These beliefs are reinforced by the media’s portrayal of alcohol, societal norms around drinking, and alcohol’s addictive nature. Growing up in a culture that glamorizes drinking, few of us get to form our beliefs about alcohol based on its true nature. Yet, our misguided beliefs shape our perceptions, and our perceptions fuel our desires. Before we go further, let’s first discuss the difference between belief and reality.
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Both Valium and alcohol can cause potentially dangerous withdrawal symptoms. To avoid complications like seizures, you should speak to a doctor before quitting abruptly or cutting back after a long period of dependence. Substance use disorders that involve depressants are often treated with medical detox, which involves 24-hour care from medical professionals. Through detox, you may receive medications to help you taper off alcohol or Valium. Benzodiazepines, including Valium, are sometimes used to help people taper off depressants. If you only have a mild chemical dependence, you may be able to taper at home with the help of a doctor.
- The true reality of how the world operates is too massive for our human minds to comprehend.
- Substance use disorders can be difficult or dangerous to deal with on your own.
- Diazepam can be given as a pre-med to relax you before an operation or dental treatment that may be uncomfortable or make you feel anxious.
- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the global pandemic led to a substantial 25 percent increase in anxiety and depression.
Important considerations for taking diazepam
Depressants interact with your brain’s chemical messaging system to slow down activity. Your brain and nervous system communicate in complex ways, but two major functions of the chemicals in your brain are to be excitatory or inhibitory. They can make you feel alert, excited, anxious, or energized.
Valium and Alcohol: Is It Safe to Mix Diazepam with Alcohol?
Once he took my Xanax for several nights, depleting my supply. But when I asked her for a refill sooner than usual, she didn’t bat an eye. In 2006, I started taking Xanax and continued, more rather than less, for the next 17 years. The drug was first prescribed to me after I experienced a panic attack. We were at home—my husband had gone for the day and the babysitter was late. I started sweating and had this urge to run, to get outside.
When Valium is being prescribed to treat symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, be sure that your loved one is leaving enough time in between the two substances to avoid danger. We publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers.
More About Drugs and Medications
Both Valium and alcohol can cause potentially dangerous withdrawal symptoms on their own. If you develop a dependence on both alcohol and Valium, it could cause even worse withdrawal symptoms to occur. Another potentially dangerous complication is the aspiration of vomit. Since alcohol and Valium overdose can cause nausea and a loss of consciousness, you may be at risk of vomiting while you’re asleep and aspirating it. If someone is with you when this happens, they may be able to intervene by helping you to sit up or roll to your side.
Inhibitory chemicals slow down activity to make you feel relaxed and at ease. When a lot of people become physically dependent upon drugs, they also begin having intense cravings, and may not be able to control of the amount they’re using, or when they’ll stop. Valium may have originally been used to treat a legitimate medical purpose, but when it’s used, it can become a vice, and a person may not be able to find balance without it.
The fact is that there are too many good people lost to drug addiction, and the United States is currently in the middle of a drug epidemic. If you’re ready to seek treatment for you or a loved one, American Addiction Centers (AAC) is here to help. As parent company to Alcohol.org, we offer a network of nationwide treatment facilities focused on providing hope and recovery for those in need.
When you mix two depressants known to slow your breathing, the risk of overdose increases dramatically. It can lead to unpredictable symptoms and, in many cases, be fatal. Valium and alcohol are both central nervous system depressants, which means they’re in a drug category known for potentially dangerous withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms occur after you develop a chemical dependence on a drug.
And though prescriptions have since declined (in 2021 there were 15 million), the addiction rate to sedatives of all kinds has increased. Diazepam oral tablet can slow down your brain’s activity and interfere with your judgment, thinking, and motor skills. You shouldn’t drink alcohol or use other drugs that can also slow down your brain’s activity while you’re taking diazepam. You also shouldn’t drive, operate machinery, or do other tasks that require alertness until you know how this drug affects you. There are additional effects that you should also be aware of. The worst-case scenario is that you overdose, which results from taking too much of the drug and your body becoming unable to metabolize it.
Health authorities said nitazene — a highly toxic drug more powerful than morphine – has been found mixed into other illicit substances. The hormone estrogen helps keep blood vessels open and flexible and is generally thought to help protect women from heart disease. These higher estrogen levels may lead to fewer heart attacks and strokes in premenopausal women than in men of the same age. However, alcohol exposure worsens cardiovascular function more in women than men, researchers said.
Like alcohol, they can cause respiratory depression, especially when mixed. Polydrug use is common, especially among people who use drugs recreationally. Settings in which drugs are being used to achieve an intoxicating high may have more than one substance available. Polydrug use https://sober-home.org/ may also be common among people who experience drug overdoses. A study in non-fatal overdoses in California found that heroin, benzodiazepines, and alcohol were commonly mixed in overdose cases. Many of the fatal overdose deaths in the United States involve more than one drug.
Before taking diazepam, be sure to tell your doctor and pharmacist about all prescription, over-the-counter, and other drugs you take. Also, https://sober-home.org/short-long-term-effects-of-crack-cocaine/ tell them about any vitamins, herbs, and supplements you use. Sharing this information can help you avoid potential interactions.
For that reason, professional medical treatment is advised. Your body needs about an hour to process one standard drink, though someone with a slower metabolism may need a bit more time. Your weight, age, how much you drink, and height will determine these. For that reason, using Valium the day after drinking is different from drinking the day after taking Valium. Either way, unless prescribed by a doctor, you should avoid taking any drug.
Approximately one-half of patients with alcohol use disorder who abruptly stop or reduce their alcohol use will develop signs or symptoms of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. The syndrome is due to overactivity of the central and autonomic nervous systems, leading to tremors, insomnia, nausea and vomiting, hallucinations, anxiety, and agitation. If untreated or inadequately treated, withdrawal can progress to generalized tonic-clonic seizures, delirium tremens, and death. Two commonly used tools to assess withdrawal symptoms are the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol Scale, Revised, and the Short Alcohol Withdrawal Scale. Patients with mild to moderate withdrawal symptoms without additional risk factors for developing severe or complicated withdrawal should be treated as outpatients when possible.