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 Posted: 12/28/07 - 17:19 Post subject: cymbalta and drinking |
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| To those of you who posted about your alcohol use and cymbalta...please STOP drinking if you are on Cymbalta. My son was on it and he also increased his alcohol use within weeks of starting cymbalta. He started having blackouts, tremors, went into rages, could not sleep and ultimately attempted suicide. Alcohol and cymbalta DO not mix...never mind what it does to your liver. PLEASE seek help, whether through AA (my son did and is doing wonderfully now), a good therapist, a minister, a friend. Drinking is a symptom of something else going on....and most likely if you are on cymbalta (or any other antidepressant) and drinking your life will NOT get better. You need professional help. YOU are worth it and LIFE is worth it. PLEASE do not continue down this path. |
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gusalanwilson
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| Posted: 01/09/08 - 13:15 Post subject: alcohol consumption and Cymbalta |
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| I just got back from the doctor because I thought I was becoming an alcoholic. My family is really worried about me. He changed my dosage from one 60 mg capsule a day to two 30 mg capsules. This should fix the craving. I certainly hope so. I thought I was totally losing it. I would drink and drink and and black out and feel absolutely great in the morning. But I never knew what I did the day before. I was scary.Cymbalta is working great for everything else. |
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Jupiter09
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| Posted: 02/02/08 - 22:43 Post subject: Re: cybalta and alchohol |
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| timzamoviemaker wrote: | So here is my story. Last weekend I was drinking with the girlfriend and yada yada yada drank too much and couldn't stop, we go back to her place and pass out. I wake up in the middle of the night and she is smacking me on my back. I was pissing on her floor in my sleep! I am very very concerned about my behavior, but its been hard for me to control the alcohol intake.
I agree with everyone here. I'll have a couple and then have to drink all night long without stopping, blacking out and not remembering much. And before I didn't want to drink that much. |
Wow. Thank you for being honest on this forum. I've done equally embarrassing things and it's good (although a little sad) to know I'm not alone. It's hard to believe that there are so many of us experiencing this same awful alcohol/Cymbalta reaction. I was completely sober for over 2 years before I started taking Cymbalta. Alcoholism runs in my family on both sides, so I knew I was headed for destruction if I didn't quit. But once I'd been on the drug for a few months, my sobriety didn't seem to matter anymore. Or the alcoholism history. Nothing really did. But I figured if I was that depressed ON Cymbalta, I'd definitely be in the tub with a knife without it.
I've been on Cymbalta now for a couple of years, and my drinking has gotten out of control. I black out 99% of the times I drink ... and sometimes without having consumed very much. These posts have really helped me make the connection and admit that Cymbalta and alcohol DO NOT MIX. I mean, it says on the bottle "may cause drowsiness or dizziness, especially when mixed with alcohol" but it does NOT say "Do NOT drink while taking this medication." Which really ticks me off now that I'm reading these posts.
I've done a lot of stupid stuff in the last six months. Thank God I have an awesome boyfriend that knows about and understands my depression. I've put him through a nightmare. Inspired by timzamoviemaker, I'm going to share a few things that I've done under the influence in case anyone else out there is reading this post and has done the same things, but felt they were too embarrassing to share.
1. I went to a happy hour with a few colleagues. I had a few beers (I've sworn off mixed drinks and shots... beer and wine only). I remember most people leaving and deciding I wanted to stay awhile to sober up. I was up there alone with a colleague who stayed behind and convinced me to have a few more beers. I blacked out. I remember flashes of the night. When I woke up in the morning, I thought back through and realized the truth. I'd gone home with a colleague and had sex with him. This is so ridiculously out of character for me. The truth sunk in and I started vomiting. I couldn't believe it. I didn't remember getting that drunk. And I was totally in love with my long time boyfriend. I felt like a completely crazy idiot. The "how could you be so STUPID?!!!" phrase bounced around in my head for weeks until another night of blacking out when I confessed what had happened to my boyfriend. I didn't even realize I'd done THAT until I woke up and saw how upset he was. My heart sank. We worked through it, but - as you can imagine - it has not been easy. For awhile I was wondering if I had been drugged, but this was not the only thing happening.
