View Full Version : alcohol and panic-do they mix?
I have noticed if I drink too much and do not get enough sleep that I am almost assured to have a panic attack. So then I have another glass of wine to make that feeling go away. It seems to be a vicious cycle. Can anyone relate to this? Any suggestions?[xx(]
Thanks!!!
tessa
razocaine_07
03-02-05, 16:03
if you get like that, are you sure you want to drink at all? i know it would put me off.
hi Tessa,
I avoid drinking at all because I had my first panic attack after a night of heavy drinking. I don't think that anxiety and alcohol mix very well at all and if it makes you feel like that, then it is probably better not to drink at all.
Sarah :D
Much of this may be the sugar balance .
Wine has lots of sugar that increases your blood level - as the alcohol gets processed your sugar levels drop thus bringing on the symptoms again . etec
If this does affect you and it affected me massively when I was acute - then follow a Glycaemic Index diet for a few weeks.
Loads of books around on it as well as previous posts. Essentially cut out all simple carbohydrates and keep to complex ones that provide long term energy not just short term sugar hits.
Remember that with anxiety the adrenalin and cortisol comes from the endocrine glands and that system also controls sugar balance through another gland.
As you get better it subsides - I can now eat anything anytime.
I did stop all alcohol for a couple of months - that helped too
Meg
www.anxietymanagementltd.com
You cannot conquer fear until you have learned what it is you're afraid of. The enemy is ignorance. Vivian Vance
nomorepanic
03-02-05, 18:46
Oh yes
Alcohol = more anxiety and panic attacks. I used to drink a lot every night to relieve the panic attacks and then the next day I panic'd cos I had a hangover too.
Try to drink in moderation cos it definitely aggrevates the panic symptoms.
Nicola
Hi Tessa
I know the feeling, I like a drink or 6 too!
It does make you feel better for a short while and then it comes back 10 times worse the next day.
It's hard but I have proved to myself if I don't drink in the week then the symptoms are much less obvious, start by trying one night without and see how you feel
Take care
Elaine x
Hi Tessa,
I too get the panic attacks after a 'session' I used to drink heavy but now I dont drink at all in the week only at weekends and I have cut that down drastically.
However if I am going to drink I make sure I have enough to eat, little and often helps me.
I have been following the GI diet for a few weeks and it has really helped, I also find if I eat within an hour or so of getting up and keep eating every few hours helps. This was advice from the wonderful meg and dont forget the rescue remedy spray.
Trace xx
I dont have that problem i dont drink and never have and never will
razocaine_07
04-02-05, 15:00
i used to drink heavily when i was at college ( 17-18yrs ) and i would go straight from college at 4pm to my friends house and drink alot of alcohol. After getting panic attacks, i have stopped drinking like this. Mainly because i like to be in control of how i feel
This is an interesting topic because - on a selfish note - I may find out if it affects me tonight.. there's a leaving do for one of the girls from my work and I've been told I'm expected to drink! I told them I wasn't drinking at the moment (I'm not a big drinker but like Lainey I occasionally allow myself one or several :)) but you know how it is with such things!
I haven't wanted to drink and have the feeling that if I do it might bring something on - so I suppose I'll either be brave (and stick to pints of orange juice and lemonade) or foolish and pour some Guinness and/or red wine down my neck and see what happens!
I know I'm a very different person when I'm drunk and I do get very miserable.. so, probably not a good idea.. Tessa, can you set yourself a ration? Try to work out when the alcohol kicks-in and starts to make you feel bad? If so, I would suggest a firm ration and see if your friends will help you stick to it.. Failing that, steer clear of it if you can..
J
Rennie1989
05-02-05, 17:19
when i drink i drink a little as it tends to make me hyperventilate
Scooter Girl AKA Jade
Hi Tessa
I am a new member and only signed up on 14th feb and I am amazed at how many people are experiencing the same things as I do. I too get panic attacks after drinking too much alcohol and I thought I was the only one!!
I like a drink but for me it began to spiral out of control, I am an all or nothing sort of person and cannot just have one or two drinks. I used to drink and still do sometimes to try to deal with the anxiety i get but in August of last year I decided enough was enough and I had to face up to my problems. I went to see my doctor and she prescribed me Effexor, I was a bit scared to try them as I had tried anti-depressants before with no success mainly because I didn't give them enough time to work.
