Posted by Bob (not Dr. ;^) on September 3, 1999, at 22:26:25
In reply to Re: Anti-depressants and alcohol or "herbs" , posted by Yardena on August 31, 1999, at 18:08:16
> Not to be the voice of worry, here, but keep in mind how much overtime your liver can do for you.
I'm with Yardena. It's not just an issue of liver function -- alcohol *is* a depressant. Taking a depressant and an anti-depressant at the same time doesn't make much sense, when you put it that way.
You say you're "new" to anti-depressants, but how new are you to depression? Is the treatment in response to some acute episode, or is your situation more serious than that?
I can't say that I'm the voice of experience here. I have had a few beers on occasion while on medication, and they have hit me pretty hard. As big as I am (6'2" and 220 lbs.), getting smashed on two beers was a new experience for me. Now, that may sound like a great combination, but you gotta ask yourself whether you're going to rely on your doctor for medication or are you going to self-medicate.
I may be coming down heavy, but I have to. I'm not one of the "acute episode" folk -- I've been depressed since I was 8 or so. It took me about 27 years to finally get some help. My condition has been extremely resistant to treatment. In the past 2.5 years, I've been on 11 different combinations of medications. My current cocktail of zoloft, nortriptyline, and klonapin is managing to keep me on a pretty even keel, but I'm still nowhere near where I should be.
Given all those variations, I'm at the point where I don't want a single thing to interfere -- I don't want to be screwing with my meds because of my habits. Herbs were never an issue for me, but I do miss pint of beer or a glass of wine from time to time. It certainly hasn't hurt to stop, though.
Now, on the other hand, giving up products with refined sugar, caffeine, and fried stuff (zoloft makes my cholesterol *spike*) is running my willpower ragged!
Anyway, the bottom line is whether you want to see if the meds work or not. If your depression was brought on by something mostly environmental, I imagine that enjoying some of the finer things in life now and then won't make that big a difference. On the other hand, if you're just starting to face yourself on something you've had for a long time, it's time to get back to basics.
Good luck =^)
poster:Bob (not Dr. ;^)
thread:10813
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990829/msgs/10979.html