2. I have wet the bed and peed on the floor more than once.
3. I have slapped someone across the face repeatedly and not remembered until I was told the next day.
4. I've told my boyfriend I hated him and have broken up with him and not remembered.
5. I have bitten my boyfriend's arms during a drunken rendezvous so hard that the bruises lasted for several weeks. I usually don't ever remember having sex with him if I've been drinking. I just find out it happened when he brings it up the next day.
And finally, the reason why I searched for and (luckily) found this forum was inspired by something that happened last night.
I was drinking a pretty heavily last night. I don't know why. I've seen what it does to me and I know I'll black out, but those "couple of beers" I swear I'll limit myself to always turn into 8-10 beers before I realize I've done it.
Anyway, I remember going to the bar. I remember coming home. I remember taking off my necklace, getting undressed and curling up in bed. That's it. I woke up at around 3 am with the munchies and went and grabbed a handful of chips from the kitchen pantry. When I came back to the living room, my boyfriend was sitting on the edge of the couch and he looked really worried. I offered him some chips. He turned me down. I asked him what was wrong and he revealed what I had ACTUALLY done once we got home.
Apparently, we were sitting on the couch, having a beer and I freaked out on him. I yelled "You don't even GET me!!!" and started throwing things across the room. The stuff that was on the coffee table went in every direction. Luckily, nothing important broke. Then I got up and stormed across the room and shouted "I HATE MY f@#$^&* LIFE" before falling to the ground and putting every ounce of my vocal cords into what he described as a blood curdling primal scream. He said I was kicking and punching the ground before I curled up into a ball on the floor crying. It scared the hell out of him. But he stayed with me and held me put me on the couch under a blanket.
Hearing the story scared me to death. I didn't remember a single flash of it. Not one single frame from that horror movie. I cried and cried and he held me and told me he knew that wasn't me talking, but he also knows there's something going on with me. I know I have a lot of issues going on (that's why we TAKE frikkin Cymbalta to begin with, right?!?!) but hearing these stories is making it clear that the drug absolutely CANNOT be mixed with alcohol. Not even in moderation ... because moderation doesn't exist when you're taking the drug. |
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| Posted: 02/26/08 - 03:04 Post subject: a drug not worth taking |
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| this drug is hardly an antidepressant...just makes the person sleep, if anything the side effects it causes the user just depresses the loved ones in that person's life |
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Juliejabs
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| Posted: 03/20/08 - 12:26 Post subject: Drinking with Cymbalta |
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| Wow...I thought I just drank a lot! I have been on this for almost 6 years now and I want off! I also just don't stop drinking or not realize HOW much i'm drinking. Also, my "hangovers" are at least a full day maybe 2 to recover. It is so bad that my family makes fun of me saying I have "the Julie Flu" after drinking..HmmmI never even really questioned this medicine, but now I am seeing these websites....kind of scary! |
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| Posted: 03/23/08 - 22:45 Post subject: Anyone had success getting off Cymbalta? I need help. |
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| I am 44 yr old male. Going crazy trying to get off Cymbalta, Till about 4 years ago, I thought I was bullet proof, lived in a bad marriage, lost a child, divorce...Thats how I ended up here, I have been put on Lexapro, then lots of BP pills, then Tramadol, Hydrocodone for bad knee joints, then they switched me off Lexapro to Cymbalta, the stoned feeling was better than depression but I had no motivation anymore. I quit my job of 22 years. Last week doc that checks my thyroid condition said to save you some money lets take you off Cymbalta and put you on 300mg of generic Welbutrin today. The 1st day I had SO MUCH ENERGY. I thought, wow I am human again, 2nd day I thought I had the stomach flu and third day I cried a little, paced a lot, wished I was dead, stayed in the bathroom and worried my 2nd wife to death. That night I took Cymbalta again, to heck with the generic Welbutrin. Wanted to see if anyone has been able to stop taking Cymbalta and how you did it. Please write back if you can, Thanks Bill |
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sfrkby
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| Posted: 03/24/08 - 04:38 Post subject: cymbalta and drinking |
