[AniManiac]

I have never had a problem (in terms of painful after-effects, anyway) with drinking alcohol while on ADs. But I just started Lamictal and the doc said to take it really slow if I wanted to drink.

I hosted a dinner party last night and it would be practically unthinkable not to have a little wine. So I did. My advisor was pouring and knows I'm supposed to be very careful with alcohol so he poured me very small glasses. I'm not joking when I say I drank about a quarter what I might otherwise, less than 2 glasses the way I would normally pour. (The entire group killed 6 bottles!)

But I didn't get any buzz at all. Not even a little. And to head off a headache, I drank a couple pints of water before bed. This has always been effective for me in the past.

No luck. I have a splitting headache this morning. I feel slightly woozy and my stomach is giving me the what-for (coffee is helping a little...) This must be what a hangover feels like - I've actually never had a hangover before. I used to call it my secret super power! And yes, I've drunk way more than enough to induce a hangover before.

Anyway, no point to this post except to say, wow, this sucks. I'm pretty bummed that even with being very careful, the after-effects of the alcohol are so yucky. Well, more than bummed. I really like wine ( as in, connoisseur, not wino...) and being unable to drink sensibly without having serious regrets feels like a big kick in the teeth.

Anyone else unable to consume alcohol solely because of BP meds?

[Sheba976]

I stay completely away from alcohol. I never was much of a drinker anyway. My amount of drinking seems to depend on who I am associating with or dating at the time. My boyfriend now rarely drinks. Thank goodness. We went to wedding two months ago and I was drinking mixed drinks and wine. By 8 p.m. I was crying my eyes "how we would never get married" We left the reception, got in the car and I had a complete mixed episode. I punched my bf in the head twice, opened the car door while we were on the highway and I was punching the car windows. All I had was a vodka and cranberry and two glasses of wine. I had no control over myself. I have never had an episode like this. Be happy just having a hangover, it could be a lot worse. I take Lamictal and Lexapro. My docs have told me to stay completely away from alcohol. I look at it this way, Alcohol effects some of the same receptors in our brain that we are trying to control with the meds. Why mess with them anymore? lol

[Fresia]

I do hope you are feeling better now, AniManiac.

I know now that I cannot drink more than a half a glass of any alcohol due to my meds. It still allows me thankfully to try things and to enjoy them once in awhile because like others have mentioned, I do love a good wine in particular so at least I can have some. It is frustrating but considering other reactions I have heard about over the years with even smaller amounts or that have serious contraindications for alcohol, as I said, I feel fortunate.

[Beebizzy]

Hope you feel better AniManiac!

I quit drinking in August. I was drinking far too much and using it to mask depression (no meds at the time). Of course when I quit, the depression was exposed - and how.

I haven't ruled out maybe a glass of wine at Christmas, for example, but we'll see. I'm definitely never going to drink like I did before.

BB

[nacht]

Hope you're feeling better!

Nowadays I won't let myself have more than a single glass, and I'm careful to make sure I drink with food. I'd rather avoid hangovers at all costs, since Depakote doesn't play well with a lot of alcoholic things. And no more hard liquor. I got an epic headache the next morning, the one time I tried that. I'm another that usually never gets hangovers.

Honestly it's just as well. I'm not much of a drinker, but when manic or depressed I tend to drink heavily so it's more indicative of my state of mind than anything else.

[Moose72]

I've had a beer or one hard drink and never any bad effects. Two drinks may be another story.

[manicminer]

I drink my face off on my meds, but i dont take anti-depressants. Drinking on Depakote and Risperdal has never given me any problems, but i know its a double shot to my liver

[dejavu65]

I did not know there was anything wrong with Meds + Alcohol and was up front with my PDoc. I told him I would have about two to five drinks a night every night and more if I thought I needed/wanted it. He did not seem to be worried about it but did eventually tell me this is a form of self medicating and told me it would benefit me to slow down some. When the depression would lighten the drinking would slow down to two to five a week.

[AniManiac]

Thanks for sharing, everyone. I was just really disappointed that even with being really moderate, I ended up feeling so yucky.

I had looked it up in advance so I knew it was not entirely unlikely. And I know it undoes what the meds are trying to do, which is why I was trying to be moderate. I felt pretty down all day yesterday, so hubby and I went hiking, which definitely helped.

I'm a light drinker unless I'm depressed or hypomanic, at which point all bets are off. It's a pretty good indicator of mood, and for awhile I was definitely self-medicating with alcohol (and other substances) so I've been cutting down. I guess once I get stabilized on the Lamictal I can see if I can have a drink once in awhile.