Alcohol And Muscle Relaxers: 4 Things To Know About This Risky Combination
Key takeaways:
Combining alcohol and muscle relaxers can lead to increased dizziness, drowsiness, and trouble balancing. This can make everyday activities such as driving dangerous.
The combination of alcohol and muscle relaxers can affect each individual differently. So no amount of alcohol is considered safe to drink if you’re taking a muscle relaxer.
If you’ve finished your muscle relaxer treatment and want to have an alcoholic drink, ask your prescriber and pharmacist if, and when, it’s safe to drink again.
Table of contents
Muscle relaxers (also known as muscle relaxants) are a group of medications used to treat muscle stiffness, spasms, or pain. But because these medications affect the brain, they have several side effects.
Alcohol, especially large amounts of it, can also affect your brain. When combined with muscle relaxers, the effects on your brain can intensify and pose a greater risk to your well-being. So if you’re prescribed a muscle relaxer, it can be helpful to know a few facts about this risky combination.
1. It’s best to avoid combining alcohol and muscle relaxers
Simply put, combining alcohol and muscle relaxers is risky. This is because they have similar effects on the body.
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When alcohol and muscle relaxers are combined, the following effects may be intensified:
Drowsiness. Taking muscle relaxants with alcohol can lead to drowsiness. This may be more likely with higher doses. For example, higher doses of baclofen (Fleqsuvy, Lyvispah, Ozobax DS), cyclobenzaprine, and tizanidine (Zanaflex) are more likely to cause drowsiness. Alcohol can also cause drowsiness.
Decreased alertness. Alcohol can affect how alert you are and how your brain processes information. And since muscle relaxants cause drowsiness, they can also affect your ability to pay attention and focus. This can make certain activities, including driving, dangerous.
Dizziness. All muscle relaxants can cause dizziness as a side effect. This is because they all have effects on the brain, as does alcohol. And dizziness from alcohol can last even after you’ve stopped drinking — you may experience dizziness any time you have a hangover.
Worsening coordination. Alcohol can affect motor coordination. The more you drink, the more difficult maintaining your balance may be. Mixing alcohol with muscle relaxants can worsen your balance and affect your movements. You could be more likely to fall, especially if you’re older.
Mental status changes. With some muscle relaxants, mental status changes such as confusion and hallucinations can happen. These are uncommon muscle relaxer side effects, but they’re possible. And adults older than 65 are at greater risk. Mental status changes are also possible with excessive alcohol use, alcohol use disorder, or alcohol withdrawal.
Misuse. Some muscle relaxers — such as carisoprodol (Soma) and diazepam (Valium) — are controlled substances and can cause dependence and misuse. Alcohol misuse is also possible, and misusing alcohol increases your risk of misusing other substances.
Overdose. Combining some muscle relaxers and alcohol increases your risk of slowed breathing and overdose, which can be life-threatening.
2. Although some muscle relaxers are less likely to cause drowsiness, no muscle relaxer is considered safe to use when drinking alcohol
There are several muscle relaxers available today. Common examples include:
Cyclobenzaprine
Methocarbamol
Carisoprodol
Metaxalone
Tizanidine
Orphenadrine
Baclofen
Dantrolene (Dantrium)
Diazepam
These muscle relaxers share several similarities, but there are also some differences. For example, most muscle relaxers are known to cause drowsiness. But methocarbamol may be less likely than cyclobenzaprine or tizanidine to cause drowsiness. However, since all muscle relaxers affect the brain to some degree, we can’t say that any are safe to combine with alcohol.
3. We don’t know whether even one or two drinks is considered safe
Everyone responds to alcohol differently. So we can’t say whether any amount of alcohol is considered safe to drink while taking muscle relaxers. Let your prescriber know if you aren't sure you’ll be able to cut out alcohol completely while taking muscle relaxants. They may recommend a different medication to help with your muscle pain.
If you’re noticing some early warning signs of alcohol use disorder, reach out to your healthcare team immediately. Binge drinking regularly, trying to cut down on alcohol but being unable to, and continuing to drink despite negative effects in your life are warning signs that may indicate an alcohol use disorder. If you feel that alcohol is negatively affecting your life or a loved one’s life, you’re not alone. Help is available. Call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 to learn about resources in your area.
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4. After stopping muscle relaxers, it may be safe to drink small amounts of alcohol after some time has passed
How long it takes your body to break down and get rid of a muscle relaxer depends on which one you’re taking.
For example, some muscle relaxants may be broken down by the body fairly quickly, such as tizanidine. It may leave your body in less than a day. Others take longer to be broken down by the body — such as cyclobenzaprine or diazepam, which can take several days to weeks to leave your body.
If your prescriber says it’s OK to stop taking your muscle relaxer and you’re wondering when you can have an alcoholic drink, talk to them (and your pharmacist) about how long to wait.
The bottom line
It’s best to avoid combining alcohol and muscle relaxers. This combination can lead to increased dizziness, drowsiness, and trouble with coordination. This makes activities such as driving more dangerous.
Alcohol affects everyone differently. So we can’t say whether there’s any amount of alcohol that’s safe to drink when taking muscle relaxers. If you’re finished with your muscle relaxer treatment and wondering if you can have an alcoholic drink, talk to your prescriber and pharmacist. They can let you know if, and when, it’s safe to have a drink again.
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References
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Alcohol and other substance use.
Cohen, J. Y., et al. (2018). Induction of psychosis by cyclobenzaprine. Psychopharmacology Bulletin.
Drug Enforcement Administration. (2019). Carisoprodol: Trade name: Soma. U.S. Department of Justice.
See, S., et al. (2008). Choosing a skeletal muscle relaxant. American Family Physician.
Semla, T. P., et al. (2023). American Geriatrics Society 2023 updated AGS Beers Criteria for potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
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