At the Atlantic Recovery Center in Florida, one of the topics we discuss involves the dangers of mixing substances. Mixing alcohol with drugs or taking more than one type of illicit drug can impact your health in negative ways. Some combinations are life-threatening. Learn more about how mixing substances can affect your mental and physical well-being and how to get help from a substance abuse treatment program.
Although a complete list exceeds the scope of this article, we provide examples to highlight the risks involved.
Why You Should Not Mix Substances
In general, unless directed to do so by your medical professional, you should avoid mixing drugs. Mixing drugs can enhance the effects of one or both drugs and lead to negative outcomes. Additionally, the risk of overdose grows exponentially when you mix drugs and alcohol.
Combining drugs can also diminish the psychoactive effects of certain drugs. This may lead you to take more to get the same effect. Often, consuming multiple substances has an unpredictable effect on your body. This could lead to an overdose and other health risks, including death.
Don’t Mix Alcohol with Other Drugs
Alcohol deserves special mention because of the frequency in which people mix it with other drugs. If you are in need of an alcohol addiction treatment center for addiction, contact Atlantic Recovery Center.
Dangerous Combinations with Alcohol
Some dangers of mixing substances are more deadly than others such as the following:
- Alcohol and narcotic pain-relieving medications
- Stimulants and alcohol
- Alcohol and sedatives
- Mixing alcohol with prescription medication
What Can Happen
Mixing alcohol with drugs results in a number of different effects, including the following:
- Enhances the effect of both drugs (when taken with depressants)
- Diminishes the effect of both drugs (when taken with stimulants)
- Leads to unpredictable reactions
- Increase the risk of an overdose
This illustrates the dangers of mixing substances. Mixing drugs can unintentionally lead to dual addictions. Our addiction treatment programs address specific addictions, and we can modify your recovery plan to account for dual addictions.
Dangers of Mixing Substances
Even without drinking alcohol, mixing drugs carries many risks.
Depressants
Many drugs suppress your central nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord. this includes a number of prescriptions you can buy over the counter.
The dangers of mixing substances that are depressants include the following drugs:
- Benzodiazepines: Valium, Xanax and Klonopin
- Barbiturates such as Seconal
- Narcotic or opioids such as OxyContin, morphine, Vicodin, and heroin
- Sedatives such as tranquilizers and other sleep aids
Our benzo addiction treatment program and alcohol addiction treatment program have helped many clients learn the dangers of mixing substances. These programs can help you determine the underlying reason for the use of illicit drugs and help you find positive ways to deal with cravings and symptoms of withdrawal.
Stimulants
Stimulants speed up your central nervous system. When you take multiple stimulant medications simultaneously, it enhances the effects. This means you need less of the drug to get the same results. This increases the risk of an overdose and can lead to disturbing results, including seizures, paranoia, hallucinations, and a heart attack.
Stimulant medications include the following examples:
- Amphetamines found in diet pills
- Stimulant Drugs
- Methamphetamine (crystal meth)
- MDNA (ecstasy)
- Caffeine
- Ritalin and Adderall
- Certain antihistamines
- Cocaine derivatives
- Khat, which is chewed in African and the Middle Eastern
The dangers of mixing substances in the amphetamine family also include death.
Atlantic Recover Center in Florida
At the Atlantic Recovery Center in Florida, we have a cocaine addiction treatment program and a meth addiction treatment program. These programs can help you learn to fight the cravings, sometimes using medically assisted therapies. Contact us today at 1-866-824-5193 so you can find out about the other programs we offer to help you live a drug-free life.