Can you mix Adderall and alcohol? Addiction is a chronic, relapsing disorder. You compulsively seek out the drug despite its adverse effects. Adderall is a prescription stimulant that treats attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder as well as narcolepsy. Moreover, there is a huge danger when mixing medications with alcohol. You have probably seen the warning label on a medicine bottle. Where it says, “Do not mix with alcohol.” Above all, this warning label is one that you should follow. Mixing alcohol with other drugs can cause many adverse effects, and this article will go further into detail about this.
However, are you or someone you care about suffering from addiction? If so, then contact our professionals today at 405-583-4390. We will always be available to help you find the best treatment for you to succeed in recovery.
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It is important to stay informed about mixing Adderall and alcohol. Click a link below to jump to that section and start your educational journey.
About Adderall
Adderall is a prescription stimulant which is why it is commonly used to treat ADHD. It can also treat narcolepsy. Narcolepsy is uncontrollable episodes of deep sleep. Adderall helps to increase alertness, attention, and energy. This medication can be a tablet, a capsule, or a liquid. It is also taken by mouth. If you are misusing a prescription, then you are taking medicine in a way other than what your pysichian wants. In addition, you could be taking someone else’s medicine, or only taking medicine to get high. If misusing drugs, then users can take it in a variety of ways, for example, some common ways are:
- Swallowing
- Crushing
- Disolving podwer into a liquid
- Injection
- Snorting
- Smoking
Adderall typically helps improve mental performance, when taken in a healthy dose. Teenagers and college students are more prone to misuse the drug in an attempt to get better grades. However, older adults may use them to try to improve their memory.
Furthermore, taking Adderall, or other prescription stimulants, for anything other than a medical condition can lead to harmful effects. For instance, these effects could include:
- Addiction
- Heart problems
- Psychosis
Stimulant drugs increase activity in the brain. It makes certain chemicals that reinforce rewarding behaviors. For example, dopamine, which is more often called the ‘happy chemical.’
There is another chemical that can become affected. This chemical is norepinephrine, and if increased it could affect:
- Blood vessels
- Blood pressure
- Heart rate
- Blood sugar
- Breathing
Both chemicals are present in the brain at all times, but Adderall increases the amount that is being sent to your brain.
The Rush
Usually, those that take prescription stimulants experience a feeling of euphoria. This is also known as “the rush.” However, with the rush also comes other side effects, for instance:
- Increase in blood pressure
- Fast heart rate
- Faster breathing
- Increase in blood sugar
- More open breathing passages
- Decrease in blood flow
- Dangerously high body temperature
- Irregular heart beat
- Heart failure
- Seizures
If there is repeated misuse of the drug, even in a short time it can cause even more symptoms. Symptoms like psychosis, anger or paranoia. If you, or someone you care about, are injecting drugs, then it is also important to keep in mind that you should not share drug injection tools and equipment. This is because having an impaired judgement while on the drug can increase the risk of getting infectious diseases. Common diseases that can be contracted by sharing injection equipment are HIV and hepatitis.
How Alcohol Affects the Body
Brain
Drinking alcohol interferes with pathways in the brain. Which affects how the brain looks and works. This obstruction can change your mood and behavior, which makes it hard to think clearly and offers a lack of coordination.
Immune System
Furthermore, drinking large amounts, or just drinking too much, can weaken your immune system. Because this leaves your body open and an easier target for diseases. Those that drink chronically can contract diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis much easier than those who don’t drink as much. Even if it is for one occasion, drinking a lot slows your body’s ability to fight off infections. This ability is still impaired up to 24 hours after you had been drinking.
Heart
Drinking a lot over a long time or too much on a single occasion can damage the heart, causing problems. For example:
- Stretching and drooping of the heart muscles
- Irregular heartbeat
- Stroke
- High blood pressure
Liver
Heavy drinking takes a toll on the liver and can lead to a variety of problems and liver inflammations, for instance:
- Fatty liver
- Alcoholic hepatitis
- Chest pain
- Difficulty breathing
- Scarring of the liver
Pancreas
Alcohol causes the pancreas to produce toxic substances that can eventually lead to pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is a dangerous inflammation and swelling of the blood vessels in the pancreas that prevents proper digestion.”
Cancer and Alcohol Consumption
There have been several extensive research studies linking cancer to alcohol consumption. Thus making there be a strong link between alcohol and many different types of cancer. This link happens because alcohol is a known human carcinogen. A carcinogen is a substance that causes the formation of cancer. Research shows that the more alcohol a person drinks over time, the higher their risk of developing alcohol-associated cancer becomes. This is especially true for those that begin to drink alcohol regularly. There have been clear patterns found between alcohol drinking and the development of specific kinds of cancer, for instance:
Head and Neck Cancer
Alcohol consumption is a major risk factor for certain head and neck cancers. Particularly cancers of the mouth (not including the lips), throat, and voice box. Moreover, these risks are substantially higher among people who consume higher amounts of alcohol in addition to tobacco use.
Esophageal Cancer
Alcohol consumption is a significant risk factor for a particular type of esophageal cancer called esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. In addition, people who lack an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol have substantially increased risks of this type of cancer.
Liver Cancer
Alcohol consumption is a risk for primary liver cancer. Chronic infection with the hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus are the other significant causes of liver cancer.
Breast Cancer
More than 100 epidemiologic studies have looked at the association between alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk in women. These studies have consistently found an increased risk of breast cancer associated with increasing alcohol intake.
Colorectal Cancer
Alcohol consumption associates with a modestly increased risk of colon and rectum cancers.
Mixing Adderall and Alcohol
Furthermore, while taking these medications and drinking alcohol on their own is dangerous, so is taking the two together. There is a warning label on most medication bottles that often says, “don’t mix with alcohol.” That is put there because alcohol typically reacts poorly with other medications. For instance, mixing alcohol with certain medicines can cause:
- Vomiting
- Nausea
- Headaches
- Drowsiness
- Loss of coordination
- Fainting
- Internal bleeding
- Heart problems
- Breathing difficulties
It can also decrease the effectiveness of the medication that someone takes. For certain medicines, it could make it completely useless. In addition, it may make the medication harmful and toxic to your body to ingest. This includes not just mixing alcohol with Adderall but also over-the-counter drugs. Drinking alcohol could also intensify the effects of the medicine.
Mixing medications, like Adderall, and alcohol, can also make it difficult for you to concentrate or perform mechanical skills. Even just small amounts of alcohol with medicine can make it dangerous to drive. When you mix alcohol with medication, you are putting yourself and others at a greater risk. This risk is because, specifically to the Adderall and alcohol combination, it can cause:
- Dizziness
- Drowsiness
- Lack of concentration
- Heart problems
- Liver damage
Finding Recovery
In conclusion, mixing your medication, like Adderall, and alcohol is not something you should do. Whether it’s to increase the effects of the drug, to get high, or to be able to focus on studies. It can cause such negative effects on your body and brain. Especially using them together. The warning label on the bottle is definitely one you need to follow. If you have any questions or concerns or are seeking help for yourself or a loved one, please contact us. We are available to you 24/7 and happy to help with whatever you may need. Call us at 405-583-4390 to talk to a specialist today.
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