Posted by jealibeanz on March 18, 2007, at 1:51:52
In reply to Re: I'm considering alcohol to replace medications » jealibeanz, posted by yxibow on March 18, 2007, at 0:21:30
> > I didn't mean having a few social drinks with friends or beers or glasses of wine after dinner while relaxing and watching tv.
> >
> > I meant that since I need continuous axiety/panic relief, I'd be drinking consistently, all day. Like, taking a shot when I wake up... putting some liquor in my coffee, mixing vodka w/diet coke and take sips on the way to university classes and in the bathroom, then continue mixing when I'm at home.
> >
> > I'd have to do this in small increments and never drink in public or let the smell of the bottle be evident. I'd have to do mouthwash and gum.
> >
> > This sounds like something my classmates would try to do in middle school. Pathetic.
> >
> > I don't even like liquor, but I may try if need be. I usually only drink beer, and do so with friends, and it makes me happy. I go overboard and get grouchy easily with liquor. And I never drink alone. But I may start.
>
>
> This is not a ad hominem attack for seeking self-medication by alcohol. Do realize that the side effects of alcohol, as you describe the quantities far outweigh their benefits. We can start with weigh gain, but that is the most trivial. Liver toxicity and cirrhosis are serious matters and while our bodies have a built in tolerance to an immense amount of onslaught on the liver unless we are born with a genetic disorder, there comes a point of no return. Transplants are necessary. Rarely, Tardive Dyskinesia can occur from alcoholism.
>
> You may feel you will be in control of this, and maybe you will, but depending where you are, you could be cited for drunk driving, drunkenness in public, and a host of things that I don't think you want to get into.
>
> My psychiatrist, and that's only just one opinion, would rather have me use more benzodiazepines than alcohol because of its effects and the depression that it can cause, because alcohol does cause CNS depression. So can benzodiazepines, but there isn't a hangover effect. Which would probably prompt self-medication with ibuprofen, and more liver toxicity.
>
> And then there's acute alcohol toxicity, which is an emergency room visit. Acute benzodiazepine toxicity is infinitely less fatal than acute alcohol toxicity.
>
> I would seriously consider all of the above and discuss with your doctor a wide variety of options before you take matters in your own hands and self medicate to that point. But this is only my view.
>
> -- be wellI won't do it. Like I said before, I don't actually like alcohol that much. I'm a happy drunk when I'm with others, but if I'm drinking alone, it's very depressing, even if others are present but not drinking. It's not exactly relaxing for me, but stimulating, and causes me to act without thinking.
I'd rather just take benzo's. I'm going to make myself call me doctor, I think. I just hope he hasn't suddenly realized that he made a mistake by giving them to me in the first place. I don't think he'd get cited by the DEA, since he's a GP, and I think I'm his only patient on daily Xanax.
He's probably more worried about me being used to having them and wanting to stay on long term-ish. I'm certainly not the type of person who'd sue for malpractice. But I do feel what he's doing is wrong. He needs to take responsibility for choosing to put me on the med, and letting me stabalize at 4 mg.
Giving me a med that isn't helping is not good. You shouldn't mess too much with psych patients, slow changes and lots of communication is best.
Maybe I'm reading too much into this. Maybe he really doesn't realize that what he did is a problem and that the switch to brand name Xanax XR is not going to help.
I'm still not going to ask to Xanax though. I'm just going to leave a message asking if it's OK for me to stop the XR, since it doesn't help. He needs to decide what to do from there.
poster:jealibeanz
thread:741828
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070314/msgs/741916.html