Silenor

Silenor is a prescription medication used short-term to treat insomnia in people who have trouble staying asleep. Silenor belongs to a group of drugs called TCAs. These work by altering chemical signals in the brain.

This medication comes in oral (by mouth) tablet form and is taken once daily, within 30 minutes of bedtime. Silenor should not be taken within 3 hours of a meal.

Common side effects of Silenor include sleepiness, nausea, and increased blood pressure.

Silenor can also cause dizziness and drowsiness. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how Silenor affects you.

Silenor is a prescription medication used to treat adults who are having difficulty staying asleep.

This medication may be prescribed for other uses. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

• Pernix Therapeutics, LLC

Common side effects of Silenor include sleepiness, nausea and upset stomach.

Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

These are not all the possible side effects of Silenor. For more information ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.

Tell your doctor about all of the medicines you take including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements.

Silenor and other medicines may affect each other causing side effects. Silenor may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affects how Silenor works. Especially tell your healthcare provider if you take:

• a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI). 
• cimetidine (Tagamet) or other medicines that can affect certain liver enzymes
• certain allergy medicines (antihistamines) or other medicines that can make you sleepy or affect your breathing
• the diabetes medicine tolazamide

Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure if your medicine is one that is listed above.

Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of your medicines with you to show your doctor and pharmacist each time you get a new medicine.

After taking Silenor, you may get up out of bed while not being fully awake and do an activity that you do not know you are doing. The next morning, you may not remember that you did anything during the night. You have a higher chance for doing these activities if you drink alcohol or take other medicines that make you sleepy with Silenor. Reported activities include:

• driving a car ("sleep-driving")
• making and eating food
• talking on the phone
• having sex
• sleep-walking

Call your healthcare provider right away if you find out that you have done any of the above activities after taking Silenor.

1. Take Silenor exactly as prescribed
2. Do not take Silenor:

• with alcohol
• if you take other medicines that can make you sleepy. Talk to your healthcare provider about all of your medicines. Your healthcare provider will tell you if you can take Silenor with your other medicines

Do not take Silenor if you:

• take a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) medicine or have taken an MAOI in the last 14 days (2 weeks). Ask your healthcare provider if you are not sure if your medicine is an MAOI.
• have an eye problem called narrow angle glaucoma that is not being treated
• have trouble urinating
• are allergic to any of the ingredients in Silenor

While taking Silenor, avoid the following:

• You should not drink alcohol while taking Silenor. Alcohol can increase your chances of getting serious side effects with Silenor.
• You should not drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities after taking Silenor.

What is the most important information I should know about this medication, depression, and other serious mental illnesses, and suicidal thoughts or actions?

1. This medication may increase suicidal thoughts or actions in some children, teenagers, and young adults within the first few months of treatment.
2. Depression and other serious mental illnesses are the most important causes of suicidal thoughts and actions. Some people may have a particularly high risk of having suicidal thoughts or actions. These include people who have (or have a family history of) bipolar illness (also called manic-depressive illness) or suicidal thoughts or actions.
3. How can I watch for and try to prevent suicidal thoughts and actions in myself or a family member?

• Pay close attention to any changes, especially sudden changes, in mood, behaviors, thoughts, or feelings. This is very important when an this medication is started or when the dose is changed.
• Call the healthcare provider right away to report new or sudden changes in mood, behavior, thoughts, or feelings.
• Keep all follow-up visits with the healthcare provider as scheduled. Call the healthcare provider between visits as needed, especially if you have concerns about symptoms.

Medicines can interact with certain foods. In some cases, this may be harmful and your doctor may advise you to avoid certain foods. In the case of Silenor there are no specific foods that you must exclude from your diet when receiving Silenor.

Before you take Silenor, tell your healthcare provider if you:

• have a history of depression, mental illness, or suicidal thoughts
• have severe sleep apnea
• have kidney or liver problems
• have a history of drug or alcohol abuse or addiction
• have a history of glaucoma or urinary retention
• have any other medical conditions
• are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if Silenor will harm your unborn baby. Talk to your healthcare provider if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.
• are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Silenor can pass into your milk and may harm your baby. Talk to your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby if you take Silenor. You should not breast-feed while taking Silenor.

Tell your doctor about all of the medicines you take including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins and herbal supplements.

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant.

The FDA categorizes medications based on safety for use during pregnancy. Five categories - A, B, C, D, and X, are used to classify the possible risks to an unborn baby when a medication is taken during pregnancy.

This medication falls into category C. In animal studies, pregnant animals were given this medication and had some babies born with problems. No well-controlled studies have been done in humans. Therefore, this medication may be used if the potential benefits to the mother outweigh the potential risks to the unborn child.

Tell your doctor if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Silenor can pass into your milk and may harm your baby. Talk to your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby if you take Silenor. You should not breast-feed while taking Silenor.

Take Silenor exactly as prescribed.

Silenor comes in tablet form and is taken once daily, within 30 minutes of bedtime. Silenor should not be taken within 3 hours of a meal.

If you miss a dose, take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and take your next dose at the regular time. Do not take two doses of Silenor at the same time.

Take this medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully.

The recommended starting dose is 6 mg, once daily for adults.

The recommended starting dose is 3 mg once daily for the elderly.

If you take too much Silenor, call your healthcare provider or local Poison Control Center, or seek emergency medical attention right away.

• Keep Silenor and all medicines out of the reach of children.
• Store Silenor tablets at 20°-25°C (68°-77°F).