Mental Health 'do not consume alcohol while taking this medication'

[SilverFeniks]

Just how harmful is consuming alcohol while on prescription mental health meds?

I recognize the vagueness.of this inquiry, given the wide variety of SSRI, MAOI, anti-psychotics, etc.
The inserts and Doctors always say "don't consume alcohol" by default, to the point that the cautions seem asinine .. but upon reflection I recognize the varied negative effects such a cocktail could entail .. increased drowsiness, respiratory depression, increased mental depression, counterbalanced effects...

I've unsuccessfully battled alcoholism far longer than I've spent taking various meds. When I'd start a new one I'd try to limit my alcohol intake, with pathetic success rates. Only after a recent psychiatric breakdown did it occur to me (upon suggestion) that alcohol could inhibit the effectiveness of psych medications.
Not enough to overcome my deep-seeded compulsions, but I'd like to be better informed about how damaging alcoholism is to the treatment of mental conditions.

 

[a dream]

Alcohol can very much make things worse but experiences will vary. In benign cases, for those who are not prone to excessive alcohol use and not taking certain drugs, I would expect no real harm. I've been encouraged by mental health practitioners to get out of the house and go get a drink or something despite being on medications that are contraindicated according to the drug information guides.

Consuming alcohol on Adderall/Wellbutrin has been seemingly harmless. For me Concerta/Ritalin (methylphenidate) and alcohol together were extremely euphoric and stimulating, with an incredibly unpleasant crash; no good from a recreational standpoint, and who knows what those repeated experiences caused. Harmful.

When I was on Zoloft, alcohol was often quite stimulating and just a few drinks could give me an energy boost that kept me up all night. It could result in brief hypomanic states (12-48 hours). This is not a typical reaction, but was definitely harmful. After discontinuing Zoloft I've had much less tolerance to and enjoyment of alcohol.

I would suspect sedating drugs (antipsychotics, some SSRIs, benzos, opioids) + alcohol are harmful in that they reduce sleep quality much more than taking either alone. I don't really remember but I think this was my experience when combining alcohol+antipsychotics. This is in addition to the well-known risk of respiratory depression when mixing alcohol with benzos or opioids. Alcohol and antipsychotics probably aren't a good combination; antipsychotics on their own have enough problems.

Doctors generally have been unconcerned with my moderate drinking, which I tell them about every time they ask - they gave me absolutely no pressure to stop drinking even as I was on Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Lamictal, Vyvanse, and occasional Xanax. It's only when prescribed drugs that cause respiratory depression or liver damage that alcohol is ever given a special mention. Psychiatrists, therapists, etc. have been much more concerned with marijuana use, which has little drug interaction risk - primarily an increased likelihood of anxiety/panic attacks if taken with stimulants, in my case. Presumably, they think moderate marijuana use is worse for their patients than moderate alcohol use.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

Yeah in the last ten years marijuana has been shown to exacerbate most forms of mental illness.

 

[SilverFeniks]

Upon retrospect I can't think of any (many) drug I've used extensively that mixed well with alcohol, so I guess this is sort of a dumb question.
Feels like a bit of a catch-22 cycle though, unable to break an addiction or improve mentally, with both circumstances to blame and feeding off each other. No doubt a million people out there are experiencing the same thing given Western society's proclivity for alcohol & Rx use.

Psychiatrists, therapists, etc. have been much more concerned with marijuana use, which has little drug interaction risk - primarily an increased likelihood of anxiety/panic attacks if taken with stimulants, in my case. Presumably, they think moderate marijuana use is worse for their patients than moderate alcohol use.

That is initially surprising to me, as I always considered cannabis to be so benign. I never admitted cannabis consumption to my Docs however, for fear of being labeled a drug abuser (I always minimized alcohol consumption as well for the sane reason)
Cannabis definately amplifies my psychosis though; on my longest break in years and realizing what a difference it makes. I'd rather be smoking than drinking but alcohol's legal status has the odds stacked.

 

[aq.]

Drinking on medications can sometimes amplify the symptoms that the medication is trying to treat. Also, it can intensify the side effects of the medication.

Also, I remember drinking on Xanax and a SSRI once (only had a few drinks) and I was vomiting and dry heaving the entire next day. It was not fun.

 

[a dream]

For me, alcohol combined so well with Zoloft and Wellbutrin that I hardly drink anymore now that I've stopped them..

 

[Shrooms00087]

Yeah in the last ten years marijuana has been shown to exacerbate most forms of mental illness.

