Lexapro-can't get a buzz off alcohol

Does anyone else have this problem? I used to like to have a glass or two of wine each night and would get a nice little buzz. Now I can drink and drink and not feel a thing. Lexapro has taken away my desire to drink since I can't get a buzz, so that's probably good overall, but I miss it. I also feel that Lexapro has evened me out and is good for anxiety and depression, but that it also has flattened me out so that I don't feel anything, good or bad. Nothing excites me, nothing tastes good, sex drive pretty much gone, alcohol does nothing for me- is this the tradeoff? Don't know if I should quit this and go back to being anxious and depressed. At least then I feel like I had a life!

I have been having a somewhat similar experience w/alcohol and lexapro. I used to really love drinking and the lift/energy I'd get off of a good stiff drink like a double martini. Alcohol actually made me feel more awake which I know it is not supposed to. I also had a pretty high tolerance. Now, my reaction to alcohol on lexapro is quite different. It is more likely to make me tired and groggy. I never get a 'good buzz' anymore like you mentioned. And, I have not had any drink stronger than a glass of wine since being on the lexapro. The thought of it just doesn't appeal to me. Or, maybe I'm worried I'll pass out! LOL Anyway, in my case I feel like all of this is a good thing for me. If I am to be truthful, I was drinking too much before and I was using it to self-medicate my depression and anxiety. The good thing is that the lexapro is working so I don't feel like I NEED that buzz so much anymore. I do miss it a little, but the trade-off is worth it.:->

This thread is very interesting as I have a similar experience and was interested to know whether others experience something similar. I too find that escitalopram takes the buzz out of alcohol. A few drinks produces just a mild sedation together with mild/moderate increase in feelings of hollowness. Alcohol no longer produces feelings of excitement, increased talkativeness or relaxation. I find it also induces relatively little physical and mental impairment even after an intake where strong intoxication would normally have resulted. On the escitalopram, after a certain number of drinks a stronger feeling of sedation eventually comes with unusual suddenness. It seems to go straight to the tired stage at this point without very much of interest having happened in between.

It would be interesting to see some expert opinion as to why this occurs. The emotional flatness that the drug seems to produce must be a factor, but it also appears also to interfere with the way that the body metbolizes alcohol.

As Joreen says above, the medication does work well for anxiety but seems to remove almost any sparkle that life may have had. Things seem flat and dull. Things that would normally be exciting or interesting often feel slightly boring. It's like you're not 'there' to enjoy them. For me, this is still better than the anxiety and panic that went before. If I miss a dose, I will usually get a nasty shock in the next day or two and remember what I wanted to alleviate. But the effects of this drug, at close to the six weeks point of treatment, seems less than ideal. Perhaps the effect will improve over time? I certainly hope so, because this is quite a bore.

Adam, there is no ideal drug.
You didn't post what dose you are on.

I am on the same side as all of you, I was drinking a lot before lexapro, approximately 5 bottles of whiskey (0.7 ltr) per week. Now I am on lexapro 10mg for 2 months and I have reduced the whiskey to one drink per night. So far its working for anxiety but I am thinking to increase it to 15mg.

While using Lexapro with alcohol, I suppose I have experienced the same shift from a little buzz to completely passing out. I'm not sure if this is from how tired it makes me or if I was just drinking in excess. Also, the day after I drink alcohol with Lexapro I feel awful. Has anyone experienced feeling worse the day after? Aside from the typical hangover symptoms of course

Chad wrote:

While using Lexapro with alcohol, I suppose I have experienced the same shift from a little buzz to completely passing out. I'm not sure if this is from how tired it makes me or if I was just drinking in excess. Also, the day after I drink alcohol with Lexapro I feel awful. Has anyone experienced feeling worse the day after? Aside from the typical hangover symptoms of course

Chad, the same thing happens to me. I feel fine after 2 glasses of wine, If i drink another then its lights out! its the worst. I go from Okay to incoherent and blackout- NOT good! Its just creeps up on you- be careful. Try drinking water after each drink, that helps. Basically, you just have to cut down on the drinks if you want to keeping taking Lexapro.

I noticed the same thing with alcohol.
Alcohol triggered my migraines and thats part of the reason that I take Lexapro. I feel that I'm not as "reserved" as I used to be. My little aches and pains have disapeared. I wouldn't go to your
California herbal store because that's not going to have any effect either.

Ya, lexapro has this effect. What I find helps is just simply taking a little less when you know youre going to be partying or getting some action.

Example: Next week is a chance for me to drink and get laid therefore decrease dose to 5 mg.

