Muscle Relaxers: What They Are, Uses, Side Effects & Types

Muscle relaxers are effective for pain relief caused by certain conditions, but taking them with alcohol could lead to dangerous side effects. If you or a loved one struggles with alcohol addiction, help is available. The most important step to recovering from alcohol addiction is seeking treatment. The caring team members at The Recovery Village understand how difficult it is to take the first step of getting help.

Cyclobenzaprine has a half-life of eight to 37 hours for most adults. The half-life of a substance is the amount of time it takes for your body to metabolize half of the medication and remove it from your body. If you must have an alcoholic beverage, it is best to wait 24 hours or longer after taking your last dose of the muscle relaxer to avoid any potentially harmful effects. When muscle relaxers and alcohol use ends, the addiction withdrawals begin.

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Overtime or with increasing dependence, this can lead to cholestatic jaundice, liver damage, kidney damage, and edema. Eventually, the combination of alcohol with muscle relaxers can make gastritis become a long-lasting condition. Generally, it is not safe for health to drink while on these medications. In one case from Pittsburgh Criminalistics Laboratory, it was reported that one patient died due to drowning after drinking alcohol with an antispasmodic medication named Cyclobenzaprine. In this case, the reason behind the fatal health event was because of the severe sedation experienced by the patient. Although the many uses of muscle relaxers help in improving the daily lives of patients, users of these drugs should know their dangers as well.

Long-term use of either or both may increase your risk of developing an addiction. Fatal conditions are a major concern when it comes to mixing alcohol and muscle relaxers. Mixing prescription drugs and alcohol causes major damage to the liver and kidneys, which are essential for ridding the body of toxins. As toxins build up in the kidney and over, which normally filter them out, damage and eventual failure can occur. Additionally, because both muscle relaxers and alcohol are central nervous system depressants, mixing them can lead to a decreased ability to think clearly and make decisions.

This may happen when an individual takes the muscle relaxers as prescribed and mix them with alcohol without realizing the harmful interactions. It can also occur if they have a drink a short time later while the medication is still in their system. If you’re prescribed a muscle relaxer, let your doctor or pharmacist know any other medications you are taking and if you have trouble with alcoholism.

Can You Mix Muscle Relaxers and Alcohol?

Mixing muscle relaxers and alcohol can be dangerous to the life of an individual, so why do they do it? Well, there are a few different reasons that someone may mix these two substances. Consider a longer-term detox and treatment facility if a professional has told you that your Flexeril and alcohol abuse is severe or if you’ve relapsed several times in the past. The most common treatment (and the one most likely to be covered by insurance) is 28 days at an inpatient or residential rehab facility.

Since alcohol and muscle relaxers depress the central nervous system, you should never mix them. Here’s what you need to know about alcohol use, muscle relaxers, and substance use treatment. Once the effects of alcohol wear off, so does the feeling of happiness, pleasure and satisfaction caused by the neurotransmitters.

The researchers found that the studies reviewed contained either insufficient or poor-quality evidence. A recent review noted that baclofen is not recommended as a first-line treatment for alcohol withdrawal syndrome. If you plan to drink an alcoholic beverage, it is best to wait 24 hours or longer after taking your last dose of the muscle relaxer to avoid any potentially harmful effects. 5.8% (or about 16.1 million people) reported misusing any prescription psychotherapeutic drug in the past 12 months. Many people drink alcohol while using drugs to enhance or otherwise modify their experiences with these substances.

Muscle Relaxer Overdose Symptoms

It can cause drowsiness and dizziness and isn’t recommended for long-term use or by those with a history of addiction. Doctors also warn people of the dangers of combining this medication with alcohol. In some cases, individuals https://sober-house.org/ may forget they have taken muscle relaxers before starting to drink alcohol and accidentally mix them. These cases can be dangerous however, an individual is likely to stop as they experience the compounding effects.

There are many dangerous consequences with this condition, some of which result in permanent damage to the brain. Alcohol dependence can be very intense and difficult to manage on your own. Undergoing a drug detoxification program may be very beneficial for you to safely and more comfortably cleanse yourself from alcohol.

