Q If I take herbal medicine, can I stop sleeping pills right away?
A Herbal medicine is not a medication that immediately replaces sleeping pills. Stopping suddenly can cause severe rebound insomnia and withdrawal, so tapering must always be done gradually together with your prescribing doctor. Korean medicine plays a role in buffering symptoms while restoring sleep during that process.
Detailed Answer
Deciding on your own that "I'm taking herbal medicine now so I don't need sleeping pills" and stopping is dangerous. Suddenly discontinuing sleeping pills you've taken for a long time can cause rebound insomnia and withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and tremors worse than before, and in rare cases, even a risk of seizures. Herbal medicine cannot immediately replace such sleeping pills, and whether and how fast to taper must be judged by the prescribing doctor based on your progress. Korean medicine plays a supporting role only after tapering has been decided.
Our Korean Medicine Clinic's Perspective
Dongjedang's detox and weight-management perspective is not about "removing the medication" but about "restoring your own ability to fall asleep to help you get through tapering." So only after the prescribing doctor decides on tapering do we buffer the rebound insomnia and anxiety of that process with Korean medicine. We never recommend stopping sleeping pills on your own because you're taking herbal medicine.
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