Author: Alex Thompson

What Are Barbiturates? Examples, Side Effects, Definition

They’re problematic because there is no good treatment to reverse a barbiturate overdose. A class of drugs known as benzodiazepines has largely replaced barbiturates for both medical and recreational use, although benzodiazepines also carry a high risk of physical dependence and other adverse effects. Those who died of a combination of barbiturates and other drugs include Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Dorothy Kilgallen, Malcolm Lowry, Edie Sedgwick and Kenneth Williams. Dorothy Dandridge died of either an overdose or an unrelated embolism.

This Cys-loop receptor superfamily of ion channels includes the neuronal nACh receptor channel, the 5-HT3 receptor channel, and the glycine receptor channel. However, while GABAA receptor currents are increased by barbiturates (and other general anesthetics), ligand-gated ion channels that are predominantly permeable for cationic ions are blocked by these compounds. There are special risks to consider for older adults, and women who are pregnant. When a person ages, the body becomes less able to rid itself of barbiturates. After the baby is born, it may experience withdrawal symptoms and have trouble breathing.

Do Seizures Come in Clusters?

Denial of a barbiturate to the habitual user may precipitate a withdrawal syndrome that is indicative of physiological dependence on the drug. An overdose of barbiturates can result in coma and even death due to severe depression of the central nervous and respiratory systems. Barbiturates are a class of drugs derived from barbituric acid that act as depressants to the central nervous system. These drugs are used as sedatives or anesthetics and have the potential to become addictive.

Check with your physician for additional information about side effects. By Kendra Cherry, MSEdKendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the “Everything Psychology Book.” Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the “Everything Psychology Book.” People who frequently use barbiturates may reach a constant state that is similar to a drunken daze. Thiopental (Pendothal) is no longer on the market because of ethical issues relating to lethal injection for capital punishment. By clicking Submit, I agree to the MedicineNet’s Terms & Conditions & Privacy Policy and understand that I may opt out of MedicineNet’s subscriptions at any time.

When should I see my healthcare provider?

Barbiturates aren’t as common as in years past because newer drugs have largely taken their place. However, many of these drugs still see widespread use for specific conditions. Phenobarbital, for example, is common for treating seizures that resist first-line anti-seizure medications.

1. These properties allow doctors to rapidly put a patient “under” in emergency surgery situations.
2. German researcher Adolph von Baeyer was the first to synthesize barbituric acid.
3. The broad class of barbiturates is further broken down and classified according to speed of onset and duration of action.
4. The confusion is similar to that seen during alcohol withdrawal, known as delirium tremens (DTs).

This decline is mainly due to the development of newer, safer drug alternatives. Experts divide these medications into groups depending on the timing of their effectiveness. They’re older medications, which means they have decades of research to back them up. They can also serve as backup when the first-line medications don’t work. This document does not contain all possible side effects and others may occur.

WHAT ARE SIDE EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH USING BARBITURATES? Common side effects of barbiturates include:

Barbiturates became known as “goofballs” about the time of World War II, when they were used to help soldiers cope with combat conditions. Between the 1940s and ’70s, however, the abuse of barbiturate drugs became highly prevalent in Western societies. In North America barbiturates were widely used by youth gangs and deviant subcultures as depressants and attracted notoriety because they were often taken in combination with other substances (e.g., stimulants such as amphetamines). Alcohol greatly intensifies the depressant effect of barbiturates, and in the 1950s and ’60s, barbiturates taken with alcohol became a common agent in suicide cases. The use and availability of barbiturates in the United States declined steeply following the federal Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. As a street drug, barbiturates were largely replaced by other substances during the 1970s, especially by PCP.

In severe cases, barbiturate withdrawal is dangerous or even deadly. In the case of long-acting phenobarbital and barbital, their effects may last for up to 24 hours. Typically, these long-acting barbiturates are used in combination with other drugs to prevent convulsions in epilepsy. Barbiturates are synthetic drugs used in medicine to depress the central nervous system (CNS). The effects of barbiturates range from mild sedation to coma, with their indications ranging from sedatives, hypnotics, or as part of anesthesia. Some barbiturates are also used to relieve tension or anxiety prior to surgery.

What is the most important information I should know about barbiturates?

Others can last for hours or even days, which is one reason healthcare providers still prescribe them to prevent seizures. Barbiturates have a very narrow therapeutic index, meaning small differences in dose can result in big differences in the effects of the drug and patients can easily develop side effects. Combining barbiturates with other drugs such as opioids, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, or over-the-counter (OTC) medications with antihistamines could be fatal.

Apart from a few specific indications, they are not commonly prescribed these days, having been largely superseded by benzodiazepines, which are much safer, although still potentially addictive. For the most part, healthcare providers often prescribe benzodiazepines before trying a barbiturate. Combining benzodiazepines and barbiturates can be very dangerous, so you should never combine them unless a doctor prescribes them this way. The most common uses are for anesthesia reasons, treating epilepsy and nonepileptic seizures, insomnia and other conditions. Barbiturates also easily produce tolerance, meaning it takes more of the drug to produce the same effects. Signs of a barbiturate overdose include clammy skin, dilated pupils, shallow respiration, rapid and weak pulse, and coma.

Tolerance is when a greater amount of a drug is required to get the desired effect. Dependence is when withdrawal symptoms occur if the person stops using the drug. They are an old class of drug used to relax the body and help people sleep. Babies born to women who have taken barbiturates during pregnancy can be born addicted to barbiturates and suffer withdrawal symptoms. Research indicates that the abuse of barbiturates is on the rise, especially among adolescents. They are often used to counteract the stimulant effects from drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine.

What drugs interact with barbiturates?

The pharmacological actions of barbiturates include depressing nerve activity in the cardiac, smooth, and skeletal muscles. These drugs also affect the CNS in several ways and can produce effects ranging from mild sedation to a coma depending on the dosage. These drugs are sometimes prescribed to help reduce anxiety and induce sleep, but they can also be dangerous and habit-forming. Although widely used in the middle of the 20th century, present-day barbiturate use is uncommon.

Some symptoms of an overdose typically include sluggishness, incoordination, difficulty in thinking, slowness of speech, faulty judgement, drowsiness, shallow breathing, staggering, and, in severe cases, coma or death. The lethal dosage of barbiturates varies greatly with tolerance and from one individual to another. The lethal dose is highly variable among different members of the class, with superpotent barbiturates such as pentobarbital being potentially fatal in considerably lower doses than the low-potency barbiturates such as butalbital.