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maddoglover45: Alcohol when reducing imipramine


maddoglover45

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Hi. This is my first post.

 

I have been on imipramine for 6 years (clomipramine before that for 22) and am also on aripiprazole. Am reducing imipramine atm and have over 2 months come down to 100mg from 150mg. Tonight have had a glass of wine and am wondering if should avoid a second as had slight palpitations earlier after drinking it. Is this normal when reducing off imipramine? Is it safe to have another glass of wine?

 

Thanks.

1992   imipramine (can't remember dosage)

1992 - 2014 clomipramine 200mg per day

1997 - 2009 buspirone 15mg per day

2009 - 2015 quetiapine 800mg per day

2015  olanzapine 15mg per day

2015 zopiclone 7.5mg per night, tapered to 0

2015 - 2017 aripiprazole (various doses, reduced to zero)

2018 - present aripiprazole, tapered from 20mg to currently 2.5mg

2018 - present zopiclone as required (occasionally)

2014 - 2015 imipramine 150mg - 200mg, reduced quickly to 0mg

2015 - present imipramine, tapered from 150mg to 100mg currently

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  • Moderator

No it is not a good idea to have a second glass of wine. Alcohol reacts badly with  clomipramine, and can cause increased side effects and symptoms.  We highly recommend that people stop drinking alcohol while taking and tapering ADs. It is known to trigger very bad waves and is one of the best ways there is to derail an otherwise successful taper.

20 years on Paxil starting at 20mg and working up to 40mg. Sept 2011 started 10% every 6 weeks taper (2.5% every week for 4 weeks then hold for 2 additional weeks), currently at 7.9mg. Oct 2011 CTed 15oz vodka a night, to only drinking 2 beers most nights, totally sober Feb 2013.

Since I wrote this I have continued to decrease my dose by 10% every 6 weeks (2.5% every week for 4 weeks and then hold for an additional 2 weeks). I added in an extra 6 week hold when I hit 10mg to let things settle out even more. When I hit 3mgpw it became hard to split the drop into 4 parts so I switched to dropping 1mgpw (pill weight) every week for 3 weeks and then holding for another 3 weeks.  The 3 + 3 schedule turned out to be too harsh so I cut back to dropping 1mgpw every 4 weeks which is working better.

Final Dose 0.016mg.     Current dose 0.000mg 04-15-2017

 

"It's also important not to become angry, no matter how difficult life is, because you can loose all hope if you can't laugh at yourself and at life in general."  Stephen Hawking

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Thank you for your reply.

1992   imipramine (can't remember dosage)

1992 - 2014 clomipramine 200mg per day

1997 - 2009 buspirone 15mg per day

2009 - 2015 quetiapine 800mg per day

2015  olanzapine 15mg per day

2015 zopiclone 7.5mg per night, tapered to 0

2015 - 2017 aripiprazole (various doses, reduced to zero)

2018 - present aripiprazole, tapered from 20mg to currently 2.5mg

2018 - present zopiclone as required (occasionally)

2014 - 2015 imipramine 150mg - 200mg, reduced quickly to 0mg

2015 - present imipramine, tapered from 150mg to 100mg currently

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  • ChessieCat changed the title to maddoglover45: Alcohol when reducing imipramine
  • Moderator Emeritus

Hi maddoglover and welcome to SA,

 

So that we can see your drug history at a glance, please create your drug signature.  The topic explains what is needed: 

 

This link takes you straight to your signature.  Remember to Save when you have completed it. 

 

SA recommends tapering by no more than 10% of the previous dose followed by a hold of about 4 weeks to allow the brain to adapt to not getting as much of the drug.  Please see this topic.

 

If a psychiatric drug is reduced too quickly a person might experience withdrawal symptoms.

 

This topic explains how to get the doses you need.

 

 

 

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

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  • Moderator Emeritus
15 hours ago, maddoglover45 said:

Tonight have had a glass of wine and am wondering if should avoid a second as had slight palpitations earlier after drinking it. Is this normal when reducing off imipramine? Is it safe to have another glass of wine?

 

From https://www.drugs.com/drug_interactions.html

Interactions between your drugs

Moderate

imipramine ARIPiprazole

Applies to: imipramine, aripiprazole

Using imipramine together with ARIPiprazole may increase side effects such as drowsiness, blurred vision, dry mouth, heat intolerance, flushing, decreased sweating, difficulty urinating, abdominal cramping, constipation, irregular heartbeat, confusion, and memory problems. Side effects may be more likely to occur in the elderly or those with a debilitating condition. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with these medications.

* NO LONGER ACTIVE on SA *

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED:  (6 year taper)      0mg Pristiq  on 13th November 2021

ADs since ~1992:  25+ years - 1 unknown, Prozac (muscle weakness), Zoloft; citalopram (pooped out) CTed (very sick for 2.5 wks a few months after); Pristiq:  50mg 2012, 100mg beg 2013 (Serotonin Toxicity)  Tapering from Oct 2015 - 13 Nov 2021   LAST DOSE 0.0025mg

Post 0 updates start here    My tapering program     My Intro (goes to tapering graph)

 VIDEO:   Antidepressant Withdrawal Syndrome and its Management

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Thank you for all that info ChessieCat, is much appreciated. 

1992   imipramine (can't remember dosage)

1992 - 2014 clomipramine 200mg per day

1997 - 2009 buspirone 15mg per day

2009 - 2015 quetiapine 800mg per day

2015  olanzapine 15mg per day

2015 zopiclone 7.5mg per night, tapered to 0

2015 - 2017 aripiprazole (various doses, reduced to zero)

2018 - present aripiprazole, tapered from 20mg to currently 2.5mg

2018 - present zopiclone as required (occasionally)

2014 - 2015 imipramine 150mg - 200mg, reduced quickly to 0mg

2015 - present imipramine, tapered from 150mg to 100mg currently

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