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Generic Antihistamine

Generic Antihistamine


Question about sleeping pills...?

....Im on sleeping pills called hydroxyzine which is generic for vistaril..Is this even a sleeping pill? I am looking it up online and it says its for other things..It says that its an antihistamine with sedative properties..I am taking 100MG capsules and ive taken them for about 4 days now..One before bedtime and it hasnt seemed to work yet..Im prefectly healthy...

Personal stories like that of "~Renay~" is nothing to base a decision on. Just because she had a problem with Ambien does not mean you will. And it is a very widely used drug and most people have no problems. I have taken Ambien on a few occasions without a problem.

Vistaril (hydroxyzine) is NOT a hypnotic (sleeping pill). It is an antihistamine with some fairly unique properties that may be helpful for anxiety or insomnia. However it is not approved for treating insomnia, there is not really any scientific evidence it works, and it is not a recommended treatment. Unfortunately absolute paranoia about using controlled substances, especially for psychiatric problems, is leading doctors to use drugs that are not approved and are not proven to work. The original uses of Vistaril have been in treating pruritus (itching) and nausea. However it is also used (with one or more drugs) to treat migraine, other types of pain, or for sedation. Hydroxyzine potentiates the actions of drugs like opioids which is why it may be used in combination.

Drugs like Restoril (temazepam), Ambien (zolpidem), and Lunesta (eszopiclone) do have a small potential for abuse and are schedule IV controlled substances however abuse and/or addiction is almost unheard of in people without a personal history of substance abuse and according to most studies people with no personal or family history of substance abuse never develop a problem.

But it is drugs like Restoril, Ambien, and Lunesta that are APPROVED to treat insomnia and are highly effective. Lunesta has actually been approved for long term use and several studies have shown its effectiveness for 12+ months, similar data exists for Ambien but it is not approved for long term use and the amount of data is smaller.

100 mg is a standard dose (it is the largest dose made) of Vistaril. The maximum dose is 300-400 mg/day however that is intended to be divided into 3 or 4 doses. Even if it was reasonable to go higher it is VERY unlikely it will help. If 100 mg does nothing then 200 mg is not likely to help any more.

And hypnotics work or they don't, people take a pill and either sleep well or not. If it has been four days it is safe to say it won't work. Some medications take time to work but others, like hydroxyzine works in 15-30 min.

The most effective and safest drugs are Restoril (temazepam) which is in a class of drugs called benzodiazepines or a "Z" drug Ambien/Ambien CR (zolpidem), Sonata (zaleplon), Imovane (zopiclone)- This drug in not available in The US, or Lunesta (eszopiclone).

Temazepam is the cheapest, Lunesta and Ambien CR are the most expensive.

I typically recommend people either use temazepam or Ambien (if you live in The US) or Imovane (if you don't live in The US). All the drugs I listed work for sleep onset insomnia however Ambien and Sonata are not good for sleep maintenance insomnia.

Ambien and Sonata work the fastest and if you really only need something strong to get you to sleep that rapidly wears off then Sonata (or to a slightly less extent Ambien) is the best option. You can have your doctor prescribe, for example, a 10 mg of Sonata and you can try 1/2 and if you need more you can take the whole pill. The maximum dose is 20 mg (which means taking two pills). Sonata has a very short half-life, just 1hr and since you need to be able to wake and be coherent for your child it is probably the best and I would ask your doctor about it however he may pick another medication.

Also I HIGHLY recommend that you do NOT take any of the following drugs that, like Vistaril, are NOT approved for sleep, don't work well, have little evidence of efficacy and they often have very serious risks, far worse than the risks from Vistaril or hypnotics :

Desyrel (trazodone)- an antidepressant
Seroquel (quetiapine)- an antipsychotic with very serious potential side effects (permanent diabetes, movement disorders)
Elavil (amitriptyline)- an antidepressant
Remeron (mirtazapine)- an antidepressant

These drugs are fine in treating something but NOT sleep.