Thursday, July 27, 2006

Drinking and Antidepressants

A little more background on me. I don't drink alcohol. Up until October, 2004, I drank copious amounts of beer. I had a kegerator and would go through a keg of Bitburger in 6 weeks. I was depressed, I weighed 192 lbs., and my job and relationship were suffering because of my erratic behavior. I "quit" drinking in October 2004, had a few "just one beer" events that turned into 6-pack events, and then I quit for good in February, 2005. I haven't had any alcohol since then. I am no longer (as) depressed, I weigh 149 lbs., and my job and relationship are in much better shape. I miss going to bars and being social, and there are times when I feel like getting drunk off my ass and I have to find another way to de-stress, but otherwise I'm glad I did what I did. I'm currently on the antidepressant Effexor. At various times in the past I've been on Prozac, Wellbutrin, and Paxil. My moods are stable, but my sex drive is non-existent, which causes a whole different kind of stress. I've recently reduced my Effexor dosage from 150mg to 112.5mg in hopes of reducing the libido-dampening side-effects. If I my moods continue to be stable on 112.5mg, I will move to 75mg and see how it goes. About 2 months ago I started an amino acid program by NeuroScience which uses neurotransmitter precursors to increase production of neurotransmitters in the body. My motivation and energy have increased since starting the program, and I am now on "phase 2," which is a ramp-up to optimal neurotransmitter levels. I submit urine samples to NeuroScience and they test it to determine which neurotransmitters are low, and then they recommend supplements based on those results. Phase 2 should last about 3 months, after which I will go into "phase 3," or maintenance mode.

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