1. Community
  2. Brain and nerves
  3. Citalopram

Is alcohol effecting my Citalopram?

Posted , 5 users are following.

samantha200495
samantha200495

I'm just going onto week 3 on Citalopram 20mg. The side effects have subdued besides, yawning, tiredness and feeling a little spaced out. I track my mood with an app on my phone and noticed that I had around 4 days last week of consistent good days and not so many ups and downs which was great and I thought things were really looking up. Although for the past 3 days I have been really anxious and sad and can't explain it. The only thing I can think of that I did differently was reintroduce wine. I usually have 1-2 glasses with dinner, but I stopped when I began Citalopram because of how bad the side effects were. Has anyone else experience a similar problem with drinking? Or is my body still getting used to the Citalopram

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • New85
    New85 samantha200495

    Posted

    Hi Sam, I've been meaning to write a similar post about alcohol as I'm a bit confused by mixed messages! Doctor and pharmacist never said anything about not drinking. The instruction leaflet does say 'you are advised to not drink alcohol' but it doesn't make a big deal of it or explain why. I've seen a few comments on here from people saying not to but in my experience Ive felt no worse during or after a night out than I used to before I started on the citalopram! Alcohol is well known to be a depressant and Id say it's not advisable to drink everyday (even a small amount) regardless of whether your on Citalopram. But on the occasions I've drunk (Lots of hens/weddings to go to this year!) i don't believe it's effected me any differently to normal. I always felt a bit down and hung over the next day I think that's normal! I'm interested to hear other people's experiences on this though x
    • samantha200495
      samantha200495 New85

      Posted

      Thank you for replying! I never drink to excess and enjoy winding down with a wine at the end of the day. I actually feel the most relaxed during this time! I don't have hangovers in the morning but was wondering if the alcohol was somehow interfering. My prescription says "reduce alcohol" so it doesn't even advise me not too! Glad it's working for you though, I am only on week 2 nearly 3 so it still might take some time.
    • New85
      New85 samantha200495

      Posted

      I'm not an expert or anything but from what I can gather there are no real actual 'dangers' from drinking while on it, it's just advised not to basically because alcohol effects everyone differently and Citalopram also effects everyone differently, so it's best to take it easy until you know how a combination of the two will effect you personally. I'd say your safe to do a bit more experimentation before you write it off completely! I think I'm going try and only drink on real special occasions and just keep an eye on how it effects me. But like I say Id love to see if anyone else has any experiences or advice. I'm on week 7 now, things were still a bit up and down in week 3 so maybe it is to do with that as well x
  • alice1209
    alice1209 samantha200495

    Posted

    Hi,

    i think If your only 3 weeks in your body is stills getting used to citalopram,  I'm sure my doctor said it takes a good 6 weeks to really have affect.

    Personally for me, alcohol has never affected my citalopram, and ive been on it 6 years now.  Each person is different and I'm not advocating getting drunk every night but for me having a glass of wine each evenings helps me chill and relax.  

    Hope it settles down.

  • stevo1975
    stevo1975 samantha200495

    Posted

    Hey Samatha, That would be it Wine is countering the anti depressant as alcohol is a depressant. Me personnlly after having a strong history of consumption of alcohol I decided to wait until I've been a few months thru the meds as the mixture would probably mess me up? maybe reduce the wine or cut it out all together as tough as that is? All the best! 
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.