Alcohol and cymbalta liver anxiety

[Jonatron5]

I'm 23 years old male 160lbs fairly healthy. 10 minute mile and all that.

I suffer from generalized anxiety, social anxiety and health anxiety.

I've been on cymbalta for anxiety since senior year highschool so about 6 years.

I never touched alcohol untill I was 21, and have probably been drunk less than 10 times in my life.

But the other night I got really bad drunk like 5+ drinks.

And I'm scared to death that I have permanently damaged my liver. It's been about 3 days, I have no symptoms, except a small yellow patch above my left nipple, which might just be a bruise.

I know cymbalta is hard on the liver and I know alcohol is too. I have been taking routine blood tests since starting cymbalta, and a year or two ago I had elevated. bilirubin so I had my dosage cut back.

I also know that alcohol is hard on the liver. And this is where my panic attacks have been going on from.

My logic side tells me that when people develop liver disease it's from decades of moderate-heavy drinking, not from weekend benders in college.

That or they have some pre existing condition.

So I feel like I shouldn't worry and most likely I'm going to be fine, although I should probably cut the alcohol out from future use.

I have a doctor's appointment on Valentine's day, and I'm thinking about getting it moved up just to put my mind at ease.

I just wanted to reach out to you guys and ask what you think about my situation? Am I about to be diagnosed with a life threatening liver condition? I kinda doubt it. But my panic attacks won't let it rest.

Thanks.

[ankietyjoe]

Unless each of those 5 drinks was a bottle of wine, then you'll be fine. Liver damage takes place over years, not a one off binge.

[Jonatron5]

Bless you sir.

I'm not a religious man. But my panic attacks have brought me to it.

[Jueonone]

You sound like you have a bruise on your nipple you will be fine people drink all the time you sound like you have a lot of anxiety try and relax easy said than done

[ankietyjoe]

I mean you could damage your liver from a one off binge, but you'd have to drink a lot more than you did, and you would have left the drinking establishment in an ambulance.

[Jonatron5]

I mean you could damage your liver from a one off binge, but you'd have to drink a lot more than you did, and you would have left the drinking establishment in an ambulance.



Well the only thing that scares me is the years of cymbalta I've had. And the fact I've had elevated bilirubin counts before.

I'm going to ask my doctor in acouple weeks if I can just come off of the medicine. Becuase anti anxiety medicine is making me have anxiety about the health side effects

[wilky44]

The liver regenerates pretty quickly. At 21, 5 drinks is like a drop in the ocean. There's no way you'll have damaged your liver. Unless it was 5 bottles of absinthe, in which case you'd be blind and deaf too:D

[ankietyjoe]

You'd still have to drink a LOT more than you did to cause any damage whatsoever. 5 drinks would be a mid week drink for most people in the UK, and the liver damaging side effects of your medication are likely highly overstated.

[Jonatron5]

The liver regenerates pretty quickly. At 21, 5 drinks is like a drop in the ocean. There's no way you'll have damaged your liver. Unless it was 5 bottles of absinthe, in which case you'd be blind and deaf too:D


Well I'm getting some age. I'm 23.

[Fishmanpa]

Well I'm getting some age. I'm 23.

Sorry but I had to giggle a bit at that. I'm old enough to be your father ;)

I would just cut the alcohol. What's worse, being on anxiety meds and being less anxious or recovering from hangovers?

Positive thoughts

[wilky44]

Looks like I had my beer goggles on

[MyNameIsTerry]

Looks like you've been reading about the legal cases around Cymbalta and why Eli Lilly were forced to update their warnings.

The fact is it was a complication in heavy drinkers. That's why there is now a warning against drinking beyond moderation into heavy alcohol consumption on this med but it's not exactly clear from what I recall.

---------- Post added at 01:34 ---------- Previous post was at 01:31 ----------


You'd still have to drink a LOT more than you did to cause any damage whatsoever. 5 drinks would be a mid week drink for most people in the UK, and the liver damaging side effects of your medication are likely highly overstated.

^ yeah that's true! I get the impression from the reactions on here by US members that we drink a lot more than them. I've seen it said that a few nights a week like this could be a problem yet it's an average week where I grew up! :biggrin:

[Jonatron5]

Thanks for all the support guys, all the people on here and not a single person says I even need to be remotely worried. That really easies my mind

---------- Post added at 15:10 ---------- Previous post was at 15:09 ----------

I guess I just needed to hear it from someone else

[ankietyjoe]

^ yeah that's true! I get the impression from the reactions on here by US members that we drink a lot more than them. I've seen it said that a few nights a week like this could be a problem yet it's an average week where I grew up! :biggrin:


Drinking as a habit is almost completely prevalent where I'm from now. I haven't been a drinker for years now, and I don't miss it a bit, but I think it's pretty normal for people to down a bottle of wine a night or a 4 pack.

It's just, so not good for you.

[Jonatron5]

Well I've been trying to dial back my dosage for a few years, and just operate with counseling sessions. I see the doctor in a few weeks. This might be a good idea to bring up.

[Jonatron5]

Yeah it just occurred to me. I'm only 23 and I didn't start drinking until I was 21.

So unless I was binging every night. I should be fine cymbalta or no

[Fishmanpa]

All the drug sites say to limit or not drink at all while taking Cymbalta due to exactly what you're fearing. You should speak with your doctor honestly about your alcohol consumption while taking this medication.

Positive thoughts

[Jonatron5]

Your scarring me. Like for real..... I really don't want to die....

[Mindprison]

In an ideal world we aren't supposed to drink alcohol on ANY medication. Just because the one you're on is more of a risk than others doesn't mean you're about to keel over and die after one binge session.

