Risperdal and alcohol - are they compatible?

introduction

Risperdal® is a prescription drug, which is also known under the name Risperidon®. This is a so-called psychotropic drug, which can be used for various mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or mania. Since Risperdal® is a drug that can sometimes have severe side effects, it is important to consider the interactions and potential side effects of Risperdal®. If the Risperdal® is compatible with the alcohol, this is usually due to the fact that only a very small amount of alcohol was consumed. However, if a patient takes Risperdal® and also consumes alcohol, the Risperdal® and alcohol are no longer compatible with each other and there are sometimes severe interactions and side effects

Read more on the topic: Risperdal®

Taking Risperdal and alcohol

The combination of Risperdal® and alcohol is very difficult to get along and should therefore be avoided at all costs. The reason for this lies in the fact that it can intensify the effect of the alcohol. More often, however, the alcohol interferes with the way the drug works.

Since patients who have to take Risperdal® are already mentally weakened and / or ailing, it is important that these patients do not try out whether Risperdal® and alcohol are compatible, but instead avoid this combination prophylactically.

Since Risperdal® usually only has to be taken for a short period of time, it should also be possible for the patient not to consume alcohol. When taking medication, it is helpful to eat food at the same time, but it is also important to avoid foods containing alcohol (rum pralines, certain types of cakes ...). Smaller amounts of alcohol, such as those found in some cakes, are usually not very bad and do not cause severe side effects. Nevertheless, you should avoid consuming alcohol in any way, as prophylaxis is better here than treating possible damage after drinking alcohol.

Effects when taken at the same time

Risperdal® is only very rarely compatible with alcohol. In most cases, the effect of the medication is reduced and side effects are increased. In order to understand why Risperdal® is incompatible with alcohol, it is important to know the side effects of the neuroleptic Risperdal®, as these can be aggravated by alcohol.

For example, if a patient takes Risperdal® to compensate for a bipolar disorder, the use of alcohol can result in the patient slipping into a manic or depressed mood due to the weakened drug effect despite taking Risperdal®. This can have fatal consequences for the patient. It is therefore very important that Risperdal® and alcohol are not combined with one another whenever possible. Other side effects such as tremors, increased sweating, anxiety or restlessness can be promoted by the combination of Risperdal® and alcohol.

It is also important to know that the breakdown of the drug Risperdal® places a certain burden on the body and, above all, on the liver. If the patient now puts additional stress on the body with alcohol and the liver in particular has to work harder to break down the alcohol, this can also lead to physical damage and impairment.

Read more on the topic Risperdal® side effects

Interactions when taking Risperdal®

If a patient takes Risperdal® and alcohol together, various interactions can occur. Among other things, the actual effect of Risperdal® can be canceled and the side effects can be increased instead.

But not only with alcohol, but also with others Medication, there may be interactions when taking Risperdal® at the same time. For example, when you take Risperdal® it comes with certain Heart medication or with Antidepressants to interactions, with either the Effect of the medication intensified will or but there is no effect.

Causes of the interactions

With alcohol and Risperdal there are several reasons why there is an interaction and why the Risperdal interacts with the alcohol not tolerate. On the one hand, alcohol is a fat-soluble (lipophilic) agent which, due to its fat-soluble property, can cross the so-called blood-brain barrier. This Cabinets normally ensures that harmful substances do not enter brain reach. Because alcohol, however fat soluble it can simply cross (diffuse) this blood-brain barrier and thus work in the brain. Usually alcohol then causes disinhibition there. The patient talks more and is more extroverted. However, if a patient takes Risperdal and alcohol does not get along well, the alcohol in the brain causes the patient to experience increased anxiety or become more depressed. This is because the Risperdal in the brain acts and that it thus too Interactions comes, which influence each other and thus both substances develop a different effect than they would normally do. In addition to this so-called “central” interaction, there is also an organic interaction. Risperdal and alcohol are both broken down in the liver and then eliminated from the body from there. If a patient now takes both substances at the same time, it may be that the liver is overwhelmed and can break down a substance more poorly. On the one hand, this can damage the liver itself, but it can also be the case, for example, that the effect of the alcohol lasts much longer or that a poisonous (toxic) substance, which is created when the alcohol is broken down in the liver, in is formed in excessive amounts and then makes the patient feel very bad.

All in all, Risperdal doesn't get along very well with alcohol and should therefore not be taken together. However, if a patient accidentally ingests a small amount of alcohol in a cake, for example, no to very few interactions are to be expected. In the case of larger quantities, however, a doctor should be consulted so that he can monitor the interactions between the Risperdal and the alcohol and can intervene in an emergency.

More information

More information on the subject Risperdal® you'll find here:

• Main page: Risperdal®
  • Risperdal® side effects
  • Discontinue Risperdal®
  • Risperdal Consta

Further general information that may be of interest to you:

• Schizophrenia
• mania
• dementia
• Borderline disorder

You can find an overview of all topics relating to medication under: Medication A-Z.

Exclusion of liability / disclaimer

We would like to point out that medication must never be discontinued, applied or changed independently without consulting your doctor.
Please note that we cannot claim that our texts are complete or correct. The information may be out of date due to current developments.