Alcohol Withdrawal :: Nalmefene Side Effects?
Just been prescribed this and am a little worried about taking it as the side effects seem a bit hard. Will I be so ill I won't be able to work
Alcohol Consumption :: Nalmefene / Selincro Side Effects
I'm now in my 2nd week and am pleased as to how its working, have just had 2 glass wine in 2 weeks, amazing compared to previous 90+ per week units. I m surprised that it has worked so well to the extent that i never think about alcohol and can easily sit with other people drinking and i have lemonade. I see a bottle of alcohol as just that, a bottle, nothing else, no craving. However i am concerned about the side effects I take my nalmefene at the same time each day approx 6 p.m - after an hour it kicks in and i can be asleep or drowsy or 'strange' for a few hours What i want to ask is do people have numb feelings in the upper parts of arms ? I have it mostly on the left hand side and some numbness down side of body, i m sure this is just part of the drugs ingredients doing something but its like a grasping numbness for a few hours - ironically a bit like when really hungover. I also know that you can drink when taking nalmefene / that's the idea but for the next 5 weeks i m staying abstinent before a holiday and will take it and a few drinks per day then. But numb arms ? kind of worrying and not sure if this will be ongoing True what they say that first week of getting used to nalmefene is the worst ...
View 40 RepliesSelincro Has Reduced My Alcohol Consumption But Bad Side Effects
I was probably one of the first people around the UK ( well England ) to be prescribed Selincro by my GP earlier this year.
I have gone through all the usual issues identified when starting to take this drug and got through the difficult period to settle down into a lifestyle of being more in control of my drinking and only taking the tablet 2 -3 times a week on those days I am likely to have a drink. Recently I have taken a tablet just because it was Friday and there maybe a chance that I have a drink , even though I didn't fancy a drink at the time or went to have a drink and didn't enjoy it so left it at one. So it can be said that everything has been a success.
Not quite though ! You see I want to be able to have a couple of days when I do enjoy a drink. Whether it be at home with my wife or out with friends. The problem is that although the side effects of the drug have greatly subsided when I do take a tablet ( Infrequently now ) I still feel strange., cold clammy forehead, slight nausea and some light headedness ( best way I can describe it) plus it seems to increase my tinnitus. There are other things difficult to describe also. I guess that if I then went on to enjoy the rest of the evening I could accept that but I increasingly find that I would be better off not drinking at all. Now that would be great for those people who have been recommended total abstinence but it was never my intention and my GP was supportive of that. The intention was just to cut down the amount of alcohol intake and to have alcohol free days.
So I am at a crossroads now. To continue as I am or stop the Selincro. From what I have read and been told, once you start it should be for life. ( Mind I was not aware of that when I commenced on the treatment ) I understand that if I was to stop my brain would readjust and a desire for alcohol reward would increase. All I want is to be well enough to enjoy a drink a couple of nights a week.
I know it is still early days in the UK but has there been any research into those considered as having a ' mild dependence on alcohol ' who commenced Selincro with success and then went onto to try and manage their drinking without the drug.
In my case I feel I have broken the habit of having drink everyday , even though my wife continues to have a drink and there is alcohol in the house. I don't want to go back to drinking 60 - 80 units per week but at the same time I am unhappy with my present situation.
Alcohol Consumption :: Can't Stop Drinking
I've been drinking since I was 14. I'm now 39. For most of that time I've been a binge drinker. Often, like 2 or 3 times a month, drinking till I can't remember how I got home or what I was saying or doing. Now I drink most nights. Not loads every night but I do think about drinking most days and look forward to the next time I can get melted.
Recently it's been affecting my relationship. My girlfriend has warned me that my drinking could be the end of our relationship. I love her more than anything but still I can't stop drinking. Sometimes I lie about what I've drunk or I hide empty bottles from her. I've promised myself I'll cut down or I'll just have a couple instead of loads, but it never works.
I think it's now the time to stop all together but I'm not sure I can. I have a lot of good friends but socialising with them usually involves a night in the pub and I don't think I could do that without getting drunk.
I've also been trying to stop smoking for about 10 years and haven't really managed that either! I think I have an addictive personality and not sure what to try next.
Alcohol :: How To Stop Binge Drinking By Myself?
I really want to stop drinking i drink most days normally between 4-6 cans of cider sometimes i binge up to 12 though normally starting around 12pm . I cant ask for help as have already been warned if i admit to drinking more than 4 (from 7pm) cans i will have to have supervision whilst looking after my children.
