Alcohol & Citalopram... Thinking of coming off..

[livukgc]

Ello people! I feel a bit stupid, dunno y like! I'm a young lad from Liverpool I used 2 hit the ale a lot - i mean heavy! Not the bottle, jus Stella an 1664 (strong lager) bu aba 8-12 cans a day. At the weekends id do tha & GO OUT!!!

I dont drink now, stopped 4 months ago (ad 2 go in a clinic detox 5 days). It feels as if its gettin worse withthe nerves n tha. They sed it wud ge worse b4 better, ok then ---> WEN??? lol!

I shud av bin on these tabs (while i was boozin) bu never took them cos 4got probably ! I have been given them now bu i am a bit scared, any1 tell me wa they r like?

Its jus tha i ge nervous an feel very anxious a lot an if these help then i will take them - I AM NOT BOOZIN (too scared)!

Sum1 pls gis sum help & advice, go ed iv sed quite a bit...

[Joellie]

Hey ive not read all the posts just your first one,

You say that your down more often than up. But you say the only time is when you drink?

I dont drink anyway so its not a problem for me, but it seems like your making a choice of drink or medication and that will only take you one place, down! I know you might not have a drinking problem so then what is the problem with not drinking? If you dont mind the downs afterwards then drink for special occasions

[bellabessnjet]

Hi,
I started on 20mg of citalopram 4 weeks no effect, dr now upped them to 40mg and just 2 days I feel a little better. re alcohol, I've cut down (or tried to) I will only have a max 3 glasses of wine at weekend. However I read on the web somewhere that although you can drink with citalopram it is better to wait a few weeks to see how the tablets effect you. It also stated that drinking a lot can effect the effectiveness of the tablets but it did not say that you should not drink. If your feeling worse it may just be other factors as well, maybe try to cut down and see if that helps or you may need your meds altering. hope this helps and good luck.

[suzy-sue]

The effects of alchohol are enhanced when on Citalopram..So it is better to be stable on your dose before you start to have the odd drink ..Too much will make you more drunk than normal ...The anxiety the next day is increased ,so best to just stick with 2-3 ,if that agrees with you ..Alchohol is a depressant and also contributes to anxiety and Panic attacks ,it really isnt a good thing to do ,But I do have the odd one myself now and again .. Sue x

[veebea]

I have to say I agree. I was only on citalopram a week as it increased my anxiety to an unbearable extent, but I went out at the end of that week, had 3 glasses of wine and ended up in such as bad way I had an ambulance called . The next 2 days were absolutely unbearable because of the anxiety. I would definately avoid alcohol if at all possible. I am on trazodone now and haven't had so much as a sip but I have a few events coming up where I know there will be drink, but I am in no rush to have any- the trazodone has made such a difference to my life, it really does allow me to deal with things so much better than I was before, and I don't want to mess with that. After feelign awful for so long, I am enjoying feeling normal again

[Joellie]

I think its a good thing though, not being able to have a drink. Im biased as i know for sure you can have fun without alcohol (i dont drink) i just wouldnt want to see anyone giving up on a medication because they want to drink alcohol! Theres plenty of time for alcohol and drinking but i think that its important to take care of our bodies (and minds) NOW and alcohol isnt great for our bodies and in the case of anxiety and depression its not good for our minds either. You could always just wait untill you feel better anxiety/panic/depression wise and then drink once youve successfully come off whatever meds your taking.

[hazy]

Hi,

I'm pretty new to these forums but saw the threads on Citalopram and had to reply. I was prescibed them about 2 months ago and for the first 3 or so weeks the side affects were hurrendous, my panic attacks were tenfold and I had horrible cold sweats felt shakey and paranoid, it was awfull, I went back to the Doc who just advised I stick with it and I did. I soon turned a corner and can say that all is well.

Last night I went round to a friends as she was holding a children's book party "Usbourne Books", I haven't drank anything since being on the 20mg a day Citalopram as to be honest I have been scared to as I had heard they can have quite a detrimental affect. I rarey drink as it just doesn't float my boat anymore, can't stand feeling rough the next day etc so like I say I barely drink now. Anyway last night I had 3 large glasses of white wine and lemonade, I felt quite tipsy by the end of my third. Today has been a bad day, I have felt very panickey and tight chested and have even taken earlier, a Proprananol to calm me down, after reading everyones posts I am assuming it was down to this wine that I had last night, I just hope I feel better tomorrow, its amazing, when you feel well you forget to a certain degree how it feels to have a panic attack and then when you get one its hurrendous. But surely 3 glasses of wine can't make me still feel bad after nearly 24 hours?? Any thoughts?

[auricula]

Hi Ive been on Citalopram 40mg for 2 months now, I find I feel anxious and low in mood next day with beer, but a couple of glasses of wine is fine, I am also one of the lucky ones that is able to sleep well on ctp

[ian-kendal]

Hi, I have been using citalopram for 6 months. Alcohol in its self a depressant and whilst does not directly interact with this drug. The reason citalopram is used instead of other seratonin uptake inhibitors is because of this linear interactivity with other chemical substances. However alcohol as a depressant will lower the effects by balancing out the "up" feeling of the citalopram.

Alcohol can also increase the side effects, some of which are not noticeable until a drink is taken, the key ones nausia, trembling, headaches, fatigue, drowsiness, dry mouth, increased sweating ( standard hangover symptoms ).

It is likely the ill feeling that you describe is due to side effects that you don't really notice normally because they are minor interacting with hangover effects and multiplying.

I do drink with this drug, however I tend to miss a dosage on the morning I intend to drink. Citalopram has a reasonably long half life in the body and remains in the system for days, missing one dosage will not have a drastic affect on how up or down you feel. This way you won't feel quite so bad the day after alcohol and only have minor impact on your medication. Do not miss more than one day. I of course can not tell you to do this, it works for me, it's your choice.

As an aside to this due to Citaloprams half life in the body, withdrawal symptoms can be quite bad when you try an stop completely, the following is guide lines given to U.S. doctors (but not British). (Celexa is U.S. name for Citalopram).
"Tapering off citalopram therapy, as opposed to abrupt discontinuation, is recommended in order to diminish the occurrence and severity of discontinuation symptoms. Some doctors may choose to switch a patient to Prozac (Fluoxetine) when discontinuing Celexa as Prozac has a much longer half-life (i.e. stays in the body longer compared to Celexa). This may avoid many of the severe withdrawal symptoms associated with Celexa discontinuation. This can be done either by administering a single 20 mg dose of Prozac or by beginning on a low dosage of Prozac and slowly tapering down. Either of these prescriptions may be written in liquid form to allow a very slow and gradual tapering down in dosage. Alternatively, a patient wishing to stop taking Celexa may visit a compounding pharmacy where his or her prescription may be re-arranged into progressively smaller dosages. The lowest dose of celexa that can normally be prescribed is 20 mg capsules; a compounding pharmacist may divide this into doses of 20, 15, 10, 5 and 2.5 mg so that a proper tapered reduction may take place."

Hope this helps!
Ian

[just]

Hi,

I'm sixteen and my doctor just perscribed be 20mg of citalopram. I've got an alcohol problem and I don't have a clue how I'm going to stop drinking. I was wondering if anyone knew if there were any drugs similar to citalopram which you could take with alcohol?