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SSRI's and illegal drugs

T

tamoz

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Messages
89
Location
cali
So heres the scoop...

Ive just been prescribed Celexa (citalopram), and I have a drug interaction question.

To those of you who have been on Celexa or a similar SSRI, what are your experiences with opioids or any other substances interfering with the drug?

I also smoke weed everyday but I doubt that would pose a life threatening problem;)

So thoughts? comments? concerns?

:)Thanks.
 
Nothing life-threatening, but if you do pretty much any recreational drug with regularity the chances of an SSRI working like it's supposed to are really slim, IMO. That includes weed.

Moving to Basic Drug Discussion. Please post basic combination questions there from now on.
 
I went through a bout of addiction to fentanyl and hydromorphone when I was on Lexapro (escitalopram, just a modified citalopram molecule) and then on Effexor XR without any strange effects.

Just be careful to not let that stuff get out of hand.
 
GenericMind said:
Nothing life-threatening, but if you do pretty much any recreational drug with regularity the chances of an SSRI working like it's supposed to are really slim, IMO. That includes weed.

Moving to Basic Drug Discussion. Please post basic combination questions there from now on.
Click to expand...

Doesnt include weed, also, that is just not true about nothing life threatening. DXM and a few others can cause serotonin syndrome. Stay away from any NMDA antagonists.
 
I hadn't known that any illicit drugs impair the effectiveness of SSRI's. SWIM takes 100mg of sertraline (zoloft) daily, smokes weed about 2-3 times a week, binge drinks 4-5 times a week, and every now and then splurges on some pills (SWIM just got 100 perc 5's today). Would this regimen very likely impair the zoloft?
 
Temeraroius said:
Doesnt include weed, also, that is just not true about nothing life threatening. DXM and a few others can cause serotonin syndrome. Stay away from any NMDA antagonists.
Click to expand...


Well I was aware that some drugs affect the same nuerotransmitters that the SSRIs do, i.e. serotonin. like e, of course I wont be rolling on SSRI's
 
I'm on Citalopram, and no issues with opiates. The only thing you have to be really careful with are other drugs that play with serotonin levels. Most of them just won't work (MDMA, psychedelics, dissociatives), but there's a chance of a rare, potentially fatal reaction called Serotonin Syndrome. You also have to watch out for drugs that are going to lower the seizure threshold, like Tramadol or amphetamines. Basically if one of the possible overdose effects of a drug is seizures, you need to be careful with it on Citalopram.

I've used alcohol, pot, benzos, non-benzo hypnotics, coke, opiates, and even low doses of Tramadol (100-150mg), and they haven't impaired the function of the SSRI. By far the worst experience I've had on Citalopram was missing the medication for two days. Don't miss doses, and if you're going to stop taking it, taper off.
 
Thanks for the info. When I was dumb, I took upwards of 400mg tramadol while on 50mg sertraline. No side effects, but I guess I was lucky, considering I have virtually no opiate tolerance.
 
tamoz said:
So heres the scoop...

Ive just been prescribed Celexa (citalopram), and I have a drug interaction question.

To those of you who have been on Celexa or a similar SSRI, what are your experiences with opioids or any other substances interfering with the drug?

I also smoke weed everyday but I doubt that would pose a life threatening problem;)

So thoughts? comments? concerns?

:)Thanks.
Click to expand...

Assuming your taking your standard opiates (hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine, codeine, etc) and not something like tramadol, there shouldn't be any terrible interactions between your Celexa and opiates.

However, some opiates (like tramadol) can cause some pretty nasty things if mixed with SSRIs. Including but not limited to: serotonin toxicity, lowered threshold for convulsions (much more likely to have a seizure), increased body temp, and even death.
I went through a little tramadol stage at one point, and I was on 150mg of Effexor. I would take 200mg of tramadol as a standard dose and I survived without much side effects, but EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT, and what didn't hurt me might hurt you.

