Often one wonders how alcohol consumption influences treatment with certain medications, in the case of the combination of antidepressants and alcohol it should be noted that these are two psychoactive substances that can have serious effects on our body.
Without a doubt, these are two substances that are usually mixed in our society, it is not uncommon to find people with depressive disorders who consume alcohol or alcoholics suffering from depression.
- Therefore.
- It is important to know the effects and consequences of this association.
- More information about it in the following article.
When we talk about alcohol, we’re talking about ethyl alcohol or ethanol. Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that can be found in alcoholic beverages, such as wine, beer, spirits and soft drinks.
Alcohol acts in our body by depressing the central nervous system, specifically inhibiting GABA-A receptors from the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid)
Some effects of drinking a lot of alcohol include
Alcohol acts on the same receptors as many medical psychopharmaceuticals, so its effects are similar in some cases. Benzodiazepines are an example of these drugs that can act in the same way as alcohol.
In general, alcohol consumption is counter-added when treating any type of medication, in the case of antidepressants the reasons are even more serious.
As we’ve seen, some antidepressants work using the same neural pathway, the same mechanism, that alcohol uses. This implies that the combination of antidepressants and alcohol reinforces the individual effects of each of these substances.
The most important consequence of the combination of the two substances is the deep depression of the central nervous system. This implies an increase in depressive symptoms and also an increase in disinhibition and violent and uncontrollable behavior.
Some sedative effects are also enhanced, such as
On the other hand, there is also an increase in psychotropic effects due to the ability of certain antidepressant drugs, such as MAHIs, to inhibit alcohol metabolism in the liver.
In this way, metabolic oxidation reactions of substances such as alcohol and other drugs are inhibited and, as a result, the effects on the central nervous system are enhanced.
Another important consequence of the combination of antidepressants and alcohol is the enhancing of its side effects. Sleep disturbances are just one example.
Antidepressants for the treatment of alcoholism
Alcoholism is a complex condition in which many factors are present; as mentioned above, the condition has a close relationship with depression; in fact, some symptoms of alcoholism are treated with psychotropic medications such as anxiolytics or antidepressants.
The use of antidepressants even in the smoking cessation phase is currently being studied, some examples of remedies used are trazodone, venlafaxine and fluoxetine.
Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, SSRS, have been shown to be effective for symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome, as well as for reducing the uncontrollable thirst behavior of the substance.
On the other hand, antidepressants are also useful when severe depressive episodes occur during alcohol treatment, in fact there are many cases of patients suffering from depression and alcohol dependence at the same time, the treatment of these patients is a great advantage. Challenge.
In conclusion, the combination of antidepressants and alcohol has important effects on our body, we need to know their consequences and avoid the complications of their joint use.
During drug treatment, it is essential to follow the specialist’s instructions and clarify any questions we may have.