SSRIs and GAD

[Otter]

There is a growing construction of alcoholism or at least some forms of alcoholism as being a product of GAD or Generalized Anxiety Disorder. There is also a view that anxiety and Bipolar are possibly the same illness and there is a concern that SSRI's make Bipolar worse and can result in suicidal feelings. This is also my personal experience:

Anxiety and Bipolar disorder

I just mention this because there are a number of people here who have suggested SSRI's are useful for alcoholism. It may be that they have helped some people, but, as the article suggests, they should be taken with caution.


Best wishes and Happy New Year

[LadyLush]

SSRIs and GAD

Otter,
I am not a senior member so it was not me. :-)

I began taking Celexa, an SSRI, over 10 weeks ago. Otter it made me nuts! The depression was worse and everything I took it for became full blown. I am back on just Baclofen ONLY, thank God, and feel normal again.
So personally I WILL conclude that as much as I hate the word "Bipolar" - I became worse and suicide did enter my mind as a thought for the first time in my life.

Thanks Otter,

LL

[Ne/Neva Eva]

SSRIs and GAD

I thought I was bipolar for a while, too. And I'm no fan of SSRIs either. At all.

But it turns out that I'm not. Bipolar that is. SSRIs don't work for me, and there are some pretty scary implications for some of them related to alcoholism. Same with Tylenol, though. That is something that alcoholics should actively avoid. Acetaminophen is really, really bad for the liver even for people with normal liver function. Who knew?

[Otter]

SSRIs and GAD

I am deleting the thing about senior members.

The point I am trying to make is that it is pointless using names like bipolar nowadays. It is possible to see with scans how the brain works and what medicines work on what part of the brain. It is all about getting better, not stigmatizing people with the term "mental illness". Baclofen sorts out a problem which some people call a mental illness.

There is no mind or, if there is, it exists in our "thoughts" so it cannot be ill; just a brain. The part of the brain affected by alcoholism is like a central processing unit in a computer and when it goes wrong it results in a spectrum of disorders. That is why autism is called a spectrum disorder and why Baclofen and Arbaclofen are now being used to treat it.

[penelope67]

SSRIs and GAD

AGREED OTTER!!! I wish to hell they would start using scans on everybody!! It's so unfair. i am amazed by the work of Dr. Daniel Amen who uses brain scans to diagnose people with various behavioral and emotional and physical difficulties. When i was in the ER the doctor asked what is the most money I ever spent shopping, obviously she was trying to figure out if i am bi-polar. The whole question seemed absurd bkz I am pretty poor and i do not use credit cards. So that question was pathetic as a way to determine if i am bi-polar. I have been told numerous times I am not bi-polar. My last psychiatrist put me on gabapentin (a bipolar med) and i did really well and then she said but you are not bi-polar. LMAO!! I almost definitely have some kind of bipolar issues, maybe less so than what is traditional but no doctor has seen that. I think the old ways of diagnosing are ineffectual! I told one doctor I have PTSD and he said "You don't have PTSD, well you have trauma but not PTSD" WTF??? I wish to got I had the $3K to go see Amen.

[Cinders]

SSRIs and GAD

Penelope,

I take Gabapentin for cluster headaches due to brain lesions. I am also increasing it to deal with nerve pain from a ruptured disk.

I never noticed any benefit in my moods from it. I have been as high as 2400 mgs/day.

Here is an article about Gabapentin and bipolar that might be of interest to you:

Bipolar Disorder Medication Spotlight: Neurontin (Gabapentin) | Bipolar Beat

Cindi