Cymbalta and Alcohol

In a normal situation, the message travels down to the nerve and serotonin and norepinephrine are released to enter the gap between the first and second nerve cell to activate receptors thus providing the right action. This normally works without difficulty if enough level of serotonin and norepinephrine are being released. However, if things become imbalanced, anxiety and depression could occur, that's why SNRI is here to help balance it.

SNRI affects serotonin and norepinephrine present within the brain. An example of this is Cymbalta, a brand name that contains a chemical substance known as duloxetine. It helps to block the reuptake of serotonin and norepinephrine that allows the brain nerves to obtain a higher level of its chemicals.

When taking in medications, there are certain things that you must know and do so as to lessen any side effects of the drug. Here are some guidelines while taking Cymbalta.

• Take it by mouth once or twice a day since it is in capsule form
• Do not chew or open the capsule rather swallow it whole
• Take it in the morning if it causes insomnia and on the other hand if you feel drowsy take it later at night
• It can be taken with or without food but if you feel any stomach upset, you can take it with food
• Have it the same time each day you take it as it will help maintain a constant level in your blood
• Take it with physician's prescription

If Cymbalta is taken with other medications such as antidepressants or alcohol, certain interactions could happen. If even a drug-drug interaction occurs, it can increase or decrease the effect of drugs in the blood. There are times that when interaction occurs between Cymbalta and other drugs, side effects could increase and in addition arrhythmia and serotonin syndrome develop. Here are some examples of stuffs which when combine with Cymbalta could lead to Cymbalta interaction.

• Some arrhythmia medication
• Certain antibiotics
• Lithium
• Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs)
• Phenothiazine medications
• Other Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) or Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors (SNRI) antidepressants
• Tricyclic Antidepressant (TCA)
• Alcohol

What will happen when you drink alcohol while taking your prescribed Cymbalta? Cymbalta can add to the effects of alcohol in your body which can increase the symptoms of depression as well as affecting your motor skills. For that reason, most if not all of health care providers do not recommend to drink alcohol while taking it. On the other hand, if drinking alcohol is inevitable, it is necessary to have only light to moderate amount.

Many of our opinions may vary on how much alcohol is moderate in amount since health care providers state that for woman it must only be one drink a day and for man it can be up to two drinks a day. But it is still vague, isn't it? What do you mean by one drink? Is it one cup, one bottle? We don't know for sure. That's why here is an example of the particular amount of one alcoholic drink.

• For beer it is 12 ounces
• 5 ounce of wine
• Whiskey of 80-proof (1 1/2 ounces)
• 100-proof spirit (1 ounce)

If you are decided to consume alcohol while taking Cymbalta, keep in mind that you must not drink alcohol at the same time you're taking your drug. In addition, you must understand some of the effects it will produce on your body once you drink alcohol being on medication. As a consequence, it can affect your daily functioning like driving and operating some machinery. Therefore, be very mindful on the amount you are drinking as to not exceed the recommended value because it may invite liver troubles.

• Health care providers recommend light to moderate drinking therefore if you want to drink a greater amount of alcohol than recommended, you should consult your doctor.
• Every people differ from how much amount of alcohol they want to drink. As a result, you and your doctor must get into an agreement on how much alcohol you can have while taking the Cymbalta.
• On the other hand, if you are a regular drinker of large amount of alcohol, health care providers will not recommend combining it with Cymbalta thus it may have a greater risk on acquiring a liver problem.
• In addition, drinking alcohol while on medication could also cause stomach bleeding.