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Recently I Had A Unusual Incident Occour. I Typically Do

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Posted on Mon, 10 Aug 2020
Question: Recently i had a unusual incident occour. I typically do not consume alcohol. However one morning i had a few shots in lieu of a celebration. Enough to feel slightly buzzed. I take alprazolam 4x a day so 4mg daily. Sometime i will skip the afternoon double up expecially if cant rest. This was the situation at hand.
I had taken my alprazolam maybe 3or 4 am fouble dose so 2mg. The next a.m. was the celebration 11am. Can mixing alcohol and alprazolam cause you to do things you cant recal?
Such as i walked into a store and walked out with some items that i didnt pay for. Im not a theif never have been. Dont even remeber doing it. Dont know what i did with the items. I literally blacked out and have no recollection. Can mixing the alprazolam and hard alcohol cause this?
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (0 minute later)
Recently i had a unusual incident occour. I typically do not consume alcohol. However one morning i had a few shots in lieu of a celebration. Enough to feel slightly buzzed. I take alprazolam 4x a day so 4mg daily. Sometime i will skip the afternoon double up expecially if cant rest. This was the situation at hand.
I had taken my alprazolam maybe 3or 4 am fouble dose so 2mg. The next a.m. was the celebration 11am. Can mixing alcohol and alprazolam cause you to do things you cant recal?
Such as i walked into a store and walked out with some items that i didnt pay for. Im not a theif never have been. Dont even remeber doing it. Dont know what i did with the items. I literally blacked out and have no recollection. Can mixing the alprazolam and hard alcohol cause this?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
All The Time!

Detailed Answer:
It isn't that this combination can cause someone to walk out of a store without paying. It easily can. It's that it is really easy to walk out of the store and forget to pay. It doesn't take much for this to happen.

This isn't even considered a problem (except with DRIVING!). It does NOT mean a serious mental or addiction disorder in and of itself. Personally, I did this age 10 just by being distracted. I returned the item and apologized. No problems. I don't think there can be a legal issue if you offer to pay before they catch you!
Then.... alprazolam is not the best benzodiazepam. It is short acting. It is highly potent and wears off fast so there is a roller coaster effect of it.
The alcohol again, while HIGHLY PROBLEMATIC, depends on the overall pattern. Some worrisome issues are morning drinking and 3 shots counts as borderline a binge.
Certainly it is enough that with ANY AMOUNT of benzodiazepine, it can cause serious intoxication. even 2 shots is legally over the limit for driving. And, whatever state someone was in with the combination of benzodiazepine and alcohol that caused even a minor memory lapse is likely enough to be a DUI.
So, there are some red flags here: the memory lapse, the dose of the xanax, xanax itself is a bit of a red flag, the amount and timing of the alcohol with the xanax. But, it doesn't mean you have a problem. We cannot say without being with you directly. Maybe.
Driving would be a big issue. The drug use maybe an issue (not so likely) and the legal of the items, hardly an issue at all

Then, more of a potential problem is stopping evereything abruptly and wihtout close physician supervision. That Can Kill Someone. Alcohol withdrawal and xanax withdrawal are similar. They can cause seizures that might not stop and cause fatal brain damage.

but apologize and pay for them. (you might want to go back into the store!)
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D
doctor
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (0 minute later)
Brief Answer:
All The Time!

Detailed Answer:
It isn't that this combination can cause someone to walk out of a store without paying. It easily can. It's that it is really easy to walk out of the store and forget to pay. It doesn't take much for this to happen.

This isn't even considered a problem (except with DRIVING!). It does NOT mean a serious mental or addiction disorder in and of itself. Personally, I did this age 10 just by being distracted. I returned the item and apologized. No problems. I don't think there can be a legal issue if you offer to pay before they catch you!
Then.... alprazolam is not the best benzodiazepam. It is short acting. It is highly potent and wears off fast so there is a roller coaster effect of it.
The alcohol again, while HIGHLY PROBLEMATIC, depends on the overall pattern. Some worrisome issues are morning drinking and 3 shots counts as borderline a binge.
Certainly it is enough that with ANY AMOUNT of benzodiazepine, it can cause serious intoxication. even 2 shots is legally over the limit for driving. And, whatever state someone was in with the combination of benzodiazepine and alcohol that caused even a minor memory lapse is likely enough to be a DUI.
So, there are some red flags here: the memory lapse, the dose of the xanax, xanax itself is a bit of a red flag, the amount and timing of the alcohol with the xanax. But, it doesn't mean you have a problem. We cannot say without being with you directly. Maybe.
Driving would be a big issue. The drug use maybe an issue (not so likely) and the legal of the items, hardly an issue at all

