Concerta+Alcohol...actually dangerous?

[creativenonsens]

Hi, I have been told over and over by the doc, No drugs, alcohol with my conerta. Well I have drank a couple times never had a single problem, and am planning on going to Canada with a buddy over the summer, and most likely get drunk off our feet. Is it dangerous to have alcohol with concerta? I take 3x18mg (I think)

Also... how long does it take for concerta to be out of my stomach so I can drink with it.


Thanks! And oh yeah, I'm over 21. (No illegal activit-ays)

[TITAN]

I took my Concerta on Saturday at 9 AM.
That night I was drinking. The stims boost your alcohol tolerance. Concerta, Ritalin, Red Bull, Ephedrine etc... All that stuff makes you tolerate alcohol better than you would, untill it wears off obviously. I had had 7 Molson XXX beers which contain twice the alcohol of a regular beer over three hours, so 14 drinks worth of alcohol. I drink infrequently and have no native tolerance for alcohol. But I had a solid buzz and felt great. At 11:30 my Concerta dropped out and I went from buzzed to hammered in about three minutes. Imagine, if you will, that you are on the railroad tracks over a bridge over a canyon with a diesel locomotive coming at you full speed. You can see the train and feel it getting closer but there is nothing you can do. I was more drunk each second than the one before. It was honestly like getting hit by a freight train. I knew I was in trouble and headed straight to the bathroom. I stumbled into my bedroom, fell into my bed and passed out. What my friends saw was: Me having a good time, telling a joke. A sudden unhappy expression, mad dash to the bathroom, stumbling into my bedroom and suddenly I was unconcious.
Thats the trouble with alcohol. You dont feel it when you are on the meds, so you drink more and when they wear off its been too much. So the blanket statement of no drinking. I believe that concerta is supposed to give you all day coverage so it will probably take 14 hours to drop out leaving 2 hours for you to get tired and get a healthy 8 hours of sleep.

[exeter]

Well, my doc did not explicitly warn me not to drink with Concerta, although I did mention I only drink infrequently. I also didn't find anything in the prescribing information other than the standard "inform your doctor if you are a substance abuser" disclaimer.

[Milo]

For me it works the opposite. Can't tolerate more than two pints of bear and then I have to sleep. Usually I can drink four without medication.
I am on Ritalin.

[relvinnian]

Unless you get completely plastered as your Concerta is peaking, you will be fine. There are some interactions between methylphenidate and alcohol, but they generally are significant only at rather high doses.

[sunnymother]

has anyone ever not been able to sleep for 2 days straight after drinking on concerta?

[Adam]

i think you did some damage to ur body there

i know someone who is not on any meds

but he drank a lot and slept for a long long time

............... i wanna say mild coma, but i dunno

[Matt S.]

I take dexedrine now and rarely have a beer or two (it's a waste of alcohol) but in my teen years when I was on ritalin I never drank but used to use pot and it was a waste of pot, didn't notice anything but the meds so I guess the fact of using more to get the effect is unhealthier while on the drug it seems pointless to me to bother... Caffiene is odd in the sense that on amphetamines i notice the effect boost but with ritalin I don't notice Caffiene or even want it

[netsavy006]

This is why I never drink. I'm not old enough yet but I know people who use alchoholic beverages to get to sleep at night, drink caffene to get up in the morning, take 2-3 meds and are a wreck and don't even realize that they are wrecks. I don't even need drinks to be a wreck, I know that for sure. lolz. Seriously though, I'm not sure if you can drink while on concerta. Since they say everything in moderation I guess a very little wouldn't be too harmful but I could be seriously wrong...

[matt1244]

I'm on concerta... And when I drink more than say, 5 shots, or 4 beers quickly, I suddenly black out. I guess what I'm saying is... Drink really slowly at first, then, gradually if your body can take it, drink more. But be really carefull. Anyone know if getting high affects you differently while on concerta?

