My husband had to see the physician today for an issue with his elbow. He has to see a specialist tomorrow and so tonight I was filling out all the paper work and asking him the questions (he hates to write) Several of the questions asked about anxiety and depression (bith of which he has been treated for in the past) and he admitted that they were back. I am going to let him get through the elbow situation before addressing the depression and anxiety because he hates going to docotors so I don't want to add to his already busy "doctor" schedule

So I was wondering if anyone here has been treated for these while taking Nal. I think his drinking has increased becasue the depression is back. He is just going to be one of those people that has to be on an antidepressent the rest of his life...no big deal...just need to get it done.

Thanks for any input
Lynn

Hi Lynn:

I have chronic major (garden variety) depression which is treated with an SSRI antidepressant. I also am using exercise and (yes) meditation to handle the low-level anxiety that goes with it -- especially in the evenings.

Depression and alcohol abuse go together like butter on toast. So common. And as you know, booze is a central nervous system depressant. What a wicked combo. So when I drink too much I get more depressed and more anxious. This is a key reason I'm doing TSM, to get the booze under control so I don't keep getting wiped out by depression. I may end up entirely abstinent for this reason -- though I do like social drinking.

I have a demanding, successful career with enough autonomy so that I can fake my way through bad days. But I also have to be self-directed and constantly moving to the next level. I can't keep being a depressed drunk. The good news is that this combo of TSM, exercise and meditation is beginning to show real results for me.

I don't share my depression publicly but I'm not remotely ashamed of it. It runs in my family. It's a disease. I'll likely be on anti-depressants the rest of my life, or until better therapies come along. When I've gone off SSRIs I've eventually tanked. And repeated depressions, research shows, actually injure the physical structure of the brain (lesions).

I don't know if any of this helps. But in my case, Nal and Paxil seem to be working just fine together. I'll have more to say about this week's progress in my thread this weekend.

I really do empathize with you. My very supportive wife deals with both my depression and drinking, but she also lets me know when she's reached her limit of compassion. I really try to respect that. Her help is key to me and I don't take it for granted. I hope your husband has a glimmer of what he gets from the support you're giving.

Best wishes,

Lynn,

I am being treated by an alcohol addiction specialist with Nal and Buspirone (Buspar) for anxiety. Buspirone is, if I understand correctly, not an SSRI, nor is it addictive.

I was prescribed two 10 mg tablets in the morning, and at my option, up to two more during the day as and when I felt the need. I have recently settled in at 10 mg regularly every 6 hours and it really has helped my anxiety, and thus my depression also.

HTH.

Tiller and Twinkletoes

Thanks for the reply. I want to get him in to be treated for his depression as soon as I can. He was on medication but quite taking them several months ago and now he is where he used to be. What is frustrating is that he doesn't tell me and I have to find out when he is filling out his form for the doctor yesterday.

I know that is goes hand in hand and I wish he wold just let his body heal without trying to rush it...he is always wanting everything to get better and get better yesterday...patience is not his virtue.

Lynn

I was diagnosed clinically depressed many, many years ago but found that drinking made it worse and stopped taking my SSSRI when I realised it had little chance of working with the sheer amounts of alcohol I was drinking. After the point at which I quite the SSSRI I found my depression only really occured when I'd been drinking, during periods of good sobriety I didn't have any depressive tendencies and was generally very happy. So I saw the direct correlation between drinking and my depression.

Since using Naltrexone my drinking has reduced significantly (just realised I've not had a drink for 7 days and I'm not really bothered!), I have however noticed that I can feel 'flat' after using Naltrexone and if I take it several days in a row, along with drinking I am at risk of becoming depressed. I personally don't like taking lots of tablets and would rather be self-sufficient than rely on medication - although I would take meds if absolutely necessary. I've accepted this as a trade-off with naltrexone and have found as long as I keep small target, goals in mind that gets me going. Trust me when I say I have a lot of reasons to be depressed, but I constantly fight them often using the One Day at a Time approach. I'm ok right now, and ok today.

Also I've noticed I no longer reach for the bottle, nor crave a drink when stressed, depressed, anxious, tired. This has been the effect of TSM on me, and it is absolutely fantastic. That's not to say I don't often think "Oh if only I could go disappear to the pub and drink the day away", but the truth is the hunger had gone and when I envisage doing that, how the drink will taste and or feel, what it'll be like in the pub I almost physically recoil. It holds no attraction. Instead I have to put up with whatever is bothering me!

I'll chime in to say that I also suffer from anxiety (I had a major depressive episode about 9 years ago, but really don't feel too depressed on the whole these days) and take an SSRI for it (zoloft). I find of course that drinking alleviates my anxiety momentarily, but that it comes back two-fold (and with depression) when the hangover kicks in. Therefore, I am less anxious and less depressed when I am sober. I have also noticed, like UKBlonde, that nal makes me a bit blah when I take the full 50mg. It happens the night of drinking sometimes, and almost always the next morning/afternoon. That is something that worries me for the long term, but my doctor assures me that it is not doing any permanent mood damage - that is, it is only a fleeting side effect of the nal, and as I have more and more AF days it will becomes less and less of a problem.

Just another depressive chiming in - I've found that depression and drink (or drugs) go together a bit like bread 'n' butter, though I want to drink when I'm happy, too. Like tiller, mental illness runs in my family (one side of it was famous for it in the village where they come from), but an SSRI works for me to alleviate the symptoms.

Given the mechanism of action, I think it's almost axiomatic that Nal prevents the feeling of wellbeing induced by alcohol. The next day, I find that I have both the hangover and whatever other fallout there may have been but without any lingering high from being drunk. This all chimes with the studies on Nal... it's all part of waiting for the Skinner effect.

When I went to AA, it struck me that there were a lot of depression-related emotions being expressed by people. Interestingly enough, I *think* that there's also been some work done showing that faith-based beliefs promote serotonin levels, too...