AUSTIN — It's been days, and a good night's sleep remains elusive.
Does that mean it's time for a prescription or an "over-the-counter" sleep aid?
Dr. David Murdy with Baylor Scott and White joined KVUE to talk about what you need to know.
Q: What are some of the common side effects of taking prescription sleep aids?
A: The most common ones are what you would expect: excessive sleepiness, and in some cases, confusion, lethargy, and unusual or bad dreams
Q: Are the side effects similar for taking over the counter sleep meds?
A: Over the counter sleep medications also have adverse effects, and many of them, particularly, are bad in older people. As a geriatrician, I'm often concerned about sleep quality in older patients, and so, I often tell them to avoid them
Q: Could you talk about the risks of those sleeping aids -- perhaps interacting with other medications you could be taking?
A: Many medications cause excessive sleepiness and then when you add in over-the-counter agents and/or alcohol, wine at night then you can often have compounded effects
Q: Which can cause increasing problems with sleep apnea, and people don't wake up, right? They often fall in the middle of the night and break their hip. Things like that should be best avoided?
A; Interestingly enough, I had a friend who took Ambien and then the next day, he said, "Ya, know I got to work but I don't remember how I got here? That's scary, right doctor."
There have been medications removed from the U.S. market simply because they caused such amnesia that people didn't remember where they were at, and obviously, that is a very frightening experience.
Q: And drowsy driving, it's a big issue right?
Right, and a lot of problems with just plain fatigue and lack of sleep...getting a good sleep is important for your health to maintain not only your weight, your blood pressure, but all other kinds of metabolic issues can also be made worse with poor sleep.
Q: What would you say to a patient taking sleeping pills every day or often?
A; I think they should work with their doctor to find healthier, hopefully, non-habit forming medications to help improve their sleep.