For those of us taking antidepressants...

[Guest]

Found this interesting link on the Internet, about how antidepressants (eg Prozac which I am taking) can increase the craving for alcohol...

CV any thoughts!!??

www.drugawareness.org/Arc...cohol.html

[Guest]

For those of us taking antidepressants...

Without reading the artical I do have to say I noticed a difference in the amount I was able to drink increased when I started prozac. I was able to drink more without feeling more impaired and without increased hangover. weird. and again. It was noteable. not just something I wondered about.
Then it was logical to me. Alcohol/depressant Antidepressant/Antidepressant made sense to me
gabby

[Guest]

For those of us taking antidepressants...

I have heard that, but never really gave it any in depth thought before.....My drinking had already started to go up, mind you, because I was miserable, but I came back from a vacation in 1990 and went on Prozac. Stopped Prozac in 1994 after a drunken rage (after daughter was asleep, thank God!). Felt better for a while, but was been on different SSRI's for a number of years until I went on Serzone. Serzone works on norepinephrine (or noradrenaline). Hmmmmm. I've been wanting to get off of it. Maybe now is the time to think more seriously about it. I've just been worried that I would be even MORE depressed. But maybe not.....

Certainly is food for thought. Thanks for the post!!!

Kathy

[Guest]

For those of us taking antidepressants...

prozac

This is very interesting, all my problems started when I started prozac after I had given birth.(the blues) It just escalated when I got cancer and 3 years later I'm still on prozac.

Now I follow MWO because I got a new friend, Chardonnay. Do you guys think I should stop the prozac??:rolleyes

Thanks,
Deb

[Guest]

For those of us taking antidepressants...

Re

I have to say this doesnt surprise me at all, This is something I have thought for a long time and something I have been looking for research on. When I was taking effexor, this is the first time i noticed my drinking rage out of control. When I went off, I was okay again (well I drank socially but didnt percieve myself to have a real "problem"). Since then, I have gone on celexa and have really felt my issues with alcohol escalate. I think I will speak to my doctor about tapering off in conjuct with this program if she recommends it, since this is soemthing I was thinking about anyways.
Love all
Jen

[Guest]

For those of us taking antidepressants...

Zoloft

I just read the above posts with much interest. I have been taking Zoloft for the past three years. My ob/gyn prescribed it for me for help with PMS. Yeah, it works. I feel better able to cope all month long. But now this discussion has got me thinking. My affair with wine has increased over the past several years. Coincidence? Maybe. I would love to hear from others who are taking anti-depressants. It seems like lots of doctors prescribe them like candy. I know they are lifesaves for millions of people who suffer from depression...but their mechanism of action in the brain could be responsible for excellerating many people's abuse of alcohol. I need to do some more research on this. If anyone has additional information, please share. One thought I have is (at least in my case) to take the dose only two weeks prior to the onset of my period. A nurse practitioner friend of mine suggested that, as I also have been gaining weight. I know this class of drug can cause weight gain for many. I may call the patient help line at Pfizer (the manufacturer) and inquire about this discussion. I'll follow up with any information I gather. All the best!

[Guest]

For those of us taking antidepressants...

Re: Zoloft

I take Lexapro, which is suppose to be the anti depressant with the least side effects, also the same drug company that manufactures Campral. All I can say, is Lexapro has saved my life. I was so oo depressed before I took it, that I considered suicide. My drinking did not change one bit, before or after taking Lexapro. I have not had one fight with my husband in 4 years, since I have been on Lexapro. It sure has mellowed me out, and I never feel anger anymore.
Miss Layla

[Guest]

For those of us taking antidepressants...

Re: Re

I dunno, I love taking prozac. I would be happy if I never quit. I just think it allows you to drink more because it counteracts aganist the alcohol being a depressant because of the antidepressant componants. But funny thing is the warnings say do not drink alcohol may intensify effects. weird huh?
Anyway this is all uneducated guesswork on my part. I really have no idea what I'm talking about. gabby

[Guest]

For those of us taking antidepressants...

Re: Re

I just read that link.....hum. I am actually looking into this futher now too. gabby 8o

[Guest]

For those of us taking antidepressants...

Re: Re

Well ok......I looked around a couple of searches. Gonna call in the expert researcher. CV.
Anyway without spending very much time on this all I came up with info from the same lady "TRACY". Not much on any message boards or anything about prozac or related drugs makiing people without drinking issues have issues or makin people become alcholics. I think we get to thank ourselves for it not the antidepressants. Anyway I'm still lookin. gabby

[gabby]

For those of us taking antidepressants...

Just tryin the new spot. Is my cow here? gabby

[gabby]

For those of us taking antidepressants...

yeppers

Now there's this one :rolleyes
Okay....way cool RJ....I'm likin it

[DebbieG77]

For those of us taking antidepressants...

Celexa

Hi,

I took Celexa for almost a year about 4 years ago. Six months after I started the celexa, I started drinking again. I don't blame the celexa for that, I had a relatinship that went sour, so I didn't give a sh*t any more and started with the beer and whiskey. I hand't drinken in over two years at that point. I was able to drink huge ammounts while on the Celexa, and the hangovers were pretty mild. I thought that I just had a super-liver since I had given it a break for a while. I think the celexa helped me to drink more because the side effects were much more mild. I quit taking it after about a month of drinking hard, and the hang-overs started to get worse. I never put two and two together, but I imagine that the celexa played a huge role in keeping me drinking. When I think about it, the only things that make me want to quite are getting a hangover, in general, and more specifically, the "guilts" feeling like you're the most horrible person in the world after you've gotten drunk, regardless of what you've done. I can be alone and feel guilty. So I think the celexa counteracts both of those effects.

Debbie

[princesskat]

For those of us taking antidepressants...

I noticed when I started taking Effexor I started drinking ALOT more (not that I am blaming it all on the drug)...mentioned it to my doc and she had never heard of it.

kat


note this link....

http://www.crazymeds.org/effexor.html
Alcohol intolerance and alcohol abuse. So Effexor (venlafaxine hydrochloride) is going to be just the thing to talk about at AA meetings. I've been getting a few e-mails and reading a few reports about how Effexor has caused Effexor users, as well as friends and relatives using the med to really hit the booze, so alcohol abuse may not be that rare a side effect after all. Best guess to date on that - Paul of Leeds (in the U.K.) posits that Effexor's broad spectrum use of liver enzymes probably interferes with alcohol clearance and tolerance, thus leading to the type of alcoholism that affects people without the proper enzymes to effectively metabolize alcohol. Between that and the way Effexor works your liver, you're probably better off giving up booze entirely if you're taking this med.