I was feeling completely miserable, panicky, depressed and anxious all the time and thought that i could not feel any worse than i already did so I started to take the tablets and I gave up drinking alcohol completely, don't get me wrong this was very hard as it had become my crutch for whenever I was feeling stressed out or anxious but I knew it wasn't doing me any good. Within a week I began to feel better and the panic attacks began to cease. It felt so good to wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and not hungover and i began to slowly get my life back on track. I didn't have a panic attack in 4 months.
i have been on Effexor for nearly 6 Months now but have got a bit complacent and started to drink again just before christmas. I don't drink half as much as I used to but whenever I do drink alcohol mainly if I go over the top I can gaurantee i will wake in the night with a panic attack. It is so hard for me not to drink as my boyfriends/parents/friends etc all like to drink and it makes you feel like an outcast if you don't join in. Alls I can tell you is i know from past expereience that I feel so much better when i don't drink and I know what it can lead to. I also lost 2 stone in weight in 6 months without alcohol and that is waht alcohol does, it made me so fat. i am still not at my target weight I have about 12 pounds to go but I know i will always have to be careful of my alcohol intake.
I am so pleased to have found someone who has experienced the same thing as me as I think my boyfriend thinks i make it all up and that it is all in my head!
Take care.
Love Lisaxxx
Hi Tessa
Yes - I'm convinced there's a link between alcohol & Panic attacks.
Used to use alcohol to relax - now it seems to do the reverse.
Not had a drink in about a month - not wanted one either - don't miss it at all.
In addition, I made the diet changes that Meg suggetsed above and together with not drinking made a big difference.
Hope this helps
Good Luck.
Mo.
hi tessa,
since i started having panic attacks, my body has voluntarily rejected various things, including alchohol and caffeine. i used to be a total coffee freak and would always have wine with my dinner (and drank loads when i was a student). now i can't touch a drop, it's so weird. i definitely think panic and alchohol are related and that it's something to do with control - alchohol makes you lose control of your feelings and panic is what happens when you feel like you are losing control.
i might be talking rubbish - am no expert - but that's just how it is for me! maybe you should try cutting down on alcohol, to see you you feel.
take care,
henri x
Hi ,
Mo - the good news is that its temporary- I gave up alcohol totally for about 3 months until I was comfortable that the worst was well over- as well as implementing strictly the GI diet for that time too and it helped enormously
Then as I felt better and time passed I tried both alcohol and some sugar laden stuff and hey - all was well. I still don't go out to poison my body with either of them and am fairly aware if not always careful but have never gone back to my 4 diet cokes - (my caffiene) a day but I can eat and drink what I like now .
Let me try to explain why this is ..
When you panic or have low blood sugar you release adrenalin and glucose on demand from messages sent by the adrenal glands.
Glucose is stored and thus released from the liver via a huge complex message system.
Alcohol is not only sugar laden but is processed by the liver.
When you have a rising blood sugar level from the alcohol, messages are sent to the pancreas to release insulin which bring down the sugar level. Then within a short period of time, your sugar level may drop too low as you stop drinking for the night but there is still insulin to use, so whilst the liver supposed to be resting and regenerating, it has to process the alcohol and then release glucose to keep the balance stable.
Anxiety and panic already put a huge strain on the nervouss sytem and the endocrine system - try to be gentle on them and give them a chance to heal along with you.
Does that make any sense ?
Meg
www.overcominganxiety.co.uk
You cannot conquer fear until you have learned what it is you're afraid of. The enemy is ignorance. Vivian Vance
Sorry Meg
I'm not vey good at understanding biological mechanisms......( I'm ok at maths!).
Could you tell me what this means on a practical level.
ie. what I should or should not eat / drink & when.
Thanks Meg.
Mo.
I've changed the above post to hopefully make it clearer
Reduce caffiene , alcohol and pure sugars for 2 months.
Follow a GI menu.
Eat small amounts but very regularly especially in the morning.
Meg
www.overcominganxiety.co.uk
You cannot conquer fear until you have learned what it is you're afraid of. The enemy is ignorance. Vivian Vance
Ive been suffering from Panic Attacks on and off for nearly 20yrs. Although ive sought help from various GP's over the years, apart from a short spell on anti depressants, ive had very little help. Four years ago, on a routine visit to my Dr I mentioned in passing that I thought I was drinking too much. My Dr hardly batted an eyelid, he did not offer me any help and seemed not to take it too seriously. I had never previously, nor since discussed this with my Dr. 6 months ago, my Dr completed a medical questionaire for me as I was applying for a new job. I was horrified when I read his report, he had described me as having a serious drink problem. Maybe I have, maybe I havent, either way, if he thought it was serious why did I not get any help four years ago? I dont want to put anyone off visiting their GP if they really have a serious drink problem, however, be careful just how much you do disclose, as it may come back to haunt you.
