Anti-D in any case. Some can have some serious side effects just taking them. I used to be pretty amazed when I read up on some of them. For example - I saw one (can't remember the name) that caused suicidal tendancies in a significant percentage of those taking it.

Live2Run25

Thanks Fred. I get where you are coming from about staying where I am at, but I've changed a lot in my mindset in the 75 days i've been sober. I feel like this pill may be doing what alcohol was doing. Covering up my problems. My doctor told me when he prescribed it that it was not a CURE, that i'd need to find the real reason I had the anxiety, and i'm thinking drinking was a BIG part of it. I hate the thought of a pill "making" me happy. I'm just not sure what to do!

FredG

75 days isn't a lot.

I agree with you about not replacing one addiction with another but ...

Let me put it this way. I can only speak for me. If it were me, and I was in the early days of sobriety I would seriously consider what other major changes I was making. As an example, that's fairly close to your situation. When I quit drinking I was a smoker. After about 6 months or so of sobriety, I decided to get the other monkey off my back. It lasted for about a week before I decided to smoke again. The added stress the lack of nicotine in my system put on me almost caused me to go back out.

After about 2 years, I did quit smoking. Lasted about 4 years and then like an idiot I decided to smoke to get back at a bad relationship. Really taught that ...lady a lesson.
Anyway, I digress.

You need to make the decision. Just be careful either way.

Live2Run25

Oh I know 75 days isn't a long time.. but I have realized a lot in 75 days. Like why I was drinking... I guess i'll have to think about it. Thanks Fred.

suki44883

I think you should talk to your doctor and tell him exactly what you said here. A professional would be the best person to discuss the pros and cons of quitting the Paxil.

gincognito

You have to talk to your doctor about it but I'd imagine you could step down your dose gradually over a few weeks and keep a journal of your moods to see how things go. Not that I know, most ADs make me ******* crazy manic so I don't generally take them....

seapig

Hi Britt,

I have been taking Paxil for about 16 years having started taking it for Panic attacks/disorder. Everyone in my family has suffered from them at some point. Paxil was a life saver having reduced/eliminated my panic attacks in about a month.

My drinking continued, however, and progressively got worse until I hit bottom about 2 years ago and finally admitted I was an alcoholic and started doing something about it (my drinking). One thing I noticed was that alcohol would essentially defeat the effects of the Paxil for a period of time.

Once I stopped drinking completely (thank heavens), I finally felt good, actually very, very happy.

I firmly believe that many people suffer from inherent (and inherited) chemical imbalances that need to be addressed in addition to any emotional/mental challenges we may have as alcoholics.

From my own experience, I would recommend staying on the Paxil for a while in particular not to jeopardize your sobriety. Just a few changes at a time....

427

Hey girl! I've been on anti-d's for a long time. Have been on Cymbalta for probably 4 years now, but have been on them for the past 15-20 years. I've thought about wanting to get off of them, too, and yes, essential to talk to a doc Who Specializes (i.e., psychiatrist, psych NP - who are usually cheaper, etc.). I tried going off Prozac many years back and was ok for the first few weeks then Blam! Back it came.

I used to work on a psych unit (as a transcriptionist) and want to emphasize that it's a very tricky thing to get off of them. I'd wait until you have longer sobriety and more information.

Really bugs me when I see these ads on TV (yeah, You tell Your Doc what drugs You want! Say what?!!!) and they say, "May cause suicidal feelings" etc. Ummm... an anti-d might cause suicidal feelings? OK, won't get on my soap box....

My 2 cents' worth: Wait. Still talk to your doc about it, get info. I need to do the same thing. I'm not ready to try, myself, 'cuz I have to get use to one thing at a time. It takes psychic and physical stamina to deal w/ withdrawal (had also been on Xanax for 3 years due to anxiety - never abused it, but was Awful getting off of it!!).

Love you guys!

