It's best to avoid combining antidepressants and alcohol. It may worsen your symptoms, and it can be dangerous. If you mix antidepressants and alcohol: You may feel more depressed or anxious.
However, since many patients are not willing to give up alcohol completely, it is important to combine alcohol and antidepressants in the safest way possible. Some physicians allow moderate drinking for their patients. This means 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men.
Most types of antidepressants are not likely to cause life-threatening side effects, so doctors may tell patients they can limit themselves to very moderate drinking, if necessary. A drink a day for women or two drinks per day for men is unlikely to cause serious side effects when mixed with antidepressants.
Side effects like drowsiness, impaired driving and respiratory depression (slowed breathing) can worsen when anxiety drugs are combined with alcohol. Many medicines used for anxiety should be used short-term and, in general, you should avoid or limit alcohol with these drugs.
Share on Pinterest Doctors advise against drinking alcohol while taking Lexapro. Doctors usually do not recommend drinking alcohol while taking Lexapro or any other antidepressant. This guidance is because alcohol can make depression worse and can counteract the benefits of a person taking antidepressants.
The combination of Lexapro and alcohol should be avoided due to potentially dangerous side effects. Even a small amount of alcohol can lead to a large amount of unpleasant effects. Mixing these two substances may actually lead to heightened symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Some doctors think it's OK to drink moderately if you take an SSRI like Lexapro. “Moderate drinking” means 2 drinks a day for men and 1 drink a day for women.
In general, it's not a good idea to skip doses of your antidepressant for any reason, including to drink alcohol. Most antidepressants are only effective when used consistently.
And selective serotonin receptor inhibitors (SSRIs) like Zoloft (sertraline) are often a first choice. But if you're taking a medication like Zoloft, you may want to think twice before having a few glasses of wine. Alcohol and SSRIs shouldn't be combined because it can result in potentially severe side effects.
There are no antidepressants that are completely safe when taken with alcohol. Some providers may say that light to moderate drinking is OK while taking certain antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like sertraline (Zoloft), fluoxetine (Prozac), and escitalopram (Lexapro).
This serotonin transporter gene has been linked to excessive drinking, alcohol dependence and impulsiveness. Suggestively, the reward sensations felt when consuming alcohol while on antidepressant medication is perhaps a cause of alcohol dependency.
But if you're taking antidepressants, it's worth keeping close tabs on your caffeine consumption. Antidepressants and caffeine can both have an effect on brain chemistry, and adding too much of the latter on top of your meds can leave you feeling lousy.
In our practices, we have repeatedly noted that some people experience a marked change in alcohol tolerance during treatment with SSRIs and related drugs. The consequences include disinhibition of violence or sexual behaviour, sometimes with profoundly impaired memory of the event.
Avoid driving or operating machinery. Avoid caffeine, tobacco and alcohol. Drink plenty of fluids. Take your antidepressant at bedtime if your doctor approves.
You're less likely to experience unpleasant or unpredictable effects if you drink alcohol while taking an SSRI or a serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) antidepressant, but avoiding alcohol is often still recommended.
If I take Zoloft in the morning, how many hours afterward is it safe to drink alcohol? There's no safe amount of time of day to drink alcohol if you're taking Zoloft. In fact, even if you stop taking Zoloft, it'll take 5–6 days for your last dose to be cleared from your body.
It's usually recommended that a course of antidepressants continues for at least 6 months after you feel better, to prevent your condition recurring when you stop. Some people with recurrent illness are advised to carry on taking medicine indefinitely.
Avoid cola drinks, chocolate and caffeine containing food items with sertraline since the combination can result in a condition called serotonin syndrome with symptoms of high fever, agitation, vomiting, nausea, rapid heartbeat, trembling, sweating and weird movements on the muscles.
To get the maximum benefit from your antidepressant, he suggests, “It's important to take your medicine at the same time every day. Either in the morning when you get up or at night when you go to bed is a good idea.” Routine makes missing a does less likely and better regulates the medicine in your system.
No interactions were found between caffeine and Lexapro.
The combination of antidepressants and alcohol will affect your judgment, coordination, motor skills and reaction time more than alcohol alone. Some combinations may make you sleepy. This can impair your ability to drive or do other tasks that require focus and attention. You may become sedated or feel drowsy.
Lexapro and Alcohol Blackouts
Some experts have raised concerns that even moderate drinking while on an antidepressant like Lexapro may cause an exaggerated response to alcohol in some people. This includes violence, inhibition and memory loss in about half of cases.
Lexapro weight gain can be a common side effect, but it doesn't impact everyone who takes this medication. Multiple studies conclude that SSRIs like Lexapro can result in weight gain. However, it varies from person to person depending on individual factors such as age, lifestyle habits, diet, and activity level.