Adverse Effects of Sedatives

Abuse of Sedatives Can Cause more Harm than Good

There can be a number of very serious adverse effects of sedatives use,
abuse, and dependence in addition to those mentioned above. One of the
most dangerous is the potentiation of a sedative’s respiratory
depressant effects when used with other depressants such as alcohol. In
this situation, the effects of one psychoactive chemical are not simply
additive but enhance and multiply those of the other, resembling a
mathematical equation in which 1 plus 1 equals 4 rather than 2.

Adverse Effects of Sedatives Relating to Potentiation

Potentiation has led to tragic and fatal
consequences even in people who are taking sedatives as prescribed,
such as for sleep. One example of adverse effects of sedatives is a
person who takes slightly more sedative than is prescribed after having
two or three cocktails during the evening. Neither psychoactive chemical
is taken in a particularly high dose, and the person has previously
taken each separately in similar doses with no problems. But when taken
together, potentiation occurs, respiration is severely depressed, and
the person dies while asleep. Sedatives, like narcotics, also depress
the nerves that control respiration even when taken in recommended
doses. They can thus cause death, even when taken alone, if taken in
sufficiently large doses. Taking them in combination with another
sedative such as alcohol simply multiplies their ability to suppress
respiration.

Emotional Adverse Effects of Sedatives

Sometimes sedatives release inhibitions
and can unmask anger when taken in higher than recommended doses. An
example of a resulting problem would be excessive anger displayed on the
job site. Individuals severely intoxicated with sedatives on the work
site can be very disruptive because of their sedated, hostile, and
agitated behavior. Some people have an unusual reaction to sedatives and
become very agitated and belligerent after taking only small doses.
This effect can also be seen with alcohol, where it is called
“pathological intoxication.”

Chronic use of sedatives can also cause
mental depression. This has been documented in studies that have
followed chronic sedative abusers over a period of years and observed
that they were very likely to develop depressive symptoms even if they
were mentally free of depression when they began to abuse sedatives.
Chronic sedative abuse can also cause brain damage, similar to that seen
in alcoholics.

Habitual Adverse Effects of Sedatives

A final problem that can result from
chronic sedative use is habituation. This can occur when a person takes
one or two sedatives a night for sleep and then becomes so mentally
accustomed to taking the psychoactive chemical that it becomes
impossible to sleep without it. This may not be physical dependence, but
it can lead to a clinical situation in which it is very difficult to
discontinue the sedatives. This psychoactive chemical-use pattern would
not result in a person’s being intoxicated at work, but habituation
could lead to problems on the work site if the individual performed work
that required considerable fine motor coordination because this pattern
of use can cause subtle hangover effects that impair coordination even
after the acute psychoactive chemical effects have disappeared.

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