[chickiedisco]

Hey, I'm new here and just started a starter kit of Lamictal.  How does it interact with alcohol?  I know that I've been self-medicating over the years, but nonetheless I hope to still have your occasional glass of wine etc.  Will it work OK or do you find you have cut down with the booze??

[LikeMinded]

Ashamedly, I get completely trashed several times a week (which takes 6+ drinks in less than an hour for me), and this has yet to have affected the pharmacokinetics or end effects of Lamictal.  For what it's worth, I shouldn't be doing this.  Perhaps I'll stop doing this once I actually get a job that everybody else thinks I deserve. 

[revlow]

Hi! Glad you made it here!

I know there was a thread on just this topic recently, and I've tried to find it; haven't been able to so far. I might be wrong, but what I remember is this: Some people on Lamictal have a problem when they drink...the alcohol effects them more, feel more hungover the next day. Others have no problem drinking occasionally.

I'm a lightweight drinker. Don't do it very often anyway, and when I do it's just a glass of wine or a small brandy. I didn't have a drink for the first four months after starting Lamictal. When I did, I was pleasantly surprised to find I had no ill effects. And I've had the occasional drink since then -- no problem.

Keep asking questions! There's plenty of people here willing to help.

Best,
revlow

This post has been edited by revlow: 25 January 2006 - 01:29 AM

[blackmilk]

For me drinking on Lamictal almost always results in a punishing hangover, even after just one drink. Booze is a mood destabilizing drug anyway - no better time to cut down than now.

Good luck - cheers!
-k

[Unregistered]

I'm the other way - lamictal has somewhat increased my tolerance for booze, and I no longer get severe hangovers. But like herrfous said, I shouldn't really be doing it.

[chickiedisco]

well, of course I celebrated my first dosage of Lamictal with half a bottle of excellent red wine, but of course, nothing happened whatsoever.  i'm hoping for the best, and not sure that this medication is for me -- but two psychs seemed to think i was bipolar (i thought more ADHD, but they were afraid to give me adderall because i am a bit manic).  since i am going to mardi gras in nola, and it'll be one month into the medication, i just know there'll be lots of boozing down there, so just want to be ready.

[Loon-A-TiK]

my uncle is a pharmacist and for ME PERSONALLY told ME that I"M allowed a glass of wine-sometimes 2, per day on my crazymeds. he just said not to exceed 4 a week. i rarely drink and don't get near 4 very often. when i do it is all at once. so far it seems to not have any interaction with my meds.

don't try this at home, as a medical prof who you trust. my uncle is just someone i trust.

-------DISCLAIMER-------------

-------loon------------

[miab]

I haven't noticed any particular interaction, but I drink very rarely (not really a good idea since I'm on valium, but I have issues with alcohol anyway).  Last time was on a 9 hr plane trip last week when we hit a snowstorm and I honestly thought we were all going to die.  Downed a gin and tonic in record time, passed out and woke up with no hangover.  The G&T thing is highly unusual; I'm more likely to have an occasional glass of wine.  My pdoc has never given me any warnings about drinking on lamictal specifically. 

[revlow]

chickiedisco, on Jan 25 2006, 07:47 AM, said:

well, of course I celebrated my first dosage of Lamictal with half a bottle of excellent red wine...

...since i am going to mardi gras in nola, and it'll be one month into the medication, i just know there'll be lots of boozing down there, so just want to be ready.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe this'll just seem plain ol' naive of me to say, but just 'cause they'll "be lots of boozing down there" doesn't mean you need to partake. And you can moderate what drinking you do.

Really, especially in the early stages of getting to know how you are going to react to a crazy drug, adding booze into the mix is not a great idea.

In your original question you said, "I hope to still have your occasional glass of wine etc." That's one thing. An entire bottle of wine, or a druken bacchanal, is quite another. Be careful. You do want to give this new med the best chance you can to work, right?

