Nursing Habits: Sleeping Pills

[Tait]

Just wondering in general what everyone's policy on sleeping meds are.

I tell my patients up front that I don't give a sleeping med after 0100. I figure this is general practice for most of us, however I like to make threads that aren't the same old thing.

Generally we give Restoril with an occasional 5-10mg Ambien patient.

Tait

[twistedpupchaser]

During my 0600 med round I had a LOL complain that she hadn't had her "sleeping tablet" that was charted for 2200 the night before. I explained that she was asleep and continued sleeping each time I checked overnight. She replied,......."You should have woken me for it!" No I am not joking, I don't think she got the idea.

[NHCNurse]

I am a student set to graduate in 9 wks. I obviously have no experience with sleep meds. because my clinicals have all been during the day. I am hopeful to get a 7p-7a rotation and would like to know why you would not give sleep meds past 1am. I hope that's not a dumb question!

Also, I just had to do drug cards on Ambien and one of the interventions was to take the pt.'s cigarettes. I found that a little weird, do pt.'s get the urge to light up in their room when on this med., or just so loopy they don't know what they're doing?

[LovingNurse, BSN, RN]

Our cut-off is 0100 so the patients aren't groggy in the morning. I let the patients know ahead of time about "last call."

Ambien is our standard formulary sleeping pill and I don't care for it either. Too unpredictable.

[nursegov]

where I work are cut off time to give sleep meds is 2330.

[mondkmondk]

When I was in the psych ward (as a patient; I'm bipolar) they tried to give me Ambien. The first night I fell out of bed, then it stopped working. I've even taken the 30mg CR and it does crap. The only sleeper that keeps me asleep is Seroquel but I can't take it right now because I have a toddler to take care of.

Actually, on Seroquel, I behave like another poster up there said...about herding chickens. I sleep well, but tend to talk in my sleep about squirrels....don't ask me why.

Blessings, Michelle

P.S. In LTC where I work, we generally give them up to 2am as well.

[EarthChild1130]

When I worked on the psych unit our cut-off time was 0100, but we usually gave the sleeping meds with their 2100 meds, as another poster said. We used mainly benzos and Seroquel...didn't mind the Seroquel too much but I didn't like handing out benzos like that.

Now that I work outpatient, we prescribe Rozerem a LOT...now getting insurance to pay is a WHOLE other story!

[Tait, MSN, RN]

Now that I work outpatient, we prescribe Rozerem a LOT...now getting insurance to pay is a WHOLE other story!

I have family on Rozerem and I know the insurance is a bear about it.

To the student poster: I don't give sleepers after 0100 so they aren't groggy in the am. I also avoid giving them before 22/2300 because otherwise people wake up at like 0300 am and are all "blah" at me.

I think the "cigarette warning" is pretty clever. Pts do all sorts of silly things on Ambien.

Tait

[queenjean]

To the student poster: I don't give sleepers after 0100 so they aren't groggy in the am. I also avoid giving them before 22/2300 because otherwise people wake up at like 0300 am and are all "blah" at me.

:yeahthat:

I never give them at 2100 routinely, unless they are scheduled or the pt requests them; then I have nothing to given them later if they wake up, and if I pass their sleeper with their evening meds at 2030, they sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and are unable to go back to sleep. I'd rather have them try to go to sleep on their own, and then give if they have problems give the prn sleeper.