Is it harmful to drink alcohol with sleeping pills?!

Is it harmful to drink alcohol with sleeping pills?

I have had trouble sleeping lately so I have been taking over the counter sleeping pills. On the bottle, it says not to drink alcohol with them as it will intensify the affects. Well, the sleeping pills were not really working, so last night I decided to take a shot of rum with them to see what would happen, and I fell asleep in 30 minutes! I was just wondering if anything bad could happen to me from taking the pills with alcohol? Other than the alcohol intensifying the affects of the sleeping pills, could anything negative happen? I need real answers though, not "just because it says not to do it" on the back of the bottle.

You are mixing two drugs that have a sedative effect. One drug just happens to be in liquid form. That is like overdosing on sedatives and it could make you sleep very well at the least or it could kill you at the most. You are playing with fire. I understand having trouble sleeping and I myself have had a beer before bedtime to help me relax enough so I could sleep. I have been having trouble sleeping the past 3 nights and have myself been tempted to have a rum and coke (I really don't drink, but on rare occasion, I do like such a drink to help me relax), but to be honest, the cost of the rum was so high (I didn't want the cheap stuff) that frugal person that I am, I decided to tough it out.

My son has chronic insomnia and I took him to the doctor for it. He prescribed sleeping pills that he can take when the problem is very bad. What was prescribed for him is pretty safe, but my son only takes it when he is desperate because he is aware of the dangers of relying on pills for anything. To answer your question, it is not safe to do what you did. If you could avoid big meals at least 2 hours before bedtime and caffeine at least 4 hours before bedtime, that will help, as will avoiding exercise. If you could do something that wears out your brain such as reading or spending time on the computer, or something that wears out your body such as housework, that might also be helpful. If you can get to the root of what is causing you not to sleep well, that would be helpful.

I myself know what is causing me not to sleep well, but I can't change the fact that I have a full plate right now and my mind just won't shut off those things I keep thinking about. If this continues to be a problem for you, I would check with your doctor and see if you can be prescribed some medication to help you sleep. That way, the doctor can monitor your health, as well as any side effects and that will be a heck of a lot safer than mixing alcohol with pills. Good luck!