Mixing Alcohol and Prescription Medications

Disulfiram (brand name Antabuse) is another medicine that is sometimes used to treat alcoholism. Naltrexone does not make you feel sick if you drink alcohol while taking it. We’re barely scratching the surface with this list, but you should definitely think twice before drinking alcohol with these 10 categories of prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

• Taking alcohol with anti-anxiety medicines such as Xanax and Valium can lead to a range of adverse side effects, such as drowsiness, impaired driving, and respiratory depression.
• The recent study enrolled exclusively gay and transgender men, groups in which there is a higher prevalence of binge-drinking, so the findings might not be applicable to all binge drinkers.
• People can also have problems with motor control, memory, and behavior.
• Taking methadone while drunk can lead to life-threatening complications such as difficulty breathing, low blood pressure, weak heart rate, and coma.
• For example, a person may mix small amounts of alcohol with a drug.

When used as directed, prescription drugs can effectively manage a variety of ailments and issues. However, when misused, they can often become addictive and dangerous, especially when combined with other substances like alcohol. Adderall causes one to feel like they are not as drunk as they really are.

Do ibuprofen and caffeine mix?

Mixing these OTC medicines with alcohol may make driving hazardous. Alcohol is not a substance to take lightly when it comes to drug interactions. You are probably familiar with the drug interaction warning labels that appear each time you pick up your prescription bottle. The Do Not Drink Alcohol label should be taken seriously to avoid the possibility of dangerous, or even deadly, drug interactions. Always read the label and package insert of any medication you are taking, whether it has been prescribed by your doctor or purchased over-the-counter.

• They can have a variety of uses, including relieving pain due to illness or surgery, helping calm anxiety or maintaining impulse control.
• They may change your treatment or suggest ways you can deal with the side effects.
• Of these, about 51% are current regular drinkers (defined as at least 12 drinks in the past year), and about 13% are infrequent drinkers (defined as up to 11 drinks in the past year).

Each of these substances alone causes depression of the central nervous system, so the mixture of the two is extremely dangerous and has been proven to be fatal. If you’re concerned about your alcohol use, you may benefit from substance abuse counseling and treatment programs that can help you overcome your misuse of alcohol. Joining a support group or a 12-step program such as Alcoholics Anonymous may help. Don’t stop taking an antidepressant or other medication just so that you can drink. Most antidepressants require taking a consistent, daily dose to maintain a constant level in your system and work as intended. Stopping and starting your medications can make your depression worse.

Diabetes Medications

Naloxone can rapidly reverse opioid overdose by quickly restoring normal respiration to a person whose breathing has slowed or stopped due to mixing opioid pain medications with alcohol. Combining alcohol with medications used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) can cause dizziness, fainting, drowsiness, and arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat). Certain types of anti-nausea medication can be used to help someone who is trying to stop drinking alcohol. When used under medical supervision, the combination can be an effective way to treat alcohol withdrawal. The effects of mixing alcohol with medication also depend on certain individual factors. For example, women can experience the effects of mixing alcohol and medications more severely than men because of differences in metabolism.

If you take your medicine in the morning and you were drinking the night before, you could also sleep through the time you normally take it. Drinking alcohol while taking antihistamines can cause a less effective outcome of the medication. https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/alcohol-and-pills-what-are-the-effects-of-mixing/ Your body will choose to metabolize the alcohol before the antihistamines. Labels typically suggest you stay away from alcohol all together when on antihistamines so it is very important to always check any label on the drug.

Combining Alcohol And Drugs

These factors may reduce or increase the effect of the friendly bacteria in the Myrkl pills. The company that makes this supplement recommends that two pills are taken one to 12 hours before drinking alcohol. SAMHSA offers tools, training, and technical assistance to practitioners in the fields of mental health and substance use disorders. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), naloxone is one of a number of medications considered essential to a functioning health care system. It also tells what researchers have found about how well the medicines work to treat alcohol dependence and alcohol use disorder. Inpatient treatment is suitable for addressing severe conditions with a highly structured program to offer guidance throughout each recovery step.

