Depression can be tough to battle and get under control. There’s just a wide range of effects that depression causes, from being mentally tired to being unable to fall asleep due to uncontrollable mood swings. It can almost feel like you can’t get anything done as you try and come to terms with how you’re feeling and thinking.
Medication can really help with soothing your mood and emotions, sleeping a little easier at night, and bringing back your concentration. However, it’s important to note what you can consume while on these antidepressants and the potential repercussions of it. Keep reading to find out about what happens when Prozac and alcohol are taken together.
What Is Prozac and What Is It Used For?
Prozac, also generically referred to as Fluoxetine, is a well-known antidepressant prescribed to countless patients in America to help control the symptoms of depression. Not only does it help in managing those symptoms, but it also aims to help increase serotonin. Serotonin is the happy hormone that helps optimize your mood and well-being.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors like Prozac are popular amongst the types of antidepressants prescribed to people with depression. However, SSRIs are also administered to people experiencing bipolar disorder, anxiety and panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or eating disorders like bulimia.
Prozac is usually taken in conjunction with cognitive behavioral therapy or psychotherapy in order to work through the bouts of depression and improve one’s mental health condition. Patients taking Prozac should be mindful and avoid the potential abuse of this drug. A majority usually resort to taking Prozac with alcohol or different prescriptions of the same drug.
What Is Alcohol and What Is It Used For?
Drinking alcohol involves the consumption of beer, wine, and other forms of liquor. Many believe consuming alcohol can cause a lot of harm, but there are a few health benefits with certain types of alcohol when taken in moderate amounts at a time. For example, wine can aid the heart’s health and blood sugar regulation.
Social drinking once in a while isn’t taboo. However, when ingested in copious amounts and in a long span of time, alcohol can cause addiction and intoxication. It can also assist the development of other serious problems concerning the liver, kidney, digestive system, and more.
This is why children and pregnant women are discouraged and prohibited from consuming alcohol. For children, it can affect their central nervous system. For women undergoing pregnancy, it can affect the baby’s development. Drinking alcohol has also been noted to hinder women trying to conceive.
Aside from that, another group instructed to avoid drinking alcohol are people who are taking medication. A majority of drugs don’t bode well when mixed with alcohol, causing a number and range of severe physical and mental effects. Consult a doctor to know whether you can drink with your current prescription beforehand.
What Is the Danger of Mixing Prozac and Alcohol?
SSRIs like Prozac aren’t necessarily addictive in nature, but they can provide a high and set of effects that patients may tend to search for even after stopping medication. Mixing with alcohol usually means that the impact, depending on the dosage of both drugs, is drastically upscaled. They can amplify each other’s side effects to quite a worrying extent.
One key symptom of having Prozac and alcohol together is a feeling of being constantly drowsy. This sudden sleepiness can inhibit a person’s actions and decision-making for a certain period of time.
Other dangers of mixing Prozac and alcohol also include:
- Being Disoriented. A person who has consumed both Prozac and alcohol can feel extremely dizzy and lightheaded, inevitably finding it challenging to walk and feeling tired right away. They’re also more sensitive to bright lights and loud noises compared to their state prior to Prozac and alcohol.
- Unable to Talk Coherently. Some people may find that they have difficulty speaking as their words are slurred together and harder to understand. Drowsiness can really be a hindrance to speaking as one usually would.
- Addiction. Prozac and alcohol create a pleasurable layer of experience in conjunction with all the adverse physical effects it causes. People who have mixed Prozac and alcohol are likely to repeat the process to have that high again.
- Anxiety. Although it can alleviate one’s mood for a bit, Prozac and alcohol can actually worsen the symptoms of anxiety and depression in the long run. A patient may feel like they are dependent on taking the two drugs together, causing panic and intrusive thoughts if they’re unable to consume both.
- Overdose. Because a person repeatedly takes Prozac and drinks alcohol together, there is an increased chance of overdose. The effects of these can be fatal, with death as the worst-case scenario.
- Blackout. Some people tend to have memory lapses or lose consciousness when they try to recall their time while consuming Prozac and alcohol. This blackout can be a bit dangerous as a patient cannot recall what occurred the night before.
- Impaired Vision. Many may feel delirious after taking Prozac and alcohol, leading to a blurred or poor vision for a few moments.
- Heart Damage. A mix of Prozac and alcohol can be worrying for the heart as both components are known to affect a person’s heart rate and blood pressure.
- Digestive Problems. Prozac can intensify the kidney and liver problems that alcohol can incite in a person.
What Are the Side Effects of Prozac?
Prozac prescriptions are in little amounts depending on what a doctor feels fit for a patient. The standard amount is just 10mg, but it can be raised as high as 80mg, depending on the severity of a person’s symptoms.
However, even without alcohol, the side effects of Prozac can be too significant. When Prozac is taken in certain amounts that aren’t compatible with a patient’s system, they can experience nausea, sweating, insomnia, anxiety, and more.
If you are having certain irregular reactions to antidepressants or know a loved one going through it, take extra care. Report these observations to a doctor.
What Are the Signs of Withdrawal From Prozac?
It can be hard to stop or quit Prozac medication, with many patients continuing to take them after a decade or so. This difficulty is often associated with the fear of relapsing into depression after believing that they’ve gone beyond that and going through the Prozac withdrawal process.
Withdrawal signs from an antidepressant like Prozac include sensations and feelings such as irritability, sensitivity, nausea, and more. Prozac withdrawal can also cause many intrusive thoughts about going through depression again and is connected to suicidal attempts.
Prozac has a short life span in the body compared to other SSRIs, though, inciting fewer effects than different kinds of SSRIs. It’s still important to distinguish the intensity of the effects and whether it’s from a relapse or withdrawal, so consult a doctor on the matter.
Conclusion
Using Prozac and alcohol can bring disastrous results that will bring harm to any patient. If you or a loved one are experiencing any extreme effects from mixing Prozac and alcohol or the withdrawal process, speak with a medical professional.
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