Ok so my husband and I were supposed to spend New Years Eve with my stepkids and I was hoping for a glass of champagne at midnight but instead the kids are spending new years with their mom, hubby is playing video games and I am sitting here listening to music and drinking a six pack of beer. Ok so I took a couple klonopin beforehand. My question is drinking really that bad when you're on bipolar meds? I know the klonopin thing is a no-no and I AM an alcoholic but only when I go out to the bar and do shots. A six pack is nothing to me but a little buzz. So... what do you think? Anyone else struggle with this? Doesn't everybody have some days where they just say F it!? Anyways, cheers! And Happy New Year!

[Anneinside]

Being an alcoholic is not related to a specific place...bar. It is a problem with drinking alcohol, any type of alcohol. If you said I only had one beer and didn't take my Klonopin I would say that you wouldn't have a problem. But mixing medications, especially psychotrophics, with alcohol is VERY dangerous. Benzos like Klonopin mixed with alcohol can impair breathing or cause an overdose. You wrote on here asking if it is a problem. I believe you were asking for someone to tell you it was okay. I am not going to tell you that. You already knew it was a bad choice. I am not an alcoholic but take psychotrophic drugs including Klonopin. I choose to drink sparkling peach juice. Is as festive as champagne but no alcohol.

[BlueInanna]

Be safe lady. If you feel you're alcoholic, then it is a pretty bad idea. I fully understand the need to unwind and have some relief sometimes. I plan to have a few drinks tonight, will try to eat as well, and drink water, and no Klons for me if I'm drinking. Be safe honey Priestess, world needs you.

Nah, I wasn't asking if what I did in that specific instance was ok or a "don't do it again". I know THAT was pretty immature of me but with the other meds I (we) take, is it ok to drink once in a while? That's all.

Well, alcohol is a depressant, as you know, High Priestess. With bipolar illness, it does make the illness worse, according to my psychiatrist.

You just have to use your own good judgment, but (in my view) the ladies who
recommend that you avoid the Clonazepam if you're going to use alcohol is safe
and wise advice.

Have a good New Year anyway!

Genetic

[hamster-bamster]

Not all psychotropic meds should not be mixed with alcohol but benzos and alcohol ARE, unfortunately, a very bad idea together. Which is one reason I no longer use benzos so that I can both enjoy a glass of wine or a shot of brandy on a near daily basis and reap protective benefits of MODERATE alcohol consumption, which helps prevent not only. Heart attack and stroke but also Alzheimer's and both my grandmothers had Alzheimer's so I care about that one very much. Moderate alcohol works great with all my meds that do NOT contain benzos.

Also I am not an alcoholic and have never been drunk so I do not run the risk of excesses. With history of alcoholism and while on Benzos I recommend that you abstain even though it is unfair to you. I guess it falls under the general "life is unfair" rubric beccause not only are you burdened by a disease but also you must modify your lifestyle. It sucks, for sure.

Thanks Hamster, that's exactly the kind of answer I was looking for. Perhaps I worded my initial post all wrong. So you're saying that besides klonopin or any other benzos, it would be safe to drink every once in a while in moderation?

[hamster-bamster]

I am saying that benzos+alcohol is a no-no and with others, read the accompanying information, talk to the p-doc and perhaps try and see. For women, moderation equals one shot of hard liquor OR one glass of wine daily or some quantity of beer (I do not like beer so I do not remember how much is allowed). Before you attempt drinking, however, you need to be sure that you can and will stop after one shot. Are you certain that you will? If not, abstaining is a better choice.

Originally Posted by hamster-bamster

I am saying that benzos+alcohol is a no-no and with others, read the accompanying information, talk to the p-doc and perhaps try and see. For women, moderation equals one shot of hard liquor OR one glass of wine daily or some quantity of beer (I do not like beer so I do not remember how much is allowed). Before you attempt drinking, however, you need to be sure that you can and will stop after one shot. Are you certain that you will? If not, abstaining is a better choice.

Ok I'm buzzing now on beer three so don't mind any nonsensical rants from here on out for the rest of the night. But I'm having a six pack. That's ok once in a while right? My pdoc say no to alcohol period and that's just not right so that's why I posted the initial question. Hey, at least I can spell alright, huh?

[Gaijin]

Drinking was a bad thing for me. That's why I had to stop.

[hamster-bamster]

Not all p-docs are so strict. My friend is a p-doc with extensive experience and he ok's occasional consumption (but not on benzos) for holidays, partly, I believe, because he likes alcohol himself and does not feel like restricting his patients too much, and partly, I think, because he recognizes the huge social cost of total abstinence. So alcohol is a depressant (to me it isn't, btw)? How about being singled out and having to say no to something everyone else enjoys as part of the holiday cheer - is not that MORE depressing? One needs to go with the lesser evil. I will now look up the allowed quantity of beer for you. Also please eat food while you drink.

