For those of you who take an SSRI (Lexapro, Zoloft, etc)...

...do you also safely drink alcohol? The bottle says not to drink while on it. However, most people I know who take Zoloft, etc. drink normally without an issue. I was rx'd Lexapro four months ago and have taken it. Since then, I've been afraid to drink. I'd love a nice gin and tonic tonight...

SOMEONE on this sorry site must take these.

Ive done it. But I dont feel like drinking anymore. Ive gotten fat anyway.

Pace yourself. You won't be able to handle as much.

It makes the alcohol have a stronger effect on me. Black out easily. Pace yourself/be careful. You might not be able to handle as much as you used to.

No negative effect at all on me either.

The way I understand it, if you take an SSRI, you should be careful because drinking can make you depressed. So it goes against what the med is trying to fix. But the combination has never made me feel drunker or anything. Just maybe more sluggish or down the next morning.

I knew a smart Canadian lass who used to take Zoloft... before she began, she could handle her liquor quite remarkably, even in the absence of a proper dinner. After Zoloft, on wine number five she began speaking with a British accent. At first I thought perhaps she was unconsciously mimicking me, as I'm British, but later others told me it always happened like clockwork with the fifth glass. Some can handle it, while others simply cannot.

I've been on an SSRI for 10 years (fluoxetine, aka Prozac). I have a glass of wine with dinner every night and sometimes an after-dinner port, too, or a margarita with Mexican food. I've never had any problems with it. After I've drunk alcohol I wait several hours before I take the Prozac. Maybe that helps?

I've taken lexapro, prozac and cymbalta (SSNI) at various points in my life. I always drank normally without any side effects. Drink a little and see how you feel. If it fucks you up, then don't. It won't kill you and it's not "bad" for you like mixing alcohol with paracemectol (tylenol) and it won't depress your breathing like mixing benzos with alcohol-- which I also did.

No, R13 -- that was Honey who said that. At least, I think so.

Highly recommend smoking weed on it.

R14 both!

Honey: Oh, I don't know, a little brandy maybe. "Never mix, never worry!" George: Martha? Rubbing alcohol for you? Martha: Sure! "Never mix, never worry!"

Citalopram here. I recommend that you don't just drink, have food at the same time as well.

Another vote, here, for "no effect," and I take the generic version of Lexapro (escitalopram).

A few caveats: I don't drink as heavily as I used to. When I do drink now, it occasionally feels like I skip the inebriation and go right to the hangover, but I don't know if that's the medication or merely a function of getting older.

I think the dastardly combo is the booze with either Paxil or Zoloft, the others seem not to carry an interaction.

Ditto with upthread said - eat on it.

The problem with drugs like Prozac is the sexual side effects,

I find that drinking isn't fun the older I get. Why wake up feeling foul?

Sorry, OP. Can't help. I'm not a drunk.

Agreed R22, though I'm not on any SSRI's. The most popular New Years' resolution amongst my friends 50+ is One and done, or Two and through! (sometime three is OK with a big dinner, assuming one has had a proper lunch too.)

What about four and hit the floor, five and don't drive, six and get sick?

I thought it was Gary Merrill in All About Eve. 12 years before Albee first staged WAOVW.

Sounds like a young man's sport R25!

The main interactions between the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs, e.g., fluoxetine/Prozac; sertraline/Zoloft; citalopram/Celexa; paroxetine/Paxil; escitalopram/Lexapro, et al.) and the Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRIs, e.g., duloxetine/Cymbalta; venlafaxine/Effexor; levomilnacipran/Fetzima; desvenlafaxine/Pristiq/Khedezla, et al.) classes of medications and ethyl alcohol/ethanol are an increased risk of central nervous system depression, respiratory depression and psychomotor impairment/retardation (e.g., difficulty/slowed walking & movement, slowed speech, impaired thinking/cognitive function, etc.) due to additive effects. Therefore, assuming you are not taking any other medications which could cause additional drug-drug interactions--and you don't have any other significant health conditions--as long as you pace yourself and don't go overboard with the ETOH, then you should be all right.