View 32 RepliesAlcohol :: Detox - Chlordiazepoxide - No Drinking For 2 Weeks
I have given up heavy drinking now for two weeks. I feel dreadful , sick all day,weak itchy and unable to sleep. I WAS given chlordiazepoxide but only 8 altogether. Is it normal ? This is worse than a bad hangover. How did others feel?
View 6 RepliesAlcohol :: Do I Need To Detox? Max 90 Hours Without Binge Drinking
I'm trying to pull myself together and drastically cut down on my drinking. I've been drinking pretty much every night for about a month or two. I've been going on binges of drinking every day a week or so at a time for the last couple years, and then I would stop for a week and start over again. This has been the longest period of drinking every day. It started with two tall boys a night, and progressed to a six pack of 16ozs on the weekdays, and then heavily binge drinking one day a weekend. I didn't think that I was drinking enough to experience withdrawals if I suddenly stopped. I've done this before, and never experienced withdrawals. This time was different.
I drank heavily last Monday, and then didn't drink again until Friday night. I was very anxious, had some episodes of the shakes, and I was in a pretty bad fog. My head hurt and I was thirsty all day, I couldn't get enough water. I couldn't think, I just didn't feel right. I caved in and drank a six pack Friday night, and then yesterday was my birthday so it was just a waterfall of booze. I don't know how much I drank, but it was a lot.
I feel terrible at the moment, partly due to the nasty hangover. I'm feeling very stressed out and anxious. The shakes are starting to creep in, along with the fog. The realization that this has become a problem is giving me a lot of anxiety, I have moments where I feel like I'm just going to break down and have a panic attack. I can't believe I let myself go like this.
Anyways, given the amount of alcohol that I have been consuming, should I be concerned about DT's or seizures? I made it around 90 hours with seemingly mild withdrawal symptoms, considering. No one knows that I drink like this, I'm a closet alcoholic. I'm afraid to tell anyone, because I don't want them to know that I've sunk this low. I don't want anyone worrying about me, which is why I've come here.
Alcohol Consumption :: I Need To Stop Binge Drinking
I need help to stop binge drinking before i loose my family and job?
View 5 RepliesAlcohol - Off And On Heavy Drinking - Depression / Anxiety
The problem is after drinking alcohol the next couple of days I suffer from really bad anxiety, to the point where I feel so down and physically sick. Sometimes I feel so ashamed and I go into depressed mode. Also the last couple of years I've been having blackouts after really heavy sessions. I keep promising myself I will never do it again but it plays a big part of my social life and I feel pressured at times. I don't always blackout but when I do, I've been told I become aggressive and start to pick arguments or fights with people. When I hear the stories I feel disgusted with myself because I'm not that kind of person, I would literally do anything for anyone within reason. I'm not alcohol dependant although 10 years ago when I was 18 I drank everyday for approximately 1 year as I wasn't in a great place. It's just that once or twice a week I have a really heavy blow out and I feel so ill for days afterwards, the anxiety is unbearable. I've also noticed that once I start drinking I find it difficult to stop once I've reached a certain limit. But I can actually take it or leave it some weeks, but then I need a blow out. I've spoke to a few close friends and one of them suggested AA but I'm not really sure if this is the right idea ? I do suffer from anxiety and panic attacks but the alcohol just makes it worse. Especially with the blackouts, I don't seem to have any pre warning with the blackouts. I can be feeling merry one minute and then I wake up in the morning with hours missing from the night. I know its easy to say just dont drink but I'm finding a big struggle to completely avoid it.
View 60 RepliesAlcohol :: If You Are Drinking Hard - Try Harder To Stop
What a nightmare alcoholism IS. I just got out of the hospital AGAIN.
This time 9 days....17 IV bags of vitamins and fluids. At LEAST 14 shots of Heparin in my stomach (they do this so you don't blood clot cause I could not move). I could not WALK, TALK, I was Hallucinating....
Heparin causes (at least on my stomach) severe bruising...my stomach is now purple. from the belly button down and all around. I had a heart monitor AGAIN...and this time oxygen.
AND this time I was asked to go the the psyche ward after the detox of 5 days. I agreed and stayed in the psyche ward for the 4 days. WONDERFUL Doctors and Nurses and AIDS....I have never been treated better in my life.
They told me their job was to keep me comfortable. SO...I was receiving 4 mg of Lorazepam every hour for 5 days....thru the IV....for faster acting relief. I was suffering so much at 2mg...that the Nurse called the Dr. in and he evaluated me and said to raise it immediately. Last Monday was HELL on EARTH for me.
