Sleeping pills and alcohol...

[ClandestineAdulation]

Just had a very drunken phone call from a friend after her works do... I was running through the things she needed to do to get herself to bed safely (take out earrings and contacts, take shoes off, drink water etc etc)... I made a point of saying that she shouldn’t take her sleeping pills as she certainly wouldn’t need it and I didn’t think they mixed with alcohol... she’s just hung the phone up on me saying goodnight and how she took her sleeping pills anyway...

Google has now scared the hell out of me but can anyone tell me how dangerous it is?? I’m worried now and can’t sleep!

Anyone? 😔

Has she got asthma or other breathing problems? That would raise the risk more than if she doesn't.

No asthma and no known breathing problems, Shoving...

Do you know what they are called?

How many she took?

I expect you are worried nonetheless.

I will tell you that I took sleeping tablets nightly for some years. If I had been drinking, I would still take my usual dose before bed, and never had any ill effect. In theory it could raise the risk of breathing becoming depressed, or of failing to wake upon vomiting, and then choking.

In practice, if she is a regular user of the sleeping tablets, and has only taken her usual dose, I would imagine the risks are not massively higher. Lots of people drink and take sleeping tablets, and it is dangerous to go cold turkey on them, because that an cause seizures.

While it is not advisable to drink with them, regular users do tend to carry on with life. The body adapts to taking them. I'm not a doctor, just somebody with experience of doing what you describe, and I hope this has eased your worry a little.

Have you spoken/seen your friend this morning?

Thank you Shoving, I was too tired to reply last night but your post helped.

SubtitlesOn I have spoken to her this morning, she said she woke up in a pool of vomit and felt awful, so showered then went back to sleep. Not sure if that was a result of the tablets and alcohol together or just the sheer amount of alcohol. She’s had a really tough time lately and her antidepressants have been upped so I think it was all in all a bad combination.

Thank you both