Keep in mind that this chart does not include all drugs that may interact with Ambien. For more information about some of these interactions, see the “Drug interactions explained” section below. If you have questions about drug interactions that may affect you, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. Keep reading to learn about Ambien’s possible interactions, including a list of drugs that you should not mix with Ambien. And for more information about Ambien, including details about its uses, see this article.
For some individuals, ambien addiction can trigger the desire to use other depressant drugs. While some drugs are widely used and may appear harmless, they can act as a gateway to other risky drugs and behaviors when used incorrectly and cause addiction. Taking the drug in excess can also build up one’s tolerance to it, where they feel the need to increase their dosage to experience the same effectiveness. It is not uncommon for people to combine Ambien and alcohol to enhance the effects of both drugs, and to possibly experience a deeper sleep, but this is a very slippery slope.
And the paperwork (sometimes called the prescribing information) may have other details about interactions. If you need help understanding this information, your doctor or pharmacist can help. Ambien can interact with a group of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which are used to treat certain mood conditions such as depression.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Ambien is a relatively mild depressant when compared to benzodiazepines and barbiturates. They’re less likely to cause overdose, chemical dependence, and addiction. But misusing them can be dangerous, and they’re especially dangerous when mixed with other depressants or opioids.
As a CNS depressant, Ambien can be exasperated by the effects of alcohol. Rather, the effects of the GABA receptor cause you to relax, eases anxieties, and slows down your nervous system. This can cause a sedated state that’s between sleep and wakefulness. Even powerful sedatives cause something more like a coma than true restful sleep.
You may feel relaxed to the point of euphoria and a release of inhibitions. Because of this, sleep aids are sometimes taken in recreational settings where alcohol may also be present. To heighten the high, people may be inclined to drink alcohol at the same time.
If you still have questions about Ambien and its possible interactions, talk with your doctor. Taking Ambien exactly as prescribed can also help prevent interactions. Find answers to some frequently asked questions about Ambien and possible interactions. So, using them together may make you too drowsy and raise your risk of serious side effects. If you’d like more information about whether certain lab tests may be safe to get during your Ambient treatment, talk with your doctor.
Ambien, Alcohol, and Sleepwalking
This prescription drug is a Schedule IV controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), meaning it has a low potential for abuse. However, when individuals misuse Ambien or take it with other substances, the risk of severe side effects or developing a substance use disorder (SUD) increases. The prescription drug has central nervous system (CNS)-depressant effects, and mixing bath salts drug it with alcohol can increase the risk of severe health problems. Polydrug use refers to people who abuse or use multiple types of drugs concurrently. This can sometimes lead to substance abuse disorders (SUD) that involve multiple substances instead of just one. It’s common among people who struggle with substance use disorders to have had experiences with more than one substance.
- On the contrary, the effects of mixing the prescription drug and alcohol can be quite severe if they aren’t taken seriously.
- As such, it is indicated only for short-term use, and should not be taken long-term.
- This can cause a sedated state that’s between sleep and wakefulness.
- When you drink alcohol, these side effects can increase in intensity.
- If you’d like more information about whether certain lab tests may be safe to get during your Ambient treatment, talk with your doctor.
If you have any questions about Ambien (and sleep issues), its adverse reactions, and combining antibiotics and alcohol, ask your healthcare provider for professional medical advice. Perhaps you feel that despite your body being exhausted, your mind is wide awake and full of energy when you try to get to sleep. If this is the case, sleep podcasts are a great possibility worth trying. In addition, sleep-tracking apps can be used in tandem with sleep podcasts, and these monitor your sleep duration, patterns, stages, and quality to help you optimize the sleep you’re getting. Alcohol and Ambien are both GABAergic substances, which means that they both work on the GABA receptors in the brain. However, they have some distinct side effects that make it clear that they are two different substances.
However, Ambien is more likely to cause you to feel sedated and drowsy when it’s mixed with alcohol. This may be more dangerous than accidentally mixing since you’re mixing with the intention of encountering intense effects. High doses of one or both of the substances can be deadly when mixed.
If you have questions about interactions that may affect you, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. Ambien interacts with the supplement melatonin, which can also be used to aid sleep. So, taking them together may make you too drowsy and increase your risk of serious side effects. Your doctor will likely recommend that you avoid taking melatonin while you’re taking Ambien.
Seeking Addiction Treatment
No, there are currently no reports of Ambien interacting with food. If you have questions about eating certain foods during your treatment with Ambien, talk with your doctor. For this reason, it’s still important to check with your doctor or pharmacist before using any of these products while taking Ambien.
Checking alcohol-medication interactions
When patients mix Ambien with other CNS depressants, such as drugs or alcohol, the CNS effects are increased. This can cause profound sedation, slowed breathing—which could even lead to a loss of consciousness—coma, or even death in some cases. The DAWN study reported that 57% of emergency room visits for Ambien overdose also involved another drug or alcohol use. Ambien (zolpidem) is a prescription drug approved by the FDA, which is indicated for short-term use to treat insomnia. Ambien tablets contain the active ingredient zolpidem tartrate, a sedative-hypnotic drug.
How Central Nervous System Depressants Work
They could occur with supplements, foods, vaccines, or even lab tests. You may have a higher risk of side effects from both Ambien and your benzodiazepine if you take these drugs together. Other forms of treatment include individual and group therapy, which help address the issues that led to the addiction in the first place and develop strategies to prevent relapse. If you or a loved one has an addiction to victory programs, you have different options to treat the condition and recover. Individuals with a substance abuse history also face a higher risk of misusing it.