[hamster-bamster]

For women, 12 ounces of beer and no more, according to CDC, an authoritative source.

I have also heard of non-alcoholic beer. Again, I dislike beer so I have not tried its non-alcoholic version myself. Maybe you should try it.

Since you are an alcoholic, any drinking is a bad idea. Sounds a bit like you are trying to justify/rationalize your drinking tonight. Perhaps you need to stop now and just call it a night.

Originally Posted by farmergirl

Since you are an alcoholic, any drinking is a bad idea. Sounds a bit like you are trying to justify/rationalize your drinking tonight. Perhaps you need to stop now and just call it a night.

Haha, perhaps.

[hamster-bamster]

How do you know you are an alcoholic, meaning, who has diagnosed you?

[hamster-bamster]

I recall that alcohol might negate the AD properties of Abilify if used regularly. My understading is that AP properties of Abilify are unaffected by the use of alcohol.

[Victoria'smom]

I cant drink. It makes me want to SH. My husband does occasionally drink. When we drink or smoke we skip meds for the day. Which may be 4 x a year. It's not the best for bp but a never rule is really does not work for me

[Gaijin]

My own decision to quit had nothing to do with alcoholism or interference with meds.

Drinking made me more recklessly hypomanic, damaging my life and relationships.

[manicminer]

The #1 issue my docs had with alcohol when I was on meds is that the meds I was taking, Depakote and Risperdal, were metabolized through the liver. Since alcohol is also metabolized through the liver, mixing the two didnt allow the meds to be metabolized at the proper rate and my liver was all the time doing double duty. This increased the risk for liver damage and failure dramatically.

So I did the most logical thing in my mind and quit taking the meds. lol

[Speed3]

Hi,

I read your post a little while ago and knew I wanted to respond, but I had to take some time to gather my thoughts.

First of all I want to say I am concerned. You sound so much like me and where I have been at different times in struggling with Bipolar Disorder. I think all of us know mixing alcohol and meds most of the time is not a good thing. But, other times when we are in a certain mindset or mood it is dangerous.

Alcohol is a disinhibitor, when we are maybe feeling down it can intensive this feeling. I am just going to talk from my own experience with this. I am not usually a drinker but when I get to feeling certain ways I crave wine and I indulge in it.

One glass becomes the whole bottle. Then I think some more Ativan will make me feel even better. My non drunk self would never do that. Things start to snowball, now I am extremely depressed and I take more Ativan and maybe some of my other meds. Next thing I know I am in the Hospital ER headed to the intensive care unit. It has taken me 20 years and many visits to the hospital to know I can't ever drink unless I really want to die.

My mom was Alcoholic. She also suffered from anxiety and depression. At the age of 49 she mixed her Valium and antidepressants with her daily alcohol.
She killed herself. Whether it was on purpose or not no one will ever know.

Please, Please be careful. Never under estimate this illness. In my view bipolar and alcohol don't mix!

I think in your heart of hearts you know what the correct answer to your question is.

I also think that none of us here are qualified to give you an okay or go ahead on it.

However, I know for a fact that those of us who struggle with alcohol abuse always feel better if others tell us what we're doing is okay, when in fact we know it's not.

Nevertheless, the final choice, and its consequences, is ours and ours alone.

I want to thank all of you for your thoughtful responses.

Hamster, I have not received a diagnosis of alcoholism by a professional, I just kind of diagnosed myself. When I go out to bars and start doing shots, it's over for me. I go overboard and do stupid things and usually black out. I struggle with the option to drink occasionally because I don't always do that. Like last night, I was at home with a few beers. Ended up having four. Big whoop.

That's why as someone said "in my heart of hearts" I don't know the right answer. That's why I asked the question. Some people think it's not ok to drink just because of the bp diagnosis but I don't know if I believe that. Again, why I asked the question.

As some of you know, I am very torn with taking my meds. I am torn with this diagnosis and I am torn with the option of drinking from time to time. I am in a place of confusion with all of this. I am on the fence and seeking answers and some understanding

Thanks to all again.

i do drink, on things like christmas and new year, and do have the odd alcahol now and then

but i know when to stop... when i start feeling in myself that it's getting dangerous, i stop

I was kind of in what I call, "F it mode" last night. Just to clarify, I know the mixing klons with alcohol was a no-no. I know that. But my real question was... For example, I take abilify and cymbalta in the morning... If I would have abstained from the klons, would drinking a few beers be ok? I just wasn't sure if mixing other bp meds with alcohol was safe or if I should have abstained from all of my meds for the day. I hope that is clearer and makes more sense than my original post.

Look at it this way ... Just because you abstain from a medication for one day doesn't mean what you've taken the days, weeks and months prior to that day still aren't in your system. Therefore, it's still pretty risky to put alcohol into the mix.

Again, though, and bottom line, the final decision, and its consequences, is yours.