Could you give me a link? Because I actually had a doctor tell me something similar but still different. He said that marijuana negates that which [a] drug is trying to combat. Not that it "exacerbates". I'd be interested in reading the study you came across. Because this doctor said this to me a little under a year ago.

 

[a dream]

Could you give me a link? Because I actually had a doctor tell me something similar but still different. He said that marijuana negates that which [a] drug is trying to combat. Not that it "exacerbates". I'd be interested in reading the study you came across. Because this doctor said this to me a little under a year ago.

The statement from that doctor seems like well-meaning nonsense.

My anecdotal experience - marijuana causes anxiety (acute) and depression (chronic use, different symptoms), and causes insomnia when discontinued (makes existing anxiety and depression worse). But it never "negated" what the prescribed pills did, beyond things like the acute anxiogenic effects of weed "negating" anxiolytic effects of Xanax or a SSRI.

 

[Shrooms00087]

I understand the need for well-meaning nonsense.

But I believe you proved a point here "marijuana causes anxiety" (in some) however for depression to be a real symptom of marijuana I'd like to see a study. However abstractly I understand what you mean, that marijuana can elevate or intensify the senses and then not having that elevation can make you feel depressed or for me like something is missing. When I stopped smoking pot I did not get insomnia, again, here I would like a study link. To provide my own anecdotal experience, I smoke with my prescribed Clonopin. It is very interesting that I have PTSD --A trigger can go off like a gun at any time and the Clonopin stops the clinching of the CNS but if you have panic attacks you also know there is a mental component to it. Well a gun went off one day and the Clonopin did exactly what it was supposed to, stopped the clinching of the body. However it doesn't stop the mind from tormenting itself, thankfully when I am high and a gun goes off there is no mental component to the attack. It's an odd thing to describe, I basically got a phantom panic attack. After 30 minutes I was tired (as if my body had been clinched and as if my mind just went through torment) --however thanks to clonopin my body was fine and thanks to pot (I think) my mind was fine. It was a phantom experience.

 

[a dream]

There are probably thousands of anecdotal reports indicating insomnia as a withdrawal symptom as well as multiple studies. This seems to be fairly common knowledge.

Frequent cannabis use causing depression is my personal experience. Studies do often show the opposite. However, some of the well-known possible effects of chronic marijuana use intersect with symptoms of depression. This is what I experienced - enough to meet most of the criteria for certain diagnostic labels (however, these diagnoses exclude symptoms that are the direct result of substance consumption, recreational or otherwise, so it would not be considered a correct clinical diagnosis). Keep in mind that depression does not imply the subjective experience of a depressed mood, which in my case did not occur as a result of marijuana use.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

Could you give me a link? Because I actually had a doctor tell me something similar but still different. He said that marijuana negates that which [a] drug is trying to combat. Not that it "exacerbates". I'd be interested in reading the study you came across. Because this doctor said this to me a little under a year ago.

Drat. What I meant to say is those illnesses with psychotic components. I'm not sure when it comes to depression/bi-polar/OCD etc. when no psychotic symptoms are present. I heard it in a speech from the head of the psychiatric department at the hospital in my town in 2012; a big-time achiever. I also did extensive research on it and had a friendly debate with slimvictor on the subject about a year ago. Just use pubmed. If you can't find anything I'll dig something up.

I'd imagine that high CBD (relative to THC) cannabis is probably more healthy than not.

P.S. love how this thread has de-railed.

 

[SilverFeniks]

P.S. love how this thread has de-railed.

No complaints from the OP, this probably would have been my topic except I've somehow been clean from cannabis for a couple months (save a couple days) which is absolutely unheard of for me. But with it comes increased alcohol abuse, not a great trade-off. No doubt neither help with tenuous bipolar/psychotic symptoms but their negative influences are likely very dissimilar.

Cannabis was as bipolar as I am .. it definately gave me a positive mood lift and was a great boredom-killer, yet it also enabled me to wallow in depression.

Alcohol itself doesn't depress my mood as expected, but conversely, alcoholism as a state of being does.

I want to transition back to cannabis use, but with it comes paranoia, and often no corresponding reduction in alcohol consumption. I haven't seen a shrink all year& am unlikely to any time soon, so I have to pick my least-invasive poison.
Obviously physical health impacts should be balanced with the mental .. again a mixed bag. Sobriety is the obvious solution but easily dismissable as a viable option.