Sleeping pills should only be taken based on the prescribed dosage and frequency to avoid addiction and drug abuse, a doctor warned yesterday.
Taipei City Hospital Songde Branch Division of Addiction Prevention doctor Chang Hu-ming (張祜銘) said the hospital recently treated a 40-year-old woman for drug abuse after she began using a sedative-hypnotic drug prescribed for sleep to deal with stress.
She gradually increased her dosage, eventually up to 10 pills a day, resulting in addiction, Chang said.
Photo: CNA
Many people addicted to sedative-hypnotic medication unconsciously ingest more than is prescribed, eventually developing symptoms such as sleepwalking or memory loss, he said.
People who find themselves taking such drugs to handle stress or are experiencing symptoms of withdrawal should check themselves into an addiction prevention center, he said.
Chang said he previously treated a 30-year-old man habitually taking zopiclone to help him sleep.
The man would sometimes drink alcohol and read before bed, but often forget which chapter they had read, Chang said.
Family members had told the man that he would sometimes cook, but not remember it, he added.
Landseed International Hospital Pharmacy Division deputy director Hsu Kai-fang (徐凱芳) said that mixing sleeping pills with alcohol would have adverse effects and should be avoided.
As the effects of sleeping pills vary, people should follow their doctors’ prescription to avoid abuse, Hsu said.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that hospitals and doctors can access a patient’s medical records through their National Health Insurance card to avoid overprescribing medications.
The FDA urged people not to treat sleeping pills as a cure-all for sleep loss or insomnia, adding people should refrain from buying over-the-counter sleeping pills, increase dosage or stop taking medication entirely without consulting their physician.
Avoid taking sleeping pills with alcohol, do not operate machinery or vehicles after taking them, and do not sell or distribute sleeping pills to others, it added.
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