AGAIN..I was told I was almost dead. I started drinking Jan 2 and called on Jan 31 for help. The rescue came and the first 2 days are very blank to me right now. But I will never forget that Monday....Hallucinating...not knowing where I was...having a "fall risk" band for the first time too. I didn't even start eating until Day 7....They said I looked like the walking dead.
Then I was leaving yesterday...I was told 100x how much better I looked and how far I had come. They saved my life once again. Or I DID by calling in on myself.
They said my BAC was VERY high...I didn't even have the energy nor the care to ask what it was because I KNEW it was high. How could it not be...again not eating all that time....just straight VODKA. All those days .
I missed the death of a loved one....I missed a court date I promised to attend with my sister....I missed supporting another friend thru a fight to get a child out of foster care....I JUST MISSED my own DEATH DATE this time...maybe by minutes...I don't know if that is true...but that is what it felt like and I was put into ICU (Intensive Care) when I first went in. Then I was moved to another floor, then another floor, then finally the psyche ward.
Please listen to me...alcohol is progressive....if you are drinking hard....try harder to stop. It does kill and I can't believe I ever ended up this way again.
The good news...I had wonderful support and care where I was, I was not treated like I was a loser...I was cared for and catered to every minute of everyday until I could function. When I finally could shower...Day 6...I was helped....I was brought my meals....I was covered in warm blankets. I felt like I was 100 years old....I could do NOTHING for myself....NOTHING until Day 6. I am doing better....Came home to my car (got rear ended) and a broken furnace....but ya know WHAT? I DIDN'T care. I am so GRATEFUL to be alive....for real.
Moderate Drinking? Diagnosed With Fatty Liver Due To Alcohol
I have a fatty liver with inflammation due to alcohol .. Although I have not felt any obvious symptoms! The doctor wrote me ursodeoxycholic acid Twice a day for two months While following a diet free of carbohydrates.
Do refrained from drinking completely? After reversing fatty liver Or I can drink again moderate?
Pregnancy :: Alcohol - Drinking Till 6 Week 3 Days
For a little background I had been having some family issues recently and was drinking 6-7 shots most nights. I live a healthy lifestyle besides the alcohol and am 26. I suddenly realized i had not had my period and found out I was pregnant. My husband and I had an ultrasound the next day and found I was already 6w3d. I immediately stopped drinking but I am terrified. Is there a possibility that the baby could come out of this ok? I know babies are most at risk for FAS in the first tri but I thought it was mostly apparent when mothers drank the entire pregnancy. I need to find a way to move past this
View 13 RepliesAtrophic Vaginitis :: Drinking Alcohol Make Symptoms Worse?
When i drink..sometimes urethra burns..irritation vulva etc..anyone else?
View 4 RepliesAlcohol Consumption :: Drinking / Weekly Limit Guidelines Laughable?
In our village, it is recycling collection day this week on Friday. We have to separate, cardboard, papers, plastics, cans and glass bottles into different containers. The cans & bottle containers were moulded plastic with lids.
Over the years, all the lids have been lost, broken (council never replaces them) or they will not fit on with the pyramid of contents.
The amount of beer cans and beer/wine bottles I see in these containers as I walk around to the village shop (before the collection has been), would mean just about every household in the village is occupied by alkies.
I just don't know what real world the people that set these limits live in. A decent pint of lager these days is at least 2.5 units. Therefore having six pints on a Friday, not only puts you over you weekly limit, but means no other drinking whatsoever for the rest of the week. It's not realistic.
Alcohol (binge Drinking) - Nausea, Stomach Pain And Blood In Stools
I'm a 26 year old male... I consumed large amounts of alcohol at age 21 (spiced rum) being ignorant at that age I ignored all of the health problems it was causing me. Besides the normal hangover I experienced stomach pain, lots of constipation, and diarrhea. I only stayed on that binge for a few months, but even 5 years later I'm having possibly serious problems.
1. Nausea! It tapered off the last couple years, but it was bad.... really bad. All day everyday. Now it's more manageable. The worst part is early morning. When I start to feel hungry I just feel like vomiting.
2. Blood in stool... Also has been getting better. Only have blood about once a month.
3. Sore eyes and dizziness.. I feel this one the most (everyday most of the day). It's hard to explain but the best way I can put it, it's really hard to focus my eyes on something. If I'm looking at someone talking to be or focusing on the road I start to feel dizzy and almost disoriented.
Treatment: I saw my doctor many times as well as others. I've had scans, endoscopies, and no one has narrowed down much. The scans came back good, blood is good, the first endoscopy showed I had h. Pylori. I took all the antibiotics (helped temporary make me feel better) but back to the same old.
