I would love some more calm. Happy to hear that @Sober_Ninja…sounds like good stuff for your mental well being.
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I have clients who have a range of SMI’s and mental health disorders and one thing that seems to help across the board is a companion animal or therapy pet. Probably not a great fit in every scenario but something to look in to.
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Cate, I saw my doctor about 2 months after I got sober. I was nervous about taking an SSRI but figured that if it would help balance me out until I could cope with out it then why not.
It’s worked so far.
Just be honest with them.
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That’s really great to know. Thank you 
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If you can’t have your own, you can babysit other peoples pets. I just spent the last 24 hours doing just that!
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I look at medications as tools. Not something I’m married to forever. I’ve been on antidepressants for a long time and never have considered how my drinking may impact their efficacy. I’ve always told my doctor I drank about 5-10 drinks a month. That was true about 6 years ago. In the last six years my drinking ramped up year to year. In the last year it really became a problem. I haven’t been back to my psychiatrist since I quit drinking in September. I have an appointment in two weeks and I’m planning on telling him everything. I’m really curious what, if any, changes he makes.
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@C_8 and @driftwood - hey y’all…
Depression and anxiety are the worst. As I mentioned somewhere way on up the thread, I have struggled with them on an off for years. In fact, I’m in a little valley right now. Not the full on A DEMENTOR JUST ATE MY SOUL darkness, but low enough to feel kinda lousy.
I know this: Sobriety has helped exponentially. For me, though, I also needed help from outside professionals. I have been on several different antidepressants at various times in my life; I’m currently on Wellbutrin and Zoloft. Sobriety gives these a fighting chance to work. One week out of the month I bump up the Zoloft dosage. I also have to take some progesterone a couple of weeks each month. Hormones, man…anyways…By and large, my quality of life has improved sooooo much. Maybe think of it this way:. If you suddenly found out that you were severely diabetic, would you give a second thought to taking insulin? Psych meds are just the same - they just treat a different kind of illness.
If either of you have specific questions or just want to chat, please feel free to PM me. I’m happy to share my experience if it would help at all.
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Has anyone been on Wellbutrin? When I first saw a GP for drinking she prescribed that, thinking along the lines that it’s in chantix that helps smokers. Apparently it lowers your seizure threshold too… Dodged that bullet. WB worked about like coffee, I guess.
Also been on Prozac and Celexa. Both were okay… Celexa was very numbing. But I distinctly remember road rage going away 
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Thanks @crystalclear Yeah, it will be interesting to see what he says. Please keep us posted. 
I’m only open to SSRI’s now that alcohol is out of my system.
While I was drinking (I was up to around 10-14 beers a day), I figured that I am drowning myself with buckets of depressant, so why ingest an antidepressant to try to balance the chemical damage I’m inflicting on myself?
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I used Wellbutrin a the very end of when I was quitting smoking, it helped with that. Stayed on for about 5 or 6 months.
Lexapro has been my best anti anxiety and mood levelor. It works really well with my body chemistry.
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I have, in the past. It can be an effective add-on treatment to antidepressants, or serve an antidepressant function in its own right. By a different pharmacological mechanism, bupropion (Wellbutrin) also has other uses for smoking cessation. I haven’t heard of it used for quitting drinking before though.
Prozac is what my therapist thinks I should try, but obviously it will be my doctor’s call.
Why did you stop talking Prozac?
I gained about 30 pounds so fast I didn’t realize it 
I’ve lost a lot of it though.
It’s supposed to be one that isn’t so bad for weight. Not sure what happened there.
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How many did you try before you found that Lexapro was a good fit for you?
It’s a bit scary in that it sounds like finding the right meds, at the right dosage, is a bit of a palaver (a chemistry experiment inside my brain). I thought finding a therapist was bad, but at least I could walk away from bad ones immediately.
Sorry, I guess my dr’s appointment is playing on my mind now.
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Prozac is the one I’ve been on the most, the one I’ve personally had the least issues with side effects from in general. The long half life makes it easier to come off of, should you ever choose to.
I did not have significant weight gain from Prozac. I restarted Prozac this time a few months ago, and I am actually a few pounds less now than when I started.
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Yikes!! Yeah, my therapist said it was one that didn’t result in weight gain … with the caveat: ‘usually’ …
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Fortunately I didn’t really have long ramp ups or tapers. Some drugs I could feel working the first day. I was amped on Wellbutrin I cooked and scrubbed the bathtub at the same time… Calmed down after a while.
Wellbutrin would make me forget to eat. Sometimes they use that to counter the weight gain of the ssri, it being an ndri.
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Agree, I think it was my doctor’s shot in the dark. There’s a tiny bit of research out there. I had originally expected a naltrexone script but that didn’t come until I finally saw a psych.
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Thank you James!!
PS: I am in the process of adopting you. I have paid someone over the interweb $10,000.00. I should get the paperwork in the mail soon… 
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