As for other drug interactions that can happen with Celexa (just in case you weren't aware):
-MDMA will not effect you at all. There might be a mild stimulant effect, but for the most part you will not feel anything from MDMA.
-Amphetamines/Cocaine/Stimulants should be relatively unaffected and can be used safely, however some people report a longer amphetamine duration while on SSRIs, and people also report less of a "lovely empathetic" feeling from stimulants while on SSRIs.
-LSD/Mushrooms will be dulled down a little bit in effects. I'm not exactly sure why, but SSRIs significantly lower the effects of LSD/Mushrooms and other 5-HT2a psychedelics.
-Alcohol might be more sedating, and combining alcohol with SSRIs will be an extra load on your liver which could cause some damage.
-Benzodiazepines have pretty much no negative interactions with SSRIs, and they are actually quite commonly used in conjunction with SSRI treatment to get rid of the onset anxiety of the first few weeks of SSRI treatment.
-DXM with an SSRI can cause serotonin syndrome, and can be life-threatening. I used to take DXM while I was on 150mg of effexor, and I lived. But I was potentially playing Russian Roulette with chemicals. The effects were a lot stronger and uncomfortable.

I know that's probably more info than what you asked for, but just in case someone who uses the search engine or someone from google happens to wander in here (a lot of people probably search "SSRIs and drugs"), then this information might be useful.
 
Thank you thank you thank you thats exactly the information I was searching for. My drugs of choice are oxys, weed and Ativan, the latter were perscribed along with the Celexa. By this information I will definitely not roll while im on this anti, and I will definitely research a drug and its effects on the pleasure centers of the brain in relation to the SSRI.(dopamine, serotonin etc...).

Oh yeah Ive never been into stims...ever, so im sure that will not be too much of a problem.

Thank you for all the information, this truly is a harm reduction site.

Much love =D
 
SpunkySkunk347 said:
-Amphetamines/Cocaine/Stimulants should be relatively unaffected and can be used safely, however some people report a longer amphetamine duration while on SSRIs, and people also report less of a "lovely empathetic" feeling from stimulants while on SSRIs.
Click to expand...

of course everyone is different, but on two different kinds of SSRI's I would have to take an obcene amount of cocaine to get the same high. like shooting .4 instead of .1. A line wouldn't do anything.

Amphetamines seemed to work just fine, but the weirdest thing happened one time taking a good amount of meth (also on an SSRI), I blacked out (browned out).. on a stimulant! Very weird.. I cant remember if it was prozac or paxil (i will never do paxil again) I'm currently on celexa and just drink beer and smoke weed, thats very good for this addict.
 
I also take Lexapro. Does anyone know how long I should not take them, or what I should do so that I can roll? I rarely do MDMA now-a-days, but I'd like to be able to if the times comes. Any comments are appreciated.
 
I take Zoloft with Suboxone. No negative interactions and the SSRI doesn't reduce the effects of the Suboxone in anyway. I've been on SSRI/SNRI's for a long time and opiates for a long time as well, mostly oxycodone and heroin. I've never noticed any negative interactions. Just from my experience.
 
SECSpeed said:
I hadn't known that any illicit drugs impair the effectiveness of SSRI's. SWIM takes 100mg of sertraline (zoloft) daily, smokes weed about 2-3 times a week, binge drinks 4-5 times a week, and every now and then splurges on some pills (SWIM just got 100 perc 5's today). Would this regimen very likely impair the zoloft?
Click to expand...

why hasnt anyone told this guy that we dont use SWIM here?:p
 
OnThemThangs said:
I also take Lexapro. Does anyone know how long I should not take them, or what I should do so that I can roll? I rarely do MDMA now-a-days, but I'd like to be able to if the times comes. Any comments are appreciated.
Click to expand...

Honestly, getting off the Lexapro for a long enough time that it is not going to interact is going to be a pain in your ass, unfortunately, since it is not something you want to just stop outright, but rather, is something you need to titrate off of, gradually. So unless you make plans to roll some 2 weeks ahead of time... good luck my man.
 
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