Hello doctor, My question is actually regarding my husband. He is currently taking Citalopram and Abilify for his depression. He works a manual labor job and is consuming a cup of coffee every morning, two energy drinks, and a five-hour energy during the course of the day. He then comes home and drinks four to six beers and had three to five shots of hard alcohol as well as smoking marijuana all night. He has been diagnosed with sleep apnea and never uses his CPAP machine. I have told him my concerns but he tells me that he is fine. He will not talk to his primary and in fact, lies to him on a regular basis about his lifestyle. What health problems is he at risk with his current lifestyle? Should I contact his primary? I am very concerned about his drinking and lack of sleep are increasing.
Hello. His lifestyle is detrimental to healthy living. One should never mix Citalopram with alcohol and that too in sleep apnea patient. The center of breathing in the brain in these patients is stressed as the patient is not getting oxygen properly and hence constantly needs to wake the patient in the night to maintain that. Now alcohol and Citalopram will hinder this function which can be very dangerous plus him not using CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) makes this dangerous. People with sleep apnea remain very sleepy throughout the day and hence he might be taking all those energy drinks which will end up increasing his weight and cause more sleep apnea. I suggest to stop all energy drinks and alcohol completely and use CPAP which will keep him energetic throughout the day as well. Do revert back if you have any further queries.