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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Celexa & Alcohol
Answered by
Roger Gould, M.D. - Mental Health, Wellness
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
Celexa & Alcohol
by raniol, Sep 18, 2009 02:36PM
Hello,
I was inquiring about drinking alcohol with Celexa. I'm currently on 40 mg of celexa and have been on that for about 5 months now. I'm currently taking it for anxiety, and it has been working quite well. I was taking Zoloft for a couple years and it seemed to wear off. I had no problems with alcohol and Zoloft. I have a few questions regarding Celexa and alcohol consumption.
1. Is it safe to drink alcohol in moderation with Celexa? I'm worried about some bad interaction with the two. From my research online, Celexa seems to be the SSRI that reacts more heavily to alcohol consumption....or is that not true?
2. If Celexa is working well with me, should I talk to my doctor about switching to Lexapro or just stick with the Celexa?
Thank you for your time.
R
I was inquiring about drinking alcohol with Celexa. I'm currently on 40 mg of celexa and have been on that for about 5 months now. I'm currently taking it for anxiety, and it has been working quite well. I was taking Zoloft for a couple years and it seemed to wear off. I had no problems with alcohol and Zoloft. I have a few questions regarding Celexa and alcohol consumption.
1. Is it safe to drink alcohol in moderation with Celexa? I'm worried about some bad interaction with the two. From my research online, Celexa seems to be the SSRI that reacts more heavily to alcohol consumption....or is that not true?
2. If Celexa is working well with me, should I talk to my doctor about switching to Lexapro or just stick with the Celexa?
Thank you for your time.
R
Doctor's Answer
by Roger Gould, M.D., Sep 21, 2009 09:52AM
, Sep 21, 2009 09:52AMTo: raniol
It is always recommended that you be very careful with alchohol and these medications. Everyone responds differently so you can not generalize about specific medications so the best you can do is abstain or drink very likely, and when you do,monitor the effect on you. You are much better off increasing the dose of the medication and stopping the alcohol if you are using alchohol as a stop gap medication for anxiety.
Alcohol, I think, can add to the effect of the medication. It may depress your CNS (that could be to dangerous levels in some people, where they stop breathing, etc).
If celexa is working for you I wouldn't change. It would be best to have this discussion with your doctor though.
I was just wondering if the alcohol may be a way to medicate against some of the anxiety.
J
"the best you can do is abstain or drink very likely"