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Hey all, I wanted to post about something that has been a nuisance ever since I started taking antipsychotics consistently. What happens for me is that whatever receptors are necessary to experience a buzz from alcohol are blocked off from the medication. I'm not a doctor so of course I don't know the exact mechanism of action, but all I do know is that If I take medication long enough I will not and I do mean NOT be able to achieve a buzz from anything. This includes even caffeine and nicotine. Also over the counter sleep aids such as melatonin and unisom stop working...they're like sugar pills to me. No match for the all mighty antipsychotic. So I thus have to succumb to things like ambien and trazidone. I could drink a ridiculous amount of alcohol and you would never know I had. I would act, appear, and feel completely sober (because I would in fact be.) This side effect started happening to me after I had been on antipsychotics for about eight months. It occurs no matter which antipsychotic I take, new, old, atypical, typical, blocking the receptors, stimulating the receptors, low dose, high dose...It's all the same and it's a big big bummer especially to a young 30-yr old such as myself. Now for those of you naysayers I already know what you're getting at. Yes of course it is a bad idea for any person with mental health issues to be partying but I think that I am very responsible about it. I limit myself to one day of the week, except for holidays and special occasions. I don't feel that I should have to give up being a young adult and enjoying myself just because I have mental illness and I am on medication. I know this side effect is kind of rare and does not occur in everybody. (Leave it to me to always get the rare and unusual side effects lol) My question is: Does anyone know of an antidote or something to counteract this side effect? What would be ideal, would be a med that I could take only the occasion that I am drinking, and for that short time it would undo this side effect. Then discontinue at all other times. I know there are other pills that work in this way. For example Welbutrin is very good for counteracting sexual side effects of antipsychotics and other meds. But I have not yet heard of a pill to counteract a buzzkill because you will never find a psychiatrist who cares or agrees with this sort of thing Understandable because mental health has to be their number one concern. However, I feel that people with mental health issues deserve a full quality of life and normalcy in all facets, whether that means still having a sex life while on medication, not suffering some of the other frustrating side effects that I won't mention, and having a nice drink every once in a while with friends. Obviously we are no where close to even being there with these medications. But, on the bright side, it is a lot better than it used to be in terms of side effects.