Patient/caregiver was educated on the precautions to be observed while taking flurazepam as follows:
- Intake of flurazepam with opioid pain medications, such as, hydrocodone and codeine, antipsychotic medications, antidepressant medications, anti-seizure medications, muscle relaxants, antihistamines, and OTC cough syrups carry risk for severe depression of respirations and breathing difficulty.
- Your physician could change the dose of flurazepam, based on the relief obtained from insomnia or side-effects developed. So, maintain compliance with follow-up physician appointments, to have your doctor updated. Be accommodative to the plan of frequent dose changes, until you show an optimum response.
- Try changing the positions very slowly, as sudden change of positions can make the episodes of confusion and dizziness even worse and precipitate accidents and falls. One should stay away from activities, such as, driving, operating heavy machinery, swimming, and other activities needing mental alertness, until they are used to the side effects caused by the flurazepam.
- Individuals using flurazepam develop tolerance to the dose in due course of time, thus blunting the therapeutic effect. The dose of flurazepam should probably be enhanced at this point, to derive the same therapeutic benefit, thus increasing the risk for addiction. The risk for addiction is even more in individuals with history of substance/drug abuse, as the craving for the desired effect in these individuals will be high. As flurazepam intake can be habit forming and carries a potential for addiction, it is usually prescribed for short span of time only, for a maximum of 2 weeks. If symptoms of insomnia are not relieved or further worsen within this time period, notify your doctor on the same, to have your sleep disturbance further investigated into.
