I used to have a couple drinks daily. After taking Lexapro for a week, I had three beers and woke up the next day so sick, I had to go to the Emergency Room. I was dehydrated. Since then I have tried to drink a beer a day and can't do it. I wake up with lower back pain, can't get out of bed and I sweat alot! My BP is now 150/85 and I can't sleep. I'm tired of this drug. I was prescribed to treat anxiety caused by PTSD. I have also lost 10lbs which has been the only good side effect. I also pee more frequently at night.
As it says in the leaftlet with Lexapro - alcohol and it mixed shouldn't make a difference....so booze away. Atlhough I'm sure that it being a stimulant of sorts and alcohol being a depressant they're contra-effective (is that a word?). I've been on Lexapro for 2 weeks now for anxiety and a bit of depression . Yeah I cannot sleep at all. Getting about 2 hrs a night if that...and am still to feel any better :-(
Does anyone out there recommend to stick with it or should I start quitting it. Help!
Does anyone out there recommend to stick with it or should I start quitting it. Help!
I take 20mg of Lexapro daily. I have gona out drinking with friends and after only a couple drinks, i am hammered and i black out - which has led to some very scary experiences. So be very carefull of how much you drink while taking it.
I recently started taking Lex again and now have problems staying asleep. I did not have this side effect the first time I took it. It seems if I have a couple drinks I sleep better. I still wake up but don't have as hard of a time getting back to sleep. Has anyone had this reaction?
I had a weird reaction too. After 8 beers I was stone sober. I did get the hangover headache after a few hours though.
I took Zoloft and Lexapro (at different times) for almost 18mos. I did continuue my normal drinking sessions throughout..I now no longer take either. I am also on 7 other meds as a cocktail to deal with BC med side effects. So several of the ohter meds I take in combo can produce lower blood pressure, so i have to watch my consumption.
I really think you have to gauge your body's reaction to the meds with their cocktails. Every individual is different.
Leener3boys
I really think you have to gauge your body's reaction to the meds with their cocktails. Every individual is different.
Leener3boys
I was on lexapro for two years and noticed no ill effects from drinking alcohol.
A doctor told me not to drink alcohol when taking Lexapro because both metabolize in the liver. Therefore having one drink is the equivalent to having two drinks when taking the Lexapro and so on. The doctor said this would cause liver damage. Is the doctor correct?
I have been on lexapro for a few months and went out drinking the other night. I got violently ill from 4 drinks. I blacked out and threw up so much they almost took me to the ER. I would be VERY careful while on this medication. I take 20mg. I used to be able to hold my liquor, but not while on this med. I learned my lesson, and I made the decision to not drink at ALL. I'm lucky I didn't die. The label on the side of the bottle is there for a reason. I wish I would have taken it more seriously. Save yourself the embarrassment of throwing up all over everybody and the black outs. It just isn't worth it!
I've actually been wondering the same thing. I've been on Lexapro for two+ years and partake in moderate alcohol consumption, but haven't had any adverse effects with the combination. I know my prescription says not to drink, but it's hard to give up the social aspect of having a few drinks now and then. Could I be doing damage to my body over time by mixing the two?
I found out the hard way that lexapro & alcohol can cause a black out. I had 3 glasses of wine over 4 hours time. The next day my boyfriend asked me about the conversation I had with a stranger at the bar. I had no recollection of it whatsoever. I remembered most of the evening and going home but part of the time was lost. He also told me I kept repeating myself, I told him the same thing 3 times about a class I had started.
The experience was scary and potentially dangerous. This isn't mentioned on the drug information sheet I get from the pharmacist.
The experience was scary and potentially dangerous. This isn't mentioned on the drug information sheet I get from the pharmacist.
I've been on Lexapro for a year and have always loved to go for a few drinks to unwind. My doctor put me on it for depression and didn't provide any warnings about side effects (and there are plenty).
So i can report 1st hand: The effects of alcohol are seriously intensified. Up to 4 or 5 drinks you may feel absolutely great - however all of sudden you will find yourself vomiting - there is no warning signs. So a couple of times i've vomited right where i happen to be standing - (very embarrassing).
I have also frequently been unable to remember large parts of an evening where I have mixed alcohol with Lexapro - which is of course extremely dangerous.
As soon as these effects became apparent I started to get a friend to pick me up EARLY whenever there are organised drinks or parties. Or not drink or not go at all. That's really all you can do.
So i can report 1st hand: The effects of alcohol are seriously intensified. Up to 4 or 5 drinks you may feel absolutely great - however all of sudden you will find yourself vomiting - there is no warning signs. So a couple of times i've vomited right where i happen to be standing - (very embarrassing).
I have also frequently been unable to remember large parts of an evening where I have mixed alcohol with Lexapro - which is of course extremely dangerous.
As soon as these effects became apparent I started to get a friend to pick me up EARLY whenever there are organised drinks or parties. Or not drink or not go at all. That's really all you can do.
I had been on Lexapro for almost two weeks when my husband and I went out for dinner on a Friday evening. We each had a couple drinks before dinner, two glasses of wine while we ate, and then each had three additional drinks while visiting with friends afterward.
