Taking Prozac... but I need to drink.

[KingCrimson]

I don't have a drinking problem. Nor do I have major depression.

 

I was prescribed Prozac, an SSRI, for anxiety and obsessive thoughts. Basically, I obsess over every detail, am an over-worrier, hypochondriac, and general anxiety.

 

Add to this, I had a very ****ty year: I had 2 separate unrelated surgeries/injuries, two grandparents with cancer, a car accident in which my car was totaled, some legal troubles. Add to this I'm trying to find a new job so the added stress of updating my resume and doing interviews. And then add to this the toll this has taken on my dating life (which wasnt great to begin with before 2011 either).

 

The thought of not being able to drink while taking Prozac is giving me MORE anxiety and stress. No more going out and enjoying time with friends (which for a bunch of 20 year olds living in a big city usually revolves around drinking)? No more happy hours? No more after-ski beers? Also, one of my hobbies is brewing beer and beer tasting. There goes that...

 

Basically, I feel that taking some drug, which is supposed to help me chill out and stop stressing, is doing the opposite by taking away even more things I enjoy. I don't want to be "that guy", the odd one out not drinking. I also don't want to be out on a date, or out with friends, and get blackout drunk after a couple of beers. I want to be in control of drinking. Which means not having it when I need to work, go to the gym, be productive, etc.. But also know that I can every now and then let loose and party with my friends, or unwind after a stressful week.

 

I just started taking the drug, but I'm already panicking about what'll happen at upcoming birthday barcrawl I have coming up, and an upcoming ski cabin trip with a bunch of friends and tons of booze.

 

What should I do? Has anyone here mixed alcohol with Prozac or any other SSRI before? What are the effects? What will minimize the side effects?

Edited January 5, 2012 by KingCrimson

[carhill]

IMO, try it at home and start out light and observe the effects. If you can have a friend over, it's always more fun to have a drink with a friend Light means one beer or one glass of wine or 1 oz of 'hard' liquor.

 

Alcohol is a depressant and its effects can become stronger when taking a SSRI like Prozac.

 

Myself, if I were doing this (I have, but not with Prozac), I'd tritrate and stabilize the med first and become conversant with its effects, then experiment. I also wouldn't drink concurrently with physically taking the med rather in between dosages.

[KingCrimson]

btw, I was prescribed it a month ago, but held off on taking it so I could drink at Christmas parties, for New Years Eve, and to tailgate/drink at my old universities football Bowl game which I just went to.

 

I thought after holiday season would be a good time to give the drug a test run, but then it's Super Bowl weekend, ski season, St. patrick's day, friends' birthdays, and the upcoming city-wide Beer Week... the thought of not being able to enjoy any of these social activities is giving me an anxiety attack (keep in mind, my prior 2 surgeries effectively killed my social life for most of spring/summer. Knee surgery SUCKS).

Edited January 5, 2012 by KingCrimson

[KingCrimson]

IMO, try it at home and start out light and observe the effects. If you can have a friend over, it's always more fun to have a drink with a friend Light means one beer or one glass of wine or 1 oz of 'hard' liquor.

 

Alcohol is a depressant and its effects can become stronger when taking a SSRI like Prozac.

 

Myself, if I were doing this (I have, but not with Prozac), I'd tritrate and stabilize the med first and become conversant with its effects, then experiment. I also wouldn't drink concurrently with physically taking the med rather in between dosages.

 

What drug were you using? Was the effect similar to taking Vicodin or Nyquil and drinking? I remember after my surgery, while still taking Vicodin, I had 2 beers and felt solidly hammered. Would it be about the same?

[carhill]

You should be able to titrate up to recommended dosage in one-two weeks and get a feel for things. One or two experiments should provide you with enough feedback to parse your drinking behavior when out socializing. The important thing is to stick to what works and don't get caught up in the moment. As an example, after two G&T's or martinis, I switch to seltzer water or ginger ale. No variations. Know your limits and stick to them.

 

If you find you have an adverse reaction when drinking while taking Prozac, talk to your doctor. Most will tell you to stop drinking, but another option is trying a different med for your anxiety. Learn about your body and brain and how the meds work. Knowledge is power.