Julynine

Hi LivetoRun

Congratulations on 75 days. My opinion, for what it's worth, is not to make any major decisions such as this for at least 6 months into your sobriety. My learnings from previous failed sobriety attempts are not to do too much too soon. Continue to focus on your sobriety and don't get 'sidetracked' by other issues which could potentially 'de-rail' your progress. Most of us have multiple issues to deal with but I would deal with your alcoholism first and foremost.

Take care

Julynine

mm222

L2R-I've started Wellbutrin since I stopped drinking, not that long ago. It's definitely helped. I'm concerned about all the same things you are. With my DR's blessing, I'll probably only take it for about a year and then try to wean off and see how it goes. I can always go back on if need be. I'm newly sober, too so I don't want to rock the boat while things are going great and I'm feeling fine.

A couple of years ago I had a hard time with postpartum depression and took Zoloft for about 2 years. When I stopped I was fine, and my DR said lots of people use anti-d's for situational depression/anxiety. Based on that experience I'm hoping I can do that again this time around.

Personally, I don't want to be on a med forever BUT if I need to, I will. I've struggled with depression and anxiety enough to know that I can't live like that, and if anti-d's help, then I'll do what I have to do.

Hope that helps, it's such a personal thing and everyone is different. Good luck.

freshstart57

Live2Run, this is a decision that will be made by you and your prescribing Dr obviously. My experience was that my depression and anxiety lifted with a month or two of quitting alcohol. SSRI was tapered to zero over two months with no change in mood, but SNRI (Wellbutrin) was maintained. I expect that we will talk about eliminating the Wellbutrin too.
For me, drinking was indeed the cause of most of my depression and anxiety and the symptoms did not worsen when I quit the SSRI. You will only be able to make your own statement after discussing with your Dr. the approach that is best for you.

Do not quit any of these meds CT - essential to work with your Dr on this.

Anna

I think the main question is whether the anxiety/depression came before the drinking or were caused by the drinking. For me, I was depressed/anxious for many years before I started drinking, but wasn't able to get properly diagnosed and treated. So, I plodded along and eventually began to self-medicate with alcohol. When I stopped drinking, I knew I would have to find a way to deal with the depression and anxiety and I finally found something that worked for me. I have been taking it for many years now and I don't expect to ever stop. I don't ever want to go back to that dark, empty place again. I believe I have a chemical imbalance in my brain and the medication levels the playing field for me.

ACT10Npack

If the anti-depression is work then why stop taking it? I think your viewing Anti-depression pills as hard drugs which is not. What FredG said about helping balance chemical imbalances in our body. If you have really bad anxiety when your not on meds then anti-d will need to be use for a long time until your body can products chemical correctly.

Stride34

Just based on what you wrote, about the past severe anxiety depression and how you are now, it's likely that the anti-d is helping you more than you realize. Even if you had a spiritual awakening similar to the buddha, those mental 'disorders' usually don't just magically go away by themselves. I'm not saying whether to stay on or get off, but I wouldn't look at it like it's covering up, or masking your issues, or it's the easy way out. Although we don't know precisely how they help, it's believed that they are helpful in re-balancing the neurotransmitters in your brain to normal, healthy levels.

If you have a physical disorder such a chemical inbalance, you may need the medication to stay healthy, period. It would be unwise to skip your medication for any other physical illness, why is this any different?

Are there other factors involved in anxiety and depression? Yes often times there are, such as life circumstances, past conditioning, ect. These are issues that need to be addressed, but it's likely that any type of work to improve these issues will be more successful if you address any imbalance first.

I really believe that anxiety and depression are much more physical in nature than we as a society might like to believe. Even those trapped in it will understate that aspect of it because they don't realize. They constantly criticize themselves, because they don't realize what it's like for those whose brains and nervous systems are healthy.

MrsKing

I've been on anti-depressants ever since I started drinking (ha, why didn't I ever make this connection when drinking?) but have been on my current one for about a year. About a month ago I decided that I would start tapering off, because like you I was feeling SO much better and really didn't think I had any issues any more. I started coming off it and about 2 weeks later felt that I was losing my confidence and feeling anxious in situations that hadn't been an issue to me in the past. I am starting college in September and I didn't want to risk getting into a bad mental state so I decided to go back on my normal dose... my dr has suggested that I attempt coming off them again in a year. But, like Anna said - my dr also said that I could just actually need anti-depressants, because of an imbalance. I don't know whether that's true or whether I was just going through a regular withdrawal from it and after a couple of weeks on a lower dose I would have been fine, but I just didn't want to risk it because I'm feeling so great and want to feel as great when I start college!

