All About Bipolar

Posted By atorturedsoul on August 7, 2009

Alcohol and Bipolar Disorder

There are still quite a few people who simply do not believe that drinking alcohol while taking medication used to treat bipolar disorder is a very big mistake that can have dire consequences. I’d like to provide proof that it should be avoided in the hopes that it will help others to better manage their mental health care.

“How Else Can I Manage Bipolar Disorder?

• Take your medication.
• See a therapist regularly.
• Learn more about bipolar disorder and its treatment
• Participate in online communities or in-person support groups
• Adopt healthy habits, including exercising, practicing stress management techniques, eating healthy, avoiding alcohol and drugs, getting seven to eight hours of sleep and avoiding any potential triggers.”

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2009/bipolar-disorder-fact-sheet/

“Alcohol or illegal drug abuse may interfere with the treatment of depression or bipolar disorder. For example, alcohol reduces the effectiveness of some antidepressants. The combination of alcohol or drugs with your medication(s) may lead to serious or dangerous side effects. It can also be difficult to benefit from talk therapy if you are under the influence.”

http://www.dbsalliance.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_publications_fpom

“Reduce or discontinue the use of alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant and makes recovery even more difficult. It can also interfere with the way your medication works.”

http://helpguide.org/mental/bipolar_disorder_medications.htm

“It is NEVER the right thing to combine psychiatric medications with alcohol.”

http://counsellingresource.com/ask-the-psychologist/2008/04/14/alcohol-and-meds/

“Another thing that interferes with taking medication, and this is a biggie, is if you drink alcohol! Most prescription medication will state right on the bottle to not take it with alcohol, but you should really know this already.

Why? Because alcohol is a depressant. And it will interfere with how your medication normally works in your body. Especially, say, if you are taking an anti-depressant. See what I mean?

You really need to stay away from drinking alcohol if you are on ANY medication, but especially if you are on medication for bipolar disorder. You have no idea how the two will mix. And even if you get
away with it this time, you don’t know how they will react the next time!”

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/supporterblog/2008/01/dont-make-this-mistake-with-bipolar.html

“But here’s the most DANGEROUS problem of bipolar disorder and alcohol of all:

Some people will take alcohol with their medication. This combination can actually KILL them! Whether you have bipolar disorder or not, you can read your prescription labels, and it will tell you, “Do not take with alcohol.”

There is a reason for that! It has been proven that alcohol has an adverse effect on prescription medications!

Bipolar medications are some of the strongest medications around. Combining them with alcohol can cause serious adverse reactions. Like I said, these reactions can even be FATAL!

The reactions can also cause the person to become delusional, or even hallucinate. They can even cause the person to become a danger to themselves or others. For all these reasons, someone with bipolar disorder should stay away from drinking alcohol!!!”

http://www.bipolarcentral.com/bipolarsupporterblog/index.php/bipolar-disorder-and-alcohol-the-shocking-truth/2080/

Get the picture? Consuming alcohol can render treatment for bipolar disorder ineffective and can be potentially fatal.

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Categories: About Bipolar Disorder, Bipolar 1, Bipolar 2, Cyclothymia, My Personal Experiences, NOS
Tags: about, alcohol, all, bipolar, disorder, effects, health, illness, interaction, medication, mental, treatment