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.
As a depressant, alcohol can intensify the depression that's being treated with prescription antidepressants. Whether using alcohol recreationally or as a coping mechanism, it can interact harmfully with many antidepressants. Binge drinking is an especially dangerous pattern of drinking.
Allow at least two weeks to pass before consuming alcohol if you've recently stopped treatment with a MAOI antidepressant.
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).
It's important not to skip a dose of an antidepressant so that you can drink alcohol. Missing doses of antidepressants like Zoloft can cause withdrawal symptoms, which can include: Dizziness. Headache.
Should I drink when taking Zoloft? Avoid alcohol completely while you take Zoloft. Even a single drink can interact with your medication and cause unwanted side effects. The combination of alcohol and Zoloft can cause side effects, and drinking alcohol can make your depression worse.
Drinking alcohol while taking Lexapro isn't recommended. Both alcohol and Lexapro can cause side effects like increased depressive thoughts, sleep problems, and dizziness. Combining the two may cause drowsiness, nausea, reduced alertness, and serotonin syndrome.
When combined with antidepressants, these effects of drinking become heightened. In other words, you may get drunker faster, and with less alcohol than usual. The results can be dangerous if you make poor decisions while combining these two substances.
The bottom line. Drinking alcohol with anxiety pills like Xanax and Ativan is especially dangerous. The combination raises your risk of extreme sleepiness, potentially life-threatening breathing problems, and impaired concentration. These negative side effects can lead to accidental injuries or even death.
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.
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.
And don't stop taking your medication just so you can drink. 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.
Drinking can counteract the benefits of your antidepressant medication, making your symptoms more difficult to treat. Alcohol may seem to improve your mood in the short term, but its overall effect increases symptoms of depression and anxiety. Side effects may be worse if you also take another medication.
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.
The short answer is no. If you need an SSRI medication to treat a mental health disorder, you should avoid alcohol for two reasons. First, alcohol may interact with your medication. And second, alcohol increases feelings of anxiety, sadness, low self-esteem, and depression.
It's important not to miss any of your doses, as this could make your treatment less effective. You may also get withdrawal symptoms as a result of missing a dose of the medicine. If you do miss 1 of your doses, skip the missed dose and take your next dose at the usual time.
For people with chronic or severe depression, medication may be needed on a long-term basis. In these cases, antidepressants are often taken indefinitely. That is, in part, because depression is not an illness that can be cured.
If the symptoms develop later or gradually, they may constitute a relapse of the depression. Ultimately, these withdrawal symptoms will improve with time, but they can be unpleasant for days and possibly even weeks. In time, the brain readjusts and people should experience a return to their normal state.
Quitting an antidepressant suddenly may cause symptoms within a day or two, such as: Anxiety. Insomnia or vivid dreams. Headaches.
Both Lexapro and alcohol alter the way your brain works. To avoid dangerous side effects such as drowsiness and liver problems, it's best not to use alcohol while you take Lexapro. Alcohol may also keep Lexapro from working as well as it should.
Generally, drinking alcohol while taking antidepressants is not advised. Alcohol can make depression worse, and also increase the severity of antidepressant side effects. It's generally recommended that people on antidepressants abstain from alcohol, especially if they will be driving or operating heavy machinery.
In general, it's not recommended that individuals with mental health issues consume alcohol as it can worsen these conditions. According to the FDA, clinical trials have not found that Lexapro worsens the motor and cognitive effects of alcohol.
According to research, approximately half of the people who take Lexapro may experience weight gain of 7% or more while taking this medication [2]. Gaining weight unexpectedly and struggling to lose it can worsen self-esteem, anxiety, and depression [3], which ultimately defeats the purpose of taking Lexapro.
Escitalopram (Lexapro) Addiction
In many people with major depressive disorder, escitalopram is effective at reducing alcohol cravings. For this reason, doctors will use it as both an adjunct treatment for addiction and a primary treatment for depression.