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| I have been taking Cymbalta for 3 years. Prior to taking this med, I could have a few beers or a glass of wine and be finished for the night. Within the last few years, I had progressed to the point of drinking when I wake up in the morning. I have been in the doctor's office being labeled an alcoholic, being told to go to AA meetings. What an idiot I am! Did I not think to question the meds I am on, that I didn't have this pattern before I started taking this depression shit! I am currently titrating myself off the Cymbalta, and-guess what- have no desire to drink anymore. I would also advise people using this medication that it will help with their depression, but also mask any ability to feel elation, which also adds to the depressive state. Change jobs, mates, exercise, or find a hobby, before resorting to this medication, please. |
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| Posted: 03/30/08 - 22:15 Post subject: about to leave my husband |
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| I am so glad I found this site. My husband started taking Cymbalta about 2 yrs ago. He has constant pain from a condion called chiari malformation. He has always liked to drink, but normally it was under control, and he did not drink and drive. His drinking now is so out of control, that after 20 yrs of marriage, I am considering leaving him. He does not remember anything the next day, and when he is drinking, he acts so stupid I cannot stand to be around him. He drinks everyday, and the weekends are are a free for all. I have warned him, and he has slowed some, but it's like he cannot control it, even though I told him I will leave and he knows he cannot live without me. I do everything for him, he's never even paid a bill! I started thinking when did all of this start? And I came up with the time he started Cymbalta! He never thinks he is drunk. That's what drives me crazy!! Then he will lay on the couch the entire next day. This is also out of character for him. I don't know how much more I can take! I even bought a breathalyzer machine to convince him when he is drunk, but even after blowing a .23 he says he is NOT drunk and the machine does not work right! I will try to convince him that he needs to get off the Cymbalta, which should not be hard, because he hates taking pills, and wait and see if the drinking gets any better. Before Cymbalta, even if he got drunk, he did not act the way he does now. There have also been a lot of embarrasing moments that I won't get into. Thank you for being so open, this has really helped me. |
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| Posted: 04/23/08 - 22:49 Post subject: Increased alcohol use on Cymbalta |
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| Finding these postings has restored my sanity and happiness! Over the past 1 1/2 -2 years I have gradually increased Cymbalta to 90mg per day, combined with 450mg Welbutrin in an effort to combat depression. Over the past year(ish) my alcohol consumption changed from Pina Coladas on beach vacations or summertime parties into what I can only describle as an insatiable craving. It got so frightening that I began regularly attending AA meetings. When I searched alcohol & Cymbalta to research possible liver damage, I was amazed and beyond grateful to learn that it was the Cymbalta causing my "Alcoholism!" With the approval of my psychiatrist, I went off Cymbalta cold turkey and, thankfully, only experienced periodic "brain floatiness" and diahrea for about 2-3 weeks. This was a small price to pay and ANYTHING is better than believing that alcoholism was my future! I have tested the cause and effect out by having a drink without Cymbalta and I am almost back to myself--preferring a delicious dessert to an alcoholic drink any day of the week! It is so wonderful to know that there was a reason for the out of control drinking and I just hope that this information is made available to anyone being prescribed Cymbalta. While I do believe that antidepressants can change, and, even save, a person's life in many instances, any medication that causes such devastating side effects such as "faux" alcoholism does more harm than good. Good luck to everyone dealing with this issue--and remember that the good news seems to be--lose the Cymbalta and you lose the problem drinking. Anyway, that is how it worked for me! |
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| Posted: 04/26/08 - 10:11 Post subject: Alcohol consumption and Cymbalta |
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| I have been on Cymbalta for four years and Prosac before that. As an entertaibner, I have always consumed more than my fair share of alcohol but it has never presented a problem (no DUIs. job loss, black outs, etc.). My spouse will protest that I drink too much too frequently but I honestly cannot make a connection between Cymbalta and my drinking. |
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