Sedatives
From Drug Rehab Wiki
Sedatives (pronounced "Sehd uh tihvs") are drugs used to induce sleep or lessen tension and anxiety. They produce a calming effect by depressing the central nervous system. Sedatives are not painkillers or mood boosters. Opiate drugs such as morphine and oxycodone are painkillers that can also produce feelings of euphoria and lessen levels of tension and anxiety. In other words, opiates can have sedative effects without being classed as sedatives.
Before the discovery of choral hydrate in 1869, the only drugs used as sedatives were alcohol and opium. Around 1910, scientists discovered Phenobarbital, which led to the discovery of a long series of other barbiturates that have sedative effects. At first these drugs were only used in large doses as sleeping pills. People who took them in smaller doses for anxiety tended to become addicted to them.
In the 1950s, scientists discovered the next variety of sedatives, called minor tranquilizers or benzodiazepines. These include trademarked brands like Librium, Valium, and Xanax, all used to treat anxiety. These are also addictive and should only be prescribed for short-term use.
Sedatives taken in large doses can cause death by disrupting the part of the brain that regulates breathing and circulation.
Misuse of sedatives leads to addiction. People in physical withdrawal from sedatives often experience symptoms such as restlessness, anxiety, weakness, insomnia, nausea, or even convulsions. For this reason, most who are chemically dependent on sedatives have to go through withdrawal under medically-supervised conditions. Since they usually have a psychological dependence on sedatives as well, they need to undergo therapy to learn better ways of coping with stress. Often there are undiagnosed psychological or mental problems, such as bipolar disorder or attention deficit disorder, that need to be addressed.
Sedatives are a class of drugs that are used as central nervous system depressants. These drugs produce a calming effect and are given to patients by medical professionals to promote relaxation, alleviate anxiety, treat muscle spasms and seizures, or induce sleep. Some general sedatives include:
• Chloral hydrate (Felsules, Notec, Somnos): Developed in the mid-1800s, its general use was for the treatment of short-term insomnia, but it was highly abused and misinterpreted by physicians due to its perceived multiple functions. Today, chloral hydrate has largely been replaced by barbiturates or benzodiazepines and is now mostly used as a veterinary anaesthetic. It is illegal in the U.S. without a prescription, but it still may be used as an anaesthetic in medical, dental, and EEG procedures. With long-term use, an individual can develop a tolerance to chloral hydrate, which can lead to dependency and adverse effects.
• Gamma-hydroxybutrate (GHB)
• Glutethimide (Doriden): Since being introduced in 1954, this drug’s main purpose was to serve as an alternative for barbiturates to treat insomnia, but it was quickly replaced and banned due to its highly addictive nature, euphoric-producing effects when combined and abused with other drugs, and withdrawal symptoms.
• Other anxiolytics or tranquilizers (methaqualone, meprobamate, Noludar, Placidyl, Valmid): Meprobamate was introduced in 1955 as a psychotropic drug and was used as a mild tranquilizer. Its anxiolytic use gained popularity quickly, but meprobamate was soon replaced by benzodiazepines because it was found to produce physiological dependencies and was eventually reclassified as a sedative.
Signs of abuse include loss of concentration, slurred speech, blurred vision, unsteady gait, poor judgment, eye twitching, and euphoric-like state. Severe symptoms include dizziness, headaches, anxiety, agitation, constipation, nausea, vomiting, confusion, lethargy, vertigo, nightmares, delirium tremens, respiratory collapse, circulatory collapse, or cardiac arrest. Withdrawal causes the dangerous increase of these symptoms, as well as psychosis, mania, and even seizures. Medical attention or hospitalization should immediately be sought if a user is experiencing any of these signs of abuse, withdrawal, or overdose.
