Almost all drugs act on sleep, either worsening it at night, or causing drowsiness during the day. It is important, together with your doctor, to choose the right time for taking certain dosages and dosages of the medications you are taking in order to promote proper sleep. This primarily refers to drugs that provoke insomnia: beta-blockers, bronchodilators, corticosteroids, decongestants, central nervous system stimulants ( caffeine , cocaine , amphetamines ), diphenin , stimulant antidepressants, thyroid hormones, as well as nicotine and alcohol.
At the doctor’s office, complaining of insomnia, be sure to tell in detail about all the medicines that you drink. It is useful to write down in advance everything that you regularly take, as well as doses and time. Pay attention to the package: there are always two names on it. One is a common chemical compound, and the other is the patenting name of the pharmaceutical company that manufactures it. As a rule, the same chemical compound has a different proprietary name, because it is produced by many firms. The common name is always written small print with a small letter. In contrast, a proprietary registered company name is always capitalized and in large print. You must write down both the names of the medicine indicated on the package in both small and large print.
If the doctor determines that insomnia is caused by the influence of drugs, then picking up certain hours of administration and dosage, you can establish sleep without even canceling them.
Since insomnia often accompanies depression, some people who suffer from such insomnia take antidepressants. It turns out that among the drugs that affect the structure of sleep, one of the main places is occupied by just such drugs. Some of them, such as amitriptyline , synekvan , trazodone , nefazodone, reduce the duration of BDG sleep and increase the phase of slow sleep (hereinafter common names are given). They cause drowsiness, which affects the activity of a person during the working day. Other antidepressants such as desipramine , imipramine , nortriptyline depending on the dose, they can cause both drowsiness and insomnia. The third drugs of this group, bupropion , fluoxetine , paroxetine , sertraline , venlafaxine cause insomnia due to a strong activating effect.
With depression, so-called monoamine oxidase inhibitors can be prescribed, such as tranylcypromine and phenelzine , which are likely to cause fragmented, restless sleep with frequent awakenings. They reduce the duration of REM sleep and lead to daytime sleepiness.
Medications used in the treatment of bronchial asthma and lung diseases also affect sleep. Theophylline , for example, due to its stimulating action, makes sleep disturbing.
A drug for the treatment of diseases of the stomach and intestines called cimetin can also cause insomnia.
A number of means of treating cardiovascular diseases leads to difficulty falling asleep and fragmentary sleep: methyldopa , hydrochlorothiazide , propranolol , furosemide , quinidine .
The drug phenytoin , used in neurology, also sometimes provokes insomnia.
Antihistamines are used by many people in the treatment of allergies, for example, the well-known Dimedrol . But they cause drowsiness as a side effect, so they are prescribed in order to sleep better. However, as studies have shown, it is from insomnia that antihistamines do not relieve, and sleep does not prolong. The negative property of these drugs is that they lead to tolerance. This means that the longer an antihistamine is taken, the greater the dose required. In addition, these drugs cause drowsiness during the day, slow down the rate of mental and motor responses, which is highly undesirable. Drivers who work at height, with electricity or in other conditions of heightened danger are prohibited from using antihistamines, especially as sleeping pills for the night.
Aspirin causes slight drowsiness and can be used as a mild hypnotic, but with caution. If you need a lifelong intake of small doses of aspirin as a means of improving the fluidity of the blood, for example, if you are prone to thrombosis (if prescribed by a doctor), you can drink it in the late afternoon. But its hypnotic effect is negligible. Self-treatment with aspirin is dangerous, as with an inadequate dose, it can lead to bleeding and changes in the blood formula.
Stimulants of the central nervous system, including narcotic substances, cause a decrease in the duration of BDG sleep. During abstinence, that is, when abstaining from taking a stimulant that caused addiction, people first have excessive sleepiness, and then persistent, debilitating insomnia. Alcohol and nicotine also have a negative effect.
So, the effect of medication on insomnia is obvious. That is why it is necessary to provide the treating physician with all the information about the medications you are taking. It is possible that there is no other cause of sleep disturbance than the incorrect intake of medicines from any other disease, which at first glance has nothing to do with insomnia, but in fact indirectly can lead to sleep disturbance. A small adjustment of the dose and time of administration of the remedy will relieve from a restless, debilitating sleepless night.