Side Effects From Combining Prozac and Alcohol
Prozac, also known as Fluoxetine, is a medication intended to help sufferers of depression. It comes with a variety of side effects. When combined with alcohol, the effects can be severely increased. It is recommended that people who take Prozac only consume light to moderate amounts of alcohol.
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Significance
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Almost all doctors recommend not combining alcohol with antidepressants such as Prozac. This is because Prozac is metabolized in the liver and can compete with the metabolization of alcohol, and Prozac can stay in your system for weeks. At the very least, someone taking Prozac should cut their consumption of alcohol to moderate amounts.
What is Moderate Drinking?
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Moderate drinking is described as no more than one drink a day. A drink is defined as 12 oz. of beer, 5 oz. of wine or 1 oz. of hard liquor. More than moderate drinking while taking Prozac can lead to strong side effects
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Increased Side Effects
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The side effects of Prozac might cause a difficulty to operate machinery or drive a car, which could be worse when combined with alcohol. Also, if a person is already depressed, alcohol and Prozac can increase that depression.
Sleepiness
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Sleepiness is a potential side effect of Prozac that can become much worse when combined with alcohol. A person should not perform any activity where they are required to be awake and alert while on alcohol and Prozac.
Considerations
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Some depressed people might self medicate with alcohol, but alcohol is a depressant, so Prozac is a more effective treatment.
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