Dangers of Mixing Pregabalin and Alcohol

Pregabalin is a commonly prescribed medicine for nerve pain, epilepsy, and generalised anxiety disorder. You may also know it by the brand names Lyrica or Alzain. Millions of people in Britain take pregabalin every year, and it can work well for what it’s prescribed for. The trouble is what happens when you add alcohol. Mixing pregabalin and alcohol is high-risk, and anybody who is taking or prescribing pregabalin needs to be fully aware of the dangers.

How pregabalin affects your body

Pregabalin quiets down overactive signals in your brain and spine. The effects depend on why you are taking pregabalin. If you have nerve pain, fewer pain messages get through. For people with anxiety disorders, there is less of the constant alarm-signal firing that drives anxiety. If you have epilepsy, pregabalin can reduce the number of electrical surges that cause seizures.

The trade-off is that pregabalin also makes you drowsy, slows your reactions, affects your concentration, and can leave you feeling unsteady. Most people get used to this after a while and may not really notice it. But this can change when you add something else that does similar things to your body.

Alcohol slows your brain down, dulls your reflexes, relaxes your muscles, and makes your judgement worse. On its own and in moderate amounts, your body can usually handle this. But when you take pregabalin and then drink on top of it, each substance makes the other one stronger. The combination can overwhelm your system when neither substance would have done so alone.

The biggest dangers of mixing alcohol and pregabalin

The biggest risk is that both substances slow down your breathing. Your body normally adjusts your breathing automatically, but pregabalin and alcohol both interfere with this. When you take them together, your breathing can become so slow and shallow that you don’t get enough oxygen. In mild cases, you may feel pretty rough. In severe cases, your breathing can stop entirely, and this is how people die from mixing these substances.

Even if you don’t get to that point, the combination can cause other major issues with coordination, reactions, judgement, and sense of balance. You may feel like you’re functioning normally, but actually, you are in no state to drive, walk down the stairs safely, hold a conversation, or make any kind of sensible decision. Blackouts are also common, where you carry on doing things like normal, but have no memory of them the next day.

What catches people out is that even small amounts of alcohol can cause big problems because your usual tolerance doesn’t apply anymore. A glass of wine or a couple of pints that would normally just take the edge off your evening can hit much harder when pregabalin is already in your system.

Warning signs anyone taking pregabalin needs to know

When pregabalin and alcohol begin to overwhelm your system, the signs include:

• Severe drowsiness
• Dizziness
• Slurred speech
• Confusion
• Nausea
• Breathing that’s become slow or shallow

These are signs that your body is struggling, and they all need to be taken very seriously. The danger you are in depends on how much of each substance is involved, how used to them you are, your weight, and whether anything else is in your system.

But there is no reliable formula for working out what is safe, and what seems like a moderate amount one day can cause a serious reaction the next. Never take a chance. If you see any of these signs, get immediate medical help.

Mental health risks of mixing pregabalin and alcohol

If you’re taking pregabalin for anxiety and you drink alcohol as well, you may be making your overall mental health worse. Alcohol feels like it helps with anxiety at the moment, but long-term drinking tends to increase both anxiety and depression. When you’re already taking medication that affects how your brain works, adding alcohol can affect your mental health even more.

Research in the British Medical Journal found that people taking pregabalin had a higher risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviour, with the risk greatest among younger people aged 15 to 24. Alcohol on its own is also linked to depression and suicidal feelings. When you combine the two, both risks get worse.

If you’re already prone to low mood or depression and you notice yourself feeling worse while mixing pregabalin and alcohol, you also need to take that seriously. You can speak to your GP or call one of the helplines listed here.

What to do if someone overdoses

An overdose from mixing pregabalin and alcohol needs emergency help immediately. The signs of overdose include:

• Extreme drowsiness
• Unconsciousness
• Very slow or irregular breathing
• Blue-tinged lips or fingertips
• Cold and clammy skin
• Being unable to wake someone up
• Vomiting while unconscious

If you see these signs, call 999 straight away, and tell the person on the phone and the paramedics what substances were involved. Stay with the person, and if they’re unconscious, put them in the recovery position on their side so they won’t choke if they’re sick.

The numbers behind the warnings

Deaths involving pregabalin have risen sharply in the past decade. Between 2004 and 2020, more than 2,300 deaths in England involved pregabalin, and in over 90% of those cases, other substances had also been taken. Opioids are the most common, but alcohol is also very common.

Pregabalin was reclassified as a controlled substance in 2019 specifically because of these concerns, but prescriptions have kept rising regardless. According to NHS figures, there were around 8.4 million prescriptions in 2022, up from 5.5 million in 2016. That is a lot of people who need to understand what happens when they mix pregabalin with alcohol.

When use becomes dependence

Both pregabalin and alcohol can lead to dependence when used regularly, and using them together increases this risk. Alcohol can make the effects of pregabalin feel stronger and more pleasant, which sometimes leads people to combine them deliberately. The brain can then adjust to having both substances around, and stopping either one becomes harder.

Pregabalin withdrawal can cause anxiety, insomnia, sweating, nausea, and sometimes seizures. Alcohol withdrawal can cause similar symptoms, and in severe cases, a dangerous condition called delirium tremens. Coming off both at once is difficult and can cause fatal complications, which is why you should never try it on your own without professional help.

What to do if this applies to you

If you’ve been mixing pregabalin and alcohol and you want to stop, talk to a doctor or a professional treatment centre like Oasis Runcorn before you make any changes. Even if you don’t feel like you are dependent, it is never worth taking the risk. Our medical alcohol detox team can help you cut down gradually so your body adjusts safely.

If you’re taking pregabalin as prescribed and finding that you keep drinking even though you know the risks, you need to ask yourself what that means. It could be a strong indicator of alcohol addiction, or a sign that you need a different approach to whatever you’re taking pregabalin for.

Getting help

Mixing pregabalin and alcohol isn’t safe at any level, and if you’ve been mixing them, you should stop. If that is harder than it should be, Oasis Runcorn can help you understand why.

We provide detox and rehab for both alcohol and pregabalin addiction, with our treatment also having benefits for co-occurring mental health issues. Contact Oasis Runcorn today, and let’s have a real conversation about your situation and how we can help.