Alcohol and Prescription Drugs – A Deadly Combination

By mixing alcohol with medicines either for getting high or by accident, you will be set for an overdose or high risk of damage to the body.

Side effects of mixing alcohol and prescription drugs include:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Drowsiness and excessive sleep
• Fatigue
• Heart damage
• Bp fluctuations
• Mood changes
• Headache
• Loss of motor skills

Long term side effects of mixing alcohol and prescription drugs include:

• Heart problems, stroke, or heart attack
• Liver damage, failure, or cancer
• Internal bleeding
• Brain damage
• Depression, anxiety, or other mental health problems

Whether you have noticed this warning on the prescription medicines’ labels or not, the danger is real. While mixing alcohol with certain medicines could cause nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, fainting and some other side effects, some combinations can put you at a risk of heart failures, internal bleeding and respiratory issues. Primarily, they can nullify the effect of the medicine or cause harmful or toxic reactions in your body. Most over-the-counter medicines that you never suspect are harmful can create such havoc after mixing with alcohol that the user may end up lifeless or with major complications. We should remember that medications are chemicals and are typically safe when administered in the method and doses prescribed by the doctors.

Alcohol like some other medicines can make you drowsy adding to the already existing drowsiness. Medicines are a combination of chemicals. Some medicines that are used for treating allergy, pain and cough are formulated to mum the signals of the nervous system and have the effect of making your senses numbed upon consuming them. Especially in these cases, the users are prone to falling, causing injury to themselves or sometimes even falling to death. You may also be having trouble focussing or performing motor skills. In such cases, it becomes extremely dangerous to drive. The fact that some medicines like cough syrup and laxatives already contain 10% alcohol along with other compounds makes the situation even worse.

Why older people are at higher risk

These conditions amplify in older people as the body’s ability to process alcohol in them slows down. As a result, alcohol remains in their system for longer periods of time and so do the symptoms from interactions with prescription medicines. In fact, they already administer too many medicines given their age and they have deposits of them in their bodies. Revival becomes tougher in elders in case of serious interactions of prescription medicines with alcohol. 

Incidence of overdose in women

Women, in general, are more delicate in health than men due to various reasons. We can see that most women react higher to the same amount of alcohol than men. This is because of the low

Nearly 48,000 women have been reported to have died of prescription painkiller overdoses between 1999 and 2010. Also, a study says that deaths from prescription painkiller overdoses among women have increased more than 400% since 1999, compared to 265% among men.

When a woman drinks, the alcohol in her bloodstream typically reaches a higher level than a man’s even if both are drinking the same amount. This is because women’s bodies generally have less water than men’s bodies. Because alcohol mixes with body water, a given amount of alcohol is more concentrated in a woman’s body than in men. As a result, women are more susceptible to alcohol-related damage to organs such as the liver.

Types of prescription drugs and their alcohol combination effects are listed below

Opioid Painkillers

Analgestics, or prescription narcotic painkillers, are some of the most widely abused drugs in the world, leading to the opioid addiction epidemic. According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 91 people die on average every day because of an opioid overdose. This group of addictive drugs includes heroin, morphine, methadone, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and codeine. Narcotic prescription painkillers are dangerous enough on their own, but mixing these drugs with alcohol increases their relaxing, drowsy effects and radically increases the risk of overdose. Oxygen deprivation is the cause of overdose death among people struggling with opioid addiction.

Benzodiazepines

These fast-acting anti-anxiety medications act on the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors, leading to a sense of calm that helps to relieve anxiety, panic attacks, insomnia, and even seizure disorders like epilepsy. Alcohol also acts on the GABA receptors, so many health organisations recommend supervised doses of benzodiazepines, usually long-acting Valium, to help people struggling with alcoholism taper off the physical need for alcohol. Because benzodiazepines and alcohol act on similar areas of the brain, people who abuse alcohol may take benzodiazepines to enhance the effects of alcohol, or vice versa. This is an extremely dangerous practice that can lead to poisoning, overdose, and death. Increased side effects, which can quickly become dangerous,

Prescription Stimulants

People who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) benefit from prescription doses of stimulant medications, which include Ritalin, Adderall, and Vyvanse. These drugs adjust the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain, and for those with ADHD, this helps them stay focused and on task. However, many people struggle with stimulant abuse because of “study drugs,” the trend of abusing stimulant drugs to cram for a test or stay up all night writing school papers. Adolescents and young adults who abuse stimulants for these reasons do not have ADHD, so these drugs affect their brains differently, and this abuse likely leads to physical dependence and addiction. Many of the adolescents who began abusing stimulant drugs in school now continue that abuse in the workplace. The likelihood that they mix diverted ADHD drugs with alcohol is very high. Harmful side effects from mixing ADHD prescription drugs with a sedative like alcohol include:

Antidepressants

While antidepressant drugs, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), are a very important development in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and related mental health problems, these drugs should never be taken without also going to therapy sessions. Abuse of antidepressants is rare, but it does happen, especially in the form of prescription misuse. Mixing antidepressants with alcohol can lead to problematic effects. When mixed with alcohol, your antidepressant may be less effective, so you may feel depressed or anxious. Cognitive processes like memory or thinking can be inhibited, or you may feel very sleepy or sedated. Older classes of antidepressants, called MAOIs, can cause damage to the heart when mixed with alcohol. High blood pressure, increased risk of blood clots, and heart attack can all lead to lasting harm or death. Side effects of mixing any antidepressant with alcohol can become dangerous.

Some lethal combinations include:

·        Restil (pill) and alcohol

·        Joelfresh (pill) and alcohol

·        Valium (pill) and alcohol

In case of emergency, it is important to visit a medical practitioner as soon as possible. Addiction of Prescription drugs is as true as illegal drug addiction and requires medical intervention at the earliest.

Phoenix Rehab Services is a leading Rehabilitation Centre in India for Substance Abuse and Behavioural Addiction. At Phoenix, we can help provide the right tools to you or your loved ones on the journey to lead a healthy life free from addiction. Our reliable & effective Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery Program is headed and supported by experienced & dedicated de-addiction therapists and is driven by motivated staff that is equipped to handle the various needs of patients and has years of experience in treating addiction.