Mental health articles

How to deal with this problem

Questions to ask the person who may be dependent on sleeping pills

• How long have you been taking these medicines? The longer the period, the greater the possibility of dependence.

• How often do you take them? If pills are taken during the day as well, then the person probably is dependent.

• In a day, how many tablets do you take? This will give you an estimate of the total amount of the medicine the person is taking each day.

• Do you drink alcohol? Some people with a sleeping pill dependence also have a drink problem.

What to do immediately

• Explain that when sleeping pills are used for a long time, they can produce a dependence problem in the same way as alcohol can.

• Explain that many of the person’s complaints are the result of this dependence, rather than asign that more sleeping pills are needed.

• With the person’s understanding, you can now start her on a gradual withdrawal programme.

This means reducing the medicine in small steps over a period of time so that the withdrawal symptoms are reduced. Typical withdrawal symptoms are tension, worry and sleep problems.

Always warn people of the chance of withdrawal symptoms so that they are prepared for them.

• Some people will get their pills from other health workers if you are not prescribing them. If possible, be in touch with other local health workers and inform them of the need to avoid prescribing pills to these people.

When to refer

Refer anyone who is taking large amounts of sleeping pills. A person who is abusing many different types of drugs should also be referred.

 

Related articles

• Why do people become dependent on sleeping pills?
• Must Read – The Problem with Over-The-Counter Sleeping Pills

Tags: sleeping pills