I've been asked to clarify the GI menu.
Its Glycaemic Index
What it boils down to is thats its best to eat foods that take a longer time to digest and be converted to sugars
Eg frosties are pure sugar coated so give a virtually instant sugar hit, whereas porridge takes a while to be digested and provides long term energy and is much easier on your sugar balance.
I only have one book that I can quote you, but there are several others out now which would be fine too
THe GI diet by Rick Gallop
Also you might like to check out
http://www.foodandmood.org
which tells you the same again.
I've not seen these in hard copy so if anyone does order one -I'd be interested in some feedback compared to one of the bookshop books .
Hope that helps
Meg
www.overcominganxiety.co.uk
You cannot conquer fear until you have learned what it is you're afraid of. The enemy is ignorance. Vivian Vance
Thank Meg,
That does help.
tessa
Hi everyone - new lady here
I now realise that after a few very stresfull years I have used alcohol as a crutch. I have until about a month ago drunk a bottle of Chardonnay every evening, sometimes two at the weekend[:O]. About six weeks ago I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and it scared me into changing my lifestyle. I have lost a stone in four weeks, taken up exercise and all but given up wine...except for the fact that if I open a bottle now at the weekend I still seem to have to polish it off!
My panic attacks started about 10 days ago, I have used alcohol to supress stress for so long that on visiting this site it is all starting to make sense. No wonder I am having attacks, my poor body feels abandoned and I now know that I am going to have to leave wine alone totally now for a while until I at least get these panic attacks under control.
My biggest dissapointment is that I have never felt so well just before my first attack ten days ago. It was during an exercise class and I am of course now convinced that anything I do physical will bring on an attack. Walking my five year old daughter from the car park to school tomorrow is my next big challenge - I can do it - I will do it...wish me luck!
hi angie good luck for tomorrow im sure you can do it you recognise the triggers so its a start, as for the drinking im sure its ok in moderation but i dont as i just cant do moderation after just 1 glass the bottle starts calling me lol and i gotta finish it off
fan x
Hi fan Hi ang
I can SOOOOOOOOOO relate!!!!!
tessa
Hi Tessa - nice to meet you, what part of the States are you from?
After my day today I am now thinking of wine as the devil - never thought i'd say that, being a real life Bridgette Jones type who really enjoys her wine! (or rather did enjoy ;))
but without the large knickers i hope lol
fan x
Tee hee hee:D - now that would be telling!!!!!
will wait for the pic you post on the forum see if you got vpl lol
fan x
Hey Angie, I am from Louisiana right outside of New Orleans.
I wrote you something under your introduction thread in case you haven't read it. And I too LOVE my wine-Chardonnay!:D
tessa
How did it go Angie ?
Meg
www.overcominganxiety.co.uk
You cannot conquer fear until you have learned what it is you're afraid of. The enemy is ignorance. Vivian Vance
Tessa - New Orleans you are so lucky, we are with snow here today.
Well I did not manage to drop my daughter to school but was able to drive and pick her up on my own:D. Went really well and was on a bit of a high when I got back but am now a bit tense and breathy again, hoping it will pass as I really felt as if I made a huge step this afternoon.
way to go I am so proud of you. Just remember, baby steps!!!!![^]
tessa
you did just great keep at it and you will find it gets easier each time
fan x
Well done Angie.
Karen
It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.
Good stuff Angie
You did really well and should be very pleased with yourself!
:D[^]
Best wishes
Jo xx
"courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear"
Oh can I relate! Alcohol "takes the edge off" for me, but too much and I have a terrible next day! I have found that I can still have cocktails, justs not too many. Sleep is a big factor for me too.
I very rarely drink a lot because I ALWAYS feel terrible the next day if I do. I learned this when many other people my age would consider 8 or 9 pints a pretty normal night's drinking!
Maybe I'm lucky in that I have a good sensory memory - I can't remember facts for toffee but feelings stay with me forever (which is part of my problem I guess). So my memory of how bad heavy drinking makes me feel when the alcohol wears off, means I don't even consider it an option. I almost taste the hangover with the alcohol, if you know what I mean.
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