Is Unisom Better Than Melatonin

How To Choose The Best Sleeping Pill

The best type of sleeping pill for a person will depend on the cause of sleep issues and a persons sleep patterns. People with insomnia may benefit from one medication, while those with jet lag experience the best results from another.

People may want to start with a low-dose melatonin product or a valerian root supplement. If they do not experience improved sleep, they can look into a higher dosage.

The best way to determine the most suitable sleeping pill or dosage is to consult with a doctor for personalized recommendations.

What Are Warnings And Precautions For Doxylamine

Warnings

Do not exceed 2 weeks of use.

This medication contains doxylamine. Do not take Unisom if you are allergic to doxylamine or any ingredients contained in this drug.

Keep out of reach of children. In case of overdose, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center immediately

Contraindications

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How Do You Pick The Best Sleep Aid For You

Working closely with your doctor is the best way to compare and pick a sleep aid. A health professional can recommend the best sleep medication for your situation, accounting for factors including:

• The symptoms and cause of your sleeping problems
• Your age and overall health including other medical conditions
• Other medications that you take

Whether youre considering prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, or dietary supplements, your doctor can explain the potential benefits and risks and help make sure that you take the right dosage at the right time of night.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine is a medical society that organizes expert panels to help guide treatment for sleep problems. AASMs recommendations for sleep medications offer useful information about sleep aids for insomnia, but your doctor can best explain how those recommendations apply in your individual circumstances.

In some cases, the best sleep aid may not be a medicine at all. Non-drug treatments such as a type of counseling called cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia or a focus on sleep hygiene can often make it easier to get to sleep. These approaches may be combined with medications as part of a plan to get better sleep over the long-term without relying on sleep aids.

When To Try Sleeping Pills

Consider these drugs if the sleep problems are affecting your quality of life and nothing else has helped. But your health-care provider should watch you carefully to make sure that the drug is helping and not causing bad side effects.

This report is for you to use when talking with your healthcare provider. It is not a substitute for medical advice and treatment. Use of this report is at your own risk.

09/2013

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Sominex Sleep Aid Ingredients

Sominex Sleep Aid contains the ingredients listed immediately below.

Active Ingredients: 25 mg Diphenhydramine HCl

Inactive Ingredients: Croscarmellose Sodium, Dicalcium Phosphate, FD& C Blue No1 Lake, Hypromellose, Lactose, Magnesium Stearate, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Mineral Oil, Silica, Stearic Acid, Talc, Titanium Dioxide, Triacetin

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Sleep Aids For Children And Pregnant Women

Pregnant women should talk with their doctor before taking any sleep aid, including dietary supplements like natural sleep aids. Some sleep medications can have harmful effects during pregnancy for either a woman or their baby. Breastfeeding women should also consult with a doctor before taking any sleep aid.

Parents should use caution before giving their child any kind of sleep aid. Most sleep medications are tested primarily in adults, and their safety and effectiveness in children may be unclear. A pediatrician can offer the most tailored advice about the optimal sleep aid for a childs situation.

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Sleeping Pills Can Have Serious Or Even Deadly Side Effects

All sedative-hypnotic drugs have special risks for older adults. Seniors are likely to be more sensitive to the drugs effects than younger adults.

And these drugs may stay in their bodies longer.

The drugs can cause confusion and memory problems that:

• More than double the risk of falls and hip fractures. These are common causes of hospitalization and death in older people.
• Increase the risk of car accidents.

Safer Use Of Sleeping Pills

Because of the limited benefits and important risks of sleeping pills, the drugs should be used with great caution.

In general, sleeping pills should be reserved for short-term insomniasuch as that caused by jet lag, anxiety after the death of a family member, or stress from a job lossSateia says.

For sleeplessness lasting more than a couple of weeks that is affecting your daily life, the AASM recommends cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia , a form of counseling that helps people identify and replace thoughts and behaviors that contribute to sleep problems. CBT-I is at least as effective as medications, the benefits are long-lasting, and its manifestly safer than any pill, Sateia says.

Some people with severe sleep problems may benefit from taking a prescribed sleep drug for a few weeks in conjunction with CBT-I and then gradually tapering off the medication as the therapy takes effect.

In the Consumer Reports survey, 40 percent of Americans who take OTC drugs and 55 percent of those who take prescription drugs have been taking the meds for a year or longer. But long-term use is typically not recommended because the drugs may become less effective over time and, in some cases, people become hooked, or dependent on them. They may crave the drug, take more than recommended, and not be able to stop even if the drug is no longer helping or is causing side effects.

