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driving while medicated
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Pantine posted:
I have a question about driving alone while medicated, with a young child in the car. The issue is whether it is safe to be driving alone (for longer, say, than one hour) while currently taking Celexa, Mirtazapine, and Quetiapine. An obvious concern here is the side effects of such drugs.
4 Replies |Watch This Discussion | Report This| Share this:driving while medicatedI have a question about driving alone while medicated, with a young child in the car. The issue is whether it is safe to be driving <i>alone</i> (for longer, say, than one hour) while currently taking Celexa, Mirtazapine, and Quetiapine. An obvious concern here is the side effects of such drugs.
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An_245687 responded:
Pantine, In my experience, people react differently to meds. So, when you're on the meds, go for a short drive by yourself to see if you can drive while on the meds. That's what I did. I have no problem driving on klonopin, Effexor and Wellbutrin.

Hope this helps.
Report This| Share this:driving while medicatedPantine, In my experience, people react differently to meds. So, when you're on the meds, go for a short drive by yourself to see if you can drive while on the meds. That's what I did. I have no problem driving on klonopin, Effexor and Wellbutrin.<br /><br />Hope this helps.
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Joseph F Goldberg, MD responded:
Dear Pantine,

You raise an excellent question which all too often, unfortunately, doctors may neglect to spontaneously bring up with their patients -- that is, is it safe to drive (or operate machinery, etc.) on a particular medication regimen. While there is no specific rule of thumb, the rule of thumb is, do not engage in potentially hazardous activities if you are not confident in your ability to do them, and ask your doctor if you are unsure and he or she does not bring it up spontaneously. Most psychiatric medicines have warning labels to this effect on their labels. Among the medicines you mention, mirtazapine and quetiapine are both antihistamines that can be extremely sedating for some people, which could potentially affect alertness and reaction time. Your doctor can best advise you about the likelihood that this may be the case for you (depending on the dose, how long you've been taking the medicines, other medicines, other medical problems, avoiding alcohol, etc.). Sometimes it is also helpful when doctors send patients for a driving test to answer this question most scientifically.

Dr. G.
Report This| Share this:driving while medicatedDear Pantine,<br /> <br />You raise an excellent question which all too often, unfortunately, doctors may neglect to spontaneously bring up with their patients -- that is, is it safe to drive (or operate machinery, etc.) on a particular medication regimen. While there is no specific rule of thumb, the rule of thumb is, do not engage in potentially hazardous activities if you are not confident in your ability to do them, and ask your doctor if you are unsure and he or she does not bring it up spontaneously. Most psychiatric medicines have warning labels to this effect on their labels. Among the medicines you mention, mirtazapine and quetiapine are both antihistamines that can be extremely sedating for some people, which could potentially affect alertness and reaction time. Your doctor can best advise you about the likelihood that this may be the case for you (depending on the dose, how long you've been taking the medicines, other medicines, other medical problems, avoiding alcohol, etc.). Sometimes it is also helpful when doctors send patients for a driving test to answer this question most scientifically.<br /> <br />Dr. G.
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Pantine replied to Joseph F Goldberg, MD's response:
Thank you, Dr. G.
Report This| Share this:driving while medicatedThank you, Dr. G.
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bpcookie responded:
depending on the state you live in, the medication you take, how much you take, how often you take it, how long it lasts in your blood stream etc., it may be considered a DUI. So you may want to looking into that before you get into your car and drive while medicated. Better safe than sorry.
The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning. ~Ivy Baker Priest
Report This| Share this:driving while medicateddepending on the state you live in, the medication you take, how much you take, how often you take it, how long it lasts in your blood stream etc., it may be considered a DUI. So you may want to looking into that before you get into your car and drive while medicated. Better safe than sorry. <img src="http://img.webmd.com/community/images/smile.gif" align="top" border="0">
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