Medication Options to Treat Insomnia
Saturday, September 27th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
If you’re experiencing insomnia on a regular basis, you’re probably ready to give anything a try that might let you get to sleep. But before you get desperate, make certain you realize how each alternative works.
If a run of sleepless nights leads to drowsiness during the day, many people will decide to use a nonprescription treatment. You might get some relief from a sleep aid at first, but they won’t give you long term results because they don’t fix the problem.
A sleeping aid doesn’t constitute an insomnia cure. It might provide some relief initially, but you still need to figure out the cause of your sleep issues. For your long term health, you don’t want to have to rely on medication to help you sleep at night.
Lots of people get hooked on medications and aren’t able to fall asleep if they give them up. Others have undesirable side effects, or experience complications due to interaction with their prescription meds.
Antihistamines, a familiar remedy for allergies, is a common ingredient in over the counter sleeping aids. They not only make you sleepy, they help to ensure that you stay sleeping.However, there are those who feel drowsy the next day, which may cause disruption to normal sleep patterns. Other side effects might include memory loss, constipation, dizziness, dry mouth and blurred vision. Once you are dependent on them, you’ll need ever greater dosages to feel the benefits.
You might get a prescription for a more potent medication, perhaps a non-benzodiazephine. This helps you feel sleepy by stepping up the natural chemical process of your brain. Using a sleeping aid for ongoing insomnia relief is generally safer than using over the counter remedies; but it can lead to dependencies.
It’s uncommon these days, but your doctor could prescribe a tranquilizer if your insomnia is serious enough. This will calm your nervous system and lead to sleepiness. It’s a short-term answer that might leave you feeling foggy the next day.
Your physician might think that the best treatment for you is a prescription for anti-anxiety or antidepressant meds that will act as a sedative. These are a common alternative that don’t have the same risk of addiction as some other medications.
If you want to avoid the medical choices and select something more natural, you could look at an herbal remedy for your insomnia. Some herbs have a reputation for promoting sleep, like chamomile, which can be made into tea.
Melatonin, valerian root and SAMe are also considered to be effective herbal insomnia treatments. Be sure you take the correct dosage, since too much of a good thing can sometimes lead to uninvited side effects.
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