Absobloodylutely Steve. taking meds AS PRESCRIBED is no reason to change your sobriety date - now if you were to take them for kicks and a buzz - i.e. NOT as prescribed - well that's maybe a matter for your conscience.

I've been challenged before on my use of prescribed anti depressants - the easy answer to that is to ask the questioner / challenger where they got their medical degree from and when my physician transferred me to their care.

If you are a smoker, remember to put the smokes away after about 20 days. For some reason, this drug makes it easy to stop smoking. Nobody really understands why.

The pamphlet  mentioned above is very helpful.  I read it today in fact cause a pregnant sober sister with a severe gall bladder issue called me after visiting the Doc today.  She was stressed out about the med thing and I read it to her, which provided much relief and good information.

It is available online, just google the title.

-- Edited by angelov8 on Friday 21st of October 2011 01:24:52 AM

Steve, it is true that prescribed meds do not have any bearing on your sobriety date. But they can have a bearing on your next sobriety date if you are an alcoholic of my type. The whole business of medication and alcoholics relies entirely on the honesty of the alcoholic and the doctor's understanding of alcoholism. I have noticed in recent times it is quite rare to see an alcoholic arrive in a meeting in a shaking mess as was common when I came in. Many have been prescribed anti depressants and arrive looking fine, give a good speech or two about how wonderful AA is for being there for them, then we never see them again. One chap that keeps coming back tells me his doctor says he has depression and alcoholism and the depression must be treated first. He feels ok, doesn't particularly see any reason to do the steps, and keeps relapsing.
My suggestion is to double check with your doctor as to why the meds are necessary. Are they to treat a serious mental health condition or is the doctor just being kind and prescribing these to help just to help you feel a bit better? Would there be serious consequences if you did not have this medication - see what the doc says and always follow their advice of course.
The thing about sobriety is that you begin to have feelings. For me in the early days I was full of anxiety, fear, guilt, remorse, I really felt I was the worst person ever to come to AA. To feel like this, scared of my own shadow, is seriously, horribly uncomfortable, I couldn't look anyone in they eye, I couldn't speak at meetings, I had dreadful nights, mental merrygorounds, clouds of doom, you name it.
But every cloud has a silver lining and the vital benefit of all this pain was motivation and focus. No pain no gain. I was in such a black spot that I was willing to go to any lengths to get sober, I was daily reminded of why I came to AA, for a better life and when I got complacent, the pain would get me moving again. I got into the steps, immersed myself in AA and you know, after 90 days, an indredibly long time I know, the desire to drink had been taken away, the fog had lifted enough for me to see what my life could be like, and I never looked back.
Danny, the first AA I talked to after my last drink, was a manic depressive. The AA "doctors" used to get in his head and he would stop his meds with absolutely dreadful consequences. Padded cells and police, what he described to me was like a trip to the chamber of horrors. Understanding his problems gave me great perspective on mine. What I used to think of as depression (for me) was really just a dose of poor me. Incidentally Danny takes his meds as prescribed these days and has been sober and well in AA for around 30 years.

God bless,


Mike H.

Good for you Steve ... dont ever quit quitting!

I am not a doctor, nor do I claim to be one either. It was my experience early in sobriety that I thought I needed something to help get me thru the initial ruff spots of trying to sober up. I talked to my sponsor about this. She suggested that I try to use just the 12 steps and God to help me get and stay sober. She suggested that I try this for the first year. She said if after my first year sober I still thought I needed something, then I should go see my doctor.

Well, lo-and-behold ... I stayed sober for a year by working and applying the steps to me guided by my sponsor, praying to God for help and guidance and strength. Was it ruff ?? Darn right, but I got thru it without any meds. And I have continued for almost 7 yrs now without any meds.

When I do the work as described in our book, work and apply the steps to me and my life, then I do just fine! Imagine that ...

Depression (and/or anxiety, and/or any number of mental health conditions) are severely threatening to sustained sobriety, in ADDITION to being potentially life-threatening on their own , without the complication of alcoholism. My personal experience is that it is in my best interest to just be SURE that my health practitioners understand alcoholism AND mental illness and are trained and competent to treat both appropriately. I was 15 years into a kind of plodding sobriety before my other conditions were diagnosed and properly treated and I doubt I would be either sober or alive had I not finally gotten the proper medication for me. The past 13 years of sobriety have been AWESOME, and my psyche med gets most of the credit.