I’m on lexapro and Xanax. I’m too scared to drink

Why don’t you deal with fixing your own fucked up mind before you worry about going out to a bar and having a G&T and subjecting innocent people to your chemically-unbalanced, medically-altered, alcohol-influenced shell of a former personality that you now call your normal pathetic existence, OP???

R30 wasn't hired to star in the new Lexapro commercial, and she's very bitter about it.

That comes off a bit harsh R30. Perhaps he was going to fix a drink at home. Even so, there are always interesting and mildly troubled people at bars whom I find amusing and entertaining, (I suspect I'm a bit troubled myself)

You just have to be careful I took it for a few years in my 20s (Zoloft) drinking with abandon- no incident and along with therapy it cured my depression Picked it up again. in my 40s (but Prozac) and when I drank wine I had suicidal ideation you just have to watch it - watch yourself

I would like to add I love R31 and that R30 needs a sad Weimaraner

R29: Your being afraid of mixing any benzodiazepine/BZD (alprazolam/Xanax, in your case) and alcohol, risking profound CNS depression and respiratory depression, is definitely a good idea. The alprazolam could depress your CNS so much that, if you vomit, you could aspirate the vomitus into your lungs, leading to death by asphyxiation; or, at the very least, you could develop aspiration pneumonia, *if* you actually wake up after vomiting/aspirating, in lieu of dying. The mixture of Lexapro/escitalopram and alcohol definitely is not the main cause for alarm, in your case; alcohol plus any BZD is never a good idea.

In fact, many of the statistical opioid/opiate-related overdose deaths are, in fact, due to the mixture of opioids (particularly heroin & illicit fentanyl) and benzodiazpines; or opioids, BZDs and alcohol (but often reported/counted just as an opioid OD death and thereby leading to the current opioid "epidemic" statistics being inflated by multi/poly-drug intoxication deaths). And, unfortunately, this has resulted in Rx opiates/opioids being demonized by federal governmental agencies (DEA, FDA, CDC, et al.)--plus state, county & local governments, and state boards of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, et al.--leading to chronic pain patients being callously cut-off from, and blocked access to, perhaps, the only class of medication that offers them any form of relief. But I digress; apologies for the tangent, it is a topic (one that annoys me and leads to long rants, as you can well see, lol). But definitely good idea not mixing your alprazolam and ETOH!

SSRI's are anti-depressants and alcohol is a depressant so it all evens out. If that doesn't work you can add a benzo or some good herb. It took me awhile but I finally hit on the right combo.

R36, Mr “I finally hit on the right combo” = dead in a few weeks.

I drank lots of beer on Xanax and peed the bed.

I have been on zoloft for years. Never had an issue.

[quote]But I digress; apologies for the tangent, it is a topic (one that annoys me and leads to long rants, as you can well see, lol).

R35: Not that it really matters since it was an off-topic tangent to begin with--I must have drank too much Jameson with my venlafaxine ER and lorazepam before typing that post (kidding, of course); or maybe suffered a TIA--that should read, "...it is a topic for a different thread & another day..." That is all.

[quote]For those of you who take an SSRI (Lexapro, Zoloft, etc)...do you also safely drink alcohol?

[quote]SSRI's are anti-depressants and alcohol is a depressant...

The level of stupid is remarkable. If you're depressed enough to need an SSRI, why would you continue drinking. If you're not depressed, why are you taking an SSRI. The issue is not potential chemical interactions.

Just another idiot who's looking for an easy solution, but not interested in actually doing an real work or making any real sacrifice to achieve results. Popping a pill is not going to solve your problems because there is no cure for stupid or lazy.

Think, moron, think.

