Alcohol and medication

[bertiehobart]

Hi there everyone, this is my first time posting on nomorepanic.

I am 21 years old and started having relatively frequent panic attacks in confined spaces like buses and university seminar rooms about 8 or 9 months ago. I have since had to take the difficult decision to re-do my second year at university because i couldn't cope and hope to restart my second year this October.

My dilemma is this: My panic attacks and anxiety in the aforementioned situations have improved a little in the months since their onset but not much. I think I should probably take the sertraline I have been prescribed by my GP but know that not drinking will be a serious problem.

All of my friendships are largely based upon the shared ritual of going out and drinking, not necessarily in that order. This happens 1-3 times a week and is a very important part of my life. If I hadn't drank since having the panic attacks my friendships would have suffered greatly and I would also have been extremely bored, as well as having missed out on some incredible experiences. Drinking (as i often hear bandied about on this site) "one or two" drinks, to stay on the safe side with the medication, isn't really an option. It just doesn't work like that. I only ever drink (relatively) large amounts and when i'm going out, where drinking is necessary to have a good time.

So I have a pretty difficult decision to make here. Do I start taking the sertaline and drink any way, risking side effects and possible ineffectiveness of the drugs? Do I stop drinking, start taking the medication and lose most of the fun I have in my life for at least 6 months? Or do i carry on as I have been struggling with panic and anxiety?

Any thoughts and advice would be welcome here guys, I just don't know what to do.

[Emphyrio]

When I was on 20mg of prozac I used to drink fairly large amounts now and again. Not masses of alcohol, but enough to get me nicely happy - 5,6 pints or so. The prozac seemed to work and didn't cause any additional side effects that I was aware of at the time.

How much are you typically drinking on a night out? Would keeping your alcohol intake down to 2-3 pints on a night really be such a big issue?

I guess if you have to keep drinking large amounts, you need to balance up the possible risks and benefits associated with mixing antidepressants with large amounts of booze. I really don't know how your body would react - its all down to the individual.

Could you possibly treat the source of your panic attacks without medication? Cutting out caffeine seems to help for a lot of people - things like chamomile tea and avoiding large intakes of sugar can also help. Remember, alcohol can affect anxiety in a negative way too!

---------- Post added at 06:31 ---------- Previous post was at 06:30 ----------

PS: welcome to the forums! Stick around - its a really supportive community.

[Sparkle1984]

Have you considered that it could be the alcohol which is causing your panic attacks or making them worse? Sadly, many people with panic disorder are caught in this vicious circle. Alcohol may appear to help you in the short term, but in the long term it is a depressant and it can make panic and anxiety worse. It could also cause other health problems further down the line.

You need to change your attitude towards alcohol - you need to learn to find ways of coping and having a good time without it (or with less of it). CBT or therapy could help with this. If your friends are encouraging you to binge drink, I'd say you need to talk to them to say that you are not prepared to do this any more. If they don't accept this, then they're really not worth having as friends.