Alcohol for anxiety

[JamesAA]

I'm agoraphobic.  I used to binge drink on weekends.  Loved it.  Felt on top of the world.  I recently quit drinking all together (3 months ago) because my anxieties are way worse and because I started taking Klonopin (not supposed to mix those with liquor).  

Klonopin sorta works but I was wondering if any of you think it's cool to maybe have 2-3 drinks a day instead of Klonopin?  Anxiety sufferers are told to stay away from caffeine and liquor but I am tired of this tunnel vision feeling when I'm nervous.  I hate it.  It shuts me down completely.  It's not a panic attack either...just this weird kinda spinny, tunnel vision thing I get when I'm not at ease.  It's just awful.  I will even do cocaine if I have to, to make it stop.  The Klonopin works a bit but it makes me out of it and after 3 hours I'm back to that tunnel vision again.  Plus over time I will keep needing more and more klonopin so eventually it may not work at all.  

Suggestions please?  I'd much appreciate it.

Thanks,
James

[JamesAA]

Hi nursegirl.  We have become kinda friends through this lol.  You are absolutely right...I am grasping at straws.  I'm just so desperate to feel normal again that I'm willing to have a few drink a day if that's what it takes--but I never wanted to become a massive alcoholic and be dead in 10 years.  

So based on what I've heard from you I'm pretty much set on starting Zoloft.  The reasons I haven't yet are many.  

So for starters I feel pretty normal and not afraid, yet I get these tunnel vision times all the time.  All the time.  A part of me thinks it is NOT caused by my anxiety.  So I'm reluctant to take anti-anxiety meds for something that might not be anxiety related, if that makes sense.  

Also, unlike alcohol, or klonopin (which I'll get to in a minute), I won't have results from Zoloft for 4-6 weeks.  But given all that it sounds like I should give it a try.  Why I look for other solutions besides Zoloft?  Well I'm NOT looking forward to it killing my sex drive (frankly, I love sex.  Who doesn't right?).  I'm also not looking forward to the insomnia it gave me when I tried it for a couple of days a few weeks ago, as well as minor stomach aches.  So I'd hate to go through all that if it turns out my tunnel vision/dizzy spells are cause be something else.  Makes sense right?

I'm a desperate man.  

[nursegirl6572]

I forgot to ask...have you started the Zoloft yet?  If not, why?

Also, if not...you are really asking if you should drink, or take cocaine over trying Zoloft?  Do you see how messed up that thinking is?

If you haven't started it...do so.  How many of us have told you how successful we were with it?  I too was agoraphobic and housebound.  Zoloft (along with therapy) gave me my life back.  Trying it is not going to hurt anything.  If it doesn't work, you move on.  Simple as that.

There's just no reason to not be willing to try Zoloft, but willing to do things that are going to directly worsen your anxiety, in order to get a minute's worth of relief.

I say this with all due respect...get your head screwed on straight, and start getting down to addressing this anxiety once and for all.

[nursegirl6572]

We've already told you that alcohol is the very worst thing for anxiety.  It will make it worse, so to substitute alcohol for anxiety medication?  No.  Not to mention that that would be self medicating and lead to alcoholism so fast your head would spin.

Have you started taking the Klonopin regularly like we discussed?

Unless you want to thrust yourself into even more of a living hell of panic,,.steer clear of alcohol and any drugs.  Cocaine would probably send you into an immediate panic attack, plus it can have serious consequences, like heart attacks and strokes..,.don't touch it.

You have the tunnel vision because you haven't yet noticed an improvement with the anxiety.  If you feel the Klonopin isn't working, talk to your doctor.  You may need to try something else.

I think you know that what you're asking is in no way healthy, I think you're grasping at straws, and I seriously hope you don't decide to try it.  I am not making up the correlation between increased anxiety and alcohol.  DON'T go there.