Feeling bad again because of alcohol

[healthiskey]

I started taking zoloft about 5 weeks ago for generalized anxiety and social anxiety and after about 2 weeks on it i started to feel amazing. The main problem i have with my anxiety is it causes me alot of physical symptoms that make me feel like im living every day with the worst hangover ever. Zoloft took away all those physical symptoms after only 2 weeks or so and everything was going so well... up until christmas time... when i stupidly decided to go partying and drank quite a bit over the christmas period which has now put me back at square one. All the physical symptoms from anxiety have come back and the medication seems to of stopped working. I don't know what to do now. I know its because of the alcohol that im feeling like i did before i was on the medication again. What should i do? I feel like i'll never beat this. I got a taste for how it felt to be normal and now i'm right back where i started because i didn't have the willpower to not drink alcohol over christmas. Is it possible for alcohol to affect my mental health this badly? It's not like i'm an alcoholic or even close but even a bit of alcohol can cause my anxiety and the physical symptoms that go with it to come back and last for a while.

[Satsuma]

Alcohol is sure a depressant and does not mix well with any prescribed medication .. I was once a binge drinker and used it to self medicate but realised it was doing me no favours .. I do not touch it now and have not for many years and I do not miss it .. I suggest to you that you refrain from using it as it sounds like it is of no help to you whatsoever

[healthiskey in reply to Satsuma]

Thanks for your reply. The thing is... i don't even drink that much. When i binged drank on christmas it was the first time i had drank in like over a month. I just find it strange how one night of getting drunk can mess my mental health up for weeks or months.

[Satsuma in reply to healthiskey]

It matters not the quantity .. It is the stuff in general and especially mixed with the meds it is more of a lethal combination

[healthiskey in reply to Satsuma]

yeah you're right. I need to cut it out completely. It's happened plenty of times to me yet i keep doing it.

[Satsuma in reply to healthiskey]

I totally get you .. It is because we don't want to admit that it us no good for us .. That's what I found anyway .. I squared up to it and ditched it good and proper .. Pressure from other people does not help as they seem to be drinking don't they like its such a cool thing to do .. I realised also that I am not a sheep and I don't have to do it cos they do it

[Satsuma in reply to Satsuma]

Plus I am a driver and when i drank I could not drive .. I did not like the way it altered my perception and I made some truly horrendous mistakes when I slurped the poison .. I also disliked the hangovers and lost many a day hugging the toilet .. That's no life for me

[healthiskey in reply to Satsuma]

yep exactly. Im gonna go to my doctor tomorrow and up the dosage of my medication to 100mg hopefully and see if the anxiety will go away again. This time i need to be stronger and not give into the drink. On paper i'm far from an alcoholic. I don't even drink as much as the average 22 year old but when i dig deeper it is an addiction because alcohol affects me in a way that it doesn't affect most people yet i still drink it.

[Satsuma in reply to healthiskey]

The meds won't take away the anxiety you know .. Only we can do that by changing our thoughts .. I am 50 and not long learnt how to manage it .. I still get attacks now but master them myself .. I no longer use medication for my mental illnesses as I found the side effects played merry hell and I found they numbed me out which did not suit .. I use coping strategies on a daily basis .. Yes, the useage of alcohol becomes an unhealthy habit we can much do without .. It is after all a legalised poison and destructs many lives

[fauxartist]

alcohol is a depressant..... after the first couple of drinks where you feel happy and euphoric.... it becomes a depressant. Yes it can effect you.

[MAS_Nurse]

Hi healthiskey, thank you for your post, alcohol is a depressant and does not mix well with presribed medication. Well done for asking your GP for advice and support and taking control of the situation. Please stay on the forum for advice and support. Thank you and best wishes.

[Hidden]

If you have been drinking heavy, your medications will interact with the drink, that is standard. Sometimes even when not drinking medications do have side effects especially in the morning, until after breakfast etc.

I have been on medications now for a long time, I do drink although I drink to my limit and in moderation. The amount I drank over Christmas and New Year followed my usual limits. I do not divert from that, so I enjoy the drinks I do have. If you have hollow legs and drink heavy you may be putting your health or mood at risk. You will understand even when we drink over the top of our limit, tablets or not we can suffer hangovers.

All I can suggest allow time to come down from your hangover, if after say two weeks and the drugs are not working discuss with your GP. Possibly your body is kicking back after your Christmas etc. Your blood will also suffer problems for a time until all passes given time

BOB

[Letmeup]

I used to drink wine every night. It wasn’t until I stopped that I realised it was the wine causing my anxiety and depression. I was drinking because I was depressed but when I stopped drinking I stopped being depressed!!!! I know this is true because I rarely drink now but when I do I feel so awful. It’s almost a suisidal feeling. Without alcohol I feel more positive, stronger and alive. I will never ever go back to drinking again. It’s evil.