Zoloft and Alcohol:
Do They Mix?

As with most medications, Zoloft and alcohol, do not mix and taking them together can have some repercussions.

Zoloft is an SSRI, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and, generally speaking, combining SSRI’s and alcohol is not a good idea. In some cases, the alcohol can impact the effectiveness of the medication. In other cases, the medication increases the effects of the alcohol. So, generally speaking, taking SSRI's and alcohol both together is not a very good idea.

This is generally speaking. What about speaking specifically to combining alcohol with Zoloft? And, more specifically, the liquid version?

I specifically call out liquid Zoloft, or Sertraline, here because the liquid version contains 12% alcohol as one of its inactive ingredients. Since there is alcohol in the medication, what considerations should you have when combining them in this case?

Because of the concentration of alcohol in this med, it must be diluted before taking the prescribed Zoloft dose. To do so, Pfizer recommends that you simply take the amount precribed by your doctor and mix it with ½ a cup of water, ginger ale, lemon-lime soda, lemonade or orange juice.

It is important not to mix it with any other liquids than what is mentioned above so you don't dilute the does and reduce the effectiveness of the medication. Also, because of the alcohol content, you should not take it with the medication Antabuse.

As mentioned earlier, generally speaking, it is not recommended that you mix alcohol with any medication. Afterall, it's better to be safe than sorry! However, interestingly enough, Pfizer did do a study to evaluate the risks of combining Zoloft and alcohol and the results were a bit shocking.

In the experiments that were done, Pfizer determined that the combination of the two probably does not pose a significant risk. First, there is alcohol in it ... I would suspect that had something to do with it. Also, they found that it did not increase potential impairment in motor skills or mental functioning.

So, can you mix alcohol and Zoloft? Based on findings, it appears that there aren't any serious concerns when you mix the two. With that said, I strongly recommend that you proceed with caution and pay particular attention to how it affects you as an individual.

Zoloft comes with its own set of Zoloft common side effects and the side effects vary from person to person. For instance, with Zoloft hair loss has been experienced by some people, albeit a small percentage. Also, aside from alcohol, there is often an interaction with other foods, supplements and drugs. Zoloft medications should be thoroughly understood before choosing it as your treatment of choice.

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