SLEEP ALL NIGHT

Addiction to Sleep Medication

All people taking sleep medicines face some risk of becoming dependent on the medicine!

Dependency to any medication creates potential risk to anyone taking that medication.  That is why:

• Sleep medication can cause dependence, especially when used regularly for longer than a few weeks or at high doses.
• Some people develop a need to continue taking their sleep medication. This is known as a dependence or an “addiction.”
• Once people develop dependence to any sleep medicine, they may have difficulty stopping the sleep medicine:
  • Symptoms: 
    • Unpleasant symptoms may occur if the medicine is suddenly stopped. The body is unable to function normally (see Withdrawal below)
    • Patients with sleep problems may find that they need to keep taking the medicines either at the prescribed dose or at increasing doses just to avoid withdrawal symptoms
• It has been documented that people who have already been dependent on alcohol or other drugs in the past, may have a greater risk of becoming addicted to sleep medicines
  •  Be careful: 
    • Consider this possibility before using any kind of sleep medicine
    • Tell your family doctor or healthcare professional if you have been addicted to alcohol or drugs in the past. It is important to do so before starting sleep medicine

Withdrawal from Sleep Medicine

• Withdrawal symptoms may occur when sleep medicine is suddenly stopped after being used for a long time
• It has been reported that  these symptoms can occur even if medicine has been used for only a week or two

Symptoms of withdrawal:

• Withdrawal symptoms , in mild cases, may include unpleasant feelings
• In severe cases, other symptoms such as sweating, abdominal cramps, muscle cramps,  shakiness, vomiting, and even seizure may also occur
  •  
    •  These more severe withdrawal symptoms are very uncommon
• Another problem that may occur when sleep medicine is stopped is known as “rebound insomnia”:
  •  
    • This means that a person may have more trouble sleeping the first few nights after the medicine is stopped than before starting the medicine
    • If you should experience rebound insomnia, do not get discouraged
    • This problem usually goes away on its own after one or two nights.

Doctor’s Advice:

• If you have been taking sleep medicine for more than one or two weeks, do not stop taking it on your own
• Always follow your healthcare professional’s directions.