Posted by Cam W. on March 6, 2000, at 0:21:12
In reply to New to this site - curious about use of hypnotics., posted by Linda on March 5, 2000, at 23:17:47
Welcome to Babbleland Linda - Thank you for correcting me on atypical depression. As for Ambien (zolpidem) and Sonata (zaleplon), I have no clinical experience as these hypnotics are not available in Canada. Hypnotics in general are not meant to be taken for more than 10 days in a row. I think this rule harkens back to the days of barbiturates and their propensity for quickly inducing tolerance and addiction. Ideally, one wants to avoid hypnotics unless absolutely necessary, so as not to disturb the body's natural sleep pattern (eg wipe-out REM sleep or 'hangover effect'). Other tricks for treating insomnia (eg warm milk - don't laugh - and working out a couple hours prior to bed) should be tried, maybe intermixed with low dose hypnotic use to take the edge off of anxiety. Many, many of my clients (patients?) are taking hypnotics for life. When you ask the psychiatrist why, it's because they don't sleep without them.
I hope you stay and contribute, we need a good nurse practioner with clinical experience to help round out our knowledge base. You'll be surprised how much you will learn. Sincerely - Cam W.
poster:Cam W.
thread:26077
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000302/msgs/26086.html