Did Effexor cause anyone to drink more alcohol and increase their tolerance?

[Luciafrancesca]

I took Effexor for 3 years, during which my drinking significantly increased as well as my tolerance. I'm 5'6" and 117 lbs, it was unbelievable the amount I could consume in a night. I went from drinking about 2-3 times a month to going out and getting trashed 2-3 times a week. A typical night out prior to taking Effexor might consist of four drinks which would make me pretty tipsy. A typical night out while I was taking Effexor would consist of about 15 or so drinks. My behavior also changed, I became very wild, out of control and very angry. In July of this year I was undergoing ECT and went out drinking one night. I awoke the next morning in jail. In one night I racked up 9 charges. The most serious charges are DUI, resisting arrest and aggrevated menacing. I have no memory of the night due to the alcohol and ECT. I had NEVER been arrested before. I am a married stay at home mom and I had never behaved like that before the Effexor.

I am about to go to court soon for all of the charges and I just wanted to see if anyone else has had any of these reactions to Effexor. Any and all replies would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Luciafrancesca

[Anna]

Yes, it's a known side effect in some people (not one I have experienced personally).

Anna

[Velvet Elvis]

Never happened to me, but as Anna said, it's a known side effect. It's part of why I've refused to go on Effexor in the past. I have trouble in that area to begin with.

[Luciafrancesca]

Never happened to me, but as Anna said, it's a known side effect. It's part of why I've refused to go on Effexor in the past. I have trouble in that area to begin with.

Thanks for the replies. I had no idea about that side effect when I started taking it. I also had no idea what a nightmare it would be coming off of it. I'm finally off of it but there were many times that I had started to ween off of it but had to stop because of the withdrawl.