Then, more of a potential problem is stopping evereything abruptly and wihtout close physician supervision. That Can Kill Someone. Alcohol withdrawal and xanax withdrawal are similar. They can cause seizures that might not stop and cause fatal brain damage.

but apologize and pay for them. (you might want to go back into the store!)
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (15 hours later)
i guessmy questiom was misunderstood . this scenario has happened i have 0 recollection of this happening. not only 1x but 2c within the hour. this is very unlikely that i would do this under my own self moral. i have no memory of either event. i typically do not drink alcohol. however this was a special occasion. can the mixture of the 2 cause a functioning black out?
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (0 minute later)
i guessmy questiom was misunderstood . this scenario has happened i have 0 recollection of this happening. not only 1x but 2c within the hour. this is very unlikely that i would do this under my own self moral. i have no memory of either event. i typically do not drink alcohol. however this was a special occasion. can the mixture of the 2 cause a functioning black out?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (5 hours later)
Brief Answer:
YES

Detailed Answer:
YES mixing alcohol and large amounts of benzodiazepine EASILY CAN CAUSE BLACK OUTS.

I thought the phrase "IT EASILY CAN" would be clear.

There are many other issues especially the issue of possible addiction that are also important points to convey.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Kampana
doctor
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (0 minute later)
Brief Answer:
YES

Detailed Answer:
YES mixing alcohol and large amounts of benzodiazepine EASILY CAN CAUSE BLACK OUTS.

I thought the phrase "IT EASILY CAN" would be clear.

There are many other issues especially the issue of possible addiction that are also important points to convey.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Kampana
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (10 hours later)
Doctor, i subscribed to this site in search of a andwer to my issue. Also thereis a legal issue that im more concerned about. If im not asking to much could ypu please write a formal letter with your professional opinion to submit to the court.. Typically i would see my normal doctor however i am working a seasonal job and am nowhere near hpme or a Doctor.
Thank you
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (0 minute later)
Doctor, i subscribed to this site in search of a andwer to my issue. Also thereis a legal issue that im more concerned about. If im not asking to much could ypu please write a formal letter with your professional opinion to submit to the court.. Typically i would see my normal doctor however i am working a seasonal job and am nowhere near hpme or a Doctor.
Thank you
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (2 days later)
Brief Answer:
Several points.

Detailed Answer:
I am a Board Certified addiction physician with 20 years of experience in Internal medicine and 5 as an Addiction subspecialist. The fundamental question is quite simple, and yes, alcohol and benzodiazepine together can certainly cause memory loss/blackouts among many other effects.
We are a medical information site. You are asking a straightforward question. I am qualified to give an opinion that I'm quite certain of its correctness.

On the other hand, we have never seen you. I cannot give an opinion on you and your particular situation. Do these drugs have these general effects. Certainly. Is that what happened with you? I've no idea.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
doctor
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (0 minute later)
Brief Answer:
Several points.

Detailed Answer:
I am a Board Certified addiction physician with 20 years of experience in Internal medicine and 5 as an Addiction subspecialist. The fundamental question is quite simple, and yes, alcohol and benzodiazepine together can certainly cause memory loss/blackouts among many other effects.
We are a medical information site. You are asking a straightforward question. I am qualified to give an opinion that I'm quite certain of its correctness.

On the other hand, we have never seen you. I cannot give an opinion on you and your particular situation. Do these drugs have these general effects. Certainly. Is that what happened with you? I've no idea.
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
doctor
Answered by
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Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman

Addiction Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1985

Answered : 4214 Questions

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Recently I Had A Unusual Incident Occour. I Typically Do

Recently i had a unusual incident occour. I typically do not consume alcohol. However one morning i had a few shots in lieu of a celebration. Enough to feel slightly buzzed. I take alprazolam 4x a day so 4mg daily. Sometime i will skip the afternoon double up expecially if cant rest. This was the situation at hand. I had taken my alprazolam maybe 3or 4 am fouble dose so 2mg. The next a.m. was the celebration 11am. Can mixing alcohol and alprazolam cause you to do things you cant recal? Such as i walked into a store and walked out with some items that i didnt pay for. Im not a theif never have been. Dont even remeber doing it. Dont know what i did with the items. I literally blacked out and have no recollection. Can mixing the alprazolam and hard alcohol cause this?