After being on Citilopram for five mI tha with little difference my g.p recently switched me to Mitazapine and this is my fourth night on it.
I've been sleeping well once I do get over but I've had to stop drinking alcohol as I admit I had been using it excessively recently. Is it safe to drink on Mitazapine at all because sometimes I feel like I need one. Or if I'am going to drink do I just miss a dose?
Phillip, I am 61 years old. I had two brothers that were younger than me. One was two years younger, the other was 8 years younger. They both died several years ago, both from mixing alcohol and prescription drugs. I am a retired Emergency Medical Services Battalion Chief with 31.5 years service. All my lifelong experiences point to alcohol and drugs as being an unwise, dangerous decision. That is about all I can say about this subject.
First point is you need to give the mirtazapine at least a month, preferably 6 weeks, before it will have its full effect. And you need to take every dose - so no, I don't recommend missing a dose so that you can have a drink. The advice on the leaflet with the tablets is to avoid alcohol. It will be interesting to see if anyone has combined alcohol with mirtazapine successfully. My view is that alcohol isn't essential, there are plenty of other drinks to enjoy!
I drink a couple of glasses of wine most nights. I have had no ill effects with mirtazapine. But I did wait for a few weeks before having any alcohol so I could get used to the mirt first. Then I only had a small amount of alcohol at first. I never drink heavily though.
Hey Phillip,
For a year I was on 30mg of Mirtazapine and I found that having the occasional drink was perfectly okay. I did find that drinking alcohol made me drunk a lot faster though. You just have to be careful... and make sure you are not driving!
Drinking + mirtazapine + driving = disaster waiting to happen.
As long as you be safe about it, having a drink while on this drug is fine.
Thanks! I don't drive anyway, it's just I'm on my own this weekend and staying sober isn't an option.
Hi I am off ADs, and suffering. If i dont improve have decided on Mirt for the following reasons: Citalopram and Effexor, Zoloft, cause alcohol cravings. I went from a non drinker, to someone who battled every day. Other sites such as Rxisk, and others such as surviving antidepressants have this listed by so many others. It has been a lifesaver, realising what effexor has done to me. It is not just a bland "do not take alcohol and medications"... this is a serious side effect...... I went from a social drinker, to drinking a bottle of wine a night, like absolute addiction...Now? Off AD's now? No cravings... the penny finally drops.......
So Phillip, please do report if your cravings for alcohol just slow down and stop, on Mirtazapine... if so, that is the one for me. I only need it for 3 months max, to help me thru WDs, been off meds now 9 months, last 3 months have been horrific.
Hi Evergreen, have you ever been on an SSRI? Did it make you drink more? Effexor was horrific, I only realised when I gave up the effexor, what it had done to me...
Apparently mirtazapine is used to get alcoholics off alcohol. When I first started on mirtazapine, I no longer fancied any alcohol, but after a few months, I slowly built it up again. I don't drink a lot in one night (two or three glasses of wine at the most) but I do drink far too often (most nights).
I don't get on with SSRIs at all. I haven't been on one for more than a couple of weeks, so I can't say whether they affect my alcohol intake.
Well it's past 5 am and I'm alone in the house, I've drank eight bottles of Budweiser and a couple of whiskey's might miss my dose tonight.