How safe are prescription sleep aids?

Answer 1

It varies, but on the whole they are not that safe.

Most over the counter sleep aids don’t really do much for you. They contain things like the sleep hormone melatonin. They don’t have any true sedative drugs because a prescription is required to get that.

Sedatives put people to sleep by depressing the metabolic rate, too much suppression and the person dies. That’s why sedatives have to be prescribed, however they can safely be prescribed as long as the doctor knows the person’s weight.

Other medications that cause sleep work with brain chemistry by either increasing or decreasing the amount of a hormone or neurotransmitter present in the brain. Scientists don’t know exactly what they are doing here. They know the effect of some drugs, and they can duplicate those effects with others, and they know how to generate those effects. What scientists don’t know is what the brain is exactly doing with those neurotransmitters and more importantly what else is being affected.

I am disabled and one component is chronic insomnia so I do have some first hand knowledge about what I am talking about. Ambien is a drug that is not a sedative, but it induces a light sleep. The problem is that the person doesn’t get a deep restorative sleep so no healing or growth takes place unless the person gets real sleep. Ambien can be safely used for a period of two weeks, after that the sleep depravation can cause serious harm. As we have seen in the news Ambien has other effects as well since it works by changing the chemistry in the brain. This can make some people do some strange things. A few people have reported doing things while they are asleep. Often they are misusing the drug and not allowing a full 8 hours of sleep after taking it. For example one woman took an Ambien pill and then went to the store to pick up something. She ended up sleep driving and was pulled over by the cops for unsafe driving.

GHB, the date rape drug, is a good sleep medication and can be prescribed for insomnia, but not by any government sponsored program. If I could get it, I might be using it. The government feels that the danger of abuse by giving the drug to someone else is too great to allow its use. GHB creates a sleepy trance like state and gives the person amnesia for what happens shortly after the drug starts to take effect. If you want to go to bed and go to sleep then this is fine, you won’t remember anything before dropping off to sleep. If you want to take advantage of a person and rape them…. Well those effects are well known.

Serotonin is neurotransmitter that affects sleep. Increasing the amount of it in the brain or causing the brain to release more of it can make a person sleepy. For normal insomnia this is a possible treatment, but for really powerful insomnia (your’s truly) it isn’t strong enough. Currently I am taking a stronger drug for help to get to sleep; I won’t tell you what it is because you really don’t need to know. It has the standard dangerous side effects that all drugs like this have; drowsiness, dryness of mouth, ranging up to liver damage and in very rare cases death. But then most prescription medication has that risk. If the FDA existed 200 years ago Aspirin would not be available without a prescription. It is one of the most dangerous drugs that the FDA lets be sold over the counter. Aspirin, if abused can cause excessive bleeding and stomach damage; it can even cause ulcers or if given to a person with a wound cause them to bleed to death. Aspirin is common and easy to get, but that doesn’t mean it is safe.

All prescription medicine has the risk of side effects and in very rare cases they can get serious. Normally they can be used safely, but a doctor has to supervise their use. This is why only doctors and medical professionals can prescribe medication.

Most prescription medication is more dangerous than aspirin, and that can kill under rare circumstances. So the FDA requires supervision. The sleeping aids you find over the counter are safe, and not very effective. They have a large placebo effect (if you take it you think it will help), and can induce sleep, but they don’t cause sleep. Benadryl is an over the counter medication that can be used to relieve an allergic reaction. It has a major side effect of causing sleepiness and is probably the strongest over the counter sleep aid that you can buy. Like other medications it has its side effects usually drying the nose, eyes and mouth. If you have a cold or the flu this can help you. If you have a sleep problem the Benadryl can also help, but usually other medications are used.

Drugs are more dangerous than we think. A great deal of them works in a manor that is not completely understood. They can cause other things to happen and have unintended side effects. If the medication is prescription strength then it can be dangerous and it is easy to abuse. Over the counter sleep aids are not very effective so most sleep medication has to be prescribed.

Answer 2

Prescription sleep aids are relatively safe when used under the specified guidelines set by your doctor. Don't double up on your dose when you can't get to sleep or when you want to sleep more and don't take the medication when you can't commit 8 hours or so of sleep.
For example, it would not be good to stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning and then take the medication because the effects of it won't wear off. If you have to work in a few hours you will have a hard time hearing your alarm clock go off and you will certainly be a hazard to yourself during your commute.
Basically its necessary to listen to your doctor and to stay in constant contact with your doctor so that he is aware of any adverse side effects that may arise.
There is some risk of dependency when dealing with sleep aids but this can usually be avoided when you don't take more than your regular dose at bedtime and AVOID using them to take a nap during the day. Also, it would be a great idea to not use one when you have had a very physical day and you are exhausted. Usually you can get to sleep when you are physically tired. Sleep aids are more for people who can't get to sleep because their minds are still running and the constant chatter of their minds and of course for those who have clinical syndromes that do not allow them to sleep or make it near impossible to sleep.
Just keep in mind to not use them when they are not necessary and to not take more than your doctor told you to. It is also important to not mix them with any other narcotic/pain reliever or alcohol. Your trying to get to sleep, not have a party.

Answer 3

There are many sleep aid available for prescription and your doctor will prescribe the best for you. Sleep aids generally refer to classes of drugs such as sedatives, anxiolytics and hypnotics. Sedatives are used to diminish CNS activity which can relieve anxiety, because of this many sedatives are often called anxiolytics, these used to be known as tranquilisers. A Hypnotic is a substance used to induce sleep. Many of today’s sedatives can be used in lower doses to promote sleep. The problem with all of these types of drugs is that they can be extremely addictive with some known cases of addiction occurring in as little as 10 days. Because of this, ideally these drugs should be prescribed for limited periods with close supervision from your doctor.