Setback after 10 weeks

[LJL]

Hi

Just wondered if it is normal to have a relapse after being on meds for 10 weeks.

I was doing really well but after drinking too much on New Year I have had a relapse, thought it was down to the drink but I'm not so sure now, I have high palps and sweating is a nightmare, the nervous, worrying feeling is back, have other people suffered a setback at this stage?

Thanks

[magic girl]

hi ljl yes you can have a setback when first on meds i did and the doc upped my meds slightly and that helped.i think you need to go back to doc and also ask him for additional help from your local mental health team,a lot of people need a bit more than meds alone.i hope you get sorted and keep us posted:hugs:

[andrea thompson]

hiya hon

i know if i have had a drink it makes me feel worse... sometimes i dont feel right for about a week... so try not to worry... i am sure it will pass.... also new year is a funny time.... a lull after xmas and all that so wouldnt be suprised if loads of people feeling the jan blues.... all the excitement of xmas could be having a knock on effect now....

take care

andrea x x

[Bill]

I didn't make it back to work today, I woke up and got ready to go but then I started to feel sick again as I have for the last 4 days, I knew there was no point in going in and feeling sick at my desk all day. Shame cause before Christmas I was really looking forward to going,

This will sound strange but I'm sure your meds have actually caused your relapse. I'll explain....

Meds help to ease our anxious feelings. They don't cure us. If we experience additional excess stress at Any time whether we are on meds or not, the stress will trigger anxious feelings to feel worse.

This is indirectly what has happened to you. We should never mix too much drink with meds for more than one reason. Meds act like a sedative and drink can also make us feel drowsy which is why they often say don't mix the two when you're driving or using machinery.

However, meds are anti-depressants but booze is a depressant which counteracts the effect of the meds. They don't get on together because the two together confuse our minds which then creates problems.

There is more to this though. Although I believe the combination of the meds with the drink triggered a reaction that you weren't aware of, the feelings that have resulted have now caused this excess additional stress I mentioned in the beginning.

You see the combination of meds and drink caused a reaction but that reaction had now caused you to worry why you feel so ill. It's this new worry that has caused your relapse and nothing whatsover to do with how long you've been on the meds.

The other thing is now that this reaction has triggered your worry, you are now subconsciously worrying about the orginal symptoms that kept you off work which in turn have now re-surfaced due to this chain reaction.

To sum up- the drink combined with your meds triggered a reaction which made you feel ill. You then worried about why you were feeling so ill and this new worry has now triggered your anxious feelings because you're now worrying they'll occur at work and you'll be feeling ill all day at your desk. The worry has now made your original fear re-surface.

What you need to do is realise what has happened, that it was simply a chain reaction caused by the drink and meds so that you stop worrying about it. Once you stop worrying about your anxious feelings that have now re-surfaced, the anxious feelings will stop.

There is one thing though that it has shown that you're still vulnerable to excess stress so be aware of your limits when you do go back to work so that you don't take on too much or the excess stress could trigger the same reaction.:hugs:

[LJL]

Thanks everyone

Bill - I totally understand what you have said, I now need to break the no fear cycle again, I have done it before and I will do it again.

[linesman]

the only real answer is to avoid the booze, i was doing well, new years eve knocked me back so far that i've been basically smacked back into a depressive nervous state, its either that or cap the amount of alcohol to literally a few drinks..

[LJL]

the only real answer is to avoid the booze, i was doing well, new years eve knocked me back so far that i've been basically smacked back into a depressive nervous state, its either that or cap the amount of alcohol to literally a few drinks..

I will def be keeping it to a couple of glasses, that's if I drink again!!!