antipsychotic medication and alcohol

[bipolarschizo]

(wasn't sure to put this in the substance abuse forum or here sry)

i've been told that when you drink alcohol or have it in your system that it just makes it not work or "deactivates" it. i know alcohol can magnify the side effects on some medications but i'm asking about antipsychotic medication specifically.
hope someone can inform me

[Aubergine]

I get stupidly tired if I try and drink on olanzapine. For me, not worth it.

[Ballerina123]

A pharmacist told me that it does not deactivate the effects of the anti psychotic just magnifies the side effects.
Eg. If your AP make you sadated you will be more sedated after alcohol.

[tamobhuuta]

i'm on clozapine and alcohol stops it working. it's ok to have one drink every now and again but when I drank a lot over Christmas my symptoms came back.

[Wonderland.]

With Olanzipine it makes me feel much more sedated, and I get drunk quicker.

[Bellatrix]

same with quetiapine. i could have one small glass of wine and be rather buzzed and sleepy.

[Patch.]

Yeah, alcohol makes me stupidly tired on quetiapine too. Not so much if I drink in the evening before my night time dose, it effects me more if I have a drink after my day time dose. I don't drink often so don't know about deactivating it.

[beautiful_seclusion]

Alcohol can be very dangerous with these drugs. I used to take quietapine, and I passed out and hit my head after only two drinks that I had shortly after taking it. And I can drink a lot without having any sickness/passing out when I am not on meds like that. There's actually been an instance of quietapine and alcohol being used in conjunction as an intentional date rape drug, because the effects are that dramatic. So I really wouldn't suggest mixing any sedatives with alcohol. The sedative effect is greatly magnified, and it can be dangerous or even deadly at surprisingly low doses.

Benzodiazapines (like klonopin) are also very dangerous to mix with alcohol; I was told I should just not take it back when I was on it if I had drank. When you mix alcohol with a sedative, it can magnify the depressive effects of alcohol and it can depress your respiratory system to the point where you may just not wake up when you pass out. It's the mixture of downers (which is a group many psych drugs fall into) that has killed a lot of celebrities. And the thing is, you don't know what dose will do it. It could be fine one time, but another time not. So I really don't suggest mixing them. If you've gotten drunk, I think it's safer to skip your medication. Yeah, it's not good to do that in the first place, because you're risking withdrawals and your mental illness is not being treated, but it's much safer I think than risking mixing them. So I don't know what anti-psychotic drug you are on, but it likely has sedating effects, and if so, it's not safe to mix with even small amounts of alcohol, especially if you time taking them closely.

[Morpheus]

Ive been om antipsychotics for almost ten years and ive been drinking alcohol the whole time like sny other young person might do. For me, ive always been careful when starting a new drug and drinking for the first time on it as i do t know how i will react. However most, it made no difference for me. Ive experienced getting drunk faster om some and ended up puking after two pints but as i am always careful when starting a new drug, it has never been a problem. When i know how i react on it with alcohol i make sure to take that into account when i go drinking and i have no problem.

I have not been willing to give up alcohol for the ten years i was on meds and not being able to go to the pub, have a few pints or go dancing and drinking with my girlfriends. I always thought that i have goven up so much in my illness and felt left out an not normal because i couldnt do as others my age. and being social in my group of friends often includes drinking alcohol as our base is the pub. Also enjoy drinking a little as it can take the edge of me and make it easier to be social and talk to people i dont know. So i was not willing to give it up for ten years, i was just very careful.

Right now i am not drinking because i am on tons of very strong painkillers and other pills because of physical health issues, and drinking can actually kill me. However that is tempoarily only (hopefully) so its okay. Where as i was told i needed to be on meds for the rest of my life. Started on them as 17 tears old and i wouldnt have been able to go out in the same way my friends did if i wasnt alliwed to drink. So i chose being social and living a life as close to the one my friends lived as possible. For me it has worked fine as long as i was careful snd with people i trusted when drinking the first time om a new drug. It never once became dangerous or went wrong to me other than puking after two pints and that didnt happen until i got home.

Ive always enjoyed havinga pint or two and it hasnt caused me problems so id say, becareful and know your body and its reactions to meds and alcohol and then i dont see a big issue unless you get hammered every day and has drinking issues.