Anti Anxiety Medication

[My New Beginning]

Anti Anxiety Medication

Starting: When I went off Prozac, I just stopped suddenly. Terrible withdrawals!! In fact, it was so bad I had to go back on it. Then a few months later, I started the taper which took about 3 months. No side effects.

Rubes: I'm finding that Lexapro has supressed my appetite, also. Not a bad thing at all for me.

So, right now, all is good. Of course, I'm taking it one day at a time and trying to stay grounded.

[keeta]

Anti Anxiety Medication

Brain zaps are awful. I remember going off Effexor and it was literally hell on earth.
I also think in the course of my drinking life time, I have self medicated with alcohol for anxiety/panic attacks, and depression. I am glad you have found a medication that is working for you, New. The not sleeping can be the worst, and make you so worn down both physically and emotionally that you just simply cannot cope.

Good luck, and keep working with whatever works for you!

[UrbanFool]

Anti Anxiety Medication

I went through a lot of drugs and am now mainly on Prozac. Oddly, I have to have 2 prescriptions, one for 20mg and one for 40mg so I make up a 100mg dose. Don't know the deal of that.

Anyway, for the first time in my life I stopped biting my fingernails (!) and stopped carving on myself (mostly), and also... look at that. I totally forgot --even when it was all important. I hope this memory loss goes away one of these days. Well, when I can think of the 3rd important thing, I'll post it.

[UrbanFool]

Anti Anxiety Medication

One other thing (not the 3rd thing) is that my husband still goes through my trash can every night. So I have this Sears bag which is the same colors as the Rite-Aid bags where I get my booze. So I hang onto that Sears bag, cram it carefully into the garbage, and without fail, it's on top and spread out every morning. Just my own little fun. (Although it'll be nice when he trusts me enough to not do that anymore.)

[Claremont]

Anti Anxiety Medication

Dr. Ameisen's Book

"The end of my addiction" is all about how his anxiety was a precursor to his alcoholism. Basically we are all genetically pre-disposed to alcoholism but some of us have underlying conditions which bring us to alcoholism - anxiety being one of them. His cure was Baclofen. Good read.

C

[redhibiscus]

Anti Anxiety Medication

Mynewbeginning,
Different medications work for various people. You are extremely lucky to find one that is working so well. Sometimes it takes several tries till the right med is prescribed.

[1967]

Anti Anxiety Medication

oh my gosh i was on prozac and xanex AND kept drinking!
i am taking stablon now and it is no miracle cure either, but it is working on the depression and anxiety.
so i think it is easier for me to 'talk myself down' so to speak.
i still cannot drink though, meaning it doesn't stop me from wanting to have more than one.
that would be nice, now wouldn't it?!


gosh i am so tired i don't have energy for logging in and typing, i really don't, but i don't have a choice. if i stay away i tend to loose my focus.
today i had to talk myself home without making a pit stop. i said 'just go home and eat, you'll feel better.'
it worked.
it took me many years of wine to get like this, is it going to take as many to set myself free?

[beatle]

Anti Anxiety Medication

If anxiety, together with alcohol, is your main problem, try baclofen. That's what the Dr. Ameisen book is about. And it's barely a medication-- being a synthetic version of what is in every mammal's body. There is a lot about this on the meds forum ("Topomax,...) if you are interested.

[nancy]

Anti Anxiety Medication

I think Lexapro is actually being studied in alcoholism but no conclusive results yet. A few years ago, a few of us here went off of it due to weight gain and no benefits for alcohol reduction.

In two years of membership here, I have heard almost nothing good about anti-depressants for alcoholism, though it seems like it should work. Most of the reports here have been about how it's counter-productive to take anti-depressants while drinking because they won't work or about how hard it is to withdraw. Lexapro is not that hard to withdraw from.

I think there might be a placebo effect for anti-depressants and supplements in alcoholism.

[beatle]

Anti Anxiety Medication

Interesting, Nancy. I don't think I have ever heard about positive results with using SSRIs to treat alcoholism either.

I guess in some cases, if the real problem was always depression, and the patient is willing to stop drinking while being treated, it might work.

But I have been told by numerous doctors that SSRIs don't work in combination with alcohol.

My personal extensive experience supports this assertion.

My gut feeling also tells me that SSRIs interfere with your natural chemistry. SSRIs are selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, and that means they are artificial ways of making your brain do something it would otherwise not do. Pretty scary if you ask me.

[nancy]

Anti Anxiety Medication

Yes, Beatle, I am with you. I think many of the people on this site are already on some kind of psych medication, an anti-depressant or anti-anxiety drug, and found that none of it worked for alcholism.

Lexapro seems pretty mild compared to other drugs.

I think really what we have to consider here, and I am not a doctor, just summarizing what I have read, is that nobody really knows how anti-depressants work. The serotonin thing sounded good and scientific but that is not proven. Anybody with more science knowledge than I have please do step in! They do somehow elevate mood. So does a good experience of love, or exercise. And wow, what a revelation, so does treating yourself well. Cognitive behavioral therapy has good results. And the placebo is close to many anti-depressants.

And what I really wonder with your post is if there is a placebo effect. This would be great. In fact, we have a lot more power to change our lives than we ever give ourselves credit for.

I don't think anybody has reported good results with anti-depressants for a severe drinking problem, but I believe a member named Determinator was following this a while back.

Good luck.

[universal]

Anti Anxiety Medication

What does a brain zap consist of? I am on cipralex (lexapro) and have forgotten to take it a couple of times and just wonder what you mean in case it is what I have experienced?

[UrbanFool]

Anti Anxiety Medication

I remember the 3rd thing my anxiety meds did for me effortlessly. I went from a nearly 3 pack a day smoker to 1 pack every 2 or 3 days. Can't beat that.

[My New Beginning]

Anti Anxiety Medication

I started taking Lexapro because I had such anxiety issues that I was having trouble sleeping.
Now I'm sleeping great and the added bonus is I don't think about alcohol! And since I've been taking Lexapro I've lost a little weight. Yay!! For me, it's a wonderful thing. For others, probably not so good.

[UrbanFool]

Anti Anxiety Medication

The Lexapro did nothing for me, but they put me on Seroquel which was really wonderful until I gained nearly 100 pounds. And I'm having a really hard time losing it, even after quitting taking it. The Seroquel for me was for nighttime because I wasn't sleeping.