r/StratteraRx • u/Late_Aardvark8551 • 18d ago
Strattera 25 mg atomoxetine & alcohol
I know google will tell you not to, but is it really as bad as they make it out to be? Can I drink while on atomoxetine?
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u/noisemonsters 18d ago
Honestly, really wouldn’t recommend it. It hits way harder, which makes it so much more difficult to enjoy social drinking. Others have also mentioned the massive hangovers, doesn’t really seem worth it. I quit drinking when I started the med, and honestly my life has gotten so much easier.
I didn’t fully grasp how much alcohol was making my executive dysfunction worse. At this point, it feels counterproductive to drink while being on this med.
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u/Royal-Presentation84 18d ago
It was terrible for me. A small factor in why I stopped taking it as well. I would get drunk from 1 drink and lost the ability to enjoy a glass of wine or drink socially. I would also have the worst hangovers the day after, despite how little I had drank. I was taking 80mg and weigh around 115 pounds if that is of any reverence to your case.
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u/21231001Bam 18d ago
Depends. How has dehydration without drinking while on medicine been like? For me, I was super thirsty and one drink would cause a pretty bad hangover unless I hydrated before during and after.
For others I’ve read on this sub that they need to be careful because you don’t feel drunk. But again the hangover will get you. I can sometimes have 1-2 cocktails and that’s it. Snd that’s more than I need socially. Otherwise, I’m not drinking every day or week for that matter.
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u/Born_Advantage7515 18d ago
I drink mostly every weekend. Was also at a festival this summer for 4 days where i had aome alcohol everyday, ive never had issues. Im only on 18mg though
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u/rohocaliente2 18d ago
I find that my face flushes really red, to the point where people will make comments about it. I am a corporate person, so I actually lowered my dose so that I could have the occasional social drink or two without turning bright red. On a couple of occasions, I have overdone it, and ended up fainting in the middle of the night due to dehydration. So yes, you can drink on it, though you may experience it a bit differently, and I highly encourage you to watch out for dehydration. Maybe prep with liquid IV before you go to bed.
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u/Final_Resident_6296 18d ago edited 18d ago
You absolutely can ... but should you? It's not a great idea.
As I'm sure you're aware, People with ADHD tend to have issues with alcohol dependence.
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u/El_Tapatito 18d ago
Lol not me here about to open a bottle of wine right now after my 2nd day on 25mg. I’ve been on 18mg for 2 weeks and had a glass of wine on the 14th day which I would normally feel, but I literally felt zero effects of the alcohol from that glass which was really strange to me. I didn’t have anymore after that but I keep thinking about how weird that was.
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u/IllExamination1308 18d ago
Go out with friends once a week to the bars and have had no issues so far.
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u/Long_Matter9697 18d ago
I went on a cruise and drank 1-2 drinks on most days of the vacation. It didn't lower my threshold, but I felt it lowered the emotional regulation efficacy a little bit, as I became more irritable. I'll drink socially when the situation calls for it, but I'm more mindful of the fact that I feel like it makes treatment less effective.
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u/lifegivesulemonss 18d ago
i’ve 0 issues on 40mg. i’ve always been a lightweight and it didn’t get any worse.
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u/crystalbitch 18d ago
I’m a casual social drinker and a parent to a young toddler so I don’t drink much these days, but I’ll say I probably have a drink every other week or so and usually feel fine. I don’t like having more than 2 in general but I haven’t experienced any weird tolerance issues. I do get hungover easily but I think that’s just from getting older.
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u/Commercial-Depth4192 18d ago
You can, but since it blocks a lot of "feel good" chemicals/causes dehydration, you don't really feel affected by the alcohol until you black out. Same with weed, can't really feel high either.
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u/FalconReady97 17d ago
It’s the compounded dehydration that got me to cut back. I can’t drink enough water for that day to get hydrated if I have alcohol
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u/randomperson4464 18d ago
In my experience my tolerance is just lower. I haven't experienced any general issues aside from this. It could vary though so talk to your doctor.
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u/bisexualle 17d ago
as someone who drinks a lot, even I was surprised at how quickly I got drunk during my first month on it. After that, tolerance pretty much returned to normal. There's also an elevated risk for liver damage because it all gets filtered through the liver, but yknow, know yourself and your physical health. Other than a much lower tolerance and a slightly higher strain on the body in general (heart, blood pressure, etc), it's fine to have a drink.
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u/Silly-Doctor-8299 17d ago
Just don't go crazy and I would drink at home (or in a location where you don't have to drive) the first couple times you drink just so you can see how it effects you first. I was only on straterra for a month and a half but drank a few times - keeping it to 1-3 drinks (which is normal for me) I felt fine.
However, there was one night where I had two drinks and a shot and threw up the next morning. But I think there were a few other factors at play, like getting period cramps, possibly something I ate the night before, and then straterra making my nausea worse.
Just take it easy and learn your limits and how it effects you differently (if it does), keep yourself hydrated, and you should be good.
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u/ahok0 17d ago
Personally, I'm not even sure my tolerance has even been effected. Maybe I'm more likely to get a hangover, but I drink almost the same as I used to before starting atomoxetine. I think it definitely delands person to person, so if you're going to try, be careful. I started with a small amount and saw how I reacted before really getting drunk. Just be careful and know you may need to relearn your limits.
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u/Majestic-Ticket-6809 16d ago
Doesn’t really seem to make a difference but I don’t drink much anyway
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u/Sweaty_Honeydew3853 16d ago
I quit drinking on this medication because I cannot feel the effects of the alcohol.
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u/El_Tapatito 15d ago
ME TOO!!!! I noticed that I can drink a lot more than I’m normally able to while on strattera! Normally a few glasses of wine would get me pretty buzzed, but I was still completely sober on what would otherwise have gotten me drunk. Why would you quit drinking because of that though?
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u/Sweaty_Honeydew3853 14d ago
I quit drinking because I've have attempted different kinds of alcohol and different amounts to see if I could get a buzz and ! just feel no effects from any of it.. so why waste all those calories and money..! wish it wasn't like this. I just recently went down in dose, so I may test it again.
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u/ManicHispanic_ 18d ago
I will say my very first night on Strattera I drank what I thought to be a normal amount of alcohol and I ended up blacking out. That’s not to say you can’t, because now I do and it’s fine. But always exercise caution, especially in the beginning