 

I'd suggest starting the Prozac today if practical. You won't know how things work until you try it out. Good luck

 

What drug were you using?

Quetiapine (Seroquel), an atypical antipsychotic. Edited January 5, 2012 by carhill

[Forever Learning]

Carhill gave great advice, give it a try. Frisky will likely have excellent insight as well.

 

My cousin was on a high dose of Prozac, along with multiple other medications. When she drank on Prozac and the other meds (whatever they were) she would black out (be awake while drunk, but then not remember her actions the next day).

 

And she did act very strangely, but she might have acted that way anyway when drunk, I'm just not sure.

 

You might try having a drink at home with a trusted friend who knows you are running an experiment of sorts. That's really the only way you will discover how your body chemistry mixes the alcohol and the Prozac.

 

Frisky will tell you Prozac is like spectacles for your mind, almost like a vitamin your mind needs to run right. I am not sure he would agree that it serves to 'chill you out' or not. Not sure on that part. Although maybe that is what Prozac will indeed do for you. If so, wonderful. Cheers!

Edited January 5, 2012 by Forever Learning

[Ross MwcFan]

I've been on anti d's for years, I've always had a drink at least once a week, and I've never felt any negative effects from it. It's been no differen't from getting drunk before I started taking meds.

[Feelin Frisky]

It is "advised" that you don't drink while taking Prozac not because the mixture is particularly dangerous or bad and I have done it for a long time with no uniquely strange results. Prozac is "transparent" to me and I don't feel it working at all. The better argument for why not to drink and take Prozac at the same time is that the benefits from Prozac are very subtle and you notice over time that you handle things better and learn how to treasure that new power and make it the tool of sustained positive growth for yourself. If you are drinking alcohol you are actually ham-stringing yourself by creating a state in which you are often out of sorts because you're hung over or otherwise in the after-math of alcohol use where you're likely to be easily disturbed or prone to procrastination. That is part of alcoholism and the cycle of dependency where you believe you need it or love it or will be deprived without it etc.

 

Taking Prozac is like putting a pair of eye-glasses on your mind (as Forver Learning mentioned) so you can discover your emotions and master the little micro-seconds between simply being bowled over by your feelings or actually choosing proportionate ones dispassionately. Trowing alcohol into the mix makes it hard for you to see the tiny gains that add up over time to where you come to really believe you're emotionally well and on a level playing field with other sane people who don't need to get pounded with alcohol every time that have a flood of feelings they don't like. Taking Prozac is a way to get in front of your feelings--alcohol is an old fashioned cave-in based upon very personal lack of belief that you CAN manage yourself. You have two things going in different directions. Prozac will still help. But alcohol is so strong and it's issues so insidious, it will win and you won't even really become emotionally "fit". This is not to say you must never drink again. You have to get "out of the life" of alcohol dependence and into the life of emotional fitness by abstaining--after which you may treat yourself to a few alcohol "outings" per year. (That's my belief. Others will be more totalitarian about it and say either you're in the alcohol life or you're not. They are right in that once you've had alcohol "claim you" in that dimension, it is very hard not to fall into patterns and cycles again where you'll drink and cause emotional "unfitness" for yourself. Good luck and expect to be patient.

Edited January 6, 2012 by Feelin Frisky

[Nikki Sahagin]

Hey KingCrimson,

 

I think you have a couple of options here.

 

You could look for an alternative method to the medication, like CBT, meditation, sport, distraction therapy. You could use these techniques and still drink.

 

Or you can just try out the pills for a bit and see what happens. You can always stop taking them if you really don't like being without alcohol. But if you can do anything else with your buddies, or party without a drink, you might notice a difference. Also alcohol is a big cause of depression and low mood. You might notice a change without it.

 

I've never mixed meds with alcohol. I think it just makes you very tired and unco-ordinated. There isn't much point taking the meds with alcohol as the beer will counteract the feel good lift of the medication and basically it wont work.

[johan]

Chances are half the people you observe when you're out partying are mixing some kind of medication with alcohol and other drugs. It seems like everyone is taking something for some kind of mood disorder. I never have, but the doctors would probably try to put me on something if I gave them a chance. Silly doctors.