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alcohol and citalopram

Posted , 7 users are following.

ashleigh1992
ashleigh1992

Hi everyone. 

Just wondering if anyone has drank alcohol on citalopram and if it caused any negative reactions? I've been invited on a night out and I'm not sure whether to drink alcohol just in case it affects my medication or worse makes me feel how I did before I started the course of citalopram. 

Thanks for reading. 

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • tunis1945
    tunis1945 ashleigh1992

    Posted

    Hi Ashleigh, I have been on citalopram for 11 yrs.and yes I have drank alcohol and it hasn`t made any difference but if your already depressed I would be very careful as you may be on a real downer the next day.

     

    • ashleigh1992
      ashleigh1992 tunis1945

      Posted

      Thanks for your reply. I suffer with anxiety and shared a bottle of wine with a friend last weekend and felt fine. But that was in the comfort of my own home. This will be the first time I've been out in about 4-5 months. I'm defiantly only going to be having a couple, I couldn't handle alcohol before hand.

      Fingers crossed I have a good night. 

  • Misdameanor22
    Misdameanor22 ashleigh1992

    Posted

    Hi ashleigh1992,

    I have been taking 10 mg of Cit for 2 months now, and I just recently starting having a few beers while taking it. Honestly I wasn't really comfortable enough to even think about having any alcohol at first, because I didn't know if there would be any side effects. I have tried to have vodka and tequila, but it is just too much for me and I get super sleepy and feel pretty tipsy with very little. I've found that I'm ok with beer, and don't have any adverse reactions the next day, minus the minor normal hangover symptoms. I would just advise to be very careful and monitor your limits; what you drank before will probably be too much now that you are on medication. Good luck! :-)

    • ashleigh1992
      ashleigh1992 Misdameanor22

      Posted

      Hi misdameanor22

      I shared a bottle of wine with a friend last weekend which made me very tired. A couple of days later I had a dizzy spell and the whole room was spinning. I went to the doctors and he did a check said everything was fine. I've never had that side effect from the tablets before so I didn't know whether to put that down to drinking a couple of days before.

      Suppose I'll soon find out after this Saturday is the same thing happens again.

      Thanks for your reply. 

  • Richardt
    Richardt ashleigh1992

    Posted

    I have been taking citaloprom for 4 years l still drink alcohol, no problem so do not worry.
  • loxie
    loxie ashleigh1992

    Posted

    Citalopram does not contra react with alcohol per se but everyone is different.  As others have commented, I too had absolutely no issues having a drink whilst taking it but a very good point raised by tunis, what does make a difference is if you're already depressed or suffering anxiety then alcohol can certainly worsen this, so balance it to your own circumstances.  It won't however affect the medication as such.
    • ashleigh1992
      ashleigh1992 loxie

      Posted

      Hi Loxie

      Thanks for the reply. I am worried if I get "drunk" it will increase my anxiety. As when I shared a bottle with my friend I took it slow and was in my own home. This will be out surrounded by people in a pub. As long as my thoughts arnt focusing on my anxieties I will be fine. 

      Strange how months ago I wouldn't think twice about going out and enjoying my self. . I don't understand how I've gotten in this state! Can't wait intill I'm back to my normal self. . =/ 

    • loxie
      loxie ashleigh1992

      Posted

      My best advice from my own experience is definitely do not drink too much or get drunk - it will increase the problem and in any case drinking too heavily is bad news even if we aren't feeling fragile already.  I drink red wine, which goes down all too easily in large quantities, so now I mix it with sparkling mineral water so that firstly I'm drinking less 'neat' wine and secondly I'm drinking gallons of water to help flush it through and don't suffer appalling hangovers.  Try making every other drink a non alcoholic version of your favourite tipple, ie if you like alcopops, have a J2O every other order, if you like a spirit with a mixer, have just the mixer (coke, tonic, lemonade, etc) with ice and a slice.  It's not just good advice for those of us with anxiety problems or on medication, it's generally not advisable to binge on alcohol for anyone's health.  At least now I can enjoy my wine rather than have to give it up completely. 
    • ashleigh1992
      ashleigh1992 loxie

      Posted

      Hi again Loxie. 

      Thanks for the advice I most defiantly will be following up on it! I usually have lemonade with my white wine anyway. I really need this night out! And just want to be my normal self again I'm sick of letting anxiety and panic attacks control my life.

  • gillian176
    gillian176 ashleigh1992

    Posted

    Initially I could only manage a glass on a night out, without feeling completely bombed out....but once had been on it afew weeks I was back to my usual half bottle at a dinner out, BUT what everyone else is saying here too is ,....we drink too much for our own good..probably irrespective of cit! Sobe careful...am just having a glass diet tonic with several dashes angostura bitters, saw this on a cooking programme ofnon  alcoholic drinks..it's too bad actually...
  • sara91601
    sara91601 ashleigh1992

    Posted

    Hi Ashleigh,

    I've just come off citalopram after having been on it for 6 months for depression.

    I was on 20mg for most of that time and I found that while alcohol did go to my head quicker there were  no nasty side effects to mixing alcohol and citalopram as long as I drank a sensible amount. I was advised not to have them at the same time though - I took my tablet in the morning and then wasn't having a drink until the evening.

    However, for a month my doctor doubled my dose to 40mg and I really would say to be careful drinking if you are on a dose higher than 20mg. While I was on 40mg I had half a pint of cider with a meal and felt so sick and had the most the painful headache- it was almost like getting a hangover straight after drinking.

    I hope that helps!

    • ashleigh1992
      ashleigh1992 sara91601

      Posted

      Hey sara91601

      Thanks for the reply. I ended up drinking a lot more then a couple and felt completely fine! Though I did miss taking my tablet that night because I take them before bed. It was really good to be able to let my hair down. But if I do get put on a higher dose I defiantly will be taking it steady. 

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