One of the reasons why Xanax is so effective for treating panic is that peak impact from the dose comes quickly. Most people will experience it between one and two hours after taking their dose. Likewise, if you experience signs of withdrawal, you should contact your doctor immediately. Xanax is a potentially habit-forming drug, so some people may develop a dependency or addiction without realizing it.
- Combining Xanax (or any other benzodiazepine) with an opioid can cause severe drowsiness, trouble breathing, coma, or death.
- Comparatively, the combination of alprazolam plus alcohol led to more significant impairment on a subset of tests, suggesting greater physiologic intoxication.
- Be sure to talk to a healthcare professional before taking Xanax with other substances to avoid potentially dangerous drug interactions.
- The potential side effects in a baby include sedation, poor temperature regulation, and lethargy.
If you need to take Xanax and opioids at the same time, your doctor will explain the risks. They’ll also monitor you closely for signs of breathing trouble and severe sleepiness as these may require emergency medical care. If you take Xanax, don’t stop it without talking to your doctor first. You need to follow a program with your doctor’s supervision to taper off the high doses and ultimately quit entirely. Rehab equips individuals with the tools needed for a lifetime of sobriety. Contact a Rancho Cucamonga drug rehab specialist today to explore your options.
How Concurrent Alcohol and Xanax Misuse Is Treated
Even if you consider yourself a responsible drinker and you take Xanax exactly as prescribed, you should be aware of the dangers of combining Xanax with alcohol. Benzodiazepines like Xanax, along with alcohol, significantly slow respiration when taken alone. However, when someone takes how to help an alcoholic parent together, the combination of both sedative drugs can lead the brain to fail to signal to the lungs to breathe.
The Effects Of Xanax
It does this by boosting the effects of a naturally occurring neurotransmitter in the brain known as gamma-amino-butyric acid (GABA). GABA helps calm the brain’s activity, making a person feel more relaxed. Both alcohol and Xanax have individual sets of side effects that impact an individual’s behavior and mental state. Because of this, the two should never be used together as it can cause life-threatening consequences. It also increases the likelihood of a Xanax overdose, which can lead to respiratory depression, seizures, and potentially even death.
Mixing Xanax and Alcohol: Dangers, Effects & Interactions
Finally, if doses of each substance are high and of relatively equal physiologic potency, likelihood of interaction effects and/or synergistically-mediated side effects will increase. Nonetheless, anyone who ingests Xanax and alcohol simultaneously should be informed of the serious adverse reactions that may occur. Unfortunately, the risks of mixing alcohol with Xanax and other substances are often overlooked, or ignored, with perilous consequences. Depending on several factors, benzodiazepines can stay in your system for several days, and alcohol can stay in your system for several hours. There’s no safe amount of time to give someone to sleep off an overdose. If you or someone you know overdoses on alcohol and Xanax, you should 911 immediately.
With these side effects in mind, drinking alcohol while taking Xanax is generally considered unsafe. This means that you should not drink beer, wine or liquor while taking Xanax. It only takes a small amount of Xanax and alcohol to cause a deadly overdose. People addicted to Xanax usually have a higher tolerance to benzodiazepines, and someone suffering from an alcohol addiction usually has a higher tolerance to alcohol. Those people have to consume higher doses of the respective substances to feel the same effect as someone with a low tolerance.
When you stop, you may experience withdrawal symptoms that range from mild discomfort to dangerous medical conditions like seizures and coma. If you or a loved one is mixing 5 things to know about bipolar disorder and alcohol use, seek help immediately from an addiction treatment facility. Treatment for co-occurring alcohol and Xanax abuse often requires a period of medically supervised detox. You should avoid taking Xanax too close to the time you last drank alcohol. It is important to consult a medical professional about any medications you may be taking and the risk of side effects with alcohol.
