I have tried alcohol with nearly every type of antidepressant. I have not
ever had any side effects. It does intensify the effects of the alcohol in some cases. I was on welbutrin and lexapro at the same time and have had around a liter of vodka and some beer and did not have any problems . I would try 1-2 beers and see how you feel. I have heard of some severe side effects but I have never seen any myself. I drank
very heavily for several years on too many different meds to list . The only drug I had a problem with was `xanax .

I've drank beer but not hard liquor on all the medicines i've been on without any problems except once.

I was on remeron and I drank a couple shots of yagermeister on top of some draft beer and had a blackout. that was the only time I ever blacked out. I'll never do that again. The only reason I drank it was because my friend was visiting me from michigan and we were partying.

First I hope you have stopped taking the saint johns wart if you are on an antidepressant, they should not be takin together.

Some people who take these meds have a stronger tolerence to alcohol and you are able to drink more than you want, you almost feel the need to drink. I know several people who have now started having problems with alcohol since they went on anti depressants. This does not mean it will affect you this way. Everyone is different. Do some research on the net, im sure there are many web sites that will inform you about the exact dangers of mixing these meds and alcohol. Good luck

It's not so much about the side effects.. Alchohol is a depressant.. So if you are taking medicine for depression or something similar, the alchohol can counteract the medicine. It's more dangerous if you really rely on medicine to stay balanced. Most likely if you are just taking it for the symptoms you described, it wouldn't hurt enough. But like any medicine, there can be side effects when combining chemicals and alcohol.. Like it was said, the best thing you can do is research on it.. Every person and every med is different.

On of my friends who was on zoloft went to a party and drank and the zoloft did intensify the alcohol. She ended up getting alcohol posioning and going to the hospital because she quit breathing. The doctor said she should have never been drinking in the first place if she was on an antidepressant because you shouldn't mess around with things that speed up and low down your heart.

I had went off the celexa for a little while, took nothin, then tried zoloft, couldn't take that, then tried lexapro, couldn't stand the side effects so I asked my doc to put me back on celexa and she did. It's a generic company thru my insurance. Now before when I took celexa I could drink without no problem, now i've had to stop drinking because I get really sick to my stomach, stomach burns and I throw up and have sharp pains. Don't know if it is from celexa while drinking or not. But before I didn't have this problem. So............What do ya think?

Well, if you are on any type of ad medication you should not mix this with alcohol.



St john's wort may help some people but it acts like a herbal ssri and may not work for all people. This is common with most single remedies including drugs and other 'natural' supplements, because it may not target the biochemical abnormality that these remedies are trying to treat.



Please read:

"hit or miss supplements for depression" at our web site (or google search).

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I have been on both of these, the only different with these are cost and name...They both have a very low chance of sexual disfunction..I have not lost my sex drive..I'm back on lexapro now..Probley be back on wellbutrin soon too..I'm tired of meds though, wish electric shock therapy was an option..

I've been on wellbutrin for over 2 years now, and used to drink heavily. It never effected me. However, I recently stopped drinking for a variety of reasons explained in another forum, and have been very depressed since. I also did the same thing early last year with the same result. Beware. But we are all different.

Hi
i've been on effexor for mild depression and ptsd(post traumatic stress disorder) for a year now. Firstly I was advised by my doctor and by psychologist to not drink anything at all. However I found this very difficult, and spoke again to both about what I could drink and still remain safe.
They said that maybe 1 or 2 standard drinks in an evening should be safe. Drinking a light (low alcohol) beer is what I do now. However, I have had many (15-20) nights where I just went on a binge (8 standard drinks) and the only difference I have had is that the effect of the alcohol is increased.
Ask your doc if there is a level of safety and about some strategies for controlling your drinking (ie. Having a non-alcoholic drink between drinks)
hope this helps, feel free to contact me if you want to talk about it.
:)
davey

But are there any permanent effects?

I can't find anything that says combining alcohol with zoloft is harmful nor can I find anything that says it is safe. Anecdotal evidence is all that I see and that suggests that you should work with your doctor and some people will be able to drink and others won't. And there is a risk if you do that you will grow to feel you need the alcohol. The clinical trials with these drugs should also be done with different types of alcohol and cigarettes and good and bad diets. They would be more representative then of what really goes on in a persons life.

Any doctor will advise you that you should not mix zoloft - and for that matter any antidepressant medication - with alcohol!

Yes, but are they just covering their behinds. There seem to be a lot of people online who use alcohol with zoloft with no bad side effects. There are are some that have bad reactions to the combination. I find doctors knowledgeable in some areas about this but in general just in a hurry to give a less than informed opinion that meets a 'cautious' test. Some doctors don't seem to know that there are withdrawal effects to these drugs. Which says to me that they have read very little about them.

If it's dangerous and so many people have this question, they should just say it's harmful. I don't see them saying that. I just see the question basically being given a guess as an answer. The warning on a cigarette pack is more serious then the warning here.

Why is it bad to take an anti-depressant with alcohol? Is it bad for just one type of person or bad for everyone?

I have been on celexa for 4 months and have had alcohol blackouts.
Three times this has happened to me. I don't drink often but I had gone out and had 3 cranberry and vodka drinks and for the first time in my life I could not remember half that night. It was completely wiped from my memory. I tried for weeks to try to recall what I did or said and it still bothers me that I have to idea what happened. So be careful it could be very dangerous, bad things could happen and you honestly have no clue.

I would like to know if this has happened to anyone else...

I thought alcohol was a depressant? Wouldn't it work against the meds?

I am on zoloft and don't drink any alcohol at all . But some people say it ok to drink in moderation. Then your doctor say not to drink all together. I don't chance it i just don't drink my depression is hard enough to deal with don't need to add alcohol to the mix. But some people whom being drinking for a long time and stop and go on anti depression medication can screw up their body chemical . So remember every one body chemical and reaction to medication are diffent what may not effect you may effect someone else. Every one different. That why some people are allergic some medication where some people are not. So know you body and what it can and can't tolerate. Good luck not all doctors know best. Knowing your body and what it react to with or without alcohol is something you and your body will know . So trust your body and yourself. You know that saying "that you know your body better than your doctor. " i think that how the quote go but you get the idea .

I have been on nearly every depression med availble for the past 35 years - what fun, huh? And I drink a bit - I am very in-tune with my body's response to things and can tell you that 1. don't even think about driving or operating anything dangerous both when you start a new drug and then if you drink while on a drug. Even 1 drink will usually have a stronger effect than you would experience without the depression med in your system. Of everything I have tried (alcohol-wise) Sake proved the least intoxicating for me.

Be careful if you choose to experiment. Have someone around who knows your situation and who is capable of responsing to a sudden emergency if you have an unexpected reaction.

is depression one of the symptons that teens will face with alcoholism