RobertGPF

I have decided to quit drinking and join a support group. I'm an all-or-nothing kind of guy and only drink once or twice a week but my God, once I start I'm not stopping and I sure do cause an awful lot of trouble and drama.

I take 200mg of Wellbutrin which really helps me get out of bed and get motivated but it also intensifies the urge to drink and when I do drink it's double the amount. Last night I had six Bud Light's, a half bottle of red wine and a half bottle of white wine (yes I'm not feeling too good today). I quit anti-depressants before and it's hard because I battle depression/anxiety daily and I can get quite low on occasion. I have been reading about how SSRI's have had a negative impact on people who were once normal drinkers and turned their lives upside down. I asked my doctor if there was an anti-depressant without SSRI's and he said there wasn't.

So I'm just wondering if anyone has had to quit anti-depressants because it was doing more harm than good. It's like a double-edged sword. I hate battling the depression but I hate drinking far worse so hopefully some time anyway from alcohol and getting back into shape will help.

Thanks and everyone have a good day.

Anna

Welcome, Robert.

For me, I needed to get my depression diagnosed and treated with anti-depressants before I was able to stop drinking and begin recovery. The anti-depressants level the playing field for me in recovery. Without anti-depressants, I didn't care enough about myself to be successful at sobriety.

I do know that anti-depressants can affect people differently so my suggestion would be to talk to your doctor again? Does he know you are trying to stop drinking?

Dee74

Welcome Robert

Anna’s suggestion to talk to your doctor again is a good one.
There are non SSRI anti depressants. Your Dr may well have dismissed them as unsuitable for you, but they do exist.

D

least

Yes there are lots of anti depressants that your doctor might not have mentioned I would ask him again for suggestions. I was put on Zoloft and it works for me very well don't give up keep looking until you find the right one.

anxiousrock

also on zoloft after trying about 10 others. Works best for me so far.

Backtogood

I have been on lexapro since I quit drinking a few months ago and it has done wonders for my depression and anxiety. Although it took 6 weeks to level out between not drinking anymore and trading the anti depressant. 🙃

overforty

I've been prescribed Citalopram and it has drastically reduced my desire to drink.
How it will work in the long term I do not know.
Like others have said talk to your healthcare provider to discuss your options.
I wish I had started taking an SSRI years ago - it might have prevented me wasting the last 15 years of my life.

Cantonian

I was on 200-400 mg of Welbutrin depending on the season at one time, they stopped working as well as they had, I had already quit the antidepressants because while they worked a little, they made me very sleepy which made me...depressed, coming off those was a nightmare of random electro-shocks from the SSRIs for 4 months...I titrated according to what the doc said as well.
Anyway after long term sobriety and starting a life of exercise and weight training, my depression lifted but not the anxiety so I tried CBD Isolate ( made my own tincture with safflower oil very cheaply), I used isolate, not the oil because isolate has negligible THC and I was being drug tested at work.
It was truly a wonder for me, gave me a sense of calm and no anxiety and it is not addictive, I forget to take it sometimes and only remember when I feel the anxiety creeping up on me.
It doesn't work for everyone, but what a true blessing it has been for me.
Research it and you (or anyone here) can PM me and I can link you to a reputable place to get it if you're interested.

samwitch

Welbutrin is not an SSRI. It's an NDRI type of anti-depressant so it affects brain chemistry differently than the SSRI types(Zoloft, Lexapro, etc.)

Also to note-it can cause seizures and the risk of this goes up when combined with drinking, you absolutely shouldn't drink while taking it.

I don't mean to give any type of medical advice, but if I were in your shoes(and I was as in the past I had a prescription for Wellbutrin) I would ditch the booze and keep the prescribed drug.

RunningScared

As Anna said, make sure you are being honest with your doctor. My psychiatrist added Naltrexone to Wellbutrin and that helped me. Ask your physician if that's a possibility. Naltrexone has some side effects for some people that can be intolerable. How many SSRI's have you tried? Maybe something else might work and not cause alcohol cravings.