Examples: Flurazepam, quazepam , temazepam , and triazolam .

Examples: Ramelteon and suvorexant .

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A Word About Prescription Sleep Aids

Prescription sleep medications are powerful drugs that work on different parts of the brain.

Benzodiazepines like lorazepam and temazepam target gamma-aminobutyric acid , a brain chemical that reduces nerve activity and promotes sleep. These medications can be habit forming, may cause daytime sleepiness, and may be associated with dementia.

Nonbenzodiazepines such as zolpidem and eszopiclone also work on GABA, but they leave the body faster and have fewer side effects, allowing for regular waking and daytime functioning the next day. However, they still increase the risk for sleepwalking and daytime sleepiness, which can lead to falls and injury.

Melatonin-receptor agonists such as ramelteon target melatonin receptors in the brain. They leave the body quickly and are not thought to be habit forming.

These medications are meant for short-term use only, under the direction of your doctor. “They’re most helpful for the treatment of insomnia. But medications are just one option to treat insomnia. Behavioral therapy, which involves looking at your sleep habits and ways you think about sleep and routines, is equally effective,” says sleep expert Dr. Lawrence Epstein, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Is It Dangerous To Combine Melatonin And Unisom

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How To Take Melatonin

Use Melatonin exactly as directed on the label, or as prescribed by your doctor. Do not use in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recommended.

When considering the use of herbal supplements, seek the advice of your doctor. You may also consider consulting a practitioner who is trained in the use of herbal/health supplements.

If you choose to use melatonin, use it as directed on the package or as directed by your doctor, pharmacist, or other healthcare provider. Do not use more of this product than is recommended on the label.

Use the lowest dose of melatonin when you first start taking this product.

Take melatonin at bedtime, or when you are getting ready for sleep. If you use this product to treat jet lag, take the melatonin at bedtime on the day you arrive at your destination and keep using this product for 2 to 5 days.

If you take this product to treat other conditions not related to sleep, follow your healthcare providers instructions about when and how to take melatonin.

Do not crush, chew, or break an extended-release tablet. Swallow it whole.

Do not swallow the orally disintegrating tablet whole. Allow it to dissolve in your mouth without chewing. If desired, you may drink liquid to help swallow the dissolved tablet.

Measure liquid medicine carefully. Use the dosing syringe provided, or use a medicine dose-measuring device .

Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat.

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Taking Sleep Aids Safely

No matter what kind of sleep aid you use, its important to take precautions. Some basic principles of taking sleep aids safely include:

• Only take the prescribed dose at the recommended time. Even if you still struggle to sleep, dont take another dose during the night unless advised to do so by your doctor.
• Focus on sleep hygiene in conjunction with any sleep aids.
• Make sure you have at least 7-8 hours to sleep after taking a sleep aid in order to reduce the risk of morning grogginess.
• Plan for short-term use. The risks from sleep medications may increase if they are taken for longer than recommended.
• Dont mix sleep aids with drugs or alcohol. Serious problems may arise if sedative sleep aids are mixed with alcohol, other sedatives, or recreational drugs.
• Take sleep aids under the guidance of your doctor. Working with your doctor can prevent unwanted side effects or drug interactions that could affect your health.

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Observe These Caveats If You Use Over

It’s 2 a.m. and you can’t sleep. Is it okay to take a nonprescription remedy? “They’re not meant for the long term, but it may be okay for an occasional night of problems with sleep,” says sleep expert Dr. Lawrence Epstein, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School.

But which option should you reach for? Drugstore shelves are lined with a dizzying array of products promising a good night’s sleep. They fall into two categories: nonprescription medications and dietary supplements.

Common Active Ingredients Used In Over

The majority of OTC sleep aids use some type of antihistamine to induce sleep. These drugs can cause sedation by blocking the same pathways that contribute to allergy symptoms. Side effects are generally pretty mild, but some users report feeling groggy the next day.

Melatonin is another very common OTC sleep aid, as its the hormone that helps regulate our sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin levels begin to , which might explain why insomnia and other sleep issues are more prevalent in the elderly.

Certain amino acids and herbs like valerian and hops are also sometimes used in OTC sleep aids. These ingredients are said to have a calming and/or sedating effect, but more scientific data is needed to confirm their efficacy.

DiphenhydramineDiphenhydramine is a relatively mild antihistamine used to treat allergy symptoms and intermittent insomnia. Diphenhydramine causes drowsiness by blocking the neurotransmitter histamine, which plays an important role in our sleep-wake cycle. Histamine is produced by the nervous system and can energize you, which may explain why blocking it with an antihistamine can make you sleepy. That said, children under 12 shouldnt use it.

