Why is it bad to mix alcohol and antidepressants? What happens? If I take antidepressants, does this mean I can never have an alcoholic drink?
Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Daniel Hall-Flavin, M.D., answers:
If you are taking antidepressants, you should talk to your doctor before drinking alcohol. The drug you are taking and your current emotional and physical state should be considered in deciding if you can safely drink alcohol while taking your medication. But generally, mixing antidepressants and alcohol is discouraged.
A few things could happen if you mix antidepressants and alcohol. First, your medication may become ineffective in treating your depression. Alcohol acts a depressant, so by drinking it, you could counteract effects of your medication and lessen their benefit.
The side effects from your medication could also worsen. Some antidepressants cause drowsiness, and so does alcohol. Mixing the two could make you sleepy, which is dangerous in situations where you need to be alert, such as driving, or at work. Studies have proved that even social drinking may impair your ability to react quickly and remain alert while driving, even hours after consuming a single alcoholic drink.
Finally, if you are taking an antidepressant that is a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), mixing it with alcohol can be very dangerous. The combination can cause a dangerous spike in blood pressure, leading to a stroke. Your doctor may tell you to avoid both alcohol and certain types of foods which may also interact with your medicine, such as cheeses and certain meats, if you are on an MAOI.
Antidepressants are not the only medications that could dangerously interact with alcohol. Whenever you are prescribed a new medication, talk to your doctor about consuming alcoholic.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/antidepressants-and-alcohol/AN01653
Posted by Wackjob on August 18, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Excellent article! I myself was an alcoholic (now sober for more than eight years), and did not actually take anti-depressants until after I stopped drinking. But then, my mental illness didn’t really show itself until I stopped drinking–talk about an unpleasant surprise!
Posted by cherished79 on August 19, 2007 at 9:32 am
Thank you for commenting.
Posted by natalie cox on September 2, 2007 at 9:39 am
Pls can some1 help me. Iv been with my bg for 3 months and i thought i cud handle his depression but now its ruining our relationship. he’s family and friends drink so he’s influenced to drink. hes on anti depressants and when we alone its fine becuz we dont drink that much 2gether. hes surrounded by everyone who drinks and when he gets drunk he gets eveb more depressed and just wants to run away and be alone. Its the life style hes living. wakes up, drinks to get rid of his problems, the problems come back and drinks again. wat do i do? iv begged him a million times, to cut down ATLEAST but he dont have the willpower because of the people that surrounds him. Hes gonna lose me,
Heartsore
Posted by cherished79 on September 2, 2007 at 10:33 am
Natalie, thank you for your comment, however, the only advice I can give is to see a pdoc on this.
I am not a therapist, only a survivor of mental illness. Although I have done extensive research on mental illness, which includes depression, bipolar etc. for myself and for this blog, I am hardly an expert and I leave that up to the professionals, such as therapists and medical doctors.
Sorry, really wish I could be of more help with your situation.
Posted by audrey on December 16, 2007 at 7:36 pm
can mixing alcohol and antidepressants lead to uncharacteristic aggressiveness. I have been taking lustral for six months and rarely drink but on three occassions have found that when i have over done it i become incredibly aggressive verbally. This never happened prior to taking this medication. I have now stopped taking alcohol however i need to find some sort of explanation for my behaviour
Posted by cherished79 on December 16, 2007 at 8:06 pm
That’s an interesting question and one that you would have pose to your pdoc.
Posted by shane on June 1, 2008 at 9:05 am
hey thanks for that article!
my girlfriend drunk and smoked some pot and never does that on her meds, the next day went a bit different and on a happy high and made out everything was perfect , the next weekend run away and did not have her phone turned on and 5:30am was picked up by the cops for hitting a family friend she went to stay with when she woke up , she is now being held for 5 days at the mental health ward , i don’t know what happened thats not like her at all any help? thanks worried boyfriend.
Posted by cherished79 on June 1, 2008 at 10:25 am
Shane: you have a right to be worried, and possibly she did mix meds and alcohol or drugs. That is a bad mixture. They will take some blood tests to determine if in fact she has been using either and make a decision. Different hospitals will make different decisions to keep her or release her.
