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1611340 tn?1298259263

Please Help! not sure if this physiological related to anxiety, or something else!

I deal with some pretty serious anxiety, and thus in turn, or so it seems, depression. However, I also am having physiological symptoms that I do not believe to be related. I am a 20 year old college student, and as customary, often times and involved in drinking. However, lately I have slowed down quite a bit because of the many side effects I have been experiencing along with my drinking. I do not think some of the symptoms I am having are necessarily related to it, but maybe they are. This is why I’m asking!
Now, ironically, if I watch my drinking and have maybe one beer, or two, I will have a terrible night after they ‘get out of my system’. I have always had a pretty heavy tolerance for alcohol, so it just doesn’t make sense that this would affect me so much. So here it is what I’m experiencing:
After about two hours, I’ll start to feel depressed. This, I understand, because of serotonin receptors being depleted because of the SMALL amount of alcohol. I also find myself more sensitive to light (But I experience this and a lot of these other symptoms no matter if I’ve had three beers or none). I also see things out of the corner of my eyes moving, and it sometimes startles me, but I’ve gotten so used to it, that it doesn’t anymore! And there is also no chance of me sleeping. I have sleep problems as it is, not being able to go sleep before 4 or 5, but if I drink, that will be for certain, and it won’t be pleasant. I also find that my pulse is a strong pulse, not necessarily fast heartbeat (although that sometimes too if I’m feeling extra anxious), but mainly where my pulse seems to shake my entire body, even my stomach moves dramatically, and if I’m laying down or sitting down, the furniture will shake with me.
I won’t go into the many aspects of how my obsessive mind will go on and on about certain things, and how my depression seems to worsen, because I know the answer to that. Don’t drink!
I also feel important to mention the stomach problems I’ve been having. I have IBS, which I understand to be a ‘symptom’ (one of the vast many) of anxiety. But I also have stomach gurgling almost all the time, and sometimes dull pains in random parts of my stomach. This happens after drinking or not, but it certainly is exacerbated if I did (only have one beer!)
One last thing I’d like to note, is that I think a lot of this may be related to a blood problem. I had blood tests about two years ago because I was having a problem with frequent urination, and everything turned out to be fine. It was just ‘nerves’. This was before I really had a problem with anxiety too. If I exercise, particularly a sport like basketball, afterward my feet feel like they’re throbbing and about to burst. If I have a limb raised up, or under a part of my body, they go numb and tingly quick. I also often feel light headed, and especially during or after exercise. I also, along with the aforementioned vision problems, have a weird sensation where everything is moving like waves if I’ve been hiking/walking/running. My vision is not distorted or wavy, but everything I perceive seems to be.
If anyone could point me in the right direction of where I could find some answers, or maybe provide some, that’d be incredibly appreciated!
I have seen psychiatrists for my mental health problems, and have just gotten sick of being prescribed med after med, I just don’t really want to take mind altering drugs. I also cannot, for the life of me, seem to be able to see a doctor or even a psychiatrist because I am in college, busy, and my insurance doesn’t cover a lot of stuff.

Thanks!
2 Responses
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1611340 tn?1298259263
The last time I was on meds was Zoloft, and that was over four months ago. Also, I wasn't on it for long. And before that Prozac for about 6 months. That's it, ever. Could that be it, has it had an ever lasting effect on my body? If so, that is ridiculous that these drugs would do that. Clearly there need to be a lot more research done in the field and these pharmaceutical companies should get their act together. so many drug related problems!
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1620360 tn?1318904630
Are you taking any medications now? Could be the meds don't like sharing your body with the alcohol.

One thing to remember, alcohol is a depressent as you know, so when it wears off you either won't be able to fall asleep, or you will awaken in the middle of the night wide awake. Also, it dehydrates you, so you'll need to urinate frequently. If you have IBS, alcohol and some depression meds can make it worse.

Do you see a pattern here? Lay off the alcohol for awhile and find some activities to keep you busy that don't revolve around drinking. Try hiking, cycling, other sports.

There might be some low cost options in your area for therapy. It shouldn't consume too much of your time either. One hour a week couldn't hurt.
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