[Alexis]

I have notice specifically that Concerta interacts very badly in lots of different ways with alcohol, I can relate to all the posts above
I used to take Equasium (another slow release methylphenidate and this had no noticable interaction with alcohol) and I still take standard ritalin which (don't tell anyone) actually works quite well with alcohol.

I think this effect is very specific to Concerta, if I'm going to be drinking alcohol on the same day I don't take my Concerta I just use standard release methylphenidate
otherwize alcohol brings out all the side effects of Concerta, headache, anxiety attacks, nausia, and the worst of all insomnia as Sunnymother says for days

thats why I try not to drink while I'm on Concerta and if I do I don't drink very much

I do like concerta though because it seems to leave me with the best elements of ADHD while removing the worst so I think it's well worth stayng on it but being responsible for how I use it (within perscribed limits) having a slow release and instant release gives you the ability to organise medication around your own needs and commitments

sorry for rambling, I'm a bit on one

xx Alexis

[Alexis]

you should obviously read the patient information label which has to list all possible side effects, In terms of Concerta these do stress quite clearly that you should not mix alcohol and concerta
In general it is best to take any medication exactly as perscribed to get the best therapeutic effect
but as the person taking the medication you are or soon will be the expert on it and should realy know more about it than people that don't take it, including doctors and pharmacists also any medication will interact diferently with each individuals complex physiology and chemical environment

I personally find that my stimulant medication works best by far if I avoid all other drugs, I think this is because my liver is free to process my medication without having to deal with other substances, alcohol complicates matters

you have to think if I can do without alcohol why don't I
on the other hand if I can't then maybe it's time to think about stopping using it

right I'm going to pop my meds now

love Alexis

[fxfake]

Originally Posted by Alexis

you should obviously read the patient information label which has to list all possible side effects, In terms of Concerta these do stress quite clearly that you should not mix alcohol and concerta

No it does not (unless Acrobat's search is broken, or I cannot read.)

Originally Posted by creativenonsens

Hi, I have been told over and over by the doc, No drugs, alcohol with my conerta.

I really think that your doctor and the pharmacy labels that do this with every drug are doing people a disservice.

Some meds are truly incompatible with booze. Most have no real interaction besides additive CNS depression. Counseling people not to drink for drugs like that (basically all drugs) means that warnings for drugs with potentially serious interactions get ignored.

Note that the only mentions of alcohol in the Concerta PI sheet are in regards to solubility (irrelevant to this discussion) and a person's tendency towards addition (tell your doctor if you've been hooked on anything). On the other hand, why would one take the two at the same time? If you're drinking in the morning, you've got a real problem. Unless you have a night job, in which case you shouldn't be drinking, why would you take Concerta in the evening?

Disclaimer: I am not saying that drinking alcohol when taking Concerta is acceptable (ask your doctor about that).

[Alexis]

well it does on mine plus it's typed on the label on the jar

Alcohol may exacerbate the adverse CNS effect of psychoactive drugs, including CONCERTA^®XL. It is therefore advisable for patients to abstain from alcohol during treatment. Janssen-Cilag Ltd

Concerta Extended-Release Tablets may cause dizziness or drowsiness. These effects may be worse if you take it with alcohol: Drugs.com

I think that as with everything you have to work it out for yourself and we can't assume that everything effects everyone in the same way or we'd all be on the same perscription

[demo3210]

Remember that alcohol + Concerta (methylphendiate) form Ethylphenidate when mixed together. Do a search on ethylphenidate to find out what you're getting yourself into.

Combining stimulants and depressents also strains your heart to make it work harder. Your heart is actually getting mixed signals from your brain saying to pump faster from the meds and pump slower from the alcohol. Both seem to raise blood pressure as well (even alcoholics/chronic drinkers have higher blood pressure on a regular basis).

Be careful. Concerta's half-life is 4-5 hours I believe. So do the math for your dosage.