Posted by fayeroe on January 22, 2009, at 8:31:50
In reply to Anti-Anxiety Medicine for Alcoholics, posted by myname20098002 on January 22, 2009, at 2:02:42
> Hello,
>
> I am an alcoholic with one year sobriety. Unfortunately, occassionally I have anxiety issues that come up. They can become intense and lead to anxiety attacks. They do not happen often; however, maybe a few times a year only. But I need something to get me out of them when they occur. The last one my doctor gave me a .5 mg ativan tablet and it knocked out the anxiety attack. Unfortunately, it excited the alcoholic part of my brain and after a year of being free from alcohol.. I almost succumbed. Fortunately, I was able to contact my sponsor and go to meetings and pray and I got over it.
>
> All of which led me to realize I can never take another benzo or any drug that would cause me to want to drink again for the rest of my life.
>
> Now I'll be talking this over with my doc and handing him back his bottle of benzos and explaining why I can never take one of those again for the rest of my life but I wanted to see if anyone of you had heard of a possible anti-anxiety drug that could be taken by an alcoholic that would not excite that part of their brain thereby causing them to fall back into alcoholism.
>
> I'm just looking for intelligent suggestions that I can take to my doctor for his opinion. Thank you.Congratulations for your one year sobriety!! How happy you must be for yourself. I know that it is day by day and how hard you must be working.
I did some research for you because I have really bad chronic pain and I was given this drug for anxiety that relates to the pain. I'm dealing with things better than I have in years on this med. Not there yet, but since the pain causes anxiety and the anxiety causes pain, I am hopeful that I'll continue on the road of feeling more positive.
Good luck!
BuSpar (buspirone hcl)
Other names: Buspar Dividose, Censpar, Sorbon
About BuSparBuSpar is an anxiety treatment that acts on the neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin to calm the mind. It is considered an effective treatment for mild to moderate anxiety or tension, though should not be used to treat everyday stress and worry. It may take one to two weeks before you experience the full benefits of BuSpar treatment.
BuSpar may occasionally be combined with antidepressant medication to treat certain conditions, but this should proceed with caution, and only under the advice of a physician. This medication is not considered to have significant abuse potential.
BuSpar is also accepted for the following uses:
* Control tendencies towards self-injury and aggression in mentally disabled adults.
* Reduce alcohol cravings in recovering alcoholics.
* Reduce aggression or hyperactivity associated with autism.
* Reduce symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorders.
* Improve sexual function in general anxiety disorder.
* Decreases the urge to smoke.
* May prevent chronic headaches or migraine attacks, reducing the need for pain medication.BuSpar is only available by prescription.
poster:fayeroe
thread:875378
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090104/msgs/875401.html