Sleep Disorders

Sleep Medication

People have been using drugs to get to sleep and stay asleep for millennia. Modern psychopharmacology has produced better sleeping pills than the herbal remedies of old, but the hard fact is that no chemical or drug can permanently substitute for sleep or completely reverse problem sleepiness.

Prescription medication should be taken only when authorized by a licensed physician and preferably when under his or her care. The authorities have designated these medicines as prescription-only because the can be dangerous, prone to abuse, or easy to make mistakes with. Over-the-counter medicines should be treated with respect, too. They are still drugs and can sometimes be powerful and cause unforeseen side effects. Pay close attention to your body when you use a drug, particularly when starting a new one.

Tips

Medicines are an aid. You still have to do your part by maintaining good sleep hygiene and habits. Use the medicine only while you need it (following any specific instructions given by your doctor, of course.) Medicines for insomnia, and other sleep disorders, generally treat the symptoms, not the underlying cause. They are not a cure.

Don’t count on the drug to do everything for you. You still have to do your part. You should also monitor your health and reaction to any medicines you take.

Many sleep drugs have a risk of becoming habit-forming. Your doctor and/or pharmacist can talk to you about this. Even with the risk of dependency, it is sometimes worth using a medicine if the potential benefits outweigh the risk. Also be aware that suddently halting a medicine can result in uncomfortable withdrawal; you may wish to look into tapering off the medicine – this goes even for OTC medicines.

Interactions between medicines

Drugs can react with each other, and if you take more than one they can amplify or suppress each other or produce undesired or unforeseen consequences. The word polypharmacy was coined to
Discuss all medicines you take with your doctor, even over-the-counter ones. An on-line resources for checking drug-drug interactions is at http://www.fda.gov/Cder/consumerinfo/druginteractions.htm.

Pregnant or breast-feeding women should be particularly careful and reluctant to take medicine. Do so ONLY with the advice of your doctor.

Sleep medicine requires special care as much of it makes you sleepy (duh!) and that can be dangerous when “operating heavy machinery” as the chesnut goes. The most common heavy machinery most people operate is their cars, and drowsy driving (under the influence of drugs or not) is a major problem.

Caffeine can contribute to insomnia beyond its stimulant properties. It worsens anxiety, manic thinking and behavior in people prone to that. When it wears off it can leave the person with lower energy and mood. Too much caffeine can result in insomnia, and so can reducing the consumption of caffeine! Many drugs have similar paradoxical properties.

Is it okay to give sleeping medications to young children if they can't fall asleep? - Advice from a doctor

FDA Consumer information on Sonata

Caffeine Information - International Food Information Council

Remedy Find's Narcolepsy Page - user reviews of medications

Remedy Find's Apnea Page - user reviews of medications

"Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber" – William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

Benzodiazepines are prescribed to relieve anxiety. They include such well known medicines as Xanax, Valium, Lorazepam, and Triazolam (Halcion). They belong to the group of medicines called central nervous system (CNS) depressants (medicines that slow down the nervous system).

Antihistimines - The three antihistimines you will see in over-the-counter sleep medications are diphenhydramine, doxylamine, and hydroxyzine.

There are other antihistimines used for other purposes including allergies and motion sickness, although drowsiness is a common side effect of many antihistimines..

Barbituates are a class of drugs that are sometimes called "downers". They were once presrcibed for insomnia, but have generally been replaced by safer medicines.

Zolpidem (Ambien) - CNS depressant

Zaleplon (Sonata) - CNS depressant

Pramipexole for Restless Legs Syndrome

What are "narcotics"?