Zoloft increases desire to drink

[MsInnerwest]

HI there,
I need some advice and not sure where to turn. I have been a problem drinker since my teenage years and with alcoholism on both sides of the family. It seems like the major preoccupation of my adult life has been drinking and how to stop. My doctor is sick of me and I feel she is blaming me for constantly failing. I blame and shame myself so can't bear to see that reflected back at me too.

Over the past few years I have tried naltrexone, as prescribed by doctor, worked for a few weeks then back up to normal drinking levels. Tried Sinclair Method for a few months with no measurable benefit. Went to cognitive behaviour therapy sessions for 6 months while taking campral - just lied to my therapist about reducing my drinking. Been through AA wringer, admitted to an outpatient programme at the hospital Drug & Alcohol centre, all to no avail.

The only thing that has worked to reduce my desire for alcohol is Mirtazipine. It really did give me that feeling of indifference. Only, I could barely function. Put on about 15kgs, felt like I'd been hit by a truck, never really 'waking up' properly. Felt dumb and experienced weird and scary auditory hallucinations. The dr was pretty annoyed that I felt I couldn't just put up with this if it was helping me stop drinking. But I swapped over to Zoloft, which is great in every way except one - it has given me an insatiable desire for alcohol. I am drinking more than ever, having memory loss & blackouts but the weird thing is - I don't really care. It takes away the guilt and shame of my behaviour.

So I am weaning myself off the zoloft. The doctor said to give it at least 6 months - it has been 4 and I'm only getting worse. I'm down to about 10-15mg daily but still drinking as much as ever. I don't know what to do because I just feel so scared. The zoloft was brilliant for managing anxiety and I had forgotten how debilitating it is to be living with this underlying sense of fear and dread. My muscles are constantly tense and I just have that 'hate myself' feeling. I really feel like I need a valium or zanax to get through this period but the doctors here never prescribe that stuff. If you say you need it, they will say you have to be in a detox facility. I still haven't gone a day without alcohol but I'm going to try the beer detox, starting tonight. Then I was thinking of ordering some medication online.

I am tossing up between Ondansetron and Topamax. As Ondansetron is a 5HT3 antagonist, similar to Mirtazipine, and I am undoubtedly and early-onset genetic alcoholic I suspect it would be the one to go for, however I would prefer to avoid the getting fat/lethargy/extreme startle-response hell that was Mirtazipine. Does anyone have experience with this? I'm wary of Topamax to be honest. The side-effects seem pretty extreme and I hate the idea of more mental lethargy/memory loss.

Any advice would be a great help.
Michelle

[jenniech]

Zoloft increases desire to drink

Hi Michelle and :welcome:
I have been taking Zoloft since 2000. I started taking it due to post partum depression....and then when I was ready to start weaning off it, 9/11 happened - I was directly involved with the WTC horror. I have tried on and off through the years to wean myself off it under my doctors guidance but it hasn't worked. I begin to feel depressed and it is horrible....especially in early recovery.....So, I have resigned myself to the fact that zoloft will be with me for the very near future but I would like to stop taking it.....it is a very strong drug!! I am on 75 mgs a day which is very low but seems to keep me out of the awful feelings of depression. I did not find that Zoloft made me want to drink more. It had no affect in that regard one way or the other. But what I did find (and my husband can attest to) is that Zoloft made my drunks WORSE. I had regular blackouts and the AL hit me harder.

The most interesting thing I have learned over these past 5 months of sobriety is that the act of not drinking is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of really getting sober. There is much more to AL than the drink itself. I drank to get drunk to escape and to tune out from the world. In order to stop drinking, I had to look really hard at WHY I was drinking and figure out a way to deal with the WHY.

I have also learned that while certain supplements like L Glutamine can help with cravings, drugs alone are not going to do the trick of making me sober. Not drinking comes from within myself.

The nice part about MWO is that you can tell us about yourself and your life with no threat of judgment or rejection. The support in here is awesome and no one knows who your are outside of MWO!!!! We all have the common problem of alcohol and we all want to help each other get sober. By helping others, I am helping myself.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? We would love to get to know you. Head over to the Newbies Nest where you will find all sorts of people in various stages of early sobriety. I think that if you look hard at WHY you drink, it will help you STOP without the crutch of drugs.

[Lizann]

Zoloft increases desire to drink

Jenniech

Your reply was helpful to me today as well. I was taking the Zoloft as well and did not find it increased my desire to drink but so very much helped me with the anxiety. I believe that taking zoloft or any aniexty medication and drinking has to effect your liver so much more. i was afraid to drink while on it. I have recently weaned off of the Zoloft and for now I am doing ok, although I do have some of my old anxiety symptoms. I know I drank to self medicate, I didn't want to feel. I'm just taking it one day at a time.

[jenniech]

Zoloft increases desire to drink

that's awesome lizann...you sound like you have a great attitude....one day at a time.
I would LOVE to stop taking zoloft. once I have some really good time under my belt with the not drinking, I will wean off it more slowly than I have in the past.
When stopping I would go from 75 mgs to 50 mgs but I think that is too much at once so will try 75 then 65 then 50 or something like that. Will have to cut up the pills. YUK
Anyway, after I get off the zoloft, I will tackle the cigarettes. I am a very light smoker but I am definitely hooked.
After that, i will be PERFECT :H