Leo1984

Hi.

Can anyone shine any light on this situation. So i have drank for 14 years, what i would class as sociably. However when i drank, mostly 3-4 times per week it would be 100 units plus in that week.

For the past year i started to notice during the early part of the week i would wake up sweaty, heart pounding, feeling dread and low mood. This went on in the same pattern for ages. I went to docs and had all blood work done - no issues. I was started on antidepressants and each time when i started them i stopped drinking. I felt ill after 1 week and i stopped the meds and went back to alcohol. Then again a while later more meds and same again felt awful. However this time i started meds and did not stop drinking. I was fine on meds for 8 weeks and after a 130 unit weekend i decided to stop drinking for good about 4 weeks ago. Soon as i stopped drinking i felt the same, slept for hours and still tired, mental fog, confusion and generally just awful.

Im now 4 weeks alcohol free and still take my tablet. However i feel exhausted! Confused abit! Foggy! Irritable!

Any ideas how normal this is and how long im in for the ride.

Cheers

Leo

DontRemember

It should pass. I was on xanex when I was drinking regulary,not alcholicly drinking(that came later). I never really took them as prescribed,but also didn't abuse them. I found that my anxiety stemmed from the complicated 'life' I had built up around my drinking. Toxic relationships with pretty much everyone. I'm around 16-17mo(I don't count days) and I don't take anything except over the counter pain pills and allergy meds now. It's quite amazing how drinking/drugging overcomplicates things! Give it time and everything should even out. A month is awesome btw!

Leo1984

Hi.

Im now on the antidepressant which is prescribed by my GP. Im not abusing or using any street drugs. I only take 1 prescribed tablet.

Im just unsure if anxiety and low mood was from withdrawal of alcohol all along and not just anxiety and low mood in general. That i will never know!

I just know that for the past 4 weeks i have felt, low, anxious, lethargic, sleep is amazing, i can sleep for hours but still tired during the day. My concentration is poor. I feel kind of spaced on and off during the day.

Leo1984

Also i was fine on the antidepressant until i stopped the alcohol at 8 weeks of medication.

Then past 4 weeks all these symptoms.

Talulah

No medical advice meant here, but I have been told by doctors that excessive alcohol intake can cancel out or at least partially negate the affects of antidepressants. I would talk to your doctor about your ongoing symptoms. Possibly the antidepressant isn't a good fit for you.

DontRemember

I kinda forget what they gave me when I asked to go off xanex..Zoloft or something..it made me sick and didn't alleviate my anxiety,so I just trashed it. It took me around 60-90days to feel 'normal' after I quit drinking. Of course I still had a mess to clean up,so that gave me anxiety but once I got my stuff in order I was ok. If it doesn't go away you should speak with your doc.

MindfulMan

I think this situation is a pretty clear case of you needing medical advice rather than going on the experiences of forum members.

Response to antidepressants, in general, to different classes, to drugs within the same class varies widely from person to person. Equally variable is the effect that alcohol has on different people, and the combination is even more difficult to predict.

I would suggest that you be working with a psychiatrist with experience both with mood disorders and substance use disorders, definitely not just with your GP. Whatever kind of doctor you are seeing, you should fully disclose the amount, history, and timing of your drinking, particularlyas it relates to concurrent AD therapy.

Leo1984

I feel that its symptoms of PAWS. I was fine and felt good until i stopped drinking 4 weeks ago. I felt the same the last time i tried to stop it for good.

I see my pdoc on friday.