Fentanyl and alcohol

[Jiko]

Hello,

Just had a quick question - I had an endoscopy performed this morning where I was given fentynal as a sedative.

Now it is my buddy's birthday tonight and I would like to have some drinks.

I was told to refrain fro drinking any alcohol for 24 hours but I was wondering if this is more of a general run of thumb
Or if there is actually some merit behind this.

It will be approximately 8-9 hours after I was given the fentynal that I would be thinking of drinking - any insight?

 

[effie]

Fentanyl has a short half life so you are probably okay if 9 hours have passed, but it is best to follow medical advice generally and I wouldn't feel comfortable saying yes it is definitely safe. How do you feel? Were you given anything at all other than the fentanyl?

 

[Jiko]

I'm feeling alright aside from being a little groggy but I figure that will pass by the time I would be going anywhere.

Don't think I was given anything else - possibly some Valium?

Anyways - I will most likely follow what thy say but I am going to judge it by how I feel - appreciate the response.

 

[effie]

Valium/diazepam would be more of an issue, it has a really long half life (up to 100 hours) and can be bad news combined with alcohol - they have a synergistic effect and you may well end up too wasted/blacking out/doing stupid stuff/overdosing. If you've had opiates and benzos then I really would steer clear of alcohol for 24 hours, mixing your CNS depressants can be dangerous.. sorry!

In general it is sensible to be really cautious with fentanyl as it is so strong but in this case given their half lives I think it is the diazepam that is the biggest worry if you were to drink.

 

[Jiko]

Fair enough - that is most likely what I will do. Appreciate the help - feel free to delete the thread if need be.

 

[Jiko]

Just one other thing - would it make a difference that Im prescribed lorazepam 1mg that I have taken and drank on before without much problems - other than a little drowsiness or is it much weaker compared to valium?

 

[effie]

I'll leave it up, we don't tend to delete threads unless they break the guidelines. I can lock it though

Without knowing how much diazepam you have had it is difficult to say. 1mg lorazepam = 10mg diazepam, but diazepam lasts longer.

This is one of those situations where it's really hard to say for sure - so the only safe thing we can say is best not to drink. With the extra diazepam in your system it could be too much. It's not always easy sticking to just one or two drinks on benzodiazepines either, the combination can lead to amnesia and reckless behaviour, not a good combination! If you do go for it be really careful but I would stay away, especially if you are feeling at all groggy.

 

[Jiko]

Good to know - appreciate all the help, Effie!

 

[GABAking]

For Endoscopy my guess is they gave you Versed and Fentanyl, as this is pretty much the "gold standard" for minor procedures like endoscopy, colonoscopy, etc. Fentanyl has a really short half life and versed (midazolam) ranges from about 2-6 hours

It's always best to follow your doctor's advise, but in all honesty I've drinken after having a similar procedure done and it was fine, I waited like 12 hours or so