Diphenhydramine clears the body relatively quickly, so youre less likely to be sleepy the next day. The trade-off, however, is that you may build up a faster tolerance to the drug as compared to other antihistamines. And if you use it too often, the drug might become less effective.

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How Much Unisom Is Lethal

The median lethal dose is estimated to be ~500 mg/kg in humans. Symptoms of overdose may include dry mouth, dilated pupils, insomnia, night terrors, euphoria, hallucinations, seizures, rhabdomyolysis, and death. Fatalities have been reported from doxylamine overdose.

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When Should You Not Take Otc Sleep Aids

OTC sleep aids may do more harm than good for certain groups of people and during specific situations. If youre pregnant or breastfeeding, you should speak with your doctor before taking sleep aids, which could potentially have adverse effects on you and/or baby.

Unless otherwise specified, children younger than 12 should avoid over-the-counter sleep medicine, since their growing bodies have very different tolerances and needs than adults.

If you have a chronic illness or take medication, its important to ask your doctor about potential risks or adverse drug interactions. Even certain herbs and non-prescription medicines can have dangerous outcomes when combined with sleep aids. In particular, people with chronic lung or respiratory disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, or neurological/mental disorders should talk to their doctor before taking over-the-counter sleep medicines.

OTC sleep aids are intended to help occasional sleeplessness and arent a remedy for chronic insomnia or other sleep disorders. These medicines could just mask the symptoms of a more serious underlying condition that requires medical attention.

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I Used Myself As A Guinea Pig For 8 Alternative Sleep Aids

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Can’t sleep? You’re not alone. Some 70 million Americans have chronic sleep problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And it’s about far more than feeling tired all the time. Sleep deprivation is a contributor to a host of medical issues ranging from obesity to mental illness to “poor quality of life and well-being.”

That explains the explosive market for prescription drugs that help you sleep. Driven by sales of Lunesta, the prescription sleep aid market hit $1.48 billion in 2013, according to IMS Health.

Prescription sleeping pills may be popular, but they can be diceythe tales of side effects for drugs like Ambien and Halcion are legendary. This has led many to explore herbs, natural remedies, and over-the-counter products that, in theory, have fewer ill effects. But do they work?

Given some patients’ concern with prescription drugs, Makekau understands the desire for alternatives, but stresses caution. “There are effective prescription medications,” she notes, “but they are associated with negative side effects. But people need to know that even things over the counter can be harmful.” She points to kava and l-tryptophan as drugs to treat with special caution.

I investigated five single-product supplements. Prices are approximate based on larger capacity bottles.

Supplement

Herbal And Complementary Medicines

Herbal remedies such as valerian, lavender, passiflora, chamomile, hops and catnip are widely promoted to promote sleep health. Research to support their efficacy is limited.

Read more:Is it possible to catch up on sleep? We asked five experts

Many newer and emerging medicines are being tested for insomnia, so in the future more options should be available.

For now its important to remember none of the options listed above is without side effects, and most will cause dependence if used long term, meaning falling asleep without them will be even harder than it was before.

Improve your sleep hygiene, and if that hasnt worked for you, speak with your doctor about whats keeping you up at night. Shell be able to prescribe the best type of medication for you to use in the short term.

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Is It Safe To Take Melatonin Daily

Taking Melatonin every day is definitely safe for the average individual. There are a few concerns to keep in mind, though:

• Melatonin increases blood sugar levels, so it shouldnt be used by diabetics
• Melatonin may lessen the effects of birth control pills, seizure and high blood pressure medications, and other drugs.
• It may cause daytime grogginess, dizziness, irritability, and stomach cramps.

If youre having trouble falling asleep at night, Unisom Sleep Tabs, Sominex or Natures Bounty Melatonin may be of help to you. All of these sleep aid products are available on AvaCare Medical at reasonable prices.

If you have any questions regarding which sleep aid product is best for you, call us at 877-813-7799 or chat with us on site, and well be glad to assist you in making the right decision!

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What Drugs And Food Should I Avoid While Taking Melatonin

Melatonin may impair your thinking or reactions. Avoid driving or operating machinery for a least 4 hours after taking melatonin. This product may also affect your sleep-wake cycle for several days if you are traveling through many different time zones.

Avoid using melatonin with other herbal/health supplements. Melatonin and many other herbal products can increase your risk of bleeding, seizures, or low blood pressure. Using certain products together can increase these risks.

Avoid coffee, tea, cola, energy drinks, or other products that contain caffeine.

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