When it comes to mixing alcohol and muscle relaxers, there are dangerous consequences that can occur. In the short term, there are many concerning effects of mixing these two drugs. Coordination and motor impairment are among the chief concerns when it comes to the dangers of mixing muscle relaxers and alcohol. This is because both muscle relaxers and alcohol can cause lethargy, confusion, and poor coordination.

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It’s critical to recognize alcohol abuse and treat alcoholism as early as possible to avoid irreversible damage to the brain and body. Alcohol addiction is marked by the obsessive desire to consume alcohol, regardless of the negative consequences. Dependence is a physical process, while addiction is a form of psychological dependence. Responsible for over 5% of all deaths, alcohol abuse is the fourth leading cause of preventable death worldwide. The substance has significant power to rewire the brain and create a physical dependence, leading to severe withdrawal symptoms when alcohol use is stopped.

In turn, these substances also slow down your breathing and heart rate, making you feel calm or sleepy. Skeletal muscle relaxers work mainly in the brain and spinal cord also called the central nervous system (CNS). They work by blocking pain sensations between the nerves and the brain. Painful muscle spasms and spasticity due to acute back pain or multiple sclerosis can be relieved by using muscle relaxants.

The Effects of Mixing Alcohol and Muscle Relaxers

If you take them together, the side effects are much more intense, which can be dangerous. However, these medications aren’t the first-line therapy for the treatment of pain or spasms. They’re alternative therapy after first- or second-line therapies haven’t worked. This is due to the adverse side effects of antispasmodics, including addiction potential for some types of the medication. Providers mainly prescribe antispasmodic skeletal muscle relaxants for musculoskeletal and myofascial pain, especially lower back pain, and muscle spasms. Recovery in Tune offers outpatient treatment comprised of evidence-based services clinically-proven to be vital for the recovery process.

In addition, some of these medications treat conditions not related to muscle function. For example, providers sometimes prescribe diazepam to treat anxiety and seizures. Recovery in Tune offers intensive outpatient treatment eco sober house review for those struggling with substance use disorders. The CNS depression and sedation induced by muscle relaxers can become dangerous when amplified by the effects of other intoxicating substances, alcohol included.

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They relieve painful muscle spasms and spasticity due to conditions like acute back pain or multiple sclerosis. Alcohol should be avoided if you are under treatment with a centrally-acting muscle relaxant. The reason why mixing muscle relaxers and alcohol is dangerous is that both act as central nervous system depressants. This means that both have a sedative effect on your body by slowing your breathing and reducing your heart rate. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals.

Motor impairment also makes operating heavy machinery or a motor vehicle very hazardous. Even when used separately, these substances impair a person’s reaction time, judgment, decision-making ability, and cognition. When you drink alcohol, it causes muscle relaxing and anxiety-reducing effects. Consistently using alcohol for this purpose, however, is discouraged by physicians due to the truth that people can become psychologically and physically dependent on the effects. It is primarily used for spasticity in spinal cord injury patients or those with multiple sclerosis. The most common side effects include drowsiness, confusion, muscle weakness, vertigo, and nausea.

• It can also occur if they have a drink a short time later while the medication is still in their system.
• Many options are available to help the person stop taking muscle relaxers and alcohol and avoid serious side effects from polysubstance abuse.
• In general, antispastic medications act on your spinal cord or skeletal muscle directly to improve muscle tightness (hypertonicity) and involuntary spasms.
• Instead, we recommend consulting with a specialist to learn the ideal relaxers-and-alcohol addiction treatment.

But some OTC medications can help muscle issues (like soreness), such as NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and acetaminophen. The Drug Abuse Warning Network’s (DAWN) findings reported that nearly one in five emergency room visits related to the abuse of muscle relaxers also involved the use of alcohol. Overdose from alcohol and muscle relaxers can result in death, and if you suspect that you or a loved one is overdosing, please call 911 immediately.

A person only needs two of these signs and symptoms to receive an alcohol use disorder diagnosis. Many of these effects are dependent on the amount of alcohol consumed. Someone could have a desirable mood change after a drink or two, but undesirable mood changes with inappropriate or aggressive behaviors with additional drinks. As people continue drinking, they risk overwhelming their system with alcohol and experiencing alcohol poisoning. A more recent review noted that baclofen is not recommended as a first-line treatment for alcohol withdrawal syndrome.