On the way home the yellow lines at the center of the road, and the white lines on the edges of the road turned off, and took the road in front of us, in what ever direction I looked. If I looked off into a field, the road veered that way. If I looked at a building on the side of the road or looked at a tree, the road took us in a collision course with the object. At first I thought something was wrong with my no-line bifocals. As I lifted them up to peer under the lenses, I told my husband that I thought something was wrong. It only took a fraction of a second for me to realize that my glasses were not the problem. I ask my husband to stop the car. When he didn't respond immediately, I started to scream uncontrollably for him to "PLEASE STOP THE CAR!" He started applying the breaks, but not fast enough to please me. I started to open my door and told him I was going to jump out of the car. I actually got my door partially open, and know that I would have jumped out if my husband hadn't been quick enough, and strong enough to stop me.
My husband and I are both in our sixties, and have been going out to dinner and consuming the same amount of drinks once every other week, for over thrityfive years, and NEVER, NEVER..., have I EVER, had anything like this happen before!
After my husband got our car stopped, I totally fell apart and proceeded to have what I believe is referred to, as a panic attack. It took my husband close to an hour to calm me down enough, to get me back into our car, so we could drive the additional two miles we needed to travel to get to our home.
I vividly remember everything. When I think about that evening, I still
can see the crispness of the yellow and white lines on the road and
see us headed for a collision course with trees, a house, and a barn, fence posts, barb wire, ditch banks....
What I was seeing was real to me, and nothing my husband was saying to the contrary, could either console me, or convince me that what I was seeing, was not real.
I believe that I am very lucky to have survived that six mile drive home. I could have caused my husband to loose control of the car. If I would have managed to jump out of the car, I doubt that I'd be shearing my story with any one.
I never got sick. Never had a single hangover symptom after we got home or the next day. All I can say is that I obviously must have been temporarily insane, or took a trip away from reality, or what ever you'd like to call it. It's been a month since that happened, and every time I go by that spot, where we pulled off to the side of the road, I remember everything that happened all over again, and I start to feel the panic again. At the time it was happening, what I saw was real. It's still hard
for me to believe anything like that could happen.
Lexapro and drinking may not effect everyone the way it effected me, but
if you are new to the drug, PLEASE BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL!!!
Hopefully I will snap out of my first bout with deprssion, soon, so my doctor can take me off this drug. Until then, I will not be drinking any thing with alcohol in it. I DON'T EVER WANT TO EXPERIENCE ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN!!!!
On the way home the yellow lines at the center of the road, and the white lines on the edges of the road turned off, and took the road in front of us, in what ever direction I looked. If I looked off into a field, the road veered that way. If I looked at a building on the side of the road or looked at a tree, the road took us in a collision course with the object. At first I thought something was wrong with my no-line bifocals. As I lifted them up to peer under the lenses, I told my husband that I thought something was wrong. It only took a fraction of a second for me to realize that my glasses were not the problem. I ask my husband to stop the car. When he didn't respond immediately, I started to scream uncontrollably for him to "PLEASE STOP THE CAR!" He started applying the breaks, but not fast enough to please me. I started to open my door and told him I was going to jump out of the car. I actually got my door partially open, and know that I would have jumped out if my husband hadn't been quick enough, and strong enough to stop me.
My husband and I are both in our sixties, and have been going out to dinner and consuming the same amount of drinks once every other week, for over thrityfive years, and NEVER, NEVER..., have I EVER, had anything like this happen before!
After my husband got our car stopped, I totally fell apart and proceeded to have what I believe is referred to, as a panic attack. It took my husband close to an hour to calm me down enough, to get me back into our car, so we could drive the additional two miles we needed to travel to get to our home.
I vividly remember everything. When I think about that evening, I still
can see the crispness of the yellow and white lines on the road and
see us headed for a collision course with trees, a house, and a barn, fence posts, barb wire, ditch banks....
What I was seeing was real to me, and nothing my husband was saying to the contrary, could either console me, or convince me that what I was seeing, was not real.
I believe that I am very lucky to have survived that six mile drive home. I could have caused my husband to loose control of the car. If I would have managed to jump out of the car, I doubt that I'd be shearing my story with any one.
I never got sick. Never had a single hangover symptom after we got home or the next day. All I can say is that I obviously must have been temporarily insane, or took a trip away from reality, or what ever you'd like to call it. It's been a month since that happened, and every time I go by that spot, where we pulled off to the side of the road, I remember everything that happened all over again, and I start to feel the panic again. At the time it was happening, what I saw was real. It's still hard
for me to believe anything like that could happen.
Lexapro and drinking may not effect everyone the way it effected me, but
if you are new to the drug, PLEASE BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL!!!
Hopefully I will snap out of my first bout with deprssion, soon, so my doctor can take me off this drug. Until then, I will not be drinking any thing with alcohol in it. I DON'T EVER WANT TO EXPERIENCE ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN!!!!
I never blacked out before Lexapro. I used to be able to drink more than a glass or two. I periodically quit taking Lexapro and my tolerance to alcohol comes back and so does being able to remember. I get buzzed very quick when I'm taking my Lexapro and I get depressed the next day. The scariest part is the blackouts. Although people say I act normal its still weird.
There is a huge amount of reports from people on Lexapro experiencing blackouts with alcohol. I have been on the drug for 2 years and last night was the first experience I have had of a blackout. I am going to suggest that perhaps it is not the alcohol but in fact a preservative found in certain alcoholic beverages that does it, because last night I tried a totally different wine to my usual drop, and can't remember anything after that.