BCS

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to give an update on myself. I don't post a ton, but I am on everyday and I'm still gaining a lot from this site.

I'm 22 day sober and still going through these ups and downs. I don't expect there to be an immediate improvement, but I really wish I could control my emotions a little better.

In several threads I have noticed talk about antidepressants and other related meds. I feel as though I may benefit from these, but I don't have health insurance at the moment so I feel as if these are not feasible for me.

Does anyone have any advice on how to push through this without seeing a Dr? I'm trying to focus on my job and other activities, you know, trying to better myself. But sometimes, I feel like there's not enough time in the day. Sometimes I miss those days when I didn't care.

Thanks

Anna

Congratulations on 22 days sober. That's great!

I do use antidepressants because my depression began in my teen years, long before I began to drink. If your depression began while you were drinking, then it might ease up on its own as weeks go by. If not, maybe you can find a way to talk to a dr.

Things that I do to stay positive are listening to music and journalling. I hope that you are making an effort to eat well and I found that VitaminB helped me feel stable emotionally.

Dee74

There are a lot of free or low cost clinics around - if there's one in your local area you might get some medical advice there BCS?

Free/Low-Cost/Sliding-Scale Clinics
2-1-1 Call Center Search

D

Sazzle

Congrats on 22 days. My depression was pretty much down to alcohol and I tapered off my ADs just prior to quitting alcohol. The meds I had, for anxiety & depression actually made my anxiety worse so I decided to taper off (under my GPs guidance) and address my alcoholism after.

I hear that exercise is a great way to boost your serotonin levels (I'm not practising what I preach here!) as well as foods with triptophan in them - chicken, eggs, spinach. Drink plenty of water and be kind to yourself, rest when you feel like it- you're only a few weeks in and your body will be repairing itself so needs rest.

S x

elp19744

I am on mood stabalizers for bi polar disorder, have been for 8 years. I have found that the biggest help to me was not the pills, but simply working out and talking out my issues. I'm still doing that which is why I find the site so helpful. Just keep looking inward and making the decisions you know to be right and that will help. I also find that a lot of structure helps as well as exercise. I know these are all the usual answers but they are coming from someone who has lived with intense mental health issues and become a better person (or at least still trying - only 17 days sober here)

BCS

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the input.

heath480

Congratulations on 22days sober.

I think early sobriety is a time of mixed emotions,it was for me,I had no balance,I was either up in the air or down in the dumps.

Perhaps see the Doctor if things dont improve.

Be kind to yourself,keep hydrated,eat good food, exercise and get plenty of rest.

Wishing you well.

vegibean

You already have great advice and I also recommend you calling a local 211.org in your area, you can look them up online.

Another thing is to keep cheerleading yourself all the way. I cannot tell you how many days, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and so on that I just wanted to give up and I just fought my way through it. I knew I was worthy of so much more and I didn't want to give up, I wanted to win!!

In the end, you have to be your biggest fan, so keep cheering yourself on, you can do this. Try some of the other suggestions too, don't give up!!

And also, congrats on 22 days, that is soooooooooo VERY AWESOME!!

nomis

Congrats on 22 days! I think alcohol either created a lot mental issues with or exaggerated them. Early sobriety is tough dude, there's two ways around it. The body takes some time to re-charge and learn how to reward itself again.

In my experience anyways, I suffered from depression, panic attacks and social anxiety. I have found that besides the social anxiety the other two symptoms have been alleviated greatly after a couple months of sobriety.

Having said that it never, ever hurts to talk to a doctor (I'm not practicing what I preach here either).

BCS

Thanks for all the advice. I'm going to keep on pushing through. Everyday is a small triumph in early sobriety, it seems. I feel better when I focus on the progress I've made rather than what I'm feeling at a particular moment. And I'll check out those low cost clinics. It's worth a shot. Thanks for the contact info, Dee.

fantail

Hey BCS -- Just a quick note on cost. I'm also uninsured, and I've recently started ADs (I had depression/anxiety before I had an alcohol problem). I went to a community doctor, which cost me $100 dollars for the initial appointment (1 hour) and $50 for subsequent check-ins (of which I expect to have a total of 3). The scripts themselves are less expensive than I expected... about $70 for a two month supply. If you do go, make sure you mention to the doctor that you will be paying out of pocket. The woman I went to was great at factoring that in as we were evaluating my symptoms and narrowing down the choices.

It's not nothing, but considering I used to spend probably $70/week or more on alcohol, I haven't found it too hard to swing.