Does anybody know why medications quit working??

Question

I take several meds--one for sleep and it isn't working-- did all the other things--took a walk--took a hot bath--mediated--wahhhhh!!

Answer 1

your body creates immunities to the medications, it just gets fimilar with the med so it doesnt work bc it expectrs it to be there and counteracts it. especially with sleeping drugs, you might have to up ur dose or even try a new kind - talk to ur dr. dont play with this on ur own. youll just create problems.

Answer 2

There could be several reasons. Sleep medications don't work if you keep taking them. Your body builds up a tolerance to them. I've had serious sleep problems all my life. There was a time when 30 mg. of Restoril didn't phase me at all. But I found that 15 mg. every 3rd night, helped a lot. I've also found that homeopathics help and are not addictive. Minor tranquilizers and sleeping medications won't work on a long term basis. You build up a tolerance, your body gets used to them, and they quit working.

I'm concerned, also, that mental health centers seem to prescribe so many different medications at once these days. You don't know the interactions and you don't know which side effects to attribute to which medication. You could be hypo- manic if you're on an antidepressant. Talk to your doctor or get a 2nd opinion if you can.

Answer 3

It's possible you aren' t drinking enough water. Need water to dissolve it and carry it where it needs to go. Or, you are taking another medication that is competing with it making it inactive, or you have built up a tolerance to it. In that case, it won't work. Try drinking more water and see if that helps. If you are taking other medicines, especially over the counter medicines, you need to make sure they are not interacting with each other. It's best to avoid over the counter if you are taking prescription drugs. Some medicines have the same ingredients, can be dangerous, and some are higher protein bound than others therefore compete. Some drugs can be inducers which means it gets rid of the other drug real fast, or they can inhibit which means the other drug stays around longer. Not sure, but thought that might help. You can do a search on drug interactions on the web on what you are taking.

Answer 4

It's just like the drug-addict and the alcoholic; you build up tolerances.

If you are taking a prescription med for sleep, you should be aware (and your doc probably didn't tell you) that these pills are effective for about 30 days. After that, you either need to switch pills, or get a higher dosage of your current one. And where does it stop?

Have you tried any herbal remedies? Melatonin, Kava Kava, Valerian. Any of these are good. Melatonin worked for me for 10 years, but I built up a tolerance to it. I was taking 3 mg a night, 1 hr before bed. I'm off of it now and am using Unisom, but I have to double the dosage. I will use that for about a month, then will go back on the melatonin. Mela is incredibly effective and safe.

Answer 5

Well they generally stop working on you as you grow tolerant to them kinda like your little bro/sis. You got used to them so they no longer bothered you in the same way. It is the same thing with meds over time your body will grow tolerant to that particle medicine that is when you inform the nice doc and switch to another med or stop with that particle type of med altogether.

Answer 6

Or your body adjusts to the meds and relies more on the meds to perform simple internal processes. This causes you to increase the dose again and again in order to get the same effectiveness over a long period of time.

Answer 7

Your body builds a tolerance to meds after a period of time. You;ll have to take large doses for the same effect. Usually a doctor will prescribe a different med if he feels you need to be on it for a longer period of time.

Answer 8

Yeah, your body got used to them. Stop taking sleep meds. entirely. I did about a week ago, after taking them for about five years. First night was rough, but I'm sleeping better and just as deeply now. No kidding...

Answer 9

Your system gets used to the amount that you are taking, and it wants more and more in order to get the same result. This is called the cycle of addiction. Time to stop unless you want to be hooked on this stuff forever. It clearly states on all sleep medications that they can be "habit forming". That means "addictive". Please be very careful.

Answer 10

Your body has become immune to the meds. Get off of them for a while. give your body a rest.