[Guest]

Dr.,

Beofre my Panic Disorder started 6 months ago, I had always been a collector and lover of wine. I have cut consumption during this period as to not aggravate the condition, but still have a few hundred bottles in my cellar and to drop this hobby would be very painful for me. I know that my Celexa and other SSRIs are relatively safe with alcohol, but I understand alcohol will interact with the benzos. Two questions:

1. Other than decreasing my tolerance for wine (which I would be able to manage once I understood what my new tolerances were) are there any other threats of combining the two in moderation? (I usually consume up to 1/2 bottle with little effect, almost never more). Any increased threat to my liver or other damage that would not be visible to me (as the decreased tolerance would be and as such I could easily monitor)?

2. Any particular Benzo worse than others in combining with my wine (I take Xanax, and would like to switch to Klonopin if it as effective due to needing 4 doses a day of Xanax for 24 hour coverage).

Thanks as always, I love my wine and getting rid of all those bottles and dropping my hobby would really upset me.

[Guest]

Wine and benzos do interact. You become a cheap date. Wine will be more potent. Driving will be dangerous on the combination or handling heavy machinery,etc.

If taken as directed, the pills do not cause any more complicated problems. Overdoses become much more serious due to cardiac and respitory depression. I cannot tell you to combine them, but I do know of many people who do so by minimizing their alcohol intake.

The benzos are more similar than different. Alprazolam (Ativan) and Oxezepam (Serax) have a less compicated path through the liver. In a healthy person, this really doesn't come into play. Klonopin last longer. Again, the comparable disadvantages and advantages of particular agents are slight.You might not want to take any pills immediately before drinking, period.
[quote] Dr. ,

Beofre my Panic Disorder started 6 months ago, I had always been a collector and lover of wine... [/quote]