Sleep Medications And Their Effects

 

Sleep deprivation can be one of the most disruptive, not to mention dangerous ailments. It can affect all areas of life, and comes with significant risk and potential dangers. Those who suffer from insomnia are best advised to see a doctor for help rather than self medicating with over the counter sleep medications.

Having said that, there are also significant dangers when taking prescribed medications. Prescribed sleep medications like Ambien, Sonata and Lunesta are described as non-benzodiazepine hypnotics but have the same long term usage dangers as drugs in the benzodiazepine category.

Although Ambien, for example, is highly effective for the treatment of insomnia, it is only suitable for short term use, and at times when waking early is not an issue. Zolpidem (Ambien) can be addictive and can cause physical withdrawal symptoms if the dosage is ceased too quickly after prolonged use.

The regular use of sleeping medication over a long period of time can lead to an addiction to sleeping pills. The danger is that this can happen without the person being aware of it. It’s important to take great care with these medications, and to take them for the shortest period of time, and always under the guidance of a doctor.

When sleep medication has been taken daily for a long period of time, and is then suddenly stopped, some of the withdrawal symptoms that may occur are depression, anxiety, vomiting, stomach cramps, irritability, fatigue and sweating.

A tolerance can be built up to many of these pills. For example, Sonata can lose its effectiveness on insomnia when it is used over a prolonged period of time. In addition, after stopping the daily dose of Sonata, there can be a period of relapse insomnia, where the person has trouble getting to sleep for a few nights before they return to normal.

How To Get Help For An Addiction To Sleeping Pills

 

If you are addicted to sleeping pills, you need to get some help. Pills such as Ambien, Sonata and Lunesta can really help you fall asleep when you need to but they can also become a bad addition. If you have taken any of these and can't stop, look into ways of breaking the addiction.

The first thing you want to do is tell your doctor that you need to break the habit. It might just be that you are so used to the pill and you see yourself headed for danger. If this is the case there is time to fix things so that you don't become too dependent on the pills.

If things are so bad you feel like you need a lot of help, a treatment center is probably the best place for you. You should be able to get the help that you need there. They can help break you of your habit and get you back on the right track.

You will want to talk things over with your family and your doctor. They should know the best place to go and how to get started there. You might not need a residential home. You might be okay with a walk in center.

Once you have gotten the help you need, you will start to see results. You won't be as addicted and you will be able to function a little better. You also will not be in as much danger as you were before.

Make sure you work with your doctor if you are still having sleeping issues. Going back on pills is probably not the answer so figuring out what can be done instead is really important. You want to keep yourself healthy and live a good life.