This post has been edited by revlow: 28 January 2006 - 11:39 PM

[LikeMinded]

revlow -

An entire bottle of wine does not a 'Bacchanal' make.  It takes me at least two bottles of wine within 2-3 hours to make me drunk enough to notice.  As a roommate of mine (a wine shop purveyor no less) once said, "you've had two bottles of wine?!?!??!".

and FYI for anybody who asks, I'm about 5'7" and weigh in the vicinity of 135 pounds. 

I am particularly good at acting sober whilst drunk off my ass.

This post has been edited by herrfous: 29 January 2006 - 01:49 AM

[Dweii]

I don't know which med is causing this, but I'm on Lamictal among some other ones. I CANNOT drink. Either I get a blackout or I wake up with a hangover from hell that lasts almost two days. Not worth it.

[Artchick]

I take a cocktail of Lamictal, Effexor XR, Zoloft, and Risperdal, so I don't have any idea which drug does what.

I can have 2 beers and I'm feeling pretty happy. Three beers and I'm drunk. I cannot even image more beers than that. I used to be a pretty hard drinker with a pretty high tolerance. Now I usually have 2 beers and that is it. I don't have any hangover if I stick to two. I drink pints of import/micro-brew by the way.

[crazyethel]

I drink an occasional beer, one of those silly frozen things, a glass of wine and all I get are a flushed face, a hot feeling (temperature), and sleepiness.  So it's not any fun at all.  Why bother?

[solstar]

I drank on Lamictal and didn't have any effects.  In fact I didn't even get a buzz. I was also taking Lexapro.  I will not drink on Wellbutrin except for a sip or two....too risky.

[Waterfall]

Before Lamictal, I was majorly self medicating with booze.  Now, I still drink but I don't usually get drunk and I almost never get hangovers.  And when I do drink, it's more than just a couple.  Not advocating this, just being honest.

[revlow]

herrfous, on Jan 28 2006, 11:46 PM, said:

revlow -

An entire bottle of wine does not a 'Bacchanal' make.  It takes me at least two bottles of wine within 2-3 hours to make me drunk enough to notice.  As a roommate of mine (a wine shop purveyor no less) once said, "you've had two bottles of wine?!?!??!".

and FYI for anybody who asks, I'm about 5'7" and weigh in the vicinity of 135 pounds. 

I am particularly good at acting sober whilst drunk off my ass.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

herrfous, sweetie...

Calm down. My remarks were not addressed to you. I was responded to chickiedisco who had posted the original Q. You can even see that in my post; I'd quoted her 2nd post. And, yes, I do think that "since i am going to mardi gras in nola, and it'll be one month into the medication, i just know there'll be lots of boozing down there, so just want to be ready" just might imply some bacchanalian drinking. Sort of says it right there in what she herself says.

PS - Being good at acting sober "whilst drunk off my ass" is not necessarily a good thing. I'm glad it works for you.

Known a lot of alcoholics who could "drink anyone under the table," etc. Not saying for you, just in general: this can be an obvious sign of tolerance, which again is not necessarily a good thing.

This post has been edited by revlow: 29 January 2006 - 07:00 PM

[LikeMinded]

Oh Revlow -

I wasn't criticizing you for anything... just thought your term 'Bacchanal' was a little hyperbolic.  Then again, beauty is in the eye of the beer-holder.....

[Naeblis]

i've been on 300mg of lamictal since last may.  i have a few drinks a week and have found no adverse issues.  (that i know of).

[Anne]

crazyethel, on Jan 29 2006, 09:29 AM, said:

I drink an occasional beer, one of those silly frozen things, a glass of wine and all I get are a flushed face, a hot feeling (temperature), and sleepiness.  So it's not any fun at all.  Why bother?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 
What's up with the wine and the flushing?  I really enjoy wine.  I belong to a wine club and enjoy reading about it but when I do have a glass now, my chest, cheeks, nose and ears get really red, hot and flushed.  I wonder why?