Can You Take Prozac And Alcohol Together?

Depression is a severe mental illness that affects your psychological and physical health; it makes the person withdraw from social activities, family, and friends and remain alone, causing feelings of crying, sadness, and unwanted thoughts. 

When uncontrolled mood or behavior changes happen, you should seek medical help immediately. There are a variety of drugs available to treat your illness. Prozac is one of the antidepressant medications which helps to overcome depression. Since its launch in the USA, more than 40 million people have consumed it. 

Moreover, the one who takes depressant drugs is more cautious about avoiding alcohol because alcohol makes you tired and exhausted. So here we can see more details about the drug and the dangers of mixing alcohol. 

What Is Prozac?

Prozac, recognized by its generic name fluoxetine, is a prescription medication used to treat major depressive disorder (MDD), bulimia nervosa (an eating disorder), obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). 

It is a widely prescribed drug among the US people for treating depression. You can also order Prozac online from a certified online pharmacy; getting a doctor's prescription is recommended first. 

The Food And Drug Administration approved the drug for children and adults. The drug is also beneficial to recover your mood and sleep pattern and helps to practice your daily needs. 

How Does Prozac Work?

Prozac is an antidepressant that comes under a drug class called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). It affects certain chemical messengers responsible for the communication between brain cells and helps people suffering from depression, panic attacks, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The drug works by increasing the level of neurotransmitters in the brain and reabsorption of the serotonin level. This will help the brain to perform a good mood and behavior, digestion, and calm sleep pattern. In short, the drug is used to treat the serotonin level, which helps to recover depression. 

Alcohol And Mental Health

Mental health conditions are one of the reasons a person can be severely affected if they are prone to consuming alcohol. Many people consume alcohol to get rid of the condition that they are facing, but short-term relaxation would affect their mental health for a longer duration. Some people also suffer from depression and develop alcohol use disorder. 

Is It Safe To Consume Alcohol With Prozac?

Consuming alcohol can increase the adverse effects of Prozac. One should avoid taking alcohol along with any anti-depressant medication. On the other hand, taking alcohol also results in a decrease in the effectiveness of Prozac.

Long-term consumption of Prozac, along with alcohol, can cause liver /kidney issues, heart damage, and blood sugar problems.

Study On Alcohol As An Antidepressant:

A study published in the journal ‘Nature Communications.’ found that Alcohol activates the same brain pathway as fast-acting antidepressants.

This study found that Alcohol followed the same biochemical pathway as rapid antidepressants, with behavior comparable to those seen in people. Single doses of rapid antidepressants like Ketamine have been shown in recent years to relieve depressive symptoms for around two hours and last for up to two weeks, even in people who are resistant to traditional antidepressants.

Raab and her colleagues found that a single dose of intoxicating alcohol blocked NMDA receptors (proteins associated with learning and memory) while working with autism protein FMRP and transformed the GABA acid from an inhibitor into a stimulator of neutral activity. The researchers found that these biochemical changes resulted in non-depressive behavior for 4 hours.

The researchers, led by Kimberly Raab-Graham, Ph.D. Forest School of Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC, warn that their findings do not represent that people suffering from depression should consume alcohol as a cure. 

Possible Side Effects Of Mixing Prozac With Alcohol

Taking Prozac and alcohol will result in the following side effects. While consuming the drug for the first time,  it will cause some Side Effects, but it is not common to all; some people may face it, and others won’t. It will all depend on your health condition. Common effects will wipe off within a few days to weeks. Talk to a doctor immediately if you face it for more than this. 

Prozac will lead to some of these severe side effects. If you face any of the consequences, call for emergency help.

Withdrawal Symptoms Of Prozac

A person can suffer withdrawal symptoms when they stop the medicine abruptly after continuously using it. It can all vary according to the person's consumption or addiction to medicine. There are some common withdrawal symptoms of Prozac which include:

• Paresthesias
• Irritability
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Vomiting
• Nausea

To be safe from the following withdrawal symptoms, it is advisable to take a doctor's help. They can help you to manage withdrawal symptoms.

Precautions of Prozac

Drug precautions are a way to guide you on how to use the drug and how to be aware of the drug when combined with alcohol. All the drugs will have some preventive measures. It will help you from not affecting through side effects. 

• If you have any health history, inform your doctor about any problems such as Urination problems, Diabetes, Glaucoma, Seizures, Sexual problems, Bipolar disorder, Suicidal thoughts, or Drug abuse.
• Can You Consume Prozac During pregnancy: Ask your doctor before taking the drug because taking antidepressants will cause severe medical issues to your health. Inform your doctor if you are pregnant or Planning to become pregnant. 
• Can You Consume Prozac During Breastfeeding: If you take Prozac while breastfeeding, it will pass into the milk and affect your newborn baby. Be aware and inform your doctor before taking the medication.

Drug Interaction Of Prozac

Drug interactions are caused when two medicine compounds are not meant to be consumed together. This will sometimes lead to changing the current drug status, and the drug will not work effectively for a particular treatment, so whenever you are about to consume a drug that interacts with another medicine, you should consult your doctor.

Prozac can interact with some medications and vitamins,  as listed below. 

• Monoamine oxidase inhibitors: Isocarboxazid, phenelzine, tranylcypromine, etc. Do not take these drugs with Prozac, after stopping the MOIs, until the next four weeks because this will cause serious drug interactions and lead to high fever, muscle spasms, blood pressure, unconsciousness, etc.
• Tricyclic antidepressant drugs such as amitriptyline and clomipramine.
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibits drugs such as fluoxetine and sertraline.
• Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors like duloxetine and venlafaxine.
• Opioids drugs
• Anxiolytic buspirone
• St john's Wort
• Amphetamines
• Tryptophan
• Thioridazine
• Pimozide 

Combining these drugs will lead to suffering from serotonin syndrome, which can cause a life-threatening condition. So please inform your doctor; they might help you by lowering the dosage of the drugs.  

Bottom Line From Practical Anxiety Solutions

Prozac is an antidepressant used to treat the major depressive disorder. It is not safe to consume Prozac and alcohol together. Alcohol works similarly to antidepressants states that it is not advised to use alcohol with antidepressants.

Antidepressant drugs will make you feel drowsiness, tiredness, and dizziness. While consuming the drug with alcohol will cause fatigue. So be aware and inform your doctor about your health history when combining the medicine with other medications.