One in 10 teenagers and adults takes antidepressant or anxiety medications every day.1
Many of these medications interact negatively with alcohol, particularly monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), like Parnate (tranylcypromine) and Nardil (phenelzine). MAOIs can cause blood pressure to spike dangerously when combined with tyramine, an amino acid found in red wine and beer.2
Combining alcohol with these medications increases the risk for an overdose and can make you feel more depressed.
You can also have drowsiness, dizziness, impaired motor control and coordination, difficulty breathing, strange behaviors, and heart or liver damage. Some of these medications can also make the effects of alcohol more extreme.2
Talk with a doctor before drinking alcohol if you take any antidepressant medication. Herbal supplements like St. John’s Wort and Kava, used for depression or anxiety, can cause liver damage if combined with alcohol.342
Anxiety and antidepressant medications to avoid with alcohol include:2
- Zoloft (sertraline)
- Wellbutrin (bupropion)
- Symbyax (fluoxetine/olanzapine)
- Prozac (fluoxetine)
- Paxil (paroxetine)
- Pristiq (desvenlafaxine)
- Abilify (aripiprazole)
- Cymbalta (duloxetine)
- Valium (diazepam)
- Xanax (alprazolam)
- Eskalith/Lithobid (lithium)
- Many others