I was prescribed Lexapro weeks ago. I quit taking another antidepressant (mirtazapine) end of July but I did drink every now and then on it. I haven't taken Lexapro yet. I've been getting all my drinking out of the way first, going to clubs and using grindr everyday these past few weeks.

I'll start taking it Tuesday and start trying to be a functional member of society then.

Clearly none of you can recognize a joke when you see one.

r36 - mea maxima culpa. I should have been clearer. I get that you were joking about the two balancing each other.

I question whether OP's inquiry regarding drinking and taking SSRIs was a joke. I think that OP is a moron.

I take 3 psych drugs = Cymbalta , Remeron, & Trileptal.

I had to cut out all alcohol according to me shrink..

This is why the old-time barbiturates were better. You could take them with a nip of brandy and all was well.

R41, it's also about getting into a different mindspace. My doctor told me most types of medicine - barring allopathic - traditionally used different/altered mind states to kick start healing. But even allopathic is turning to this by using LSD and ecstacy in conjunction with talk therapy to treat PTSD.

Bottom line is that if you are taking any kind of pscyche meds then you shouldn't be drinking at all.

Hi all. Longtime DL’er here. I finally started meds and am on Zoloft. I only started today but I look forward to feeling better. I feel paranoid about side effects but I think I can handle it. The doctor said it is OK to drink a little bit when taking these meds. Thankfully, because I enjoy craft beer socially quite often.

A little drink never hurt anybody.

I've heard maybe one drink and also none at all. Certainly not "as usual" (if that means a few).

I’m not sure about mixing SSRIs with a few cocktails, but wash down a couple zolpidem with a dry Chardonnay and you’ve got a first-class ticket to a blackout on Ambien Airlines.

First night on Zoloft and seriously reconsidering due to side effects

I take a minimal dose of a TCI (amitriptylene hydrochloride) and stay away from alcohol. I learned my lesson after becoming dizzy and loopy after half a glass of wine.

Day 4 on Lexapro, 2.5 mg (half a pill). I already have had two nights of diarrhea and unable to orgasm. My anxiety is starting to abate. though, yippee.

My primary and psyche both are urging to give it a full two months before deciding what to do....I don't think I will be able to.

R55 Hang in there, the first two weeks are pretty awful but then it gets better

Depending on the amount you’ve had to drink... you could experience a blackout

R55 you’re barely taking any lexaoro. The side effects are probably your from your anxiety, not the med.

R55 here. Last week my cock worked just fine, now it is a noodle....I hope very much this will change once my body adjusts. I suffer general anxiety and mild depression. I tried Zoloft 25mg and fell asleep while taking a shower and slipped and luckily had only a minor injury. Got off that drug and then tried Klonopin which I became more anxious with because I was fearing dependency. Now here I am with Lexapro and really want it to work.

I have been on Lexapro for 10 years. I haven't had any problems with drinking alcohol on it.

Dumbass you’re not supposed to drink alcohol while on anti depressants.

Been on a low dose of Zoloft for a long time. Once or twice a week I have one or two drinks with dinner. No problems.

I’ve taken tons of SSRIs (except Zoloft because of pouch) and I’ve always had drinks in moderation. My doc has always been ok with it.

You sound like you are having anxiety, not a med reaction. I’m a fan of Klonopin (again, in moderation) I once had severe PPD and took Klonopin daily to keep me sane until my antidepressants kicked in - that lag time can be brutal if you have a period of severe depression.

Hey, R41, R48, and R62, do you realize what year it is, you old dinosaurs? SO MANY people take SSRIs, and of course some of them are going to drink casually. Kids these days!

When I was diagnosed with depression I was started on Paxil. WOW! I think I was asleep for 3 years while on it. I looked on WebMD and I saw all of the comments on it. One guy said he was nothing but a fat zombie. I realized that was me. I didn't know why I had gained 30 lbs. I went to another psychiatrist and he put me on Lexapro. What a difference. I have been on it for 9 years. Taking 20 mg.

I've alwaysh found it makesh no differenshe to me!

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