I have been warned of the dangers time and time again about this mixture by my psychiatrist. I don’t drink alcohol or take street drugs anyways, and would never risk this at all if I did. I just want to keep well. What is the point I ask of taking the antidepressants?
You are a fantastic person to be standing by her side, but don’t let her pull you down.
Posted by Health Student on September 8, 2008 at 9:58 am
Interesting Fact:
Mixing depresents with alcohol is a stupid thing to do. It is one of the three things that one must not do when you encounter drugs (the other two are are taking drugs alone and …… damn forgot the other one… ah well it is out there somewhere). To put in perspective, in a maths equation you have 1 + 1 = 2. BUT, when you have a depressent plus alcohol it doesnt equal twice the effect that you would get from taking one of these, you actualy get like five times the effect. This can be very dangerous and life threatening as to the slowing down of the body when you have used one depressent has now been worsened immensly due to the mixing of the two. So just remember that it is very stupid to mix two depressents as it CAN kill you.
Posted by cherished79 on September 9, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Thank you so much for your comment. I wish people would listen more.
Posted by Anne on March 29, 2009 at 2:50 am
This is a really frightening article. I drink red wine, very often. In fact, probably one glass everyday. I have been plagued by depression since at least university (ironically coinciding with social drinking) but actually started having panic attacks in my second year. I was a complete wreck by the time I went home for the summer and could hardly go out in public. Not really knowing what to do, I carried on, but by the age of 25 – after successfully graduating, and moving, and getting a very good, and high paying job, I crashed, came home, and again, had to struggle just to leave the house. Fortunately, I had banked half my pay every month so had a financial buffer, which was great because my confidence was gone, and I quickly took the first job that came along, which was considerably lower paying. My parents took me to a doctor, who quickly confirmed that I was clinically depressed, but the medication she prescribed was almost worse than the depression. They scheduled an appointment with a therapist and I was so embarrassed and afraid that my “condition” would end up on a permanent record somewhere and negatively affect my life and career that I couldn’t go. I somehow managed to work through this awful period, moved from home to a large city, started school again, with a different focus, and carried on, but almost 10 years exactly after the first major depression, it happened again. I’ve been happily socially drinking the whole time. I figured out that birth control and depression do not mix AT ALL. In fact, I’m curious to know whether someone predisposed to depression can have a full blown out episode because of certain medications?
My depression has been so bad that at times I have wanted to end my own life. Fortunately, through it all, my family has been unbelievably supportive and I am very highly functioning and managed always to keep my jobs and go to school in the midst of it all, but also have ended up in an emergency room or after hours clinic because I couldn’t cope. Now am taking Effexor and it has changed my life. Went to a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist who also changed my way of thinking – very positive, wonderful experience. But drinking! It makes perfect sense, also cheese, meat, etc. Last year while on Effexor I would have a glass or two of red wine and almost immediately fall asleep, but weirdly never equated the two. I am still socially drinking, and feel so silly, and am going to stop immediately.
Thank you so much. I really believe I have a chemical imbalance. Everything about my health is related to hormones – thyroid problem, intense physical and emotional response to birth control (which is hormonally based), depression, anxiety. It has been a HUGE struggle to stay cool and keep functioning, but with the Effexor I am fine. Very scared to come off it, though. I never want to go back to where I was three years ago. If I stop drinking right now, will my health improve dramatically?
Posted by cherished79 on April 6, 2009 at 7:25 am
Thank you so much for your comment and sharing. I hear you on so many issues that you have mentioned and I have experienced some of the same. The depression seems never ending and my therapy was a disaster. Suicide was all I could think of at times, almost dreaming and dwelling on it day after day.
I am so happy that Effexor is working for you, and I have heard that CBT has been somewhat of a lifesaver for some people. You have really done well, pat yourself on the back. Climbing the ladder from bottom to almost top doesn’t seem like much to some, but those who suffer from depression it is a huge feat. Best of luck, keep plugging.