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Mental Health aripiprazole + bupropion = naltrexone?

jasperkent

jasperkent

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I don't mean literally in the chemical sense, but in perceived effects.

I'm an alcoholic and drug addict who was recently prescribed Wellbutrin(bupropion) and Abilify(aripiprazole) for depression. After less than a month on this regimen I find that my desire to drink is subsiding and that if I do drink, it is not very satisfying. Any more than 2 drinks and I don't get a buzz, I just feel bloated and sleepy. I've been drinking alcoholically for over 40 years and have never felt this way before. Also, I am not craving opiates the way I normally do. My depression is beginning to lift, but it is this indifference to booze & dope that amazes me.

What's up? Any explanation? Anybody else experienced this? If so, does it last? I am cautiously optimistic.

Peace&Love,
jasper
 
Hmm. I think the most likely explanation is that the meds are--as you said--relieving some of your depression, which in turn COULD bring some relief from addictive impulses.

FWIW, I've been on that cocktail a couple times in my life and I never noticed the effects you mentioned. But everyone's body is different, so that doesn't mean much.

I hope the cautious optimism can eventually became less cautious optimism :D
 
Lots of things can have a profound affect on how we experience the effects of various substances, even those of choice. I'm glad you've been noticing some positive movement in your relationship with alcohol. I hope you are able to seize upon the experience and run with it to your own benefit, whatever that is :)

Do you have any plans regarding your discovery of how drinking is affecting you differently now?
 
toothpastedog: Do you have any plans regarding your discovery of how drinking is affecting you differently now?

After 7 treatment centers, hundreds of 12-Step meetings (and working steps w/ sponsors, etc), counseling, psychotherapy, religion, and everything else I could think of, I had about given up on sobriety. I'm not currently "working a program" but if I don't particularly want to drink and it doesn't do much for me anyway, then hell yes I'll run with that. I still smoke a little weed in the evenings but that doesn't worry me. For a guy who used to drink near-lethal amounts of alcohol throughout the day and most of the night, this is utterly miraculous. I've also lost the desire to stick a needle in my arm and I can definitely live with that!

Peace&Love,
jasperkent
 
That is fucking awesome you've stumbled upon this pharmacological therapy that is working so well for you! I wish you nothing but the best with it. Sounds like it is giving you a really good platform to move forward with.

BTW, working a program means more than going to meetings or working with a sponsor. By all dogmatist accounts, I have no program in terms of 12 step stuff, however my program(s) elsewhere in life - if we are interested in health, wellbeing, stability and quality of life - are going stronger than ever before (particularly compared to back when I was more involved with 12 step stuff).

IMHO simply by utilizing your current treatment and moderating your usage more than you have been able to in the past, you are working a strong program (particularly given where you are coming from in terms of problematic substance use). Fuck anyone who tells you you're not just because what they do looks different from what you do. Plus, you can always add more traditional elements of a more traditional "program" like exercise, therapy, healthy habits, etc, whenever you are ready to (assuming you aren't already working on it).

Iono, kind of off topic, but applicable nonetheless. In SL we don't promote any one vision of recovery. Your recovery is what you make of it. I mean, there are some things we all share in common when it comes to the nitty gritty of working on "recovering" from substance use disorder, but I've never seen two paths that are exactly the same (even amongst those in AA/NA). So (continue to) make the most of what you're doing, according to who you are as an individual, where you find yourself in life and your own particular goals!

I've always been a big proponent of devoting one's resources, time and energy into one's assets than focusing primarily on one's defects. IME human beings - particularly ones that have experienced the suffering of substance use disorder - tend to be much more naturally inclined to focus in on their defects than their assets. It takes a lot of effort to work skillfully with either our strengths or our weaknesses, I just notice folks are more inclined to get lopsided in terms of focusing on the latter - to a disempowering degree.
 
tpd, those were perhaps the most encouraging words I've ever received from anyone. If there's anyone I find intolerable, it's Big Book Thumpers and NA Nazis. Ugh.

Thanks for the positive response.

Peace&Love,
jasper
 
likely you shouldn't be taking aripiprazole if it makes you feel this way. it is not a good depression medication; tell your doctor how you feel. try another/an actual antidepressant.

I'm moving this to mental health as it is more of a medication based inquiry.
 
Aripiprazole is an irreversible antagonist. This means it sticks to your receptor and prevent dopamine (or the feeling of pleasure) to reach it. Alcohol increases dopamine release, which in turn stimulates your brain cells, but yeah that is the real answer %).
 
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CapH said: likely you shouldn't be taking aripiprazole if it makes you feel this way.
Why not? These are positive effects, not negative ones.

lemmon said: Aripiprazole is an irreversible antagonist. This means it sticks to your receptor and prevent dopamine (or the feeling of pleasure) to reach it.
Can you explain this a little more? What is "irreversible" about it?
And if my receptors aren't getting dopamine, why do I still feel pleasure? I can get high, enjoy food & sex, and I still have a sense of humor.*

Peace&Love,
jasper

*Good thing, too, since it's the only sense I got.
 
I'd wager that the antagonistic effects of bupropion on various subunits of the nicotinic receptor is anti-addictive overall. Nicotine causes a secondary influx of a lot of different neurotransmitters.

I mean abilify at lower doses is pretty much stimulating, but won't allow you to fly too high.

And then there's the obvious that what drove you to use drugs in the first place is being taken care of a lot better through medication.
 
A couple of you have suggested that I'm not drinking because I'm not as depressed. That's not it.

I drank alcoholically for 45 years whether I was depressed or not. Also, my depression isn't really gone; it's just a little more tolerable. This is really more of a physical reaction: (a) I don't crave alcohol like I used to (b) if I do drink, it is unappetizing and I don't get as much of a buzz as I used to.

Very odd experience for me! I'm liking it.

Peace&Love,
jasper
 
Reaching orgasm doesn't require dopamine, and weed acts on a different receptor. The binding sites are still partially stimulated by aripiprazole, so the g-protein still works somehow, it's just not the same as an excess of dopamine induced by alcohol. By irreversible, Idk...if I stop taking it for awhile (a couple weeks), still no euphoric feeling from alcohol intake. It took a while for me (months) before it reached full effect (which are none except for what is stated above).
 
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I remember years ago one guy I know doing study about the use of aripiprazole in the treatment of cocaine abusers in the nearest city where I live so I do think it may have a potential to prevent alcohol causing the same high as before.

I have been on aripiprazole for a long time and I haven't felt any good buzz from alcohol although I haven't associated this into the aripiprazole before seeing this thread but I have thought about it negating effects of other stimulants which I haven't felt being any euphoric during the use of aripiprazole.
 
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