Alcohol as a coping strategy?
Question:
I’ve had chronic panic disorder for 30+ years, during which I didn’t even know what it was for at least 17 years. Anyhow, I too used alcohol for relief for many years. Unfortunately I became addicted to the alcohol and ended up with two serious problems. I was successful in quitting drinking altogether about 14 years ago and was also at least partially successful in finding some meds that now provide some relief. My life certainly isn’t ideal because I still have the panic situation, but at least it’s not coupled with alcohol dependency. Best recommendation I can offer is to dump the Dr. and attempt to find an MD who is more knowledgeable about panic disorder and claustrophobia. You might want to solicit a request for Dr. names in your area from this newsgroup. Not all drugs cause major side effects like your friend experienced. I went through a number of meds before finally finding a combination that is reasonably effective. With a new MD who is receptive to relief from medication, your friend’s situation could certainly improve. However, I can state from experience that the alcohol will, in time, only make matters much worse. Good Luck, Doug – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – One of my very best friends suffers from PD and depression. She has tried Prozac and Paroxetine in the past. However, she suffers from claustrophobia (as opposed to agoraphobia as seems the norm). The claustrophobia takes the form of not being able to stay in the house alone. When she is not at work she just cannot stay in the house alone as she gets very panicky and starts to get very agitated. Invariably she gets out of the house and goes to the pub where she drinks quite heavilly. When she is at work she makes it to the pub most lunchtimes and every evening after work before going home. I am getting worried about her but she insists that she can function this way even though she recognises that the alcohol may be damaging her physical health (and in the longer term her mental health). She will not take meds off the doctor after her bad experience with Prozac and Paroxetine and her doctor is also very anti-benzo and has only offered Tricyclics. At the moment she is adamant that she is prepared to flirt with an alcohol problem if it means that she can manage her PD and depression. Does this sound familar to anyone? Does anyone have any advice or information? I tried this "solution" too. Unfortunately, it’s doomed from the start – simply one problem added to another. Sounds to me like she should look for a more up-to-date doctor. benzos are frequently the first and best choice for relief. Certainly worth a try. I too had an bad experience with SSRIs like Prozac. Keep in mind that alcohol also has very negative effects on job performace as well as it’s other problems.
Response:
I second that. Relief through use of alcohol is just a short term loan. Your friend will have to pay back with interest. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms however slight often mirror aspects of panic and anxiety. Anyone who’s had a hamgover will recognise sweats, nausea, tremors etc etc. My experience with drinkers is that this cycle can go on a long time before the physical damage is apparent and by then tolerance to alcohol is demanding a very high intake to quell the slightest symptoms. If possible, reduce or avoid…. Alcohol will demand a price, with interestIn article <3351bdcc.655822653 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – One of my very best friends suffers from PD and depression. She has tried Prozac and Paroxetine in the past. However, she suffers from claustrophobia (as opposed to agoraphobia as seems the norm). The claustrophobia takes the form of not being able to stay in the house alone. When she is not at work she just cannot stay in the house alone as she gets very panicky and starts to get very agitated. Invariably she gets out of the house and goes to the pub where she drinks quite heavilly. When she is at work she makes it to the pub most lunchtimes and every evening after work before going home. I am getting worried about her but she insists that she can function this way even though she recognises that the alcohol may be damaging her physical health (and in the longer term her mental health). She will not take meds off the doctor after her bad experience with Prozac and Paroxetine and her doctor is also very anti-benzo and has only offered Tricyclics. At the moment she is adamant that she is prepared to flirt with an alcohol problem if it means that she can manage her PD and depression. Does this sound familar to anyone? Does anyone have any advice or information? I tried this "solution" too. Unfortunately, it’s doomed from the start – simply one problem added to another. Sounds to me like she should look for a more up-to-date doctor. benzos are frequently the first and best choice for relief. Certainly worth a try. I too had an bad experience with SSRIs like Prozac. Keep in mind that alcohol also has very negative effects on job performace as well as it’s other problems.
Paul
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -One of my very best friends suffers from PD and depression. She has tried Prozac and Paroxetine in the past. However, she suffers from claustrophobia (as opposed to agoraphobia as seems the norm). The claustrophobia takes the form of not being able to stay in the house alone. When she is not at work she just cannot stay in the house alone as she gets very panicky and starts to get very agitated. Invariably she gets out of the house and goes to the pub where she drinks quite heavilly. When she is at work she makes it to the pub most lunchtimes and every evening after work before going home. I am getting worried about her but she insists that she can function this way even though she recognises that the alcohol may be damaging her physical health (and in the longer term her mental health). She will not take meds off the doctor after her bad experience with Prozac and Paroxetine and her doctor is also very anti-benzo and has only offered Tricyclics. At the moment she is adamant that she is prepared to flirt with an alcohol problem if it means that she can manage her PD and depression. Does this sound familar to anyone? Does anyone have any advice or information?
I tried this "solution" too. Unfortunately, it’s doomed from the start – simply one problem added to another. Sounds to me like she should look for a more up-to-date doctor. benzos are frequently the first and best choice for relief. Certainly worth a try. I too had an bad experience with SSRIs like Prozac. Keep in mind that alcohol also has very negative effects on job performace as well as it’s other problems.
