Author: Charles Frank

Can You Drink Alcohol While Taking Amitriptyline?

The effects of an overdose on the cardiovascular system are among the things that are most worrisome. Yes, the combination of alcohol and amitriptyline can increase the risk of blackouts. Both alcohol and amitriptyline have sedative effects on the central nervous system. When taken together, they can intensify each other’s sedative properties, leading to extreme drowsiness, impaired cognitive function, and a heightened risk of memory lapses or blackouts. Yes, amitriptyline, an oral tricyclic antidepressant, has been reported to cause high blood pressure (hypertension), but how often this occurs was not reported. Other heart side effects, like fast heart beat, orthostatic hypotension (low blood pressure upon standing), fainting, heart rhythm changes and heart attack have also been reported.

For all open access content, the Creative Commons licensing terms apply. Avoid driving or hazardous activity until you know how amitriptyline will affect you. If you need surgery, tell your surgeon you currently use amitriptyline. You should not use amitriptyline if you have recently had a heart attack. Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

Amitriptyline disease interactions

Tricyclic antidepressants increase serotonin and norepinephrine availability in the brain by acting at three different points, hence the name tricyclic. Amitriptyline was initially approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating depression in 1977 and is still used as a second line treatment for depression treatment [1, 2]. As a member of the tricyclic antidepressant class, it operates by influencing the equilibrium of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, contributing to its therapeutic effects. Ask your doctor before using amitriptyline together with ethanol, this can alter the effects of amitriptyline and cause increased side effects. Call the doctor if you experience uneven heartbeats, extreme drowsiness, confusion, agitation, vomiting, blurred vision, sweating, muscle stiffness, feeling light-headed, and seizures.

However, for those who don’t have this option, Elavil is prescribed in doses that can be taken throughout the day. Because both substances act as depressants, you should not mix amitriptyline and alcohol. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that, in large quantities, can produce sedation, drowsiness, and even loss of consciousness. Both substances can have an impact on your central nervous system.

Sometimes it is not safe to use certain medications at the same time. Some drugs can affect your blood levels of other drugs you take, which may increase side effects or make the medications less effective. Do not use amitriptyline if you have used an MAO inhibitor in the past 14 days. MAO inhibitors include isocarboxazid, linezolid, methylene blue injection, phenelzine, rasagiline, selegiline, tranylcypromine, and others. Despite its therapeutic strengths, amitriptyline can cause side effects, including dizziness, nervousness, sedation, sexual dysfunction or weight gain [1, 5].

Risks and Side Effects

Some side effects, like orthostatic hypotension and heart rhythm changes, are common to the tricyclic antidepressant class. Blackouts occur when an individual is unable to recall events that occurred during a specific period, even though they were conscious and engaged in activities at the time. The combined sedative effects of alcohol and amitriptyline can result in impaired memory formation and retention, contributing to the occurrence of blackouts. Psychomotor symptoms are one of the side effects of both amitryptline and alcohol use. When these substances are taken together, symptoms such as swaying and impaired eye tracking ability were enhanced by 92% [7, 8].

1. This cocktail can increase the risk of accidents, falls, and injuries.
2. Oftentimes, this lack of effect can cause the person to take higher doses of the medication than directed, increasing their risk of adverse effects like serotonin syndrome.
3. The effects of an overdose on the cardiovascular system are among the things that are most worrisome.
4. It takes about 5 half-lives for a drug to be fully eliminated from your body.

Another side effect that is enhanced and can be particularly detrimental is increased drowsiness, for example in heavy machinery operation, driving, or cycling [9]. Additionally, memory was found to be 70% worse in individuals who had drunk alcohol within the past 3h and taken amitriptyline compared to baseline [7]. We can’t stress this enough – mixing amitriptyline and alcohol can lead to serious health risks. If you’re facing challenges with depression, anxiety, or any other conditions, our experts at California Prime Recovery are here to guide you toward a healthier path. In the treatment of depression, you should feel some relief from amitriptyline in 2 to 4 weeks, but it may take up to 8 to 12 weeks to feel the full therapeutic effects.

Amitriptyline With Alcohol Side Effects

For most antidepressants like Elavil, doctors often advise against alcohol use. This can be considerably challenging for someone who relies on alcohol to socialize or doesn’t want to be the only person who isn’t drinking at a social event. However, information on the effects of mixing amitriptyline and alcohol is there to prevent any adverse reactions from occurring. In this guide, Banyan Delaware goes over the risks of drinking alcohol with Elavil and why you should avoid it. Amitriptyline is a prescription medication in the class of tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs).

Do not stop using amitriptyline suddenly, or you could have unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. Keep using the medication as directed and tell your doctor if your symptoms do not improve. Some young people have thoughts about suicide when first taking an antidepressant. Your family or other caregivers should also be alert to changes in your mood or symptoms. It’s important to note that the use of amitriptyline should be supervised by a healthcare professional, and the dosage may vary based on the specific condition being treated. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

Data sources include Micromedex (updated 3 Mar 2024), Cerner Multum™ (updated 4 Mar 2024), ASHP (updated 12 Feb 2024) and others. Amitriptyline will stay in your system for about 2 to 6 days after your last dose, but its clinical effect may wear off before this time. The half-life of a drug is the time it takes for the blood concentration of a drug to reduce by one-half.

Subjects received each drug in random order and a minimum of 28 days was left between drug treatments. A battery of physiological, psychomotor and subjective tests was administered before drugs (day 1) and on days 4 and 8. On day 8 a measured dose of alcohol was given and the tests repeated at 1 and 3 h after alcohol. Tests before alcohol showed little effect on physiological or psychomotor activity either between drugs or between drugs and placebo. Subjective ratings did show some differences between drugs and in general amitriptyline was tolerated less well than fluoxetine. There were few differences between drugs after alcohol but with some measures the interaction with amitriptyline was subjective rather than additive or potentiating.

It’s important to note that while these brand names may differ, they typically refer to the same medication – amitriptyline. The choice of a specific brand may depend on factors such as availability, regional preferences, or individual patient responses. The easiest way to lookup drug information, identify pills, check interactions and set up your own personal medication records. Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use amitriptyline only for the indication prescribed.

Amitriptyline is known to enhance the sedative effects of alcohol, making you feel drowsy, dizzy, and potentially leading to impaired coordination. This cocktail can increase the risk of accidents, falls, and injuries. Amitriptyline (up to 75 mg/day), fluoxetine (up to 40 mg/day) and placebo were administered to 12 normal, healthy subjects for a period of 7 days.

It takes about 5 half-lives for a drug to be fully eliminated from your body. So, after about 50 to 140 hours (about 2 to 6 days), most of amitriptyline is gone from your body. Other drugs may affect amitriptyline, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal products.