This medicine may cause blurred vision, dizziness, drowsiness, trouble with thinking, or trouble with controlling body movements, which may lead to falls, fractures, or other injuries. Make sure you know how you react to this medicine before you drive, use machines, or do anything else that could be dangerous if you are not alert or able to see clearly. You may also feel lightheaded or you may fall or faint when getting up suddenly from a lying or sitting position, so get up slowly. If these symptoms are bothering you or keeping you from doing your daily activities, tell your doctor right away. It is important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits to allow for changes in your dose and to help prevent any unwanted effects.
Comprehensive Assessment and Personalized Treatment Plans
Our professional interventionists are board certified, licensed, and trained in every single aspect of substance use treatment. You don’t have to do this alone – give us a call today to learn more about how we can help you and your family. That’s because the diminished effectiveness of the drug can impact symptom control despite ongoing medication.
If you experience any adverse side effects from mixing Cymbalta and alcohol, it is important to stop consuming alcohol immediately and consult your doctor or healthcare provider for further advice and treatment. Plus, some individuals take Cymbalta for pain management conditions like neuropathy or fibromyalgia, and even if they don’t get a mental health effect, they’ll get a physical one. It belongs to a class of medications called serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). When taking a new medication, it’s important that you understand the potential side effects you may experience and follow the advice given to you by your healthcare provider. According to the label for Cymbalta, mixing the medication with alcohol should not increase the impairment of your motor and mental skills that’s caused by drinking.
- It is recommended that you consult your doctor for advice, as they can make recommendations based on your needs and health.
- Falls with serious consequences including fractures and hospitalizations have been reported with CYMBALTA use see Adverse Reactions (6.1).
- According to the FDA’s prescribing information for Cymbalta, the medication is not recommended for people who regularly consume alcohol.
3 Dual Inhibition of CYP1A2 and CYP2D6
- Clients will work with therapists and their peers in a safe, supervised environment where they will practice coping and communication skills and bond with their peers.
- One of the main reasons that it’s not a good choice to mix Cymbalta and alcohol is because of the increased potential for creating liver damage.
- Naproxen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug used to treat pain or inflammation caused by …
- Mixing alcohol with certain drugs, whether prescription or over-the-counter medications can result in serious side effects and cause complicated, dangerous interactions.
- Duloxetine is also used in adults to treat nerve pain caused by diabetes (diabetic neuropathy), or chronic muscle or joint pain (such as low back pain and osteoarthritis pain).
- Like most antidepressants, SNRIs create changes in brain chemistry and alter the communication between brain and nerve cells to regulate a person’s mood and relieve the symptoms of depression.
Neither CYMBALTA nor an active control (approved for treatment of pediatric MDD) was superior to placebo. It is unknown whether the suicidality risk extends to longer-term use, i.e., beyond several months. However, there is substantial evidence from placebo-controlled maintenance trials in adults with depression that the use of antidepressants can delay the recurrence of depression. Antidepressants increased the risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior in children, adolescents, and young adults in short-term studies. In geriatric patients with GAD, initiate CYMBALTA at a dosage of 30 mg once daily for 2 weeks before considering an increase to the target dose of 60 mg/day.
Heightened side effects
Each medication is different, so don’t assume that because it was okay to drink when taking another antidepressant, it will also be alright to consume alcohol when taking something else. You should also be sure to tell your doctor about any other medications, supplements, or substances that you are taking. Other substances that can interact with Cymbalta include other antidepressants, blood thinners, and St. John’s wort. Drug interactions can sometimes heighten the unwanted side effects of each substance. The FDA reports that when Cymbalta and alcohol are taken so that their peak effects coincide, the use of Cymbalta did not worsen the motor or mental impairment caused by alcohol. However, combining the two substances may contribute to a worsening of other side effects.
Potential for Liver Damage:
However, Ozempic and alcohol can have similar effects on digestion, blood sugar, and inflammation. This can lead to worsened side effects like nausea and vomiting as well as increased risks for low blood sugar, pancreatitis, and kidney damage. Alcohol can alter the way the body uses Cymbalta and can change the brain’s chemistry, causing an increase in depression, which creates a greater risk for suicidal tendencies. It is advised to consult your physician if you’re experiencing symptoms of depression so that they can consider if you should be prescribed a different medication or if you should reduce or eliminate your drinking. If you’re on Cymbalta or any medication, it is important to be aware of the potential interactions, side effects, and risks involved when used with alcohol.
In female mice receiving duloxetine at 140 mg/kg/day (3 times the maximum recommended human dose (MRHD) of 120 mg/day given to children on a mg/m2 basis), there was an increased incidence of hepatocellular adenomas and carcinomas. The no-effect dose was 50 mg/kg/day (1 time the MRHD given to children). Tumor incidence was not increased in male mice receiving duloxetine at doses up to 100 mg/kg/day (2 times the MRHD given to children).
The pooled analyses of placebo-controlled trials in adults with MDD or other psychiatric disorders included a total of 295 short-term trials (median duration of 2 months) of 11 antidepressant drugs in over 77,000 patients. There was considerable variation in risk of suicidality among drugs, but a tendency toward an increase in the younger patients for almost all drugs studied. There were differences in absolute risk of suicidality across the different indications, is mixing cymbalta and alcohol safe with the highest incidence in MDD. The risk of differences (drug vs placebo), however, were relatively stable within age strata and across indications. These risk differences (drug-placebo difference in the number of cases of suicidality per 1000 patients treated) are provided in Table 1. Suicide is a known risk of depression and certain other psychiatric disorders, and these disorders themselves are the strongest predictors of suicide.
Alcohol, especially when consumed in large amounts over time, produces toxins that can overwhelm your liver. When combined, these substances can put extra strain on your liver, making it more likely for problems to develop. It is recommended that you consult your doctor for advice, as they can make recommendations based on your needs and health. Cymbalta (duloxetine) is an FDA-approved prescription medication primarily used to treat depression, anxiety disorders, diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, and certain types of chronic pain. Combining Cymbalta with alcohol can lead to severe side effects including extreme drowsiness, dizziness, coordination problems, increased risk of seizures, liver problems, and dangerous changes in blood pressure. The combination can also impair your judgment and reaction time significantly.
For healthcare professionals
GoodRx is not available outside of the United States and therefore, access to the site is blocked. If you are trying to access this site from the United States, please try heading to our homepage or our drug directory. If those pages do not work and you believe you are receiving this message in error, please reach out to Ask your healthcare provider for a list of these medicines if you are not sure. People who take Cymbalta close in time to an MAOI may have a serious problem called Serotonin Syndrome (see “What are the possible side effects of Cymbalta?”). Subgroup analyses did not indicate that there were any differences in treatment outcomes as a function of age or gender.
Increased Risk of Suicide and Depression
Research has found that a low dose of duloxetine may be useful in lessening anxiety-like behaviors and alcohol intake. Alcohol is a depressant and can cause symptoms of depression or anxiety to become significantly worse. It works by helping to restore the balance of certain natural substances (serotonin and norepinephrine) in the brain; alcohol may throw off this balance. A small amount ofevidenceindicates that the use of Cymbalta may increase cravings for alcohol. There are anecdotal stories of people experiencing increased intoxication and blackouts when taking Cymbalta with alcohol, but these side effects have not been well studied. Because both act on the brain in similar ways and affect the same chemicals, any side effects that you experience with either Cymbalta or alcohol will likely be worse when these two substances are combined than it would be with just one of them.