![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Ruuudy on April 27, 2019, at 20:16:38
I got drunk --- that's what set the wheel in motion for this wild ride of "mental illness".
I was a sophomore in high school (1982) and I caved into peer pressure by going out with some of the other guys for a night of drinking out in "The Pits" (phosphate pits in Central Florida).
Don't know what in the world happened to me & my brain chemistry, but I had a hangover from hell, or what I referred to as the "year-long hangover".
It was extremely strange & scary 'cause I had never experienced anything like it. I know part of my symptoms would be labeled as derealization and depersonalization.
I didn't feel well enough to go to school the following Monday or Tuesday, and when I did go back, it was very surreal. I recall asking those guys if they had spiked my beer.
My mom took me to the doctor - he put it down as something I was going through as part of adolescence.
Those were so tough & strange days.I sure would like to know exactly what was goin on in my noggin!
What kind of actions & reactions were happening.Wanna know whats really ironic?
I got really drunk at my sisters wedding two & a half years later, and thats what seemed to lift me out of depression.
I remember riding home the day after the wedding reception with a sense that the fog had lifted and I had a renewed sense of positive emotions a much needed positive outlook on life.
Rudy
Posted by Christ_empowered on April 28, 2019, at 8:19:27
In reply to I Got Drunk!, posted by Ruuudy on April 27, 2019, at 20:16:38
sorry about this. :-(
hs was a nightmare for me. i was forever having panic attacks and...yeah. i really liked thrift store clothes. somehow, what i put together made me look like a stoner and/or lsd lover, so the rumor mill had it id already 'done too much acid.' truth? i was just a confused, lonely dorkus who occasionally got stoned. and then...
yeah. yeah. i somehow managed to graduate in the 11th grade, and that probably saved me from a total and complete breakdown...
or bought me about 5, 6 years, at any rate. LOL.
Posted by Ruuudy on June 4, 2019, at 1:50:20
In reply to Re: I Got Drunk!, posted by Christ_empowered on April 28, 2019, at 8:19:27
So I'm rummaging thru some old emails and I found this email that I sent to a research professor up at Wake Forest - thought it might be of some interest:
Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2018 12:26 AM
Subject: Antidepressant-like effect from alcoholDear Dr. ,
Im simply intrigued by the research you have performed regarding the findings that alcohol can have antidepressant-like qualities.
And I 100% agree with your comment that theres a very fine line between it being helpful and harmful, and at some point during repeated use, self-medication turns into addiction!My 35-year battle with depression & anxiety reared its ugly head as a result of beer intoxication as a 15-year old high school sophomore in 1982.
I had such a tough time dealing with that initial depression that I was accusing the other guys that were out with me that night of spiking my beer.
I had never shown signs of depression prior to that event.Nearly two and a half years later, at my sisters wedding reception (February 1985), I decided to drink a number of Roman Cokes (Rum & Coke) to the point of intoxication.
The next afternoon, about 12 hours after my last drink, I felt that commonly referred to veil of depression begin to lift, and from that point on, my whole sense of being improved continuously for months.
Self esteem & confidence had never been better in years!A question I have regarding your studies is, does it seem to take enough alcohol to the point of intoxication for those neurochemical changes to take place in the brain?
Is a small glass of alcohol going initiate any changes to the NMDA receptors?I certainly look forward to more of your future research!
Sincerely,
Rudy
(28-year fluoxetine consumer)And her reply:
Thank you so much for your interest in our research and your kind words.
Your experience as an adolescent is something that our alcohol center is very much interested in (Wake Forest Translational Alcohol Research Center or WF-TARC).
There is a small amount of data (only 1 paper that I know of) that suggests that rapidly acting antidepressants such as ketamine do not work in adolescents. My guess is that we would see the same with alcohol.The amount of alcohol that we used in our studies were in fact intoxicating. We are interested now in trying to find out exactly how the antidepressant phenotype emerges at the molecular level so that we can design better ways to treat depression and alcohol use disorder.
From your story - you are an excellent example of how depression is treatable. I appreciate you sharing your story with me.
Associate Professor
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology Wake Forest University School of Medicine
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.