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01-05-2019 08:34 PM
01-05-2019 08:34 PM
Substance abuse
Id like to touch on substance abuse and mental health perscription drugs.
This is my personal experience and im not reffering to anyone but myself here..
Before my first hospital admission i only drank alcohol occasionally. For the last 10years ive been on antipsychotics i have drank excessively, bindge drinking, i would have black outs all the time. Recently when i had stopped the antipsychotics for 5 months i noticed i didnt want alcohol, the smell of it turned my nose up, i hardly drank at all.
So, i wonder, in my case, was the medication making me feel depressed to the point i would drink to feel better. Was the dose to high, was it the wrong medication for me. Or simply, do antipsychotics depress me and my natural reaction is to drink to fix it? Can anyone else relate to this?
I find this very interesting
Kind regards
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02-05-2019 02:42 AM
02-05-2019 02:42 AM
Re: Substance abuse
Hi @Scasey nice to meet you :). I like alcohol but alcohol does not like me and I have found over the years that I have to not drink at all regardless of medication or not (I am currently on medication). It sounds to me that your medications may have needed adjusting during the period that you were taking them. Getting the right amount and mix of medications is hard and takes time.
Anyway that is me as you say everyone is different and thank god for that :). greenpea
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02-05-2019 01:20 PM
02-05-2019 01:20 PM
Re: Substance abuse
hi @Scasey
I drink to dampen my extreme anxiety. It's a depressant on the central nervous system so it helps me relax.
Since being on anti-psychotics I drink less because I am less anxious and don't have nightmarish psychotic symptoms & moods so much.
I always try to drink less because alcohol is a strain on the liver and anti-psychotics are broken down in the liver so that is already a lot of work for the liver to do.
Maybe you need to be on an anti-depressant as well as an anti-psychotic. I am to treat my chronic depression.
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03-05-2019 06:25 AM
03-05-2019 06:25 AM
Re: Substance abuse
Thank you for sharing. I seen a new psychiatrist yesterday and explained this alcohol problem to her and said it should be noted. Now im aware I can monitor it more closely 🙂
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03-05-2019 06:28 AM
03-05-2019 06:28 AM
Re: Substance abuse
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05-05-2019 12:53 PM
05-05-2019 12:53 PM
Re: Substance abuse
Thank you for sharing your story @Scasey and we're so glad to hear that you are aware of your relationship with alcohol. Have you approached your GP to have a look at the correlation between the two?
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06-05-2019 12:37 PM
06-05-2019 12:37 PM