Sertraline and beer

[Teggyherms]

Anyone on Sertraline notice being sensitive to alcohol? I feel like I have 1 or 2 beers and Feel fuzzy the next day. I enjoy craft beers from time to time. Is it the med or is it just me?

[a_work_in_progress]

I get restless leg very badly if I drink alcohol when taking sertraline. And I’m only on .25

[Teggyherms in reply to a_work_in_progress]

I too am on only 25mg

[Lm92]

Any SSRI like sertraline and alcohol won't get along well. They intensify alcohol's effects and can cause major drowsiness, dizziness, nausea, etc. I can barely have a glass of wine without feeling awful.

[Teggyherms in reply to Lm92]

I haven’t had this with any other SSRI before. So to me, that blows!

[Drishan]

Please do not contaminate effects of antidepressants with alcohol and smoke or any type of sedusive drugs it would cause catastrophic situations

[1uglychild]

Hi, Are you newly on the drug? I had a really bad reaction to a few glasses of wine at a wedding (really basically drowsy and sick to my stomach). However I found that at about 6 months on the drug that went away and I could handle my favorite tiki type drinks (not light on spirits) without any extra side effects.

My doctor at the time said a glass of wine or two is fine and doesn’t interfere with the way the drug works (like say grapefruit juice or earl grey tea can). Maybe until you are stable and firmly established on the meds, try to only drink on the weekend, opt for only one beer and drink in the safety of your home.

Good luck!

[Teggyherms in reply to 1uglychild]

I am currently only about 2 1/2 months in of this drug. I don’t drink wine. Wine actually has a much higher alcohol content then the beers I’ve been drinking. I typically will have about 2 or 3 beers a week so I’m not like going too heavy or binging on alcohol. Im on the Facebook anxiety group too and literally got attacked for drinking like I was an alcoholic or something🤦‍♀️. I honestly was just wondering if it was a reaction to the drug orrrrr if I am just an extreme light weight these days. So you’re not supposed to have grapefruit juice or earl grey tea?! Hold the phone! No one told me this!

[1uglychild in reply to Teggyherms]

So grapefruit juice has a chemical that will actually intensify the effects of the medication(if I recall correctly, it’s an enzyme that does something with seretonin production in the gut), earl grey has bergamont that comes from a source similar to the grapefruit family. My thinking is that the effects in earl grey would much weaker than eating a grapefruit, so your probably safe with the tea. I read about the tea in relation to the grapefruit effect years ago, but I can’t find anything about it now, just grapefruit interaction. (Other things not to mix with most SSRIs are DM type cough medicine, and go light on ibuprofen and aspirin although aspirin is preferable to ibuprofen when needed).

I look at SSRIs as a way towards a normal life and part of a normal adult life is having a drink with friends on the weekend or at special events. Every doctor I’ve asked in my 20 years of seeing them for anxiety has said social drinking in moderation is fine (I should say that I haven’t an addictive personality and am not a big drinker, so they probably take that into consideration). I think it’s a thornier issue for those with depression, as alcohol can be a depressive. I should also add that everyone’s body chemistry is different and everyone will respond differently to meds, so your experience will of course differ from mine, but from personal experience and what I’ve witnessed in family (anxiety is very strong in my family) and friends, a few drinks every so often won’t be in issue in a month or two longer for you .

I should also add that I’ve never taken Steraline but my husband did and had no issues with a beer or two on occasion.

[Teggyherms in reply to 1uglychild]

I’m really into Juicy New England IPAs right now....which contain some fruit. What if these beers contained grapefruit!! 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️My doc didn’t tell me about this at all. Bahhhh! I drank earl grey too. Geez Louise!

[Teggyherms in reply to Teggyherms]

May I add.... I take 25mg of Sertraline for anxiety and panic. No depression!

[1uglychild in reply to Teggyherms]

I’d bet that they would be super low on the ingredient list, and the alcohol would probably neutralize the enzyme. I’d bet also that most tend to be more orange based rather than grapefruit as it’s more bitter and less popular. Check out the breweries webpage for ingredients?

At one time the website Crazymeds was great for addressing these questions. There were a lot of users there who were into psychopharmacology and could explain the effects of drugs on the body. You’ll occasionally run across a student or researcher in the field who could be helpful. They switched up the website though and the forum (crazyboards is the new name I think) seems less active and probably not worth registering to ask about it (also not as great as a site like this for support for anxiety etc, better for meds questions).

[Teggyherms in reply to 1uglychild]

Thanks so much!!!

[1uglychild in reply to Teggyherms]

Good luck, and don’t give up on a future of doing the things you like to do. Things should settle soon and you’ll be able to live anxiety free AND like an average person!

[Hidden in reply to Teggyherms]

Omg wait WHATTTT. No earl grey?! Nobody friggen told me that! I heard about grapefruit juice from a friend. Don’t let people attack you for living your life! People are so terrible!

[1uglychild in reply to Hidden]

I feel bad for mentioning the earl grey because I couldn’t find anything about it recently. My guess is the bergamont is weaker in most commercial teas ( like Bigalow or Twinings), but maybe stay away from the high end loose tea. I love earl grey too...

[Hidden in reply to 1uglychild]

It makes sense! Honestly, I was shocked that a friend told me about grapefruit juice and not my psychiatrist. Glad we’re all here for each other!

[1uglychild in reply to Hidden]

I know right! Lol I’ve never had a psych say “don’t take this or that”, I’ve had to read about it myself ( but when we have anxiety we are more likely to google “what the heck will this drug do to me” than the average person) That’s why it’s great that we have spaces like this to talk. And when in doubt always cross check your meds for interactions, especially with over the counter stuff, on one of those interactions websites.

[Teggyherms in reply to 1uglychild]

I always google drug interactions with other drugs, but never with food! So weird!!!

[1uglychild in reply to Teggyherms]

I know, and as far as I know, aside from things like St Johns wart and that type of thing, grapefruit is one of the few to do this. And since no one tells you to stay away, other than seeing stay away, I don’t even know how much is safe/unsafe to consume? One segment of a truckload of grapefruit a day? See what your doc says, because I swear when I once told a psychiatric nurse practitioner this, she said she’d never heard it.

[Maman2144]

I'm on 200mg per day and I feel fuzzy the morning after I have a gin. You have to weigh up if it's worth it. I enjoy a gin and tonic at weekends but stick to juice during the week.