Alcohol - Bipolar Disorder Message Board

sharonamy · 04-25-2007, 12:12 PM

Hi does anyone here have a problem with alcohol. I use it to self medicate in the evenings but now my dose of prozac has been upped to 60mg and ive been started on tegretol I would really like to stop. Not that easy though! Your advice would be very much appreciated.

Dantheinsane · 04-25-2007, 02:55 PM

Seek outside help, if you are serious in sobering up.

NutshellNutter · 04-25-2007, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sharonamy

Hi does anyone here have a problem with alcohol. I use it to self medicate in the evenings but now my dose of prozac has been upped to 60mg and ive been started on tegretol I would really like to stop. Not that easy though! Your advice would be very much appreciated.

Me again sharonamy....
I'm 28 now, but at about 20 (undiagnosed) I used to drink (very very little) and do the (very) occassional psychotropic drug to try to escape my reality. It worked at the time - but looking back it elongated my struggling.

Now diagnosed and medicated, I would never ever touch anything again. Whilst I don't long for anything, it can't get a tad monotonous leading a completely sterile life. However, its stable!!!!!

Stablisied on my meds, to lose this for a night of fun is far too dear a price to pay. I feel that if I took a glass of wine it would put me out of control of my emotions - and that, no matter how small, means possible, and probable, instability (for anyone). At the end of day, alcohol affects everyone by changes of emotions, so no matter what meds you're on, it's still going to alter your med&non-alcohol state. We seem to share the 'BP Rages' in common - alcohol only served to magnify those too! If you stopped drinking I am sure your rages would become less often and or less severe, although meds are needed to eliminate the rages completely.

You sound like your looking to be stable, and are trying to get medicated - good on you!!! Well done!!! But, can you honestly say that you're giving it a fair crack of the whip if you stay drinking a depressant????? Give yourself the best chance you can - believe me, the freedom is worth it!

Very best of luck,
Nut.

tsohl · 04-25-2007, 10:16 PM

Hello Sharonamy,

This is a very common problem among those who have BP. Recreational drug use is also common. It is estimated that 60-75% of all those who have BP self-medicate with drugs or alcohol, and many of those are substance abusers.

It is really important to avoid alcohol when trying to find the proper meds that will work best for you. Alcohol increases feelings of depression and works at counter-purposes with the pharmaceuticals.

Regarding how you quit is a bit tricky. Some people are able to do it on their own, but I understand the success rate is really very small. Obviously there are programs like AA. Interestingly, that proved to be a big help to my son. He shopped around a bit until he found a group that was mostly made up of young people. After attending a couple meetings, he discovered that a number in the group were bipolar, so it became a wonderful support group for him...where he met a new group of friends who didn't want to hang out in bars for their social life.

If you want to cut back on your own, I would suggest that you change your routine. Avoid the situations where you would normally have had a drink. Try to incorporate exercise or more exercise into your routine. Be sure you are eating a balanced diet and try to keep the stressors low. Hopefully others will have some ideas.

There used to be several people on this board who posted with concerns similar to yours. You might try running a search on this board to see if you could find their earlier posts. I can't remember if anyone had any good suggestions back then, or not!

Take care,
Tsohl

sharonamy · 04-26-2007, 03:37 AM

Thanks Nut. You have put in words everything I know already but somehow it is better seeing it from someone else. I like the term you used.....drinking a depressant. Why would I want to do that. Will try not to drink tonight. One day at a time. Ps been taking 100mg of tegretol each night for 3 days and feel ok. Might go mad and take 150 tonight.