Side Effect: Drowsiness

What is Drowsiness?

Who gets Drowsiness?

• Patients with cancer commonly experience drowsiness, which can be caused by the disease itself, cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, medications used to manage cancer-related symptoms, or side effects such as anemia or depression.
• Drowsiness can come on suddenly and it does not always go away with rest or sleep. With some cancer drugs, drowsiness or fatigue may go on for weeks or months after you have finished treatment.
• Some chemotherapy agents are strongly associated with drowsiness, such as thalidomide.
• Supportive care medications used to treat pain (opioids), anxiety (benzodiazepines such as Ativan® (lorazepam), and antihistamines (such as Benadryl® (diphenhydramine) often cause drowsiness for 4 or more hours after taking them.

How to prevent Drowsiness

• The best way to prevent drowsiness is to identify a causes or causes when you feel drowsy, then take action to prevent or minimize these triggers if possible.
• Regular physical exercise is useful for preventing drowsiness, as well as good sleep hygeine.
• Asl your pharmacist to review your medication list to identify any medications that may be making you drowsy

How to treat Drowsiness

• There is no single medication available to treat fatigue. However, there are medications available that can treat some of the underlying causes such as anemia, electrolyte imbalances, or changes in hormone levels.
• Good nutrition, light physical activity, such as taking a walk to get your blood circulating, and sticking to a regular sleep schedule can help reduce fatigue, drowsiness, and improve alertness and your feeling of well-being and.
• It is also important to rest when you can and to be aware of your body’s limits; keeping a diary of your symptoms every day might make this easier for you and your doctor to identify reasons for drowsiness
• Cognitive behavioral interventions to address stress, depression, or other mood issues as well as meditation and mindfulness approaches have been shown in studies to relieve drowsiness in some patients.
• Additionally, medication management strategies such as dose reduction, switching to alternative medications, or changing the timing of medication administration may be helpful in managing medication-induced drowsiness.