Difference between ambien, alcohol, and xanax?

June 15, 2009 7:47 PM

I'm wondering the differences between alcohol, xanax, and ambien.

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone could fill me in on this question that has been in my head for the past couple of days. You see, I take xanax for anxiety, and it works great, but it *feels* like I drake some alcohol, but without the "losing control" part. Also, xanax is similar to ambien in that it makes me sleepy, and I sleep like a baby the night that I take it. It also has the same cottonmouth side-effect as ambien. So, I was wondering the differences between the three. Maybe this question can't be answered in layman's terms, but I am just curious. :)

PS: I do not mix these drugs.

posted by CliffDiving44 to health & fitness (5 comments total)

All three actually act at the same receptor in the brain. As far as how that plays out, benzodiazepines (xanax) and alcohol are very similar, so you get very similar responses -- sleepiness, impaired memory, etc. Obviously they play out slightly differently (xanax gives better decrease of anxiety than alcohol) but they act similarly.

Ambien also hits that same receptor, but it hits only certain types of that 1 receptor, so it gives you sleepiness without as much anxiety-reduction, and it doesn't affect stages of sleep as much as Xanax does.

Anyways, all three are similar, and obviously, combining them would give additive effects so that if you took a xanax and ambien after drinking you'd be out... very very very OUT. And by the way, very bad idea. But as you said, you don't mix them.

Oh, other differences: you don't get a true "hangover" from xanax or ambien because they aren't broken down the same way alcohol is, so there's no toxic acetaldehyde (the chemical that accumulates after you drink) to make you feel so ill.
posted by davidnc at 7:57 PM on June 15 [1 favorite has favorites]

Here's a second opinion. If I have 8 hours available, Ambien gives me a good refreshing night's sleep and I wake up easily and feel great. Xanax gives me a bit of a hangover (fuzzy head) in the morning and it's harder to wake up. Alcohol, even more so, plus, alcohol whacks your stomach. (Dosage is relevant, obviously.)

Hope that helps.

Hm. This is AskMeFi, yet I didn't say the words "awesome" or "amazing" or "incredible" even once. I wonder if ithe Ambien has somehow modified my brain.
posted by JimN2TAW at 9:04 PM on June 15

More specifically, Xanax doesn't feel like alcohol to me at all, but then again, I take a very low dosage of Xanax and maybe not so low a dosage of alcohol. Again, hope this information is helpful.
posted by JimN2TAW at 9:10 PM on June 15

This information is all helpful. I am just interested in it because sometimes while on xanax I will have flashes of when I was taking ambien, and xanax relaxes you the same way alcohol does, but without the drunkenness, which is nice. I'm just a curious person. :)
posted by CliffDiving44 at 9:34 PM on June 15

What dosages do you take? I'm also "on" all three, although I do not take Ambien frequently. I find that a lower dosage than prescribed of Xanax gives me the anxiety-soothing effect I need but without any sort of "where am I?" side effects.

And as far as Ambien goes, I have to take it before midnight to get up at 9ish, otherwise, I'm really out of it in not a drowsy/braindead way, but more a "the world seems very tilted" kind of way.
posted by hapax_legomenon at 12:45 AM on June 16