How Safe Is Drinking Alcohol When Taking Xanax?

Posted on Fri, 29 Aug 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 29 Aug 2014 Answered on

Sat, 20 Sep 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I am prescribed xanax (0.25 mg) as needed for anxiety. I ve read a lot of different opinions online, and so I m wondering how long is safe to wait after taking it to drink alcohol. It also interests me ...

Answered by Dr. Ashok Kumar Choudhary (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
It is not safe

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for using healthcaremagic.

The effects of mixing Klonopin and alcohol can be quite dangerous. Just like alcohol, klonopin depresses the brain’s activity. Many of the side effects of klonopin are increased while taken with alcohol.

As the half life of Klonopin is long (10-20 hours) it remains in the body for a day. If you are taking higher dose of Klonopin it is not safe to consume alcohol if you have history of binge drinking or tendency to loss control on drinking behavior.

With lower doses of KLonopin(0.25-1) you can go for two drinks a day but excessive alcohol is not safe to take with even low doses of Klonopin.

'Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions I will be happy to help".
Thanks

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T