Anti-depressants causing a craving for alcohol

Copy_Cat wrote:

Brian86 wrote:Hm. Paxil seemed to make me crave alcohol.

You and alot of others, I have a friend who they keep putting on this Paxil and he keeps going out and going on these blackout drinking binges, that is what got me to look up ssri-alcohol-craving in the first place.

That's exactly what happened to me after I started taking Paxil. I also never really drank before I was on Paxil.

I merged the two similar topics, Copy_Cat.

Messing with serotonin causes cravings of all sorts. This isnt different I believe.

Decreasers and increasers seem to activate addictions or compulsions of all sorts.

All other answers to it here are also valid.

I think too much serotonin makes my judgement poor overall. The voice that says "no" go away.

twistednerve wrote:Messing with serotonin causes cravings of all sorts. This isnt different I believe.

Decreasers and increasers seem to activate addictions or compulsions of all sorts.

All other answers to it here are also valid.

I think too much serotonin makes my judgement poor overall. The voice that says "no" go away.

I especially agree with your last line. Some anxiety is good and seems to play a regulatory role in behavior.

I thought of this thread cause I just met someone who told me he is not alcoholic he just needs something for anxiety so he won't drink, ya right, and they started him on the Paxil.

This approach makes no sense to me because from what I have seen at least 9 out of 10 people I have seen go to treatment for drinking drink again but now they are drinking on top of the medications or drinking at the well known withdrawal reactions if they quit the drugs when they pick up alcohol.

That friend I mentioned a few posts up is still going from one treatment center to the next, getting put on meds, drinking and getting kicked out then checking into the next one. Has been doing that for years now but his parents have big bucks and don't mind keeping him in "storage" is the way I see it.

As a member of NA I met a lot of people who have given up drugs and drinking. Some of them, like me, are on medication and haven't returned to drinking. I'm not going to give a "9 out of 10" type number, because I haven't kept notes, people stop coming to meetings, then they start again, they move, etc. My drinking was means of self-medication, and now that I am on correct meds and regularly attend NA meetings, I lost the need to drink and use.