Muscle relaxers are not a class of drugs—meaning they do not all have the same chemical structure or work the same way in the brain. Instead, muscle relaxer describes a group of drugs that act as central nervous system (CNS) depressants and have musculoskeletal relaxant and sedative properties. Muscle relaxants are not typically recommended as a first-line defense for certain concerns, such as low-back pain, due to their potential for misuse and because of their side effects. These medications are generally prescribed for short-term use to to their potential for misuse, use, and dependence.
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Alcohol is a depressant that can slow down the central nervous system. When combined with muscle relaxers, it can increase the sedative effects of the medication, leading to drowsiness, confusion, and impaired motor function. In severe cases, it can even lead to respiratory depression, coma, or death. Most muscle relaxers should not be mixed with alcohol due to the increased risk of side effects. However, it’s especially important to avoid combining alcohol with potent muscle relaxants like baclofen, carisoprodol, and cyclobenzaprine. When alcohol and muscle relaxers are mixed together, the effects can be quite dangerous.
Mixing Muscle Relaxers and Alcohol
These can include damage to the liver and kidneys, as well as problems with cognitive function and memory. This is commonly seen with medications and grapefruit juice, where grapefruit juice lowers the effectiveness of certain drugs. This is why drinking grapefruit juice while on certain prescriptions is not advised. This is when a drug—usually prescription—has a reaction to another drug, food, or beverage and a change in pharmacokinetics occurs. This is seen with combinations of drugs such as sedatives and antihistamines, which both can cause extreme drowsiness making it impossible to operate a vehicle. It’s best to wait until the effects of the muscle relaxer have worn off completely before consuming alcohol.
If you are unsure about whether it is safe to take muscle relaxers after drinking, speak to your healthcare provider for guidance. Remember, there are several alternative treatments available for muscle pain that do not involve medication. Muscle relaxers, also known as muscle relaxants, are medications that target the nervous system to reduce muscle tension, spasms, and pain. These medications can be either prescription or over-the-counter drugs. Yes, it’s important to talk to your doctor or pharmacist before combining alcohol with any medication, including muscle relaxers.
- If you find yourself thinking about combining these two substances, it’s important to consider why.
- Addiction Resource does not offer medical diagnosis, treatment, or advice.
- Only trained and licensed medical professionals can provide such services.
- Symptoms of overdose may include extreme drowsiness, confusion, shallow breathing, slowed heart rate, fainting, and loss of consciousness.
- If you are taking muscle relaxers for pain or muscle spasms, it is important to avoid drinking alcohol while taking them.
- Cyclobenzaprine has a half-life of eight to 37 hours for most adults.
Are there certain muscle relaxers that should never be mixed with alcohol?
The drowsiness can last anywhere from 4-24 hours, depending on the specific medication, dosage, metabolism, and how long after drinking can i take a muscle relaxer other factors like age and medications you may be taking. Medications with longer half-lives, such as cyclobenzaprine, can cause drowsiness that persists into the next day, particularly in older adults or those with reduced kidney or liver function. Engaging in the abuse of these substance sat the same time produces many concerning long-term effects.
- Additionally, some individuals seek to intensify the relaxing or sedative effects, leading to a dangerous synergy between the substances.
- If you’re prescribed a muscle relaxer, be sure to let your doctor or pharmacist know any other medications you are taking.
- This is why other measures, such as taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) or using herbal muscle relaxants, must be explored before taking prescription-only muscle relaxers.
- The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) notes that dependence can happen with chronic use of any drug, even when they are taken as prescribed.
- Encourage your friend or loved one to discuss using alcohol treatment programs, drug abuse treatment, relapse prevention, or support groups as part of their recovery with their doctor or a treatment counselor.
When alcohol is added to the mix, these side effects become even more pronounced, potentially leading to serious health problems. Flexeril, a popular muscle relaxer, can cause withdrawal with mild symptoms such as headache, nausea, malaise, drowsiness, and discomfort for many people. These symptoms tend to peak about 2-4 days after you last took the Flexeril, although, in some individuals, withdrawal symptoms may last for up to 1-2 weeks. If muscle relaxer addiction is accompanied by alcohol or opioid addiction, the withdrawal symptoms from these other substances can be severe and life-threatening. In these situations, it may be best to undergo medically-assisted detox.
