Alcohol benzodiazepines and barbiturates all increase

Alcohol, benzodiazepines, and barbiturates all increase GABA
 Fun story to help you remember efore a prom night " .... and don't give our Barbie(barbiturate) anything
to drink(alcohol) in a Mercedes (benzodiazepine) - she gets really quirky... ya really wanna know...she'll
talk your head off about how how you won't even match up against Fred Flintstone (gaba increases)"
()
Sedative-Hypnotics
This classification of medication is also known as sleeping pills. There are legitimate reasons for a patient to be
prescribed a sedative-hypnotic; however, several potential serious risks are associated with sedative-hypnotics
and should be discussed with the patient. This very popular group of medications may pose the same potential
risks of abuse, dependence, tolerance, and withdrawal as mentioned with benzodiazepines. Given the risks,
sleeping medications are usually prescribed on a short-term basis for up to several weeks for the patient
suffering from short-term insomnia, whereas the patient encountering long-term insomnia may be treated
intermittently when necessary. Sleep hygiene techniques are important to teach any patient experiencing a
sleep pattern disturbance, whether they are prescribed a sedative-hypnotic medication. These techniques are
helpful in inducing and maintaining sleep and should be encouraged. Box 7 summarizes sleep hygiene
interventions to review with patients.
Box 7. Sleep Hygiene Techniques
 Develop an individualized bedtime ritual.
 Count backward from 100.
 Avoid caffeine intake (chocolate, cola, tea) before bedtime.
 Create a relaxing bedroom environment.
 Maintain a regular sleep-wake cycle.
 Quit or limit smoking, especially before bedtime.
 Complete strenuous exercise early in the day and not before bedtime.
 If unable to sleep within 10 minutes, get up, complete a boring task, and return to

bed, repeating as necessary.
 Drink warm milk prior to bedtime.
 Take a warm bath.

Eliminate alcoholic nightcaps.
Antipsychotics
Conventional/Typical Antipsychotics/First Generation “azine”
Medications in this classification are dopamine-receptor
antagonists. Commonly referred to as antipsychotics,
neuroleptics , or major tranquilizers , there are differences among
these medications (some are high potency while others are low
potency); however, for purposes of this tutorial, they are
combined into one class. Taber’s medical dictionary defines the
term “neuroleptic” as symptoms produced by a group of
medicines that look like nervous system diseases (1989). These
medications are used to treat psychotic symptoms such as
delusions and hallucinations. They are also helpful in calming
anxious or agitated patients and improving thought processes. A
list of conventional antipsychotics is provided in Box 8.