Drank a glass of wine about four hours ago, and I’d like to take a muscle relaxant now 'cause my neck is killing me. But not at the expense of my liver or other important parts.
Depends on exactly the medication, some meds just can’t be in the stomach at the same time as alcohol, others will just increase the drowsiness or sedation with alcohol, while others are metabolized in the liver and alcohol can effect the metabolism of the drug… So it depends…
Best way to find out in your case is to call and ask your pharmacist, however if it is cyclobenzaprine, it is a case of enhancing the sedation and drowsiness. If that is the drug you took, just dont drive or operate machinery and you should be fine.
Disclaimer: I am not your pharmacist, I am probably not licensed in your state, I am just some anonymous person on the internet who could be blowing smoke… call your own pharmacist for personal advise on your own individual case.
Medical advice is best suited to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
I take my evening meds with vodka. But YMMV.
I thought I read somewhere that the danger of mixing alcohol and drugs was a myth.
Do not listen to me, I am most certainly not a doctor, nor a scientist.
Over Christmas I used a home breathalyser quite a few times. It was really interesting to note how my body processes the alcohol and how that compares to my own perception. I was very happy to find that my own estimation and the way I feel agreed with the results.
So after four small glasses of wine, and after 4 hours, I felt good to go and the breathalyser agreed I was under the limit. (Normally I would still wait awhile after that to be on the safe side, I was just testing to see how my feeling compared to my actual levels.)
Of course, this doesn’t tell you how your meds will react to what alcohol is left inside you, and you still should speak to your doctor. But it is interesting to know more about how your own body reacts to alcohol, I would recommend it to everyone.
Very much not a myth. Besides the obvious like mixing alcohol and sedatives (unless you’d like to try this new hobby of not breathing), it’s also hazardous to mix alcohol and Tylenol, which is in all sorts of OTC pain and cold remedies. Some drugs may just intensify the effects of the alcohol, but others can cause stomach bleeding, changes in blood pressure or abnormal heart rhythms.
The list of medications, prescription and OTC, is really too long, and there’s no single answer. Some meds you’re actually better off taking with alcohol than after alcohol, due to liver metabolism timing. Some you’re okay an hour after, some not for days. Sometimes it depends on your age, because metabolism of drugs slows with age. Really a question for your pharmacist, and whatever answer you get should not be extrapolated to apply to any other medications or people than the one you ask about.
Here’s a nice article that summarizes the risks and some of the reasons behind them, but does not answer the actual question, because there isn’t a simple answer. http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/alcohol-interactions-with-medications
I found where I read this, though there’s no link online to it directly. According to the QI Second Book of General Ignorance, the popular belief that alcohol causes antibiotics to lose their potency is the myth. So that’s a lot more specific than my memory was telling me.
Appreciate all the replies – so granted that every type of medicine is different, is there a general guideline on when the alcohol itself ceases to be a factor? 12 hours, say?
I grew up in an environment of extreme substance abuse, then moved on long before a lot of my friends did. Never have known an addict who had liver problems form mixing alcohol and drugs, it’s getting hepC sharing needles with people who have hepC, or having sex with people who have it, that frys up the liver. The big risk mixing muscle relaxers and alcohol is you feel great and forget you already took some muscle relaxers so you take some more and go through that cycle a few times til your so relaxed you stop breathing. Know a couple people who have gone out like that.
Try four Advil and some Aspercreme for your neck, and drink your wine straight from the bottle.