Was the craving of alcohol a problem for anyone while taking Cymbalta. I have been off the demon drug for approx. one week now. I reduced the dosage for 60 to 30 then off. I am going through withdraw symptoms (not sleeping, mood swings, not able to focus, etc). I have tried to get off in the past but the symptoms were horrible...but now it has been bearable. I started taking Omega3 today so I hope this helps with the withdraws.
Cymbalta and Alcohol
Started by Austin, Jun 20 2008 01:23 PM
4 replies to this topic
#2
Lolita
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Posted 20 June 2008 - 08:11 PM
Seriously you too ? quite recently ive been really craving alcohol.. like really craving. Ive been out drinking not that i can handle it, im sick after a glass or ill sit at home and drink.
Im honestly not a big drinker, i dont like pubs really and i dont buy wine or anything unless its a birthday or special occasion. It was bizzare to me but yeh i didnt even thing about it being related.
I cant really tell you about the Omega 3, myself i only started with is yesterday.
Good luck.
Im honestly not a big drinker, i dont like pubs really and i dont buy wine or anything unless its a birthday or special occasion. It was bizzare to me but yeh i didnt even thing about it being related.
I cant really tell you about the Omega 3, myself i only started with is yesterday.
Good luck.
#3
blueskye
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Posted 21 June 2008 - 12:37 AM
wow... ummm oddly enough not so much while taking cymbalta... lexapro yes... so I think it defiantly is a possible side effect for either since they are in the same family...
I think it's actually a tendency to encourage addictive/obsessive behaviors... there are a lot of other things that alcohol that it will act the same way with... I developed some other not so good habits and relapsed into some I had fought really hard to let go of... things I'd rather not mention on the open forum only because it only takes a small seed for it to get into others minds and i would HATE to be the one who planted the seed... i haven't had as much trouble with cymbalta but I think mostly because my living environment is entirely different, I'm not on my own by myself well, at all... I had noticed lately that i was starting to have some of those feelings again though... and that's part of why I wanted off of it so bad... and then found out my other medical issues and that I could treat everything all together without an "anti" drug...
The really hard thing about it is that the alcohol is a depressant... the cymbalta "supposedly" an anti-depressant... so if you drink enough alcohol while you take it you basically counter what good it's doing aaaannnd you start feeling really crummy. At one point someone exsplained exactly all the chemistry behind it- I will be honest I don't remember it... but I remember the feeling... it's not the "oh man a beer sounds good tonight while watching tv"... no it's the "i'll actually go get in the car in my pajamas in the bad part of town to go to the one grocery store that sells fortys of vodka and stand in line with the scary people and not care"... once you start drinking it's like a mini-withdrawal and can bring you way down... what to do about it is harder... honestly the best thing for me was to get off the meds... i know you can make it through the withdrawal and I honestly think that the cravings will go away...
It's not just you... now one thing I do remember is that I was never really a drinker before then, and certainly am not now... Once I got through the withdrawals it went away (as did a LOT of the other obsessive/ impulsive behaviors) now my fiance still wants to get me drunk one night but he hasn't succeeded yet... (he finds it hilarious i've never been drunk... sigh)
Now i just reread your post... are you craving the alcohol while you take the cymbalta, or once you have stopped? Just wanted to clarify... and i had started taking flax seed oil (chronic dry eyes from lasik) which has a lot of omega 3 in it and i really do think it is helping (honestly i don't think it can hurt much since it helps with other stuff like chlorestoral but as always check and make sure it won't interact with any other drug you take... if you have a health food store nearby most of them have a drug interaction book - the same one that the doc would have- in the herbal section...)
Good luck and Hugs
skye
I think it's actually a tendency to encourage addictive/obsessive behaviors... there are a lot of other things that alcohol that it will act the same way with... I developed some other not so good habits and relapsed into some I had fought really hard to let go of... things I'd rather not mention on the open forum only because it only takes a small seed for it to get into others minds and i would HATE to be the one who planted the seed... i haven't had as much trouble with cymbalta but I think mostly because my living environment is entirely different, I'm not on my own by myself well, at all... I had noticed lately that i was starting to have some of those feelings again though... and that's part of why I wanted off of it so bad... and then found out my other medical issues and that I could treat everything all together without an "anti" drug...
The really hard thing about it is that the alcohol is a depressant... the cymbalta "supposedly" an anti-depressant... so if you drink enough alcohol while you take it you basically counter what good it's doing aaaannnd you start feeling really crummy. At one point someone exsplained exactly all the chemistry behind it- I will be honest I don't remember it... but I remember the feeling... it's not the "oh man a beer sounds good tonight while watching tv"... no it's the "i'll actually go get in the car in my pajamas in the bad part of town to go to the one grocery store that sells fortys of vodka and stand in line with the scary people and not care"... once you start drinking it's like a mini-withdrawal and can bring you way down... what to do about it is harder... honestly the best thing for me was to get off the meds... i know you can make it through the withdrawal and I honestly think that the cravings will go away...
It's not just you... now one thing I do remember is that I was never really a drinker before then, and certainly am not now... Once I got through the withdrawals it went away (as did a LOT of the other obsessive/ impulsive behaviors) now my fiance still wants to get me drunk one night but he hasn't succeeded yet... (he finds it hilarious i've never been drunk... sigh)
Now i just reread your post... are you craving the alcohol while you take the cymbalta, or once you have stopped? Just wanted to clarify... and i had started taking flax seed oil (chronic dry eyes from lasik) which has a lot of omega 3 in it and i really do think it is helping (honestly i don't think it can hurt much since it helps with other stuff like chlorestoral but as always check and make sure it won't interact with any other drug you take... if you have a health food store nearby most of them have a drug interaction book - the same one that the doc would have- in the herbal section...)
Good luck and Hugs
skye
#4
lifeafter
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Posted 16 November 2009 - 11:06 AM
Yes, cymbalta made me think I was a late onset alcoholic. You are not alone. It is a proven fact that ssri's can make people turn to alcohol in a big way. A good source for info is drugawareness.org This was a huge problem for me, I never knew this was a possiblity, but it certainly is!
God Bless
God Bless
#5
nursedeborah
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- I am reallly trying to get off Cymbalta, and not having, well I am having nightmares even with the decreased does, and clanging in my head.
I just found this site, and I really need help, I can't do this, I fear I willl never get off this brutal medication.
Deboreah Wesson
Posted 16 November 2009 - 12:49 PM
Yes, cymbalta made me think I was a late onset alcoholic. You are not alone. It is a proven fact that ssri's can make people turn to alcohol in a big way. A good source for info is drugawareness.org This was a huge problem for me, I never knew this was a possiblity, but it certainly is!
God Bless
lifeafter,
I can't believe another one, your noe like the 3 rd here, but I am hearing about this more
and more!
Being that I am in recovery, and also am a Chemical Dependency Specialist, well I am very
concerned about this. I am not gettting the craving for this at all thank God, but I do think
of all the people who are in recovery on this that might pick up a drink.
We don't do poll's here, but I would love to start a few, and this is one of them that I think
should be monitored for the future.
I hope that you have it under control now!!!!
Debbie
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