Drinking on Diazepam.

[decca]

Well seeing as I asked the question in the first place, I can now tell you after the event how it actually effected me.
I didn't actually drink at Christmas but I did have a couple of small whiskys on New years Eve which I enjoyed very much at the time,the next day I felt really awefull - shaky with tachycardia and palpitations, it really spoilt the new years day celebrations for me.
Now the thing is we all went out for a family meal on new years Eve so I upped my Diazepam to 2mg during the day to help me feel relaxed,I'm also on a bunch of Heart meds so whether it was the Alchohol mixed with the Diazepam or the Alchohol mixed with my Heart meds I don't know but what I do know is I aint drinking Alchohol any more.
Your choice my friend but I think I would advise you to stay clear, sorry if it's not what you wanted to hear.

God bless.
decca.

[scouseav]

i often drink quite a bit of vodka on diazepam. i take up2 2 5mgs a day and drink quite a lot of vodka on a sat nite without a problem, but i suppose it depends on the individualn and what you personally are used to. i been on diazepam for yrs (18+) and been drinking vodka for yrs too. been told to avoid alcohol but don't see point as thats the only way i can b completely without pain. but the more you use something the less effective it comes!

[carlos678]

Mixing diazepam and alcohol can be fatal; both are CNS depressants which if combined in high enough doses can cause respiratory depression. This explains it better than i can:

"Drug-induced respiratory depression is a life-threatening condition caused by analgesic, hypnotic, and anesthesia medications. Although it is a leading cause of death from the overdose of some classes of abused drugs, respiratory depression also arises during normal, physician-supervised procedures such as surgical anesthesia, post-operative analgesia, and as a result of normal out-patient management of pain from cancer, accidents, or illnesses.

The majority of adverse events occurring with these drugs take place during the dose adjustment period, when two or more central nervous depressants are taken together, or when patients take prescribed drugs in ways not intended by their physician."


Personally I've been on diazepam (5mg/day) for several years and drink regularly. The first few occasions were very surreal and thinking back could of been fatal (not because of respiratory depression but because of how 'out-of-it' i was, I couldn't remember anything the next morning - but my shirt was torn to shreads and my hands covered in blood; lucky i had just fallen a few 100 times on the way home)
After some trail and error i've know my limits and have been fine ever since. Nevertheless you shouldn't drink with diazepam, especially if your only on it short term.

[jessica1980x]

hi, i no this is late, but DO NOT drink alcohol while taking diazepam i did and nearly ended up in hospital as i collapsed couple of times knocking myself out, i have to take 1 3 to 4 times a day plus i'm on anti depressents and diclifenac ... so please don't drink alcohol while taking dizepam IT'S FATAL

[kibbutz83]

You guys who are going out on the lash while taking tranx are basically abusing the prescribed meds... I think it's pretty disgraceful, and what right have you got to be coming onto nmp, when you're obviously your own worst enemies?

[Greenman50]

Its just a simple case of being sensible . When i first had 2 mg of diazapam (i,m i big guy) ...20 -30 mins after takeing it i could feel the effects , i read up on them and the general rule is no drinking on them .
So ok i like a few beers , when my body got used to 2 mg one a day after a few weeks i had a few beers (i,m used to beer anyway) and i had no ill effect .
Over the weeks i found 4 cans of beer and 2 mg of diazapam fine .

If i was going out say on the Friday night , my last valium would be on Thursday night and i skipped the Friday night one . I would have 5-6 pints . Bare in mind the meds have along half life so they are still in your systym the next day anyway .

But to have say 2 x 5 mg a day and drink half a bottle of Gin or whatever especially if your new to either that amount of diazapam or alcohol expect to either not wake up or feel like shite when you do .
Its just a case of being sensible .

[jessica1980x]

kibbutz83 this site is for anyone and everyone not being funny but people come on here to chat bout whats on their minds and the worries they have, i was just trying to explain something that happened to me ....

[leeb85]

You should not take diazepam and alcohol at the same time as they both depress the CNS. You are prone to aspirating (breathing in your own vomit) and the sedation effects of both combined are dangerous. Of course there will be people that have done this and been fine but the risks are higher than the benefits of having a drink. Maybe lay off the alcohol if you're having enough anxiety to warrant taking a benzo. When you wean yourself off the benzos then perhaps you might consider drinking in moderation.

Give yourself a chance to deal with your anxiety with CBT, meditation, education and ADs. Alcohol and caffeine etc. should be avoided whilst dealing with anxiety. I am now 3 months taking cit and very rarely take benzos (only when having a very bad day!). I have only just started to allow myself alcohol and caffeine after having dealt with my anxiety to the extent that i could function without benzos.

Also, it's a similar situation with zoplicone which I know a number of NMP posters take. Best to not combine with alcohol.

Hope this helps.

[angelea]

I'm responding to this in case anyone finds this the way I did. before I actually realised the danger of drinking with diazepam, I actually drank quite a lot of whiskey and took two or three of my 10mg Valium (I was having a rough day) and I woke up the next morning fine. and then I had a really bad day again and did basically the same thing but was fine again. I don't recommend it at all because i know in certain cases it is dangerous, and I'm even questioning one glass of wine with a pill just in case. I think I'm gonna do it anyways but I figured the fact I didn't die was something to share

[MyNameIsTerry]

As stated, alcohol is a CNS depressant. It works by increasing Dopamine, increasing your usage of Sertonin and the way in which is surpresses your CNS is because it amplifies the effects of the GABA in your brain.

Diazepam works on GABA receptors. It basically increases the conduction of the ions that pass through the ion channels of the receptors, caused by the drug binding GABA to the channels.

So, you take Diazepam to increase GABA binding to cause a more inhibitory effect to calm down the exhitory neurotransmitters like Glutamine. Adding alcohol amplifies this effect making it stronger.

Just bare in mind that GABA isn't just in the brain so it will amplified all over the place. Does that sound like a good idea to anyone?

I'm not against meds and alcohol, I understand what Moderate interaction warnings mean BUT when it comes to Benzo's I don't believe you should drink at all. For a start, the alcohol is going to increase your Serotonin leaving you without enough later so you are only encouraging more anxiety later on at a time when you obviously aren't in a good mental place to even need a Benzo. Once you've been on antidepressants a while and seen yourself recovering, it's different and besides many of those meds have lesser Moderate interaction warnings with some minor side effects.

Over to you FMP. I bet we will be agreeing on this thread. Things have certainly changed on here looking at this thread