Alcohol :: Liver Damage After A Year Of Binge Drinking? Strange Symptoms
I know I suffer from anxiety (and depression and insomnia), which is partly what drove me to drink, am on treatment for same and will review things with my GP asap, but I want to concentrate on my physical health concerns. Please ignore this thread if you ONLY want to talk about anxiety.
Briefly: I was a social drinker for 25 years, occasionally drinking more than I should have (but at things like celebrations and functions).
Two years ago, I began to develop mental health problems, but didn't start drinking more heavily (self-medicating) until about one year ago, when I also started to binge drink occasionally, including twice last October. After a gap, I then restarted drinking heavily in March this year, and this became very heavy at times in the summer (80+ units per week), with occasional even heavier binges, the most recent being last Thursday / Friday (50+ units each day).
I finally ended-up in hospital last weekend with tachycardia, low blood pressure and probably alcohol poisoning. While there, I first developed a painful red/purple rash on my chest. I was put on antibiotics for this, and it seems to be clearing-up.
However, then, I quickly developed various other strange and unpleasant physical symptoms:
- numerous bruises;
- numerous pimples and red/purple dots under the skin;
- some hair loss and extensive hair-thinning;
- a spider naevus;
- red palms;
- itchy skin- skin darkening affecting the backs of my hands and genitals;
- regular, profuse sweating;
- whites of eyes turned lemon;
- brain "fog".
Some of these symptoms have reduced or resolved (eg. red palms and itchy skin), but the others have persisted.
I am eating OK, but making an effort to do so. In spite of this, I have lost about a stone in weight in the past 3 weeks. I'm also lacking in energy.
Since June, I have had regular liver function tests and other blood tests, too.
These have shown elevated enzymes, more or less in line with the extent of my drinking. In early August, after a serious binge, the AST was 96 and GGT was 121. In mid-August, AST had reduced to 25 and GGT 72. But they were higher again (though both under 100) on my admission to hospital last weekend, but had started to fall again after I was there for a few days. I have been advised that, in all of the tests, the values for other important measures were consistently normal. The junior doctor in hospital said the LFTs indicated no cirrhosis or hepatitis.
I also had a physical exam (just manual) from a GP in mid-August, and she said my liver / abdomen felt soft and suple with no sign of inflammation, enlargement or hardness.
However, given the strange and unpleasant physical symptoms that quickly developed in hospital last weekend, I fear that my last serious binge a week ago finally tipped me over the edge and into serious liver disease. Too many of the symptoms are those of cirrhosis for me to think anything else. (I've checked on the NHS website.)
I am absolutely terrified that, despite good advice and warnings, I did not take heed and my body, especially the liver, has finally been permanently damaged by the alcohol.
My main question is: can I turn things around? I have not had anything to drink since last Friday, and have no inclination to do so. I am drinking a lot of water, fruit and vegetable juices, and eating healthily. I will try to get some exercise, though I don't have much energy.
I'll see my regular GP next week, but could do with some advice and, if it's appropriate, some reassurance before then.
Oxycodone With Alcohol - Effects?
Doctors found a clot in my carotid artery. This caused a few minor stokes, presumably 5 they tell me, called TIA's. These strokes caused 1 gran mal seizure and another seizure where I was doing the funky chicken for 1 1/2 hours, very scary. They gave me an immediate carotid endarterectomy, scraping the plaque out of my artery, 3 to 7% chance I may have died!! Mending well, but I still have pre- seizure spasms? I'm on 225mg of lamotrigine twice a day. The strokes and seizures caused numbness and pain in my left hip, taking oxycodone for pain. Doc also giving me 5mg zopiclone to mellow me,taken around noon every day, also take 5mg at night along with 30mg of mirtazapine for sleep Does anyone know the interactions if I have a few beer. If anyone has tried alcohol taking theses meds, what was their reaction.
View 2 RepliesSertraline :: Dose And Effects Of Alcohol?
After several years of on-off depression and anxiety I finally decided to try medication.
I started on 50mg Sertraline about 8 weeks ago. After a few days of horrible physical side effects I started to feel great. But in the last week I have started to feel not-so-great again. This could be due to a week away where I consumed a fair bit of alcohol and cannabis (after being very sensible since starting the Sertraline).
I'm thinking of asking my doctor to up the dose to 100mg.
Just wondering if anyone else has experienced Sertraline "wearing off" after a few months, or being affected by alcohol?
Effects Of Alcohol After Removal Of The Spleen
I was wondering what kind of effects that alcohol has on your body if you have had your spleen removed. Can you still drink alcohol without your spleen?
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