Discuss with your doctor... just because you attempt to come off them doesn't mean that you can't change your mind.

Jitterbugg

Hi Live,
I went on Paxil about 5 years ago because of depression. For some reason, I began drinking even more on it. My worst drinking days occurred all the while I was taking Paxil and the drug never really worked because of it. I stopped drinking a year ago and finally the Paxil is working. I am going to get off it in the next year. I don't want to risk slipping into depression so early in my sobriety by going off it now, but it definitely has worked wonders. However, I can say with certainty that it does not work if you are drinking problematically. I wasted 5 years on the drug as I drank daily.

Misguided

I was diagnosed with clinical depression at age 15. I have been off and on VARIOUS depression medication since. Everytime I decided to quit taking the medication, it was because I decided I felt "normal" and I don't need to be controlled by chemicals and pills.

I didn't start major binge/alcoholism type drinking until age 25ish. I also started with anxiety issues & panic attacks around the same age. So since then, I have also been on and off medication for anxiety in addition to the anti-depressants.

My depression and anxiety took a HUGE nose dive around age 29-30 in the middle of my binge drinking years. I was on medication and drinking. I was also thinking the medication wasn't working but I was making myself worse with alcohol.

I have taken a lot of medications and docs can't seem to get it right with me. I have been sober for a little over 1.5 years and I still live with a roller coaster of emotions. I'm currently not on anything because the last doctor I went to won't put me on 2 anti-depressants at once (as suggested by my previous psych) and refuses to get me anti-anxiety meds. So I've given up (again). My sober battle is even harder bc when my mood swings down, it swings far, I want a drink badly - drinking was my "cure all & forget the rest."

I guess what I'm trying to say is, only you can be the judge on your emotions and if you really need to stay on it. If you needed it before you had a drinking problem, I would tend to think that it will be beneficial to you now that you aren't drinking. Beware of withdrawls from those types of medications as well...sometimes you go through a short period of even worse depression symptoms making you feel like you need to be on it. (Another reason why I hate being controlled by medication)

I also found over the years that psychs have the best knowledge for these medications. Whenever I get my primary dr to prescribe for my depression, it's like I become a lab rat for whatever new product just came out.

I think I caught someone say it -- 75 days sober is great but in the grand scheme of things it really is not enough time to know every nuance of being sober.

PaperDolls

I was not on Paxil when I got sober but several other anti-depressants. With my doctors supervision, I tried weaning off of them about a year and a half into sobriety. Like you, I had no interest in being on any pill forever! It didn't work out for me though. Within a week of lowering the dosage I noticed the depression creeping back in. As time went on, I was able to get off of a few of the meds. Eventually, I got pregnant, about 3 years into sobriety, and was forced to get off of everything. I did that with my doctors supervision as well. Luckily everything went great. For the first time in over 10 years I'm med free.

My advice is

• Don't rush it.
• Do it with a doctors supervision.
• Be prepared to get back on your normal dosage if things aren't going well.

Good luck!

SmittyBittyBoo

Well-I'm not as sober as you (I'm only 5+ weeks) but I am well versed in depression and anxiety (well-my own at least!).

I would go with all those who say to wait a little while. I have noticed a big change in my feelings since I've stopped drinking. My meds seem to be working SO much better. Maybe some day I"d like to get off them or reduce my dosage but right now-I"m just enjoying feeling good! It could be you need the chemicals in your brain (I believe that may be my case)-it could be that with all the drinking your body has altered and as it heals things will change but it may not be fully healed now-75 days is not even 3 months. Personally-I'd probably wait until close to a year (but at least 6 months). I'd talk to my doctor and be very honest and if it seemed like a good idea-I'd taper with a doctor's recommendation.