Sleep medications and cancer risk

Dear Friend,

Commonly prescribed sleep medications are Ambien, Lunesta, and Sonata.  The problem is most physicians are not sleep experts, in fact this isn’t really taught in medical school.  

Here’s a typical patient-physician interaction:

Patient: “I can’t sleep, I’ve done all the things: Avoid screen time, avoid blue light, and tried melatonin. Help me”

Physician: ”Let me prescribe you Ambien” (Silent thoughts: I don’t know anything about sleep, although its controlled and habit forming, Ambien should help)

1 month later:

Patient: “I was able to sleep for a couple weeks, but I feel like it stopped working”

Physician: “Let’s up the dose” (Silent thoughts: I’m not sure what to do once we’re at max dose, hope they don’t come back)

There are many problems with the hypnotic class of sleep medications. The main being the increased risk for mortality, infection, depression, and cancer. Based on polysomnography, the sleep on these medications show a different sleep pattern than normal sleep per a 2018 case study.

The second problem is with tolerance and dependence.  Higher doses are needed over time to achieve the same results and people become dependent on them to sleep.  I have a friend who was an Olympic swimmer and he has detailed stories of the monster doses they would require to get sleep.

The challenge is in discontinuing the medications. There are withdrawal symptoms from rapid discontinuation, even rebound insomnia, so a careful taper is required with close monitoring.

Next time we will discuss the how to use data from sleep devices.

At BodyTimeMD, we make recommendations with the long-term as a priority, while addressing short-term needs. Hope this provides some insight, let’s talk if you are interested in finding out more about your body.

 This newsletter is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute giving medical advice or endorsing any treatment. The use or application of the content herein forms no doctor-patient relationship. The information in this newsletter should not substitute for professional medical evaluation, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Thanks,

Mike