What Are The Side Effects Of Drinking Alcohol With Alprazolam?

Posted on Sun, 5 Apr 2015

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

Sun, 5 Apr 2015 Answered on

Mon, 27 Apr 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : if I take a 0.5 of alprazolam in the morning can I drink at night? also if I drink at night is it safe to take the pill the next morning?

Answered by Dr. Prof. Kunal Saha (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
I would not recommend concurrent use.

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.

The blood concentration of alprazolam drops to half in about 12 hours. So, if you take alprazolam in the morning, 50% of it would still be there to cause interactions by the night. Alprazolam taken together with ethanol can increase nervous system side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, and difficulty concentrating. Some people may also experience impairment in thinking and judgment.

I would not advocate taking these together. Even if there is a 12 hour gap between the two, I will still consider them as taken together.

Hope that helps.

Regards
Dr. Kunal Saha

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar