I found out something recently that I'd never considered and that is a possible connection between antidepressants and cravings for alcohol and/or sugar.

I've been taking antidepressants for several years, starting with Cymbalta and shortly thereafter moving to Celexa as the Cymbalta gave me pretty bad insomnia.

About the time I started on the Celexa I also began to drink more. I'd lost my job at the time and thought that was the reason but the drinking continued although I did get another, although crappy, job.

I experienced cravings for alcohol that I'd never experienced before although being a social drinker for most of my life. Went to meetings which never helped as the 12 step programs always seemed like an unlikely answer to the problem.

Recently my wife suggested that I look into changing to a different antidepressant so I began researching Celexa only to find that it, and it's little brother Lexapro are considered to be the most effective of all the meds.

However, in doing the research, I came across more than a few forum posts from people who said that they went from light or moderate drinkers to heavy drinkers after starting on the medication.

I then Googled ssri+alcohol cravings and was astonished at the number of posts, articles, etc. which seemed to support the idea. The working hypothesis is that, over time, the medication can cause a drop in blood sugar levels. For those of us who drink, this can cause an overwhelming compulsion to drink and for those with a sweet tooth, an overwhelming compulsion for sugar. This could go a long ways towards explaining the weight gains that many people experience while on these medications.

I decided to go cold turkey off my Celexa and, although I haven't stopped drinking completely, the overwhelming urge and compulsion that I felt to do so have disappeared.

Not suggesting this is the answer for everyone but it might be worth looking into further.

TM