l am currently on 40mg citalopram per day for anxiety and panick attacks therefore have not drunk any kind of alcohol for 1 year and l am begining to miss having the odd drink with friends can anybody advise me if it would be o.k to drink alcohol whilst taking this medication???

do not drink and drive.

No my friend stay away from that mixture.

It is sensible to avoid drinking alcohol whist taking citalopram.

like any antidepressants alcohol can accentuate their effect

l am sure an odd drink wont do any harm, just do not get drunk or the effects of the tablets mixed with the alcohol will be a bit much on your system

as long as you dont go mad and binge drink you will be fine
the odd glass of wine or pint will do you no harm in fact it will do you good as a boost for you

I'd be careful. Not only is your tolerance level down but anytime you take meds with alcohol, 1 drink is like drinking 3. BE CAREFUL and drink lots of water too.

bollocks to the alcohol: One drink and you will have problems !!
Get the idea out of your head. Talk to your Doctor and listen.
And if l get done for saying bollocks then it is worth it for me.
Good luck my friend !!

l havent taken that one, but before l quit drinking l played around with various antidepressants & alcohol, & l can say this - it will mess up ur tolerance something awful - & the worst part is that u might be totally messed up on one beer, think u r totally fine, & drive home.

l know what its like to miss the commarderie of having a drink with the fella's, but l would play it safe & stick to tonic & lime. When all is said & done, its not worth it.

l am currently taking Geodon for schizo affective disorder, & l had to quit drinking. every time that l drank a couple of beers, no matter how drunk l was, l could not sleep. one time l did not sleep for three days straight, getting drunk, & l had to spend all the night up, & have the hangover during the day without being able to sleep. l miss drinking with my buddies too, but l had to stop. because l could end up dead. my advise to you, is that u stay sober. there could be an interaction of the alcohol with ur medication, & something bad could happen. u know how it is, once u drink one beer, u cant stop until u get drunk.

l was on citalopram and l drank. l did not have any side effects but l think to be safe you should consult your doctor.

The answer should be in the leaflet with the tablets, look for interactions.
They are with MAOIs, lithium, SHT antagonists, tryptophan, St John is Wort, neuroleptics.
'Not advisable, however studies have revealed no adverse pharmacodynamic interactions between citalopram and alcohol'.
There is a warning that citalopram should be withdrawn gradually (when stopping the drug).

it is recommended that people taking SSRIs should not drink. this is because SSRIs & alcohol can cause drowsiness. if the 2 r taken at the same time, severe drowsiness may result. this can lead to falls & accidents. as well as this, alcohol drinking often makes depression worse. excessive drinking is especially likely to do this. once people r used to taking medication, they sometimes drink alcohol in small amounts without any harm. avoid alcohol for the first one or two months. after this, if u want a drink, try a glass of ur normal drink & see how u feel. if this doesnt make u feel drowsy, then it is probably ok to drink in small amounts. it pays to be very cautious because alcohol affects people in very different ways, especially when taking medication.