Silenor
® (
doxepin tablets) is a prescription medication approved for the treatment of
insomnia. It is particularly helpful for people who have trouble staying asleep (instead of just falling asleep).
Who Makes This Medication?
Silenor is made by Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
It is thought that Silenor works for
insomnia treatment mostly by blocking histamine receptors in the body. Specifically, it blocks a certain type of histamine receptor known as the H
1 receptor. Although drugs that block H
1 receptors are used for a variety of different purposes, most of them also cause some degree of sleepiness.
Doxepin, the active ingredient in Silenor, is also sometimes classified as a
tricyclic antidepressant, an older class of
depression and
anxiety drugs. In fact, high strengths of doxepin are approved for treating anxiety and depression.
Studies have shown that Silenor can significantly decrease the amount of time spent awake after initially falling asleep, compared to a placebo (a "sugar pill" with no active ingredients).
It was effective both in people with
chronic insomnia and temporary insomnia.
These studies also suggested that Silenor could continue to be effective for extended use (some studies lasted as long as three months) and that "rebound insomnia" (worsened insomnia after stopping the drug) is not a significant problem with Silenor.
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