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    Navigate: FAQ Home Page > Drugs & Addiction > Q&A
    Posted on: 06/06/2005

    Question

    How dangerous is it to mix pills with alcohol? Pills prescribed to me, like Zoloft for example, or pills not prescribed to me like Vicodin, Ambien and muscle relaxants? What happens if you crush them and snort them?

    Answer

    Certain medicines can cause dangerous reactions when taken with alcohol. The reaction depends on the medicine, the dose, and how much alcohol you are drinking also. It's hard to make general statements.

    Zoloft is an antidepressant, and alcohol is a depressant, so it can counter the effects of the Zoloft. It's not a good idea to mix them.

    Vicodin is a depressant, so it has an added effect when taken with alcohol so you can become dangerously sleepy/sedated. Flexeril is a muscle relaxant and so is alcohol, so you can be especially clumsy when the two are taken together. Ambien is a sedative and so is alcohol, so when taken together you can become dangerously sedated/sleepy. Crushing medicines and snorting them is also dangerous, since you get fast blood absorption through the nose and high doses.

    I wonder if you have a substance abuse problem, given the questions you are asking. I would recommend getting some help to evaluate and control this.


    Answered By:
    Meg Durbin , M.D.


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