 |
Reel_X_4U
Enthusiast
Reged: 04/24/03
Posts: 255
Loc: Queens, New York City
|
|
Phenobarbital is classified as a C-IV med, that's because it slow-acting and less likely for someone to get addicted too. Barbituates are usually categorized by the "swiftness" of their effects are felt by a user. They are categorized into four categories, Slow-acting (phenobarbital) class-IV, intermidate-acting (Barbital) class-III, short-acting "pentobarbital (nembutal) or secobarbital (Seconal)" these are C-IIs, and Ultra short-acting "Thiopenatol, aka truth-serum and is also used in minor dental procedures (intravenous anesthetology) also a C-II. It's the short-acting ones that are more dangerous, since they act so quickly and have strong pronounced effect, that places them at C-II level. And pretty much not prescribed nowadays, cuz you have "Restoril" and "Ambien", which are just as effective, but safer.
But in hospitals the short-acting ones can be used for those people who have been in freezing water (like a near-drowning type of situation) for a longtime like 20-30 minutes, and their core body temperature has dropped. Then the short-acting ones are given to keep those body temperatures low (since barbaituates lower body temperature), and allow a doctor to slowly raise the body temperature back to normal.
It's the classic diving response, all bodily processes slows to a crawl, this allows the body to survive an otherwise fatal outcome. So the short-acting and ultra short-acting one have their place in medicine, just not at your local pharmacy. Phenobarbital is still used to treat certain types of epilepsy and it is also a good sleeping-med and cheap.
--------------------
Some men see things as they are and say "WHY"!!
Some men see things as they are and say "WHY"!!
I've dreamt of things that never were, and say "WHY NOT"!!
|
jazz
Newbie
Reged: 04/09/02
Posts: 48
|
|
Thanks for the informative post. I basically have to be konked over the head to get to sleep. Have tried certain benzos and other sleeping agents to no avail. A good drug to offset next day grogginess for any drug with this side effect is Provigil. It's just hard to find as it's relatively new in the US.Jazz
|
toe
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 10/09/02
Posts: 1431
Loc: MidWest USA
|
|
One thing you also need to consider before using pheno as a sleeping aid is your body's typical response to drugs as it relates to the "norm"--be that the experiences of others or what you read in the PDR.
I, too, literally have to be knocked over the head somehow to fall asleep. The 24-hour cycle is not natural to me, and my brain and body fight sleeping pills. Drugs like ambien don't help at all- not only is it perfectly possible to stay awake through the window of sleep-inducing action, they are very weak. I don't feel *any* effects from ambien, even when I take 2.
I have a pretty high tolerance for opiates and benzodiazepenes, I guess somehow I wound up with the same for ambien-type drugs. Phenobarbital, however, is an extremely powerful drug. I have a bunhc of the 60 mg pills from interpharm.
I ordered the 60mg pills last fall a couple of times and found they were very useful for the migraine-type headaches I got with my effexor. I ordered again this pring, and because of a long delay in receipt, Malee reshipped. I wound up with almost 200 of them! That's a little OT and I did give most of them to a friend who is trying to withdraw from opiates, but anyway. . .
Phenobarbitol IS long-acting. It also takes longer to START working. Since I have a sleeping disorder I've been subject to drugs fro a variety of classes in the quest to get me to sleep. The PDR. et al give 1 hour as a set-in time for the effects of phenobarbitol. For me it actually takes several hours, though. Not unlike major anti-psychotics (seroquel, zyprexa) also used to try and make me sleep.
Ultimtely I would warn to wait until you don't need to work or drive anywhere the next day if you intend to use phenobarbitol for sleep. And certainly don't take it for anxiety (this is one of the indications in the PDR) on a day you work or have plans. You simply never know how much it will effect you and when it will hit you. Once you figure that out, then you may be able to set up your schedule of it.
A very serious warning for those who want to start using phenobarbitol: don't take more just because an hour or two has passed and you don't feel anything. It takes a long time for this drug to work.
I'm a little bit of an anomaly, but it takes several hours-- about 4--for pheno to go to work on me. For most meds belonging to the CNS depressant category, it takes 4 times the maximum norm for effects to set in. To avoid hangover, I have to take them ahead of time. So if you are another one of those folks that has to wait 45 or 50 minutes for alprazolam to act, try to apply this when you start using phenobarbitol. If you have to be up at 8 the next morning, take your dose no later than 8 the night before--preferably earlier, because it will make you want to sleep longer than 8 hours.
--------------------
"It's the end of the World as We Know it. . ."
-REM "and I'm seeking asylum in Canada"-toe
|
|
|
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit 
Reply 
Quote 
