If I have an occasional beer on Sertaline will it increase the anxiety and depression. I feel I need a drink sometimes?
reports seem to vary really widely regarding drinking on sertraline
for a lot of people though they can drink just fine on it and not experience any issues
so best thing to do is give it a try, just dont drink to much on the first try, and then take it from there
im fine when i have a drink i was worried at first, but i dink now and again and even got realky drunk a couple of times , ifelt a tiny bit anxious when i wokr up. just try a small amount first.
Hi Nancy,
i've on Sertraline and 50mg for just over four weeks now, and I love a good beer! The best advice I could give you is hold off for the first 3-4 weeks, then it slowly, I.e, one pint in an evening, if that's ok try two, but I strongly suggest nothing more than three pints at the max. Anything more than that increased my side effects and anxiety levels the next 1 or two days, so be sensible with it and treat alcohol as another medication you're taking alongside Sertraline. Another piece of advice would be not to drink on successive days, maybe only two per week, you don't want alcohol to become a safety behaviour that you rely on and become alcoholic by accident :-)
In addition, I would span this over at least six hours and drink slowly. Figure out how your mind and body react to it first, as with any medication you need to definitely know your limits and stick to them.
ps. From experience, do NOT try spirits or liquor.
P.p.s. do NOT mix drinks, I tried this with beer and cider - short story is, is was a terrible idea.
I only have a couple of drinks at the weekends as drinking every day does cause depression.
Agreed, it can, and if you choose to drink you need to be prepared for it the next day.