Increased alcohol use on Cymbalta

I am a bit relieved to see that there are allot of other people dealing with this very issue. I've been on cybalta for 7 months now and about 4 months ago my drinking began to get out of control and I have done several rather embarassing things while under the influence (or atleast people tell me what I did the next day).

I will share a couple of them with you, don't know if this has happened to anyone else but its embarrasing. And this has only started happening in the last couple of months, post cymbalta, I was never this bad of a drunk.

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.

I have just stop taking Cymbalta for the reasons this thread is pointing out. It is not effective for me and the drinking has lead to blackouts. I am not talking about a fifth of Jack Daniels a night but three beers.

My question is does anyone know were I can read a scientific study, not testimonials, why this is occuring? Is there something in the chemical make up of Cymbalta that is preventing the working of the liver to normally detox the alcohol i.e. are the chemicals in Cymbalta blocking this process. If anyone can send a link from a medical journal or medical report explaing if there is a correalation, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

I just had the same thing happen and it is so not like me. I have completely sworn off alcohol also.

I cannot believe what I am reading! I am weaning off Cymbalta at the moment and switching to Wellbutrin. My physician prescribed Wellbutrin because I am going to be trying to have a baby in the next year or two and that is supposedly the safest. But I was considering taking the two together until I really started trying, but after what I'm reading, I want to go off Cymbalta all together. I have never had an alcohol problem like I've had in the last two years. I started Cymbalta in graduate school secondary to severe depression, agitation and migraine headaches. I thought it was a miracle! However, my fatigue increased 100% and I started drinking like nobody's business.
I have had blood tests done and seen multiple doctors to try and figure out why I have these issues. Now I know. I am at the point where I drink almost a bottle of wine a night and feel nothing. But in the morning, I pay for it. So just know that you guys are not alone. I thought I was becoming an alcoholic, because it runs in my family. I hope as I wean off Cymbalta (60 mg) and take Wellbutrin, things even out.

I have always enjoyed a couple of drinks but since going on cymbalta, I am out of control. At first I thought that I was unhappy with my job, gastric bypass surgery, etc. A couple of months ago, the doctor increased the dosage and I got out of control. I was drunk literilly every night. It didn't matter what the alcohol was, I drank it. I was also put on darvoset for arm pain and would take two with a beer. Last week I found this website and sat at my computer in tears reading it. It was like everyone was talking about me! I went off cold turkey and am now going to a massage therapist who is working on my liver. I have good days and real bad ones. The headaches are the pits but I have basically stopped drinking. Thank to all of you for being honest. You may have saved my life.[/enc]

I have been taking Cymbalta 30mg for over a year now. I started taking it for job related stress. It has helped tremendously. And I never felt many side effects at all. Well none that I knew of. Anyway my work offered a pilot obesity program. I have been on this for about 6 months and I feel great. I have lost over 30 pounds and I am in the best shape I have ever been. My job was going great so I went to my Doctor and asked him to help me get off of Cymbalta. All the working out I was doing would help with stress.

He put me on 20mg and told me to take it for two weeks, then drop down to every other day. Before all of that I have begin to drink heavily. For me. I have only been a social drinker. I went from that to buying a 12 pack of beer every two days. My husband was getting very worried and pissed off. Alcoholism runs in both of our families. I couldn't figure out what the hell I was doing. I was so worried about how much I was drinking. I started seeing a psychologist, who thought I might just be going through a phase. Deep down I didn't think so, but I really never shared that.

After I was almost at my two week point of 20mg, I noticed I started losing interest in drinking and I havent been barely drinking. I am at the every other day mark. My withdrawal symptoms from the Cymbalta are hell. I hope I can get though it. But I wouldnt trade it for the drinking I was doing. I am so thankful for stumbling on this web site. I nearly cried.

:-D
Hi All, Well, the cold turkey has been hell but the worst is over. I am taking vitamins and dramine for the head rushes. I don't think that I would recommend this to everyone but for me, my life has always been "all or nothing at all". Don't give up. Talk to your doctor and bring this web-site to him or her. I am sure that this problem is not well known so I shout it from the rooftops. If I can save one person from what I have been thru, it was all worth it. I have filed a complaint with the FDA about this. I don't know how far it will go, but I feel better being on record.
Keep the faith and don't forget:YOU ARE NOT ALONE. :

oh yes....
i'm glad i found you guys.i began taking cymbalta about 3 months ago.after about 4 days my depression returned and i still had anticipitating panic attacks.instead of taking me off the cymbalta,my dr. uped it from 30 mgs to 60mgs and added wellbutrin.for the first time in my life ,i found myself taking an extra slug of alcohol here and there.
when we went out to dinner ,it was like i couldn't get enough...as the months progressed i began drinking more and more.eventually i started to black out.this again ,it never happened before.this last time ,i was completely out of controll,i punched my boyfriend in the eye and gave him a black eye,and i am full of bruises.he said i said vile things .it was like i just snapped.I don't remember a thing and my relationship is dangling(of course).the onset of theses blackouts about 2 months ago.about one month after starting cymbalta .
my dr. should have taken me off the drug after the first couple days after i complained of feeling worse instead of upping the dose and adding wellbutrin to soothe the effects.i have taken effexor in the past for many years around 3 or 4 and never experienced anything as horrendous and dangerous as this.i am now off both cymbalta and wellbutrin and only on effexor .ill be back in a couple weeks when i test my ability to have a cocktail without turning into a homicidal maniac...(i hope anyways!)
don't read internet withdrawals about cymbalta.it will scare you to death.i was on 60 mgs and felt NO TRANSITION onto effexor...

I find that both Lexapro and Cymbalta make me drink more - actually I get so wired from both, especially at the beginning, that sometimes I find alcohol helps ease it. It's weird, however, to hear that it increases your hangover. For me (well I take a thing called Chaser whenever I drink anyway) I find that when I have a hangover I take Cymbalta and it helps alleviate it. But then I have only been on Cymbalta for a few months and it seems its effect is wearing off anyway just like the Lexapro; I don't get the same dizziness I used to get, but I also am more depressed. I am bipolar and "tip" really easily, so I may be in a different category, but I'm glad to see the discussion!!

i've been on cymbalta for about 4 months and i've noticed a huge increase in the amount of alcohol i consume. i used to be on wellbutrin and never had this problem. As many others have said, once i start drinking i'm not able to stop and end up with terrible hangovers in the morning. i've stopped taking the cymbalta 3 weeks ago and have noticed that my urge to drink has decreased significantly. i'm going to ask my doc to put me back on the wellbutrin. that didn't have the same effect and also doesn't cause the sexual side effects that i'm experiencing on the cymbalta.

hope this helps. thanks for everyone's posts.B

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.

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.

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 id**t. 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*****g 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.

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

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!