SSRIs and alcoholism

[istym4me]

SSRIs and alcoholism

There is a bit of a mob mentality here sometimes which is not helpful. Cliques develop and the people in them don't sometimes realize that they are being hurtful. I know people will say that about my involvement here which is why I don't post much any more. It is too easy to get into that mindset and it gives me no pleasure when I see a post from someone which says I have hurt them. I certainly did not come here to hurt anyone. I also don't post because it is not for me to post about someone else and I have to respect their privacy. And that does not mean that Baclofen does not work and it would be wrong to take that away from here. Nor, of course, am I a doctor so I would be wrong to post medical advice. Sometimes it is good to get away from this forum. It is good to have a supportive community and exciting to be involved in this medical discovery and watch it grow. So, what is this about: Sharing one's own experience with Baclofen, good or bad, exchanging ideas and information, being supportive.

It is time to move on at MWO, nothing to see here folks!



The date on that post was?

[MissIndygo]

SSRIs and alcoholism

The original post was by Neo, where she asked if anybody else thought that SSRIs and other anti-depressants can cause increased cravings?

There are many different types of depression, which I can fill you guys in on at some later date.
To assume that exercise works for all of them is ill informed (imo).
The most exercise can do is to alleviate some of the milder types of depression. Depression that may occur due to a stressful or painful life experience. Think along the lines of going through a divorce or something to that extent.

My depression is classed as: MDD (Major Depressive Disorder) that (in my, but educated, opinion) is due to a chemical imbalance in my brain neurology. Meaning that some neurons don't fire as and when and how they should.

I have been on Effexor for years and I will never go of it. I tapered down once. Over many many months (9 months I believe it was) and without me being aware of it I landed in another major episode of depression within three months of being completely of it. I say without being aware of it, as depression has got a funny way of sneaking up on you and it is often only in hindsight that you can pinpoint when you started to go down that track of being locked in by hopeless (one of my symptoms) thoughts again. In my case anyway.

It is known that once you have had one episode that you will most likely suffer more in your lifetime. I have some theories on that when people have been using anti-depressants to cope (e.g. perhaps the use of anti-depressants when used over longer periods depletes your own brain from producing the necessary neurotransmitters). Anyway that deserves another thread at some other time.

To say on a forum like this that SSRIs causes violent and suicidal behaviours is plain wrong. Show me any scholarly (peer reviewed) journal article that frames their conclusion like that.
No academic would ever state anything like that. They would say: That it may, that it has in some cases, that it possibly could contribute, that it can cause possible problems for some people.
To state in public that it does is scare mongering and morally wrong!

Back to the question.
No my experience with Effexor has never been that it seems to cause me more cravings for alcohol.