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Q: 

Does drinking alcohol affect Prozac?

By Anonymous March 1, 2010 - 2:44pm
 
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Hi.
I would like some information, please? My boyfriend is on prozac: 15 mg a day.
He also has maybe 3 to 4 alcoholic drinks every day. I was wondering if this can make the prozac stop working or would it have any effect atall?
All I know is that the prozac worked wonderfully for a few months and now he is slipping a little back into depression and we are wondering if the alcohol may be the reason. He has seen his doctor and his doctor thinks that he should quit alcohol completely but this is a BIG project and easier said than done. The doctor doesn't feel that alcohol would stop the prozac working but is he correct?

He is not an alcoholic atall and can go a week without a drink but would like to be able to have at least a glass of wine a day and especially on holidays.
My boyfriend sees a therapist and also a psychiatrist. His therapist feels that the alcohol may be causing the prozac to loose effect.
Please help.
Thanks.

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Expert HERWriter Guide Blogger

Hi Anon - Thanks for writing, you've asked some good questions and provided a lot of helpful information. As you know, the purpose of an antidepressant is to help the person taking it relieve the effects of depression. The medical literature states there don't appear to be any direct interactions when a person taking Prozac has alcohol. Your boyfriend, however, needs to be aware that alcohol is classified as a depressant. It's not helpful to mix an antidepressant and a depressant while trying to relieve depression. What the doctor may be advising is that a person who is serious about dealing with depression would be best be helped by making a serious commitment to that goal which would also include not continuing to ingest a depressant. Does this information answer your question? Good luck to you, Pat

March 1, 2010 - 7:05pm
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