Niacor can cause increased flushing and itching, and Pravigard can cause increased stomach bleeding. The use of complementary, alternative and herbal medicine has grown tremendously over the last few decades. A study by Ekors and colleagues noted that over 80% of people worldwide use some type of supplement. Many of these products are not regulated by authorities or monitored by a patient’s healthcare provider, and the potential for drug interactions is often unknown.

“It is extremely important to understand the ingredients in these medications and avoid alcohol [while taking them] as they may cause drowsiness, dizziness, liver damage, and nausea,” he explains. Because alcohol can also cause these same side effects, you’ll want to make sure to avoid it when you take these allergy meds. If you happen to have an anaphylactic reaction to an allergen after you’ve had a drink—in that case, take the antihistamine (and seek emergency medical help). Acamprosate, disulfiram, and naltrexone are the most common drugs used to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD). They do not provide a cure for the disorder but are most effective in people who participate in a MAUD program. Taking alcohol together with heroin increases the odds of an adverse reaction.

And since you are feeling mostly better, it might seem logical to take a dose of cough medicine before heading out to that holiday wine tasting event you’ve been looking forward to. Unfortunately, as long as you need the meds, you are going to need to pass on the wine. Well, OTC cough medicines tend to contain a mix of ingredients (like dextromethorphan, acetaminophen, antihistamines, decongestants) that each have their own individual alcohol interactions, says Dr. Yacoub. Many cough syrups even contain alcohol, he warns, so if you are drinking along with taking your NyQuil, you could be consuming alcohol in excess without even realizing it. The report included 135 studies and was reviewed by health care professionals, researchers, experts, and the public. But, depending on the medication you take and the amount of alcohol you drink, the combination could lead to dangerous interactions.

Other risk factors of combining cocaine and alcohol include heart attack, overdose or death. Most studies of medications for AUD also include counseling, so it is difficult to assess medication effects without counseling. Combining alcohol with bipolar disorder medications can lead to side effects such as dizziness, memory impairment, confusion, poor judgment, and an increased risk for falls and injury. Some drugs, when combined with alcohol, may lower blood pressure and increase the risk for fainting. Other possible side effects include hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, depression, suicidal thoughts, and panic attacks. It is important to always read the labels on prescription medications and adhere to the warnings about alcohol intake.

By Buddy T

Buddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on this website. Be especially careful with any drug or multi-symptom remedy containing acetaminophen or ibuprofen. John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine.

Depression pills and alcohol can result in added drowsiness, dizziness and risk for injury. It is usually best to avoid the combination of alcohol and medications for depression. Ask your prescriber, as some antidepressants may increase drowsiness and make driving hazardous, especially if mixed with alcohol. Alcohol and drug use increases the risks of unsafe sex, such as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), HIV and unwanted pregnancies. Roughly 24% of individuals with HIV are in need of substance abuse treatment. In 2019, nearly half of drug overdose deaths involved more than one drug.

If you’re at low risk of addiction to alcohol, it may be OK to have an occasional drink, depending on your particular situation, but talk with your doctor. Combining alcohol with Concerta, Ritalin, or Focalin can worsen concentration. Adderall, Dexedrine, and Vyvanse can increase a person’s risk for heart problems. Always consult your healthcare provider to ensure the information displayed on this page applies to your personal circumstances.

Most Common Drug and Alcohol Interactions

Birth control pills take three full hours to get into your blood stream and be effective. If you vomit due to drinking or any other causes before that three hour window, the effectiveness of birth control pills is diminished. Mixing alcohol and birth control can make some people feel nauseous, which can cause vomiting. These two substances are commonly mixed with the thought that they cancel each other out; this is NOT TRUE. Combining cocaine and alcohol produces a high amount of a third unique substance, called cocaethylene. A high amount of cocaethylene in the body increases the already harmful risk of cardiovascular toxicity to a much higher extent than any other drug.

• You might not need to completely avoid alcohol if you are taking a blood thinner.
• If your relationship with alcohol and prescription drugs has reached an unhealthy level, help is available.
• The severity of the side effects depends on the amount of tramadol and alcohol taken.
• When the two are mixed the alcohol reduces the feeling of the ecstasy’s high and puts a much greater strain on the kidneys.
• It is important to always read the labels on prescription medications and adhere to the warnings about alcohol intake.
• Use of prescription and non-prescription drugs, as well as herbal remedies, also is extremely prevalent.