A member of DOCS Education writes:
Our patient is a 53-year-old female. She takes anti-anxiety medications nightly. She weighs 150 pounds. Her baseline readings are BP 108/81; P 51; oxygen saturation 98 percent. Her classification is ASA I.
The woman also takes 20 mg Lexapro™ daily as well as 50 mg Trazodone™ for the purposes of sleep. We plan to have the woman take 10 mg Valium™ the night before sedation.
The question is, should this patient discontinue Lexapro™ and Trazodone™ for that one evening?
Dr. Leslie Fang, a member of the DOCS Education faculty, responds:
You should not stop either medication. In general it's better to sedate over a C interaction than to discontinue a drug. Decrease the Valium™ dose to 5 mg the night before.
Dr. Anthony Feck, Dean of DOCS Education faculty responds:
Eliminate the Valium™ the night before and allow the patient to take the sleep medications they normally take. Whenever a patient is taking a sleep aid, they should take that medication and forego the diazepam.