That's how I've been rolling on this medicine. I'll go back up to 10mg if I really start feelin like shit. When you go back down from 10 usually in the beginning you feel just fine

When the doctor started me on Lexapro from Nortriptyline, I was on 10 mgs. I felt like I was on a natural high and like I was speeding. I didn't crave caffeine or alcohol...which could be a good thing. It felt to over the top and I'd wake up in the middle of the night like the next day was a big holiday event with all this excitement. It was too much. The doc cut it back to 2.5 mgs and so far this is working great. I still sense emotion when something is sentimental, I still have a couple drinks - though I don't get as buzzed, and I am sleeping well through the night. My sense of feeling defensive or fear of confrontation is gone...I feel very even keel and my business is improving because of my ability to separate emotionalism from business. My sex drive has lowered but I still am interested and excited by the right stimulus...just a little pickier about it.
The thing I'm not sure about is why I am getting itchy in different spots, then it goes away. There will be long strand bumps and raised red marks up to 3 inches long and in 30 minutes they go away. It seems to move around my body. One day it's my arms. Another day it's my legs. Not sure what to make of this effect yet.

Okay, now I am one to like to drink too, but I'm not on Lexapro. I have this feeling in my throat, which I think everyone else has too for their anxiety. If it is taking care of isuues with anxiety and making you drink less. That is a good thing. Think of the money you will save, that is if you have medical and prescription coverage to cover the medication anyway.

Hey guys, you are right, lexapro DOES affect alchohal intake for overly anxious or depressed people. Here's why: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerende...

Its a SHORT article so I recomend reading it.
As far as emotional flatlining, that could be partly lifestyle induced or psychological. To a degree it is true, though. But when you think about it, anxious people are usually over-excited about stuff, and while this high is totally sweet :) its price is depression afterwards.

SSRIs are effective: http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/002765.h... . I recomend their use!

I have been taking Lexapro for 8 days and I no longer feel the desire to have a glass of wine after work each night. I'm glad to know I'm not crazy and this is caused by the drug. I don't know if I want to continue because I feel the same as all stated above, flat and nothing seems to excite me. The good thing is I did used to drink a whole bottle of wine each night. Also as stated from another, the effects of taking the drug with alcohol, the next day the hangover was 10 times magnified. I felt so bad it seemed I had consumed a bottle of booze instead of a bottle of wine. I guess it's a good thing the desire to drink is gone. I'm just worried about other "desires" that may go now too.

Liv wrote:

<quoted text>
Chad, the same thing happens to me. I feel fine after 2 glasses of wine, If i drink another then its lights out! its the worst. I go from Okay to incoherent and blackout- NOT good! Its just creeps up on you- be careful. Try drinking water after each drink, that helps. Basically, you just have to cut down on the drinks if you want to keeping taking Lexapro.

Me too - two or three glasses of wine and i was out like a light at 8 pm, to the extent that I couldn't hear the phone when people were trying to ring me. This seemed so dangerous to me that I am drinking far less.

I've had the same experiences... I've been on lexapro since I was 13 so I've never drunk without it, so I've never known what it was "normal" to feel, but I guess now I have an idea of how the lexapro effects me.

I started to get worried because I've always been a very very moderate drinker, limiting myself to 3-4 drinks, since I'm a very small girl. But I've never been what most people would call "drunk", and I usually don't feel much at all. But recently I decided to go just a drink more and it was AWFUL. Before it I felt absolutely fine, maybe just a tiny bit buzzed, but one extra shot was enough to make me throw up. And then, after that, I felt absolutely fine again, not drunk at all. It was a VERY strange experience, and very unsettling. I didn't see it coming at all. So I'm doing a lot of research now... Thanks everyone for the information!

I started Lexapro about 2 weeks ago, but last week a big GWAR/Lamb of God heavy metal concert came up so I wanted to have a couple drinks and enjoy my night. I drank a Sparx and 12oz Coors Light. When I got into the show I barely felt intoxicated at all, but about 15 min. into it I got VERY DIZZY and thought I was going to vomit. I got into the public bathroom, to find myself waking up on the floor with everyone staring at me!!! I was only out for about 15-20 seconds, but it was scary as heck!!! I also woke up stone cold sober, which I found to be strange. Be very careful about drinking on this medication in public places, it might cause a little embarassment!

I am not taking lexapro and am having this problem??? What is going on? Is my liver not filtering the alcohol right? Something is going on and I'm finding it very disturbing. I only drink wine before, during and /or after dinner if that, on the weekend. I usually wait 'til after someone comes over to share with so as not to waste a bottle. I only like the good stuff so am judicious in usage. I've all but quit because what's the point. I feel like I'm being robbed of one of the few pleasures in my life. Any one heard of this without being related to any drug?