DrugBuyers.Com: Benzodiazepine + Alcohol

Sandy,
read your post and had to respond. your experience is so similar to mine.
i've been on xanax for about 15 years! and please forgive my past idiocy (innocence?-oh God i miss that!) but at the time, but i did NOT understand what i was taking. i've since started work in healthcare and realize that i should actually KNOW what i'm putting in my body.
i have a panic disorder (among other things) and the xanax is a wonder drug for that. but if i had it to do over.....i don't think i would have ever started taking it in the first place had i known the addiction factor. learned a LOT about medications in the last few years, am shocked and shamed at how uneducated i was.
i grew up believing that the "doctor knows best" and to trust everything they say. then the day came when i saw my all knowing doctor at KFC with a spread in front of him big enough to feed 5 people.......this two days after i got a HUGE lecture from him about eating right. ha!

anyway, i agree with you. the benzo/alcohol combo is a dangerous one. not saying i've never done it, just that it has the potential to have a deadly effect. i've spent time working in the ER and the ICU and it's amazing how many people end up OD'd on benzo's, usually mixed with alcohol or other drugs. i have a huge tolerance because of being on it so long, but i still am very cautious of having any alcohol. if i know i'm going out and might have a drink with dinner i make sure that i take my nightly dose of xanax at least three hours after my last drink, and i usually cut the dose at least in half - if not more.
i've done the xanax, pain pills, alcohol thing before.......and ended up doing things that were stupid. point in case would be getting on the internet and sending an "informative" email to someone and then having NO recollection of it. yikes. not pleasant to deal with that the next day! i don't think i've blacked out....but maybe, because i've ended up with bruises i can't explain. don't know....i'm just a lot more careful now that i understand the effects. i don't have a death wish, nor do i want to unwittingly do something that could harm someone else.

actually one of the things they teach in the ER is that benzo's & alcohol can easily kill you. as can cocaine. even if it is something that someone has done many times, your body might react differently from one time to the next for various reasons. therefore taking benzo's with any other drugs is a little like russian roulette.
again, not judging and not saying i haven't done it. but anyone that does it should understand the potential for harm. coma, brain damage, respiratory failure, death are all possibilities. each person is different though, so it's hard to say "this is what will happen". everyone knows their own limits and tolerances-though keep in mind that benzo's will lower your inhibitions just as alcohol will. so it's easy to have a few drinks and then think "hey, a few benzo's won't kill me" (at least that's how my brain works

. best to keep everything in moderation.
everyone has to make their own choices though. my hope is that everyone will at least educate themselves first so that they understand the risk. don't be like me and learn the hard way!
everything affects everyone differently to some degree. i nearly stopped breathing one night after taking the flexeril my doc had given me for a muscle spasm, along with a couple vicodin, my xanax and some allegra. all prescribed by the same doc......guess HE didn't read the contradictions section on the meds. nor did the pharmacist say anything. seems the allegra and flexeril have the potential to not mix well. who woulda thunk it? not me....

careful is my vote. better safe than sorry. i think benzo's & alcohol are a dangerous mix. but if anyone does choose to take them together, then please make sure your at least someplace safe. and no driving, so that you don't risk another's life if you get behind the wheel.

but this is all just my opinion, and my experience. to each their own. just please be safe and take good care for you!

cheska