Unless you drank enough to give yourself alcohol poisoning and ended up in hospital you have nothing to worry about. It would be wise not to make a habit of it however.

I haven't drank for 6 years for two reasons. Firstly it gave me crippling chest pain due to my severe reflux. And then there was the fact it was amplifying the sedation from my anxiety medication which is a whole host of other problems i'd rather not deal with. It's not worth the added anxiety.

[Jonatron5]

In an ideal world we aren't supposed to drink alcohol on ANY medication. Just because the one you're on is more of a risk than others doesn't mean you're about to keel over and die after one binge session.

Unless you drank enough to give yourself alcohol poisoning and ended up in hospital you have nothing to worry about. It would be wise not to make a habit of it however.

I haven't drank for 6 years for two reasons. Firstly it gave me crippling chest pain due to my severe reflux. And then there was the fact it was amplifying the sedation from my anxiety medication which is a whole host of other problems i'd rather not deal with. It's not worth the added anxiety.


Well I've been drunk acouple times in my life. Not a lot. But I'm having panic attacks right now as to wether I'm going to have a life threatening medical complication.

[Fishmanpa]

In an ideal world we aren't supposed to drink alcohol on ANY medication. Just because the one you're on is more of a risk than others doesn't mean you're about to keel over and die after one binge session.

Unless you drank enough to give yourself alcohol poisoning and ended up in hospital you have nothing to worry about. It would be wise not to make a habit of it however.

I haven't drank for 6 years for two reasons. Firstly it gave me crippling chest pain due to my severe reflux. And then there was the fact it was amplifying the sedation from my anxiety medication which is a whole host of other problems i'd rather not deal with. It's not worth the added anxiety.

Basically that's exactly what I said but stated a bit more eloquently :) It's already been said several times that at your age and and drinking habits, it's very, very unlikely that there's any damage.

What I am saying is from here forward, take care of yourself and heed the advice. Speak to your doctor too. If you fear liver damage, it just doesn't make sense to risk the possibility but's there's more than that in this case. You're taking a med that has that potential side effect and alcohol can contribute to it (again, not a few binges or anything).. It's like someone posting about lung cancer and they smoke (pretty common here actually). Look, I take a cocktail of medications for my heart disease and cancer side effects. I LOVE good beer. Guess what? Other than a few a month which my doctor is fine with, I don't drink. Just common sense really.

Positive thoughts

[Jonatron5]

Basically that's exactly what I said but stated a bit more eloquently :) It's already been said several times that at your age and and drinking habits, it's very, very unlikely that there's any damage.

What I am saying is from here forward, take care of yourself and heed the advice. Speak to your doctor too. If you fear liver damage, it doesn't make sense to risk the possibility. You're taking a med that has the potential side effect and alcohol can contribute to it (again, not a few binges or anything).. It's like someone posting about lung cancer and they smoke (pretty common here actually).

Positive thoughts


God bless you sir. Your statement really helped my nerves. I'm done with alcohol. It's not worth the extra stress. No more. Not even a beer after work.

I just needed to know that I hadn't already destroyed my liver. I can handle making a change to be more healthy. I can't handle the idea of being powerless to something, or something that is self inflicted.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Nope, the reason this med has this warning is because of cases of heavy drinkers and liver damage.

There is NO evidence of this med being damaging to the liver below drinking and the warnings against alcohol match that of other antidepressants which doctors are fine with moderate drinking on.

It's NOT a side effect of Duloxetine, it's the impact of combining heavy levels of alcohol with the med. If it were a risk, do you think the drug companies and doctors saying it's ok to drink would open themselves to the later legal cases? That's what they found in heavy drinkers and the manufacturers had to add warnings to prevent themselves getting sued again later.

[Jonatron5]

Nope, the reason this med has this warning is because of cases of heavy drinkers and liver damage.

There is NO evidence of this med being damaging to the liver below drinking and the warnings against alcohol match that of other antidepressants which doctors are fine with moderate drinking on.

It's NOT a side effect of Duloxetine, it's the impact of combining heavy levels of alcohol with the med. If it were a risk, do you think the drug companies and doctors saying it's ok to drink would open themselves to the later legal cases? That's what they found in heavy drinkers and the manufacturers had to add warnings to prevent themselves getting sued again later.


Thanks friend. The past few days I've been sick throwing up and having diahreah. I'm certain it's from the panic attacks but it doesn't help my nerves.

I wake up in the morning feeling sick.

Not turning yellow. No yellow eyes. No abdominal discomfort. No orange urine. No white stools. That's what I have to keep telling myself. No symptoms of liver disease

[Fishmanpa]

I'm on Gabapentin for neuropathy pain. It does an Ok job but I still have pain. When I discussed it with my doctor, we talked about Lyrica or Cymbalta as an alternative. But based on my current health and meds I'm taking, we decided against it. This is from the Cymbalta side effects website (http://www.cymbalta-side-effects.com/cymbalta-and-alcohol/).

Every drug listed in the meds section warns of potential interactions when mixed with alcohol and alcohol for many, just doesn't mix well with their anxiety, meds or not. That being said, many here can navigate that without any issues. You don't see posts because they don't have any ill effects. More power to them. However, if you're posting with worries about it, then that is an issue and should be addressed with a medical professional.

Look, do what you want, just stating what's apparent. No one here thinks you suffered any damage but you're still concerned and that's the real issue. Changing your lifestyle to address your anxiety can sometimes mean making changes to your eating and drinking habits. I have gout and other real illnesses and side effects. That means foregoing many foods and beverages that could cause symptoms to flare up. Beer is one of them thus my extreme self imposed limitations. No brainer really.

Positive thoughts