[mossanimal]

I'm curious when people crave stuff like this. As soon as I start feeling a little hypo I tend to reach for stimulants like caffeine. After Adderall was taken from me.. but I still had a few left... the first time I became a little hypo I took some and off I went. I seem to have an urge to push the hypomania as far as I can. And this is when I like to drink more too. When I'm depressed I don't seem to seek anything.

[MtnTime2896]

I seek alcohol more than normal when I'm in a mixed state. I think, in my mind, I'm attempting to use a depressant to make it go one way so I don't stay mixed. Stimulants don't really work for me like they do on others, it seems. Same with simple caffeine, it just makes me feel clouded when I drink too much (more than half a can of soda). If I want to go up I have to take in so much sugar that I push myself close to type two diabetes. Only way I can go up is by cycling there, it seems. I gave up trying to push myself into hypomania. When I'm already up, though, that I reach for marijuana and Adderall to create a more euphoric experience, otherwise I just get angry/irritable. Adderall calms down my anxiety, anyway, so it's nice when I'm not depressed enough to control my anxiety attacks.

I take Adderall when I'm hypo to extend the hypo... but I have to be careful not to take too much or I become full-blown manic.

I have 27 of 'em left because my pdoc won't prescribe them after finding out that I'm too sensitive to stimulants. That's why I'm saving them (emergency use only )!

I don't drink alcohol... Well, maybe a beer to be social, but otherwise I don't drink.

[Moose72]

I can't see my Pdoc prescribing me a stimulant. I get hypo easily anyway.

[zijax]

when im depressed i want to drink alcohol and caffeine

[Anxiousvalkyrie]

I don't drink alcohol anymore, well I'll have a beer at the pub or one glass of scotch every once in a while because I enjoy the taste. But in the past I used to drink to excess relatively often, especially if I was hypo or full blown manic. I used it as a coping mechanism.

As for stimulants, just caffeine. I have to have my coffee every morning right after I get up but other stimulants feed my anxiety so I avoid them.

[mossanimal]

Interesting. I didn't make the connection between drinking and mixed state. The last time I caused a lot of trouble was when I was mixed. I don't normally drink that much.. but I sure did that day. I remember just wanting to cause havoc.

Also.. to be clear.. Caffeine also does nothing for me. But I always hope it will.

Originally Posted by Só leigheas

I seek alcohol more than normal when I'm in a mixed state. I think, in my mind, I'm attempting to use a depressant to make it go one way so I don't stay mixed. Stimulants don't really work for me like they do on others, it seems. Same with simple caffeine, it just makes me feel clouded when I drink too much (more than half a can of soda). If I want to go up I have to take in so much sugar that I push myself close to type two diabetes. Only way I can go up is by cycling there, it seems. I gave up trying to push myself into hypomania. When I'm already up, though, that I reach for marijuana and Adderall to create a more euphoric experience, otherwise I just get angry/irritable. Adderall calms down my anxiety, anyway, so it's nice when I'm not depressed enough to control my anxiety attacks.

[Moose72]

I have coffee every day. I know I'm used to it and after missing it a few days I might get rebound headaches. I don't think I could take Adderall without bouncing off the walls.

[mossanimal]

Originally Posted by Moose72

I have coffee every day. I know I'm used to it and after missing it a few days I might get rebound headaches. I don't think I could take Adderall without bouncing off the walls.

My Adderall was before my bipolar diagnosis. I wasted several years being treated for ADHD with Adderall. It did nothing for me after the first week of feeling awesome. Except make me a mess and dangerous to myself when depressed.

[Theresa1991]

I do more of everything when hypo. There is just this feeling of "Yes, I can". I chain smoke and in the evening I have that urge to drink because it calms me down and I don't know what to do with all that energy I have. It's just too much for a usual week day (anyway, I try not to give in). I also crave other substances when hypo, sometimes. But I quit these. Anyway this craving comes from the fun part of hypo. I feel everything is possible and I just lose my sense of risktaking.

When mixed, I also drink more, to stop the haunting thoughts.

When depressed I don't really want anything. Drinking then helps my mood go up, sometimes I feel like smoking weed, but generally I don't really care much about anything.

[gina_re]

Just about everyday I have to work, I need caffeine to get through it. It's a ton of reading, so I need to stay awake and alert to not miss anything. I don't think I can get a prescription for a stimulant since I don't present any symptoms to really need one.
When it comes to alcohol...that's rare that I crave it. If I do, I know I'm heading into, if not already in, hypomania.

[Wild Coyote]

I sometimes crave alcohol when under great stress or feeling severe emotional pain. Sometimes when hypo. Since a major med change I have no such cravings, regardless of mood.


WC

[mossanimal]

Thanks folks. I've never been considered to have a drinking problem in general. Maybe I drank too much in college though. Now.. the only time I want to get really drunk is when I'm not in a good state. When things are good.. I seek good hand-crafted beer mostly because it is a pleasurable to drink.. not exactly the alcohol buzz.. just the flavor. When I'm depressed I don't really care about it.. until I start getting mixed. Then the buzz is important.

[KitRacer]

For me, I'm on the coffee every day. At least one cup. Usually 2. Sometimes a 3rd, but I've been trying to curb that with Chamomile tea. That's all the time.

I don't drink alcohol much. Never really did. We don't really keep any around the house and when we are out, I'm hesitant to even have one because I don't like the thought that it might affect me if I am driving my son around. I still enjoy a nice hoppy beer or a light bourbon sometimes.

[pirilin]

Never liked either. Althought I have abused alcohol long and hard. So it was easy relatively speaking.
Never being a fan of prescription drugs. They taste like medicine. Those, I've never abused.

[bioChE]

Alcohol and stimulants have been my nemesis for almost as long as I can remember. I've never been a social drinker - always went for getting drunk. I don't drink now.

Stimulants we're fine for me for a long time, then eventually I figured out how to crush and snort them. They became my crystal meth. Spent many years abusing them. Today I'm on Vyvanse, which is impossible to abuse. I don't really crave it, as it's just part of my daily normal routine. It does wonders at keeping away brain fog and lethargy from other meds.

These days I don't really crave alcohol or stimulants very much. Maybe I just grew up.

[RainyDay107]

I quit drinking alcohol after self-medicating and finally realizing I'd never get stable if I drank.

Stimulants, including rx like Adderall, calm me for some reason. Caffeine doesn't even hit my radar.

[Unrigged64072835]

I crave alcohol when I'm stressed. I always want that glass of wine when I'm making dinner. But I would abuse it and my liver may not take any more of it so I stay away.

Any stimulant drives up my anxiety, even caffeine. I stopped doing that five years ago. Haven't missed it or the migraines I get if I stop it.