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Take note that intense sedation and severe side effects like respiratory depression are results of overdose due to this interaction of alcohol and muscle relaxers. In case any of these signs and symptoms appear, it is highly advised to call the nearest poison center or 911 to avoid further unwanted health events. Combining muscle relaxers and alcohol also makes motor control and coordination more difficult as a result of severe sedation. For these reasons, it is vital not to drive or operate machinery when one is taking these spasmolytic drugs, and of course, if these drugs are mixed with an alcoholic drink. Some muscle relaxers, such as cyclobenzaprine, have a long half-life, which means they stay in your system for a long time. If you take one of these muscle relaxers, you should wait at least 24 hours before drinking alcohol.
Combining muscle relaxers and alcohol increases adverse impacts on the nervous system, which include difficulty concentrating, impaired motor skills, sleepiness, and dizziness. As cited by medical professors from Indiana, this interaction of muscle relaxants and alcohol mostly occurs in the central nervous system. Generally, alcohol alters the effects of the medication without affecting the concentration of the drug in the blood.
Avoid combining muscle relaxers with alcohol, opioids, benzodiazepines, or other central nervous system depressants. For women, there is often an added layer of complexity when it comes to polysubstance abuse. Many women who struggle with addiction face different risks than men. This includes a greater likelihood of being prescribed multiple medications on average and a higher rate of comorbid mental health disorders. There may come a time in your life when you require a prescription for a muscle relaxer.
Delphi’s Aftercare program gives you your own support network that understands what you’ve been through. It also offers you help with any other needs you may have, like housing, legal, and financial. Below, we answer some of the most commonly asked questions about this muscle relaxer. Alcohol and muscular relaxers combined cause feelings of intense relaxation and euphoria. People can find this appealing after accidentally discovering this effect or purposely seeking it out. This can occur as a means to self-medicate with substances or to simply induce “high” feelings.
Some women who mix muscle relaxers with alcohol may do so by mistake. If you’re taking a muscle relaxer for pain relief, it may not occur to you that alcohol could interact with the medication. Or, you may be unaware that your alcohol consumption is putting you at risk for dangerous side effects. They work by either blocking the nerve impulses or by narrowing the blood vessels to the muscles. When these drugs are used for an extended period of time, they can cause side effects like drowsiness and dizziness.
The individual will then tend to increase the dosage or frequency of intake; thus, the risk of overdosing on muscle relaxers increases. When muscle relaxers and alcohol use ends, the addiction withdrawals begin. They become cravings that endure even with the knowledge of the adverse effects. Medical detox is critical in ensuring the withdrawal is manageable and reaches completion and that it does not become dangerous and life-threatening. The dangers linked to this use may occur unknowingly, as a person consumes one drug in close proximity to the dose of the other.
However, some experts believe a baclofen muscle relaxer might help with alcohol withdrawal. Alcohol withdrawal is when a person who’s been drinking heavily or for a prolonged period quits drinking alcohol. If you find yourself thinking about combining these two substances, it’s important to consider why. Most people who are drinking alcohol and taking prescription medications are trying to amplify the effects of alcohol, which is a sign of alcohol addiction. Yes, combining alcohol with muscle relaxers can be life-threatening, especially in high doses or in individuals with pre-existing health conditions. Given the dangerous nature of mixing alcohol and muscle relaxers, it is important that people understand why this should never be done.
This is why drinking the same day as taking a relaxant is considerably dangerous. Most muscle relaxers last around four to six hours, so the medication will still be in their system even if a person starts drinking several hours after they take their dose. Muscle relaxers can be highly potent; even having one drink while on one can cause debilitating, uncomfortable, and dangerous side effects. Most muscle relaxants last around four to six hours, so even if a person begins drinking several hours after they take their dose the medication will still be in their system. Muscle relaxants can be extremely potent; even having one drink while on one can cause uncomfortable, debilitating, and dangerous side effects.
Carisoprodol is particularly concerning as a controlled substance with significant abuse potential when combined with other drugs like benzodiazepines or opioids. Drinking alcohol after taking muscle relaxers can increase the risk of side effects, such as dizziness, drowsiness, and impaired coordination. It can also lead to more serious consequences, such as respiratory depression, which can be life-threatening. In addition, alcohol can interfere with the effectiveness of some muscle relaxers, making them less effective in relieving pain and muscle spasms. If you are struggling to stop abusing alcohol and muscle relaxers at the same time, help is available.
Overtime or with increasing dependence, this can lead to cholestatic jaundice, liver damage, kidney damage, and edema. Eventually, the combination of alcohol with muscle relaxers can make gastritis become a long-lasting condition. In addition to alcohol, there are other drugs that can interact with muscle relaxers as well.