Can You Drink Alcohol While Taking Suboxone?
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- October 23, 2023
- Sober living
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This medication doesn’t have a high risk of dependence like its narcotic counterparts. It also has a “ceiling effect”, which means the person taking it is not likely to get more inebriated the more they take it. Acting as a partial agonist, it works by altering brain receptors to reduce the user’s cravings for opioid substances and tone down withdrawal symptoms. Suboxone is a medication that is commonly used to treat opioid addiction. It is a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone, and it works by binding to the same receptors in the brain as opioids, thereby reducing withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
Addiction Treatment For Polysubstance Abuse
Alcohol and narcotics are both considered depressants, which means they slow the functioning of your central nervous system. Respiration rates decrease, reaction time slows, and coordination is compromised. When you combine them, however, your nervous system slows down at an alarming rate. Slow breathing deprives brain cells of the oxygen they need to survive and thrive—this is called hypoxia and can cause brain damage. When combined, there is a risk of enhancing each other’s sedative effects.
Who is at Risk of Mixing Suboxone and Alcohol?
- When large doses are combined, this can create serious damage to a very important organ.
- Mixing Suboxone and alcohol can also lead to respiratory depression, which can be life-threatening.
- Therefore, mixing Suboxone and alcohol is considered drug abuse because there is no medical situation where doing is appropriate.
- Alcohol can interact with a whole host of other medications, too.
- With all that said, the true key to sustainable recovery from opioid addiction is deciding to treat your body and self better.
- It is important to take proactive steps to prevent the risk of mixing Suboxone and alcohol.
For one, alcohol interferes with how the brain operates, causing changes in behavior and mood, as well as limiting one’s ability to move with coordination and think rationally. It has also been linked to many heart-related problems, including high blood pressure, stroke, and irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia). Those who drink heavily also place their livers and pancreas at risk for various inflammations and degradations, many of which are irreversible. Millions of people have changed their relationship with substances, cut back on how much they’re using, or stopped using altogether. This website will help you find the resources, support, and community to create your own path.
The central nervous system comprises cells called neurons that are involved in sending and receiving messages from the brain. Long-term use of Suboxone and alcohol can affect the way mixing suboxone and alcohol these cells function. If the neurons located in the brain stem are impacted, the user may become comatose.
Suboxone and Alcohol: How Do They Interact?
Mixing Suboxone and alcohol is a dangerous practice that poses serious health risks. While anyone who uses Suboxone or alcohol can be at risk, certain demographics and factors may make individuals more susceptible to this dangerous behavior. Yes, it can be dangerous to drink alcohol while taking Suboxone for OUD. These risks extend to those who abuse Suboxone together witph other CNS depressants and medications that cause sedation. Because alcohol and Suboxone act as CNS depressants, taking them together will cause the side effects of both drugs to increase in intensity. Healthcare providers are required to warn patients to not use Suboxone and other opiate drugs and take them with alcohol.
Types of alcohol-medication interactions
In fact, of all the drug substances that are dangerous to use with Suboxone, alcohol is the most harmful. Unfortunately, it is the most likely to be abused by patients on Suboxone treatment accidentally or otherwise. While some experts have expressed concern over its long-term risk of developing dependency, there is also an immediate risk of mixing it with other drug substances. Mixing Suboxone and alcohol can lead to respiratory depression, which can be dangerous and even fatal. The symptoms of respiratory depression include shallow breathing, slowed breathing rate, and confusion. Mixing Suboxone and alcohol can also increase the risk of addiction.
In this section, we will discuss the dangers of mixing Suboxone and alcohol, including both the short-term and long-term effects. When taken as prescribed, buprenorphine (Suboxone®) can decrease opioid withdrawals, prevent opioid-related overdose, and even curb cravings. Many physicians prefer buprenorphine (Suboxone®) over its commonly used counterpart, methadone. It’s prescribed through medication-assisted treatment programs (MAT), primary care physicians, and rehabilitation centers. Buprenorphine (Suboxone®) is being used more frequently by physicians because of the overwhelming proof that it prevents overdose and improves functionality during withdrawal symptoms.