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Does grapefruit juice potentiates the effects of alprazolam?

April 26, 2017alprazolam Grapefruit juice

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Does grapefruit juice potentiates the effects of alprazolam?

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Grapefruit juice has been scientifically proven to potentiate benzodiazepines, including alprazolam. Grapefruit juice inhibits the CYP3A4 enzymes. Inhibition of the CYP3A4 enzymes is what affects the clearance of some drugs. Grapefruit juice could lead to extra sedation. Doctors do warn against taking alprazolam and grapefruit juice together, but only because they are prescribing set doses and using grapefruit juice increases the effects from what they are supposed to be, and makes the dose more unpredictable. It could be bad if you consume grapefruit juice and alprazolam everyday for a long time. Doing this for a long time could cause a toxic buildup. Regardless, it would take a long time for this buildup to occur. It is dangerous, especially for the elderly.