Advice please on Alchohol and cafiene

[Graham2012]

Quick question everbody is Alchohol a huge NO NO when suffering this and also what are others to avoid

Thanks Graham

[Colin44]

I try to avoid caffiene as I get palps on it. Alcohol, as much as its good to start with its the days after the the fear kicks in. Especially if you have alot.

All in moderation - sometimes you just need a drink!

[gwhite73]

alcohol is a depressant so even though it makes you feel good initially, in the days after it can make anxiety worse. i've even observed this in people who don't have anxiety, the 'comedown' from alcohol can make them anxious and depressed

the effect can also get worse depending on how much you drink - a few and you may not notice anything, but go out drinking 15 pints friday and saturday and the after effects might be quite bad

personally, alcohol rarely affects my anxiety. if i'm drinking a lot over a long period of time then it may do, but to me, the benefits of being able to relax outweigh the potential for it to flare up anxiety.

if you were never much of a drinker before the anxiety then i'd say avoid it. if you have previously liked a drink then i'd say try it and see. you can always avoid alcohol in future if it has a negative effect.

i'm in a similar boat to you, i get unexplained aches and pains under my right rib. initially i thought it was my liver from drinking and i believe this initially sparked my health anxiety, and although deep down i know there's nothing wrong and have had tests, i still get the sensations. how are you doing with that.

[Colin44]

I also got pains around my liver area, not through drink but general pains. Never touched a drink for weeks after it!!

A couple of drinks to take the edge off isn't bad but don't make a habit of it. I fell into this trap a while back.

[Graham2012]

Thanks Guys i think i will leave it for tonite maybe have a couple tommorow

The pain under my ribs is muscular that what my GP has said and she gave me Gels and patches and anti inflammatory drugs.
I have had an injured shoulder for quite a while so she thinks this is causing it.

The rest she says is the anxiety truly unreal the effect it has on your body

But i have pains and sensations in legs groins pins needles in arms its all this that makes this so difficult for me to deal with as my thinking is all screwed up i just got to convince myself the anxiety is driving this which as i guess you all know is a hell of a lot easier said than done.:hugs:

Thanks Graham

[Mark13]

I stopped drinking alcohol in 2004, mainly because I lost interest, but it really didn't play nice with my medication.

I don't miss it, but I'm still off work ATM with GAD, so lack of alcohol certainly hasn't made me better.

Stopping smoking did help reduce stress though, it got rid of that constant withdrawal / craving.

As for caffeine, I drink 3-4 cans of Pepsi Max a day. I cut it out for a few days once. Didn't make much difference, but having too much certainly triggers my anxiety, which is why I keep my intake moderate.