Is Alcohol A Barbiturate? The Dangers Of Overdosing On Both

Although the medical use of barbiturates has declined since the 1970s, high school surveys suggest abuse has risen over the last ten years. A common reason to abuse barbiturates is to neutralize the symptoms of other drugs; the barbiturates (“downers”) counteract the alertness and excitement acquired from stimulant drugs like methamphetamines and cocaine. Today’s drug abusers may be too young to remember the death and dangerous effects barbiturates caused in the 1970s, so they underestimate the risks of using them. Barbiturates are also commonly used in suicide attempts.

Mixing Alcohol and Barbiturates

Risky complications can arise if you are addicted to two or more substances simultaneously. For instance, if a person is addicted to barbiturates and alcohol, they may mix the two. barbiturates and alcohol are both central nervous system depressants. Central nervous system (CNS) depressants slow down the activity in the brain. If the nervous system is depressed, it can cease functioning altogether.

What Happens When You Mix Barbiturates and Alcohol?

Although barbiturates are sometimes prescribed for insomnia or anxiety, doctors are careful when prescribing barbiturates because they can become addictive. Barbiturates and alcohol have similar depressant effects on your body’s central nervous system. Mixing barbiturates and alcohol cause a synergistic effect, resulting in acute toxicity. The acute effects of mixing barbiturates with alcohol include:

These effects occur due to lowered brain activity. It takes your brain longer to do its job, and as a result, it has difficulty regulating your body’s core functions, including breathing, blood pressure, and temperature.

Barbiturates and Alcohol

Alcoholism is still the most prevalent chemical dependency affecting our mature, potentially productive population. However, in this age of “chemical mind alteration,” we have become increasingly aware that people often do not confine themselves to abusing a single substance, which is also true of many alcoholics. Among the various drugs that alcoholics may combine with alcohol, barbiturates are the most common.

Barbiturates can be a helpful drug, and many people can use them for years without abusing them. However, those who abuse them may do so in a similar pattern to alcohol abuse; a one-night affair, a binge of a few days or a few weeks duration, or continuous use. When they have been used continuously, the development of tolerance may necessitate an in¬ crease in dosage, and withdrawal symptoms may appear upon abrupt discontinuation of the drug.

Tolerance is the term applied when a drug gradually loses its effectiveness, so the dose has to be increased to maintain the same effect. In the case of barbiturates, tolerance may be partly due to microsomal enzyme induction in the liver and partly to an adaptation of the brain. On a dosage of up to 500 mg. per day, it is possible to develop nearly complete tolerance to the drug. That is, it becomes ineffective, so an increase in the dosage is necessary. With a dosage of over 800 mg. per day, tolerance is never complete; some intoxication will always be present in individuals who take such high doses.

Barbiturates for Alcohol Withdrawal

Alcoholics are particularly prone to intermittent or continuous barbiturate abuse, which may amount to addiction. The alcoholic who is given a barbiturate by his doctor or his buddy will be quick to recognize that its intoxicating effect is similar to and interchangeable with alcohol. Furthermore, it can significantly boost the alcohol effect. Some will eventually abandon alcohol and turn to barbiturates entirely, discovering that they have distinct advantages over alcohol. They are easy to carry and hide, do not smell, and do not upset stomachs.

Addiction to barbiturates in alcoholics is but one potential danger. Even for the occasional barbiturate user, the synergistic or additive effect of the drug and alcohol represents inherent hazards. Research also suggests that there is a possibility of “accidental suicide” by both substances when the confusion caused by either one results in an accidental overdose. This is quite apart from the deliberate suicide attempt to which alcoholics are quite prone. Several other studies indicate the lethal synergism of alcohol and barbiturates and emphasize that many fatal barbiturate poisonings are accidental deaths. Survival might have been possible if alcohol had not been present.

The mechanism by which alcohol and barbiturates react with each other is not entirely clear. Still, considerable research material on this subject is available in this field. The large amounts of alcohol may partially suppress the more severe manifestations of barbiturate withdrawal because these two intoxications are, to some degree, equivalent.

All complex experimental data support the clinically accepted observations that alcohol and barbiturates do not mix well and that barbiturates should have no place in the treatment of alcoholism. In the alcohol-withdrawal syndrome, there are still some who prefer barbiturates. Although one cannot say that the short-term medical administration of these drugs is necessarily dangerous in situations such as delirium tremens or that they will induce abuse, we see no need for their use in such cases as other medications are equally effective.

Barbiturate and Alcohol Withdrawal Treatment Options

There is a strong link between anxiety meds like barbiturates and mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. Individuals who struggle with mood disorders like depression and anxiety are more susceptible to developing an addiction to drugs or alcohol, often to self-medicate symptoms of their underlying mental health condition. These co-occurring disorders can make each other worse without proper barbiturates and alcohol withdrawal treatment.

To determine the most effective ways to treat barbiturates and alcohol withdrawal and addiction, getting an accurate assessment of all the symptoms is crucial. When a mental health professional has evaluated the symptoms, it may be determined that another form of mental condition is present and needs a particular treatment. Very often, some combination of psychotherapy, medication, and lifestyle changes are effective for coping with functional.

Inpatient Drug Rehab for Withdrawal Symptoms of Barbiturates

There isn’t one treatment approach or style that will suit everyone. Treatment should speak to the needs of the individual. Inpatient drug and alcohol rehab and addiction treatment aren’t just about drug and alcohol use. the goal is to help the patient stop using barbiturates. Drug and alcohol rehab should also focus on the whole person’s needs.

Addiction is a complex but treatable disease that affects brain function and behavior. When someone or their family is considering different treatment facilities, they should account for the complexity of addiction and the needs of the individual. The objective of attending an inpatient drug and alcohol rehab center for addiction treatment is to stop using the drug and re-learn how to live a productive life without it.

Most people benefit from inpatient rehab after a full medical detox from drugs and alcohol. Inpatient drug rehab can last anywhere from 28 days to several months. Patients stay overnight in the rehab facility and participate in intensive treatment programs and therapy. Once someone completes rehab, their addiction treatment team will create an aftercare program, including continuing therapy and participation in a 12-step program like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.

Psychotherapy 

Many rehab programs will also have early morning classes or programs. Group sessions occur during inpatient rehab, as do individual therapy sessions. Family therapy may be part of inpatient rehab when it’s feasible. Alternative forms of therapy may be introduced during inpatient rehab, like a holistic therapy program, yoga for addiction recovery, or addiction treatment massage therapy.

Several different modalities of psychotherapy have been used in the treatment of mental health disorders along with addiction, including:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – is an effective treatment that involves changing both the patterns of negative thoughts and the behavioral routines which are affecting the daily life of the depressed person for various forms of depression.
• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy – is a comprehensive mental health and substance abuse treatment program whose ultimate goal is to aid patients in their efforts to build a life worth living. The main goal of DBT is to help a person develop what is referred to as a “clear mind.” 
• Solution-focused therapy is an approach interested in solutions that can be quickly implemented with a simple first step leading to further positive consequences.

Dual Diagnosis Treatment

Drug abuse and mental health disorders often co-occur. In many cases, traumatic experiences can result in a mental health disorder and substance abuse. Dual diagnosis rehabilitation treats both of these issues together. The best approach for the treatment of dual diagnosis is an integrated system. This strategy treats both the substance abuse problem and the mental disorder simultaneously. Regardless of which diagnosis (mental health or substance abuse problem) came first, long-term recovery will depend mainly on the treatment for both diseases done by the same team or provider.