NutriStack
Alcohol and Alprazolam, contraindicated.
Alcohol can sharply amplify alprazolam's sedating and coordination-impairing effects. The combination increases risk of blackouts, falls, motor vehicle crashes, respiratory depression, and accidental overdose. Risk is highest with higher alprazolam doses, older age, sleep apnea, lung disease, or any additional sedating medication.
One pair, every claim cited. The two substances, the type, the mechanism, the recommendation, and the primary literature.
Same shape as the other 1,729 pairs in the public database.
From the interaction database
What the row says.
Every entry follows the same shape: what is happening, the mechanism, the recommendation, and the primary literature.
At a glance
- Substances
- Alcohol and Alprazolam
- Pair type
- Contraindicated
- Evidence (highest tier)
- Strong
- Source citations
- 2 sources
- Stack Score effect
- −25 to your Stack Score (per scored contraindication row).
- Scope
- Supplement × Prescription
- Last verified
- May 30, 2026
Contraindicated · Strong evidence
Contraindicated
What is happening. Alcohol can sharply amplify alprazolam's sedating and coordination-impairing effects. The combination increases risk of blackouts, falls, motor vehicle crashes, respiratory depression, and accidental overdose. Risk is highest with higher alprazolam doses, older age, sleep apnea, lung disease, or any additional sedating medication.
Mechanism. Alprazolam is a positive allosteric modulator of GABA-A receptors. Alcohol also enhances inhibitory GABAergic tone and impairs cortical and brainstem arousal, producing additive CNS depression and psychomotor impairment.
Recommendation. Do not drink alcohol while taking alprazolam. If you drank recently, avoid non-urgent alprazolam dosing and ask your prescriber or pharmacist for individualized guidance. Seek urgent help for extreme sleepiness, slow breathing, confusion, or inability to wake.
Stack Score
How this pair moves the number.
Effect on the composite score
If both Alcohol and Alprazolam are in the same stack, this pair applies −25 to your Stack Score (per scored contraindication row).
The full algorithm, the clamping rules, and four worked stacks are documented at /methodology/stack-score.
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