Lexapro and Alcohol – Effects of Using Them Together

Depression is a very important topic in today’s world because it is increasing among people with every passing day and that’s the reason we are going to discuss Lexapro and Alcohol. And gladly more people are talking about it and addressing it so the awareness can be spread about it. Use of anti-depressants has also been increased a lot due to increased depression but not all the people have the knowledge about how to take their anti-depressants and what things they should do an avoid while taking those medications.

Lexapro is one of the anti-depressants and the use of Lexapro and alcohol will be discussed here so people should know why they should avoid alcohol while they are on the anti-depressants. Anti-depressants are of different types and doctors prescribe it according to the condition of the patients and their other medical history. There is this one class of the anti-depressants that are known a serotonin reuptake inhibitors and they act in such way that they block the uptake of the serotonin which leads to the higher serotonin level.

Serotonin is a chemical that produces the feeling of wellbeing and in an increased level of serotonin, they feeling of wellbeing produces and in this way these medications help with the treatment of depression.

Lexapro

Lexapro is basically the brand name of the drug known as the escitalopram and that drug being the serotonin reuptake inhibitor anti-depressants and they act by balancing the amount of serotonin in the brain that was unbalanced in the state of depression and it is one of the reasons people suffer from depression. Lexapro is also used by adults that are going through anxiety and it is also used for the treatment of some other mental issues.

Most of the people have a fear of taking the medications and for them, it is the safest choice because the SSRI is one of the safest class among the antidepressants which is why they are the first class doctor’s consider while prescribing a patient going through the depression.

Lexapro and Alcohol

Even though the SSRI is the safest class of the anti-depressant drugs but still there are some risks like Lexapro and alcohol because it is probably not the best combination for a person who is going through the major depressive disorder because the drug will be ineffective for the patient and the depression instead of being treated will just get worse and that can lead to the worst consequences and even the life of the patient can be at risk because the number of suicidal attempts due to depression is increasing day by day.

There are some of the drugs that cannot be used together because of their similar effect and the Lexapro and alcohol have the exact same relation to the patient remains untreated even after he is being put on the anti-depressants by the health practitioner or sometimes the condition worsens.

Why alcohol shouldn’t be used with Lexapro

Alcohol with or without in combination of the Lexapro shouldn’t be used in excess and shouldn’t be used in excess at all by the patients with depression. The reason why alcohol shouldn’t be used by the patient if depression is that alcohol depresses the central nervous system and since the patient is already in the depressed state during depression disorder the use of alcohol can worsen the condition of the patient this leading to suicidal thoughts.

The clinical trials show that the Lexapro and alcohol produce almost the same effect and the difference between them is quite low so even if it is to be used by the patient then make sure they don’t drink it in excess or you can be in the danger of some of the serious side effects that you don’t want to deal with in the state of depression.

There is no such way by which treatment can work by switching the antidepressant because almost all the anti-depressants are not suitable to be used with alcohol so you should discuss it thoroughly with the doctor and the best choice is that matter is for how long you are taking anti-depressants you should avoid drinking alcohol.

Effects of using Lexapro and alcohol

Since so far we have developed that Lexapro and alcohol are not the best choices of drugs to be used together and the results of using these drugs together will help you understand the severity of the situation in a better way. To get to better results you should make a comparison of the symptoms that will result from using Lexapro and alcohol versus the healthy, depression-free life. Following are some of the side effects that result from the combined use of the Lexapro and alcohol.

  • Decreased efficacy of the Lexapro
  • Alcoholism
  • Liver problem
  • Drowsiness
  • Anxiety
  • Worsening of depression
  • Increased intensity of the drug’s side effects like nausea, insomnia, diarrhoea, dry mouth etc.

So this tells us how we should be more concerned about our health and try our best to get out of depression by avoiding completely and if not completely then at least not drinking heavily. The patients who are on the high dose of the anti-depressants like Lexapro should be more careful than those who are still at the initial dosing stages and if you want to get out of depression even faster you should take care of things like this even more. The more you get careless about your depression the closer you are at the risk of suicide so we should try to value our life by taking care of little things like this.

If you think you don’t want to completely quit drinking alcohol then you can discuss your doctor about it. You can drink alcohol from time to time but the heavy drinking can lead to above-mentioned symptoms of the Lexapro and alcohol combined use. But sometimes doctors stop you from alcohol altogether so you must discuss it again with your doctor before having a drink. So this was all you needed to know about the combined use of Lexapro and alcohol and why you shouldn’t take them together.

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