A friend of mine recently tried to kill himself by drinking and taking some kind of stomach medication. He’s still around, so obviously whatever he took wasn’t enough to do it. To avoid future problems, we are trying to figure out what NOT to take while drinking. He’ll get over this eventually, but right now we are concerned about what might be around the house that could harm him. I doubt Advil, or something of the like could do it, but what other COMMON drugs/substances could in fact cause serious harm and or/death? I know some prescription drugs could do it, but like I said we are worried about what he might find around the house. Please help because we are unsure and we know he will get over this eventually, but right now we are very worried/concerned.
I’m sure your request is genuine, but people more cynical than me might think you’re actually trying to find out how to poison someone…“what other COMMON drugs/substances could in fact cause serious harm and or/death?”…that quote in particular could be seen as having another meaning.
You say you’re worried what he may find in the house, but even if you take away all the potentially harmful drugs what’s to stop him from getting a razor blade, or drinking some household cleaner? I mean if someone genuinely intends to kill themself I don’t see how they can be prevented from doing so unless they are locked up in a cell or placed under 24 hours supervision.
Anyway, you wanted to know what drugs to avoid whilst drinking - my advice is avoid them all. And if your friend is suicidal should he really be drinking alcohol anyway? It’s a strong depressant, it will only make him feel worse.
Alcohol plus high doses of acetaminophen (Tylenol) can produce an extremely toxic effect on the liver. One analysis showed hospitalizations with severe damage even with an accidental overdose at levels lower than those from people who were trying to kill themselves.
Oh, and I second LSD-25’s advice - try to get him to remove the alcohol from his house. That’s a pretty bad drug to take on its own when you’re depressed, and if he does start on antidepressants, you really shouldn’t drink while on most of those anyway.