![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by pedr on September 17, 2017, at 13:32:06
Does anyone else find that alcohol *sometimes* is really effective for anhedonia? I'd say 2 in 5 times I have a drink - all else being as constant as possible - it's highly effective. I engage in life again. I keep a mood and food (&drink) diary and I just can't spot why sometimes it's helpful and other times does nothing.
Does anyone else find it sometimes helpful for anhedonia? FTR I'm on:
4x10mg Oxycodone (yes, I know I shouldn't be drinking on this but try having anhedonia and chronic pain and depression for 20 years)
37.5 Effexor (non XR)
150mg Wellbutrin
2.5mg AbilifyPete
Posted by rjlockhart37 on September 17, 2017, at 18:43:43
In reply to Alcohol for anhedonia, posted by pedr on September 17, 2017, at 13:32:06
it loosens you up, if im a tinged mood, and i have drink, a beer or wine cooler, it loosens me up....alcohol does release some dopamine, that's why it gives a small pleasure feeling, but it's different from all the others, too much and it makes the mood fluctuate, and get moody
Posted by pedr on September 19, 2017, at 9:00:30
In reply to Re: Alcohol for anhedonia, posted by rjlockhart37 on September 17, 2017, at 18:43:43
> it loosens you up
yes I definitely like a drink when my anxiety is high or if I've had a really bad day (hence I drink every day).
However what I was enquiring about isn't it's sedating/calming/relaxing properties. For example on Sunday I was feeling my usual strong anhedonia about 2pm. So I had a whisky and within like 20 mins my mood and anhedonia had both lifted massively. I had another whisky after ~ 2 hours and again the same effect. However there are many occasions when it doesn't have this effect at all. It drives me crazy (no pun intended). I can never seem to find a baseline with any of the meds (OTC/booze or otherwise) I take.
Posted by rjlockhart37 on September 21, 2017, at 17:03:16
In reply to Re: Alcohol for anhedonia, posted by pedr on September 19, 2017, at 9:00:30
harder alcohol is more direct, if want to chill and relax.....beer, if i want to get going and party = tequila
there both alcohol, but it's so different in their effects, tequila or rum makes me in a better mood, vokda....kinda it still gets your going, and gin omg ... run and hide it makes turn into a mad person, I've read that about gin....it makes people mean and crazy, google a little about it, all alcohols seem to have different effects, psychologically. Tequila shots are a mood kicker, beer is more just chill socialize with buddies, wine everyone drink at night - not a big fan of wine, but it's considered classy to drink wine. Dirty Martini ... i could treat myself to it one night.... i have once and while, you can use either vodka or gin, but i stick with vodka, gin makes the mad come out of people
alcohol makes dopamine release, yes it does, you're loosened up but at the same time hyped up, usually on harder alcohol...... but when it leaves the system, your sedated and GABA more in place, the dopamine release is the first couple hours, when it leaves the system your sedated. I love the first couple shots of tequila, big time dopamine release
Posted by linkadge on September 30, 2017, at 18:20:21
In reply to Re: Alcohol for anhedonia, posted by rjlockhart37 on September 21, 2017, at 17:03:16
I remember reading that alcohol slows the reuptake of both serotonin and dopamine in the nucleus accumbens (reward center of the brain).
Also, I read recently that hordinine (found in beer) acts as a dopamine receptor d2 agonist (activator).
Linkadge
Posted by pedr on October 1, 2017, at 11:04:41
In reply to Re: Alcohol for anhedonia, posted by linkadge on September 30, 2017, at 18:20:21
it's really dramatic when it kicks in its absence is equally obvious. It's strange.
Posted by Ruuudy on February 2, 2018, at 12:25:41
In reply to Re: Alcohol for anhedonia » linkadge, posted by pedr on October 1, 2017, at 11:04:41
Alcohol (beer) is what triggered my very first depressive episode 35 years ago when I got drunk with friends. I refer to that as my "year-long hangover" because I never felt I recovered from that night out for about a year.
But on the contrary, I equate a night of getting drunk on multiple Roman Cokes (rum) a couple of years later at my sister's wedding as a "brain reset" because the day after that night, my veil of depression seemed to magically lift, and I felt more positive about life than I had in a couple of years.
My theory is that your brain has a "Reset Button", or "Reboot Button", that can be activated by various methods - alcohol, drugs, even the common cold; it's just that the brain doesn't always "reset" to the optimum levels.
Posted by Ruuudy on March 10, 2018, at 13:28:02
In reply to Re: Alcohol for anhedonia, posted by Ruuudy on February 2, 2018, at 12:25:41
Do you think you need to become intoxicated for the alcohol to have brain altering effects?
Posted by Tony P on March 28, 2018, at 0:26:06
In reply to Re: Alcohol for anhedonia, posted by Ruuudy on February 2, 2018, at 12:25:41
> My theory is that your brain has a "Reset Button", or "Reboot Button", that can be activated by various methods - alcohol, drugs, even the common cold; it's just that the brain doesn't always "reset" to the optimum levels.
Interesting you should mention the common cold. I often have an paradoxical mood improvement in the first couple of days of a cold, despite miserable sneezing & dripping, and I don't think I'm alone -- there's a thread a year or two back. Maybe the immune system kicking in also does something mentally. Now, if only my pollen allergies would work that way....
Posted by Tony P on March 28, 2018, at 0:38:00
In reply to Re: Alcohol for anhedonia, posted by linkadge on September 30, 2017, at 18:20:21
> Also, I read recently that hordinine (found in beer) acts as a dopamine receptor d2 agonist (activator).
>
> LinkadgeInteresting. A couple of beers does wonders (at least temporarily) for my anhedonia, whereas a couple of shots of vodka does not. Maybe this is why. Since my MDD got chronic and not well controlled by meds, I've made very little music, but after a couple of beers (preferably tall & strong) I hit the keyboard with gusto.
Of course, nothing comes free; my counselor told me a few years ago that alcohol can cause rebound depression for up to ten days, and when I tracked my mood carefully for a while, I found she was right. But a couple of beers once or twice a month gives me pleasure, lifts my depression & anhedonia for a few hours, and doesn't seem to have any serious negative "sequelae".
Posted by Ruuudy on March 28, 2018, at 23:26:36
In reply to Re: Alcohol for anhedonia » linkadge, posted by Tony P on March 28, 2018, at 0:38:00
So I had this thought cross my mind today that perhaps the alcohol is, in fact, "resetting" the brain by helping reduce inflammation and wash out the "sludge" that has accumulated in the brain.
"Enjoying that glass or pint with some regularity might reduce your risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to a few studies. Moderate alcohol consumptionreduces biomarkers of inflammation, including c-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and TNF-alpha receptor 2, says Karen Costenbader, MD, MPH, a rheumatologist at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. Inflammation is what makes your joints swell and ache when you have RA. Alcohols anti-inflammatory effects are also thought to be one of the reasons it appears to lower cardiovascular disease risk in moderate drinkers."
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.