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – When she is not at work she just cannot stay in the house alone as she gets very panicky and starts to get very agitated. Invariably she gets out of the house and goes to the pub where she drinks At the moment she is adamant that she is prepared to flirt with an alcohol problem if it means that she can manage her PD and depression. Does this sound familar to anyone? Does anyone have any advice or information? Thanks. Mark Gilman
Hi Mark, yes this sounds very familiar to me. i tend to become claustrophobic myself and hate to be alone in the house. I hate to admit it, but i will…I tend to try to drink my anxiety away. it doesn’t work! I tried last night to drink it away with a pitcher of margaritas and instead, woke up this morning even more anxious. My psychiatrist told me he’d much rather have me take my Ativan (benzo) than drink. Too bad your friend’s doctor is anti-benzos. I know that if it weren’t for my anxiety, I wouldn’t drink!!! Alcoholism runs in my family. My allergist told me i’m allergic to the yeast in it too and that’s why I get so ill after just 2 beers or drinks. It’s the illness part of the drinking that keeps me from turning into a full-fledged alcoholic. I sure hope your friend has a good support person to talk to when she needs to. sounds like you are a good friend! I’m glad you found us here! — Michelle
Response:
adamant that she is prepared to flirt with an alcohol problem if it means that she can manage her PD and depression. Does this sound familar to anyone? Does anyone have any advice or information? Thanks. — Mark Gilman
Mark, I used alcohol for years to help me with my P/A disorder. It was by a concidence that I had a bad attack of Panic and the only drug in the house was my sons Xanax. When I took it it cleared up the problem immediately. From then on it was my drug of choice. Since you cannot mix alcohol and Xanax without taking chances I gave up the alcohol. Xanax did not give me the hangover. Sometimes I miss the social aspects of going to a pub and drinking. But for treatment of the problem the drug was much better for me. lori
Response:
<lots snipped to save space I am getting worried about her but she insists that she can function this way even though she recognises that the alcohol may be damaging her physical health (and in the longer term her mental health). She will not take meds off the doctor after her bad experience with Prozac and Paroxetine and her doctor is also very anti-benzo and has only offered Tricyclics. At the moment she is adamant that she is prepared to flirt with an alcohol problem if it means that she can manage her PD and depression. ? Does this sound familar to anyone? Does anyone have any advice or information?
I’m afraid it does sound very familiar, yes. Alcohol is a very effective anxiolytic – in the early stages. Aside of the physical and mental damage it may cause after prolonged use, a less well realised phenomenon is that it quite frequently *causes* anxiety, the day after use. Quite a few of us here can testify to that. Bad reactions to SSRI medications (which include Prozac and Paxil) are very common but not well enough known and, IMO, actively hidden by the makers of Paxil (see their WWW site). The worst of these (and one often remarked on here) is a massive increase in anxiety. For some, this can be mitigated by starting on very low doses and ramping up, for others it is better if they are started with a benzodiazepine to help counter this effect. There remains a number, however, who simply cannot tolerate SSRIs in any shape or form (I’m one of them). Other classes of ADs may help, but that still leaves some of us who *only* seem to get benefit from benzodiazepines – which is a major problem in the UK, as so many of our doctors have been subject to the fashionable brainwashing about them. As as aside, you might like to note that at least a part of that brainwashing appears to have stemmed from makers of antidepressants. From my time on ASAP it appears that there is a vastly more sensible attitude to benzodiazepines among many US professionals (note Dr. Stuart Shipko’s comments here the other day). This doesn’t help your friend, true – but I would suggest she tries to change doctors. If she were in the US, I would suggest a psychiatrist but my experience here suggests that many of them are brainwashed by the ‘no meds – CBT uber alles’ mentality, so I would suggest shopping around for a good GP. I’m afraid I can’t even recommend support groups as a good source of contacts with skilled doctors, as many of them seem to have been given Claire Weekes et al to read in place of Noddy, during their childhoods. Even where UK professionals will prescribed medications other than ADs, we get some very disturbing stories – such as the British pshrink who treated one of our ASAP readers with a *very* nasty antipsychotic, while pouring scorn on the use of alprazolam, clonazepam et al on the grounds that they were "dangerous". Sorry to sound dismal, but that is my honest appraisal of the state of UK medical treatment for people with anxiety problems and who need (or may need) anxiolytics to cope. They would, it appears, rather have another homeless wino, dying on the streets, than sully their clean hands by prescribing a safe, effective medication. Sorry I can’t be more positive than that about things here. My advice is, yes, she probably needs help – but if that help turns out to be a sensibluy used benzo. then it isn’t going to be easy to get. — Gary Cooper
Response:
Mark, I can’t speak for anyone else, but while I was taking prozac, I craved alcohol. I know this isn’t normal; I also know I’m not the only person who has felt this way. Aside from all the things that drinking does to your body, you feel as tho you can handle the booze if it will just keep those pesky attacks away. Problem with that? You can, and probably will, still have panic attacks. It doesn’t seem to matter if you’ve only had a couple, or if you’re falling down drunk, you can still turn from Dr. Jekeyll into Mr./Ms. Hyde in no time. Just my experience, I know. Wendee If reality wants to get in touch with me, it knows where I am…
Response:
One of my very best friends suffers from PD and depression. She has tried Prozac and Paroxetine in the past. However, she suffers from claustrophobia (as opposed to agoraphobia as seems the norm). The claustrophobia takes the form of not being able to stay in the house alone. When she is not at work she just cannot stay in the house alone as she gets very panicky and starts to get very agitated. Invariably she gets out of the house and goes to the pub where she drinks quite heavilly. When she is at work she makes it to the pub most lunchtimes and every evening after work before going home. I am getting worried about her but she insists that she can function this way even though she recognises that the alcohol may be damaging her physical health (and in the longer term her mental health). She will not take meds off the doctor after her bad experience with Prozac and Paroxetine and her doctor is also very anti-benzo and has only offered Tricyclics. At the moment she is adamant that she is prepared to flirt with an alcohol problem if it means that she can manage her PD and depression. Does this sound familar to anyone? Does anyone have any advice or information? Thanks. — Mark Gilman
