Meprobamate overdose
Meprobamate is a medicine used to treat anxiety. Meprobamate overdose occurs when someone takes more than the normal or recommended amount of this medicine. This can be by accident or on purpose.
This article is for information only. DO NOT use it to treat or manage an actual overdose. If you or someone you are with has an overdose, call your local emergency number (such as 911), or your local poison control center can be reached directly by calling the national toll-free Poison Help hotline (1-800-222-1222) from anywhere in the United States.
Overdose
An overdose is when you take more than the recommended amount of something, often a medicine or drug. An overdose may result in serious, harmful sym...
Read Article Now Book Mark ArticlePoisonous Ingredient
Meprobamate can be poisonous in large amounts.
Symptoms
The key symptoms of meprobamate poisoning are decreased levels of consciousness, lack of responsiveness, and low blood pressure. Below are symptoms of a meprobamate overdose in different parts of the body.
EYES, EARS, NOSE, AND THROAT
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Blurred vision
Blurred vision
There are many types of eye problems and vision disturbances, such as: Halos Blurred vision (the loss of sharpness of vision and the inability to see...
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Double vision
Double vision
There are many types of eye problems and vision disturbances, such as: Halos Blurred vision (the loss of sharpness of vision and the inability to see...
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STOMACH AND INTESTINES
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Vomiting
Vomiting
Nausea is feeling an urge to vomit. It is often called "being sick to your stomach. "Vomiting or throwing-up forces the contents of the stomach up t...
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HEART AND BLOOD
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Low blood pressure
Low blood pressure
Low blood pressure occurs when blood pressure is much lower than normal. This means the heart, brain, and other parts of the body may not get enough...
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Pounding heartbeat (palpitations)
Palpitations
Palpitations are feelings or sensations that your heart is pounding or racing. They can be felt in your chest, throat, or neck. You may:Have an unpl...
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- Slow heart rate
LUNGS
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Labored breathing
Labored breathing
Breathing difficulty may involve:Difficult breathing Uncomfortable breathingFeeling like you are not getting enough air
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Wheezing
Wheezing
Wheezing is a high-pitched whistling sound during breathing. It occurs when air moves through narrowed breathing tubes in the lungs.
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NERVOUS SYSTEM
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Coma (decreased level of consciousness and lack of responsiveness)
Coma
Decreased alertness is a state of reduced awareness and is often a serious condition. A coma is the most severe state of decreased alertness from whi...
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Confusion
Confusion
Confusion is the inability to think as clearly or quickly as you normally do. You may feel disoriented and have difficulty paying attention, remembe...
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Convulsions
Convulsions
A seizure is the physical changes in behavior that occurs during an episode of specific types of abnormal electrical activity in the brain. The term ...
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Dizziness
Dizziness
Dizziness is a term that is often used to describe 2 different symptoms: lightheadedness and vertigo. Lightheadedness is a feeling that you might fai...
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Drowsiness
Drowsiness
Drowsiness refers to feeling more sleepy than normal during the day. People who are drowsy may fall asleep when they do not want to or at times whic...
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Stupor
Decreased alertness is a state of reduced awareness and is often a serious condition. A coma is the most severe state of decreased alertness from whi...
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Slurred speech
Slurred speech
Dysarthria is a condition in which you have difficulty saying words because of problems with the muscles that help you talk.
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Tremor
Tremor
A tremor is a type of shaking movement. A tremor is most often noticed in the hands and arms. It may affect any body part, including the head, tong...
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Uncoordinated movement
Uncoordinated movement
Uncoordinated movement is due to a muscle control problem that causes an inability to coordinate movements. It leads to a jerky, unsteady, to-and-fr...
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SKIN
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Blue lips and fingernails
Blue lips and fingernails
A bluish color to the skin or mucous membrane is usually due to a lack of oxygen in the blood. The medical term is cyanosis.
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Tiny red spots on skin
Tiny red spots on skin
Bleeding into the skin can occur from broken blood vessels that form tiny red dots (called petechiae). Blood also can collect under the tissue in la...
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Home Care
Seek medical help right away. Do not make the person throw up unless poison control or a health care provider tells you to.
Before Calling Emergency
Have this information ready:
- Person's age, weight, and condition
- Name of the medicine (strength, if known)
- Time it was swallowed
- Amount swallowed
Poison Control
Your local poison control center can be reached directly by calling the national toll-free Poison Help hotline (1-800-222-1222) from anywhere in the United States. This national hotline will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions.
Poison control center
For a POISON EMERGENCY call:1-800-222-1222ANYWHERE IN THE UNITED STATESThis national hotline number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. This ...
Read Article Now Book Mark ArticleThis is a free and confidential service. All local poison control centers in the United States use this national number. You should call if you have any questions about poisoning or poison prevention. It does NOT need to be an emergency. You can call for any reason, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
What to Expect at the Emergency Room
Take the container with you to the hospital, if possible.
The provider will measure and monitor the person's vital signs, including temperature, pulse, breathing rate, and blood pressure.
Vital signs
Vital signs reflect essential body functions, including your heartbeat, breathing rate, temperature, and blood pressure. Your health care provider m...
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- Blood and urine tests
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Chest x-ray
Chest x-ray
A chest x-ray is an x-ray of the chest, lungs, heart, large arteries, ribs, and diaphragm.
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CT scan
CT scan
A computed tomography (CT) scan is an imaging method that uses x-rays to create pictures of cross-sections of the body. Related tests include:Abdomin...
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Electrocardiogram (ECG)
Electrocardiogram
An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a test that records the electrical activity of the heart.
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Treatment may include:
- Fluids through a vein (by IV)
- Medicine to treat symptoms
- Activated charcoal
- Laxative
- Breathing support, including tube through the mouth into the lungs and connected to a breathing machine (ventilator)
Ventilator
A ventilator is a machine that breathes for you or helps you breathe. It is also called a breathing machine or respirator. The ventilator: Is attac...
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Outlook (Prognosis)
How well someone does depends on the amount of meprobamate swallowed and how quickly treatment is received. The sooner medical help is given, the better the chance for recovery.
With proper care, most people recover. But, recovery may be more difficult in people with aplastic anemia. This is because their bone marrow does not produce enough red blood cells.
Aplastic anemia
Aplastic anemia is a condition in which the bone marrow does not make enough blood cells. Bone marrow is the soft, tissue in the center of bones tha...
Read Article Now Book Mark ArticleReferences
Aronson JK. Carisoprodol. In: Aronson JK, ed. Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs. 16th ed. Waltham, MA: Elsevier; 2016:158-159.
Overbeek DL, Erickson TB. Sedative-hypnotics. In: Walls RM, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 154.
Review Date: 11/2/2023
Reviewed By: Jesse Borke, MD, CPE, FAAEM, FACEP, Attending Physician at Kaiser Permanente, Orange County, CA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.