Medrol (Methylprednisolone) and Alcohol

Especially when we are sick, we don't want to do without life's little pleasures. If you enjoy the occasional alcoholic beverage, do you have to give it up while taking Medrol? If not, how much can you drink? Let's discuss any dangers of mixing methylprednisolone with alcohol, and also any other drug interactions that are possible with this medication.

Medrol and alcohol

The good news is that there is no official declaration prohibiting having an alcoholic beverage or two while on Medrol. The key is moderation. The only exception would be depending on the reason for your being on the prescription in the first place. If you are taking Medrol to counteract alcohol induced hepatitis, then not only should you not drink alcohol while on Medrol, you should probably avoid drinking ever again.

So unless you are taking Medrol because you tanked your liver with booze, you probably can enjoy an occasional drink. However, if the side effects of the drug suddenly get worse when you drink alcohol then you should avoid combining methylprednisolone and alcohol just as an additional precaution.

Other Medrol interactions

Besides alcohol, there are other foods and medications that could potentially affect you while on Medrol. For example, grapefruit juice has been known to increase the amount of Medrol that enters the system. Does this mean that you should cut grapefruit and grapefruit juice out of your diet while taking Medrol? Don't make any changes to your diet without talking to your doctor first. If you've been on the medication and already eating grapefruit then changing your diet may cause you to have a sudden decrease of the medication in your system which may cause it to cease working, or it may cause you to experience withdrawal symptoms like you might if you suddenly stopped taking the medication.

If you have high blood pressure, your doctor will take this into consideration when prescribing Medrol. Corticosteroids can cause fluid retention. Thus, if you are not already on such a diet, your doctor may suggest a low sodium diet accompanied by a potassium supplement to keep fluid retention to a minimum.

When used for an extended period of time, corticosteroids may increase LDL cholesterol levels. If you have a history of high cholesterol, your physician will keep a close eye on this as you take Medrol to ensure that it remains at an acceptable level.

Always remember to follow all directions on your prescriptions packaging.