Ambien And Alcohol: Why To Avoid Their Combination?

Ambien is the brand name of Zolpidem, primarily prescribed for treating sleeping problems. If you are already taking Ambien pills or have been recently prescribed for it, then think before drinking alcohol. Because both Ambien and Alcohol are a dangerous combination due to their sedative effect. Ambien Alcohol combination is an amplifier of each other’s function. Therefore, risk of overdose, shallow breathing, or liver damage can happen even at a lower dose. If you are an alcoholic person and currently prescribed for an Ambien dose, then read this article briefly. Learn more about the effects of alcohol on the Brain, Ambien side effects with alcohol, and which precautions should be taken to avoid the interaction here. 

Impact of Alcohol and Ambien Interaction

Alcohol is an addictive substance, and millions of people are trapped into it. Although alcohol is a CNS depressant, users of it also suffer from insomnia at night. Whether you are consulting a doctor or want to take Ambien for sleep, you have to know about how long does alcohol stay in your system. Because, after wearing off the alcoholic effects, consumption of Ambien medication is considered to be safe. Let’s know the individual facts about alcohol and Ambien sleeping pills in below to avoid the serious interaction. 

What is Alcohol and How Does it Affect the Body?

In simple terms, alcohol is a depressant that slows down the brain’s function. Alcohol is a form of ethanol and carbon dioxide known as drinking spirits. Many pharmaceutical medicines, cough syrups, and mouthwashes are alcohol containing products basically used in day-to-day life in balanced proportions. The medicinal intake is ok, but whenever you take it as a drink it affects your body differently.

Alcohol Consumption affects physical health as well as mental health severely. When you take it, it is absorbed into the bloodstream and travels to all parts of the body, including the brain.  The active substance in it enhances the effects of GABA by binding to it. This provides relaxation and leads to reduced anxiety, contributing a sedative effect. In this process release of dopamine & serotonin makes an artificial pleasure mood. For a long time, consumption addresses addiction to alcohol. This is very harmful and interactive for any medication you will take. So, recognize the early signs of Alcohol addiction and stop drinking alcohol as soon as possible. 

What is Ambien and How Does it affect the Body?

Ambien classification refers to a sedative-hypnotic medication also known as zolpidem tartrate pill. It is generally prescribed for short-term use of insomnia, but due to its abuse potential, it is classified as schedule iv controlled substance. This zolpidem drug also works by affecting GABA receptors in the brain. Ambien pill is generally taken orally without crushing or chewing it. When you take the pill, it also affects the GABA receptors in the brain. Its sedative effect promotes sleep if the patient is suffering from insomnia. 

Interaction of Ambien Mixed With Alcohol

As you know, both Alcohol and zolpidem drug are CNS depressants; combining them can result in physiological and psychological interactions. If you take Ambien with alcohol together, psychologically it can cause mood disturbances, anxiety, depression, or strong aggressiveness. Physically, it will affect vital functionalities as well as respiratory system. Their relaxing functionalities may convert to long-term unconsciousness or serious respiratory depression. So whenever you take ambien be sure that no alcoholic substance is present in your body. Let’s discuss how long does it take for alcohol to fully be out of your body.

How Long Does It Take For Alcohol To Wear Off?

The wearing-off timing is important to treat insomnia with Ambien. We have discussed the interaction of alcohol with Ambien, so let’s analyse their timing for safe treatment with Ambien pill. How long does alcohol take to wear off depends upon various factors like body weight, how much you drank, what type of drink you have, metabolism, age, and food intake. The normal level of drink may wear off after 1.5 hours of taking. But if you are a female or a regular alcohol user, then it may take a longer time to wear off. 

How to flush out alcohol after drinking?

There are no proven procedures to flush out alcohol from the body. But it can be sped up by hydrating the body, resting, eating foods that slow down alcohol absorption, and should prevent from Alcohol relapse. Despite all of these, time matters the most to flush out alcohol from the system. 

How Long to Wait After Drinking Before Taking Ambien?

As you know, in the above Alcohol approxmately takes more than a hour for complete wearing off. So, do not take the pill until the effect of alcohol has completely faded out. It is better to ask your doctor about the timing of the pill. When you go for the check-up having insomnia problem, inform the physician about all your problems, including alcohol consumption timing. So that he may prescribe the balanced dose or any other type of treatment for your current problem.  

Side Effects of Ambien and Alcohol Combination

This combination is neither medically suggested nor helpful to your health. It only increases the loss of mental and physical balance in a destructive way. Taking them together may results increasing side effects of each other. Alcohol’s heavy sedative effect worsen the Ambien side effects. For which the below consecuences can arise.

• Severe Drowsiness
• Impaired coordination
• Increased risk of falls
• Confusion
• Memory problems
• difficulty breathing
• Increased risk of overdose
• Respiratory depression
• Coma
• Cardiovascular compromise
• Increased risk of fatal outcomes
• Increased risk of addiction or dependence
• Excessive sedation
• Hypotonia 

Conclusion

If you are someone want to take Ambien or any other sleeping pills after having excessive drinks, beware about the outcome before any adverse happens. The above discussion is all about the overall risks associated with zolpidem interactions with alcohol. If you are addicted to alcohol, then first you should go for the treatment for alcohol addiction. After that you can take insomnia treating pills like zolpidem pill. Another thing to be remember is, for addiction treatment, if you are taking alcohol addiction medication, then inform your doctor about all of these. So that complications may be minimized during the treatment process.