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secobarbital

  (sĕk'ō-bär'bĭ-tôl', -tăl') pronunciation
n.

A white odorless barbiturate, C12H18N2O3, used in the form of its sodium salt as a sedative and hypnotic.

[SECO(NDARY) + BARBITAL.]


 
 
Drug Info: Secobarbital

Brand names: Seconal®



Secobarbital capsules

What are secobarbital capsules?

SECOBARBITAL (Seconal®) is a barbiturate that slows down activity of the brain and nervous system. Secobarbital has sedative and hypnotic properties, which will help make you feel relaxed and sleepy when used before surgery. For short periods of 2 weeks or less, secobarbital can help treat insomnia (difficulty sleeping). Federal law prohibits the transfer of secobarbital to any person other than the patient for whom it was prescribed. Generic secobarbital capsules are not available.

What should I tell my health care provider before I take this medicine?

They need to know if you have any of these conditions:
• an alcohol or substance abuse problem
• kidney disease
• low blood pressure
• lung disease or breathing difficulties
• mental depression or mental problems, suicidal thoughts
• porphyria
• an unusual or allergic reaction to secobarbital, other barbiturates, medicines, foods, dyes, or preservatives
• pregnant or trying to get pregnant
• breast-feeding

How should I take this medicine?

Take secobarbital capsules by mouth. Follow the directions on the prescription label. Swallow the capsules with a drink of water. If secobarbital upsets your stomach, take it with food or milk. Take your doses at regular intervals. Do not take your medicine more often than directed.

Elderly patients over age 65 years may have a stronger reaction to this medicine and need smaller doses.

What if I miss a dose?

If you are on a regular schedule and miss a dose, take it as soon as you can. If it is almost time for your next dose, take only that dose. Do not take double or extra doses.

What drug(s) may interact with secobarbital?

• alcohol
• caffeine
• chloramphenicol
• cyclophosphamide
• cyclosporine
• doxorubicin
• doxycycline
• metronidazole
• female hormones, including contraceptive or birth control pills
• hormones such a prednisone or cortisone
• medicines for anxiety or sleeping problems, such as diazepam or temazepam
• medicines for hay fever and other allergies
• medicines for high blood pressure
• medicines for mental depression
• medicines for mental problems and psychotic disturbances
• medicines for pain
• medicines to control heart rhythm or other heart problems
• quinine
• seizure (convulsion) or epilepsy medicine
• theophylline
• warfarin

Tell your prescriber or health care professional about all other medicines you are taking, including non-prescription medicines, nutritional supplements, or herbal products. Also tell your prescriber or health care professional if you are a frequent user of drinks with caffeine or alcohol, if you smoke, or if you use illegal drugs. These may affect the way your medicine works. Check with your health care professional before stopping or starting any of your medicines.

What should I watch for while taking secobarbital?

Visit your prescriber or health care professional for regular checks on your progress. If you have been taking secobarbital regularly and suddenly stop taking it, you may increase the risk of seizures. Your prescriber or health care professional may want to gradually reduce the dose. Do not stop taking except on your prescriber's advice. If sleep medicine is taken every night for a long time it may no longer help you to sleep. In general secobarbital should not be taken for longer than 1 or 2 weeks as a sleep aid. Consult your prescriber or health care professional if you still have difficulty in sleeping.

After taking secobarbital you may get a residual hangover effect that leaves you drowsy or dizzy. Do not drive, use machinery, or do anything that needs mental alertness until you know how secobarbital affects you. To reduce dizzy or fainting spells, do not sit or stand up quickly, especially if you are an older patient. Alcohol can increase possible unpleasant effects. Avoid alcoholic drinks.

Secobarbital can stop birth control pills (oral contraceptives) working properly. Use another method of birth control while you are taking phenobarbital.

If you are going to have surgery, tell your prescriber or health care professional that you are taking secobarbital.

What side effects may I notice from taking secobarbital?

Side effects that you should report to your prescriber or health care professional as soon as possible:
• bone tenderness
• changes in behavior, mood, or mental ability
• changes in the frequency or severity of seizures
• confusion, agitation
• difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• eye problems, very small or enlarged centers to the eyes
• fever, sore throat
• hallucinations
• lightheadedness or fainting spells
• redness, blistering, peeling or loosening of the skin, including inside the mouth
• skin rash, itching, hives
• slow heartbeat
• swelling of the face or lips
• unusual bleeding or bruising, pinpoint red spots on the skin
• unusual tiredness or weakness
• weight loss
• yellowing of skin or eyes

Side effects that usually do not require medical attention (report to your prescriber or health care professional if they continue or are bothersome):
• constipation
• clumsiness, unsteadiness, or a "hang-over" effect
• difficulty sleeping or nightmares
• drowsiness, dizziness
• headache
• irritability, nervousness
• nausea or vomiting

Where can I keep my medicine?

Keep out of the reach of children in a container that small children cannot open.

Store at room temperature between 15 and 30 degrees C (59 and 86 degrees F). Throw away any unused medicine after the expiration date.


Last updated: 7/1/2002

Important Disclaimer: The drug information provided here is for educational purposes only. It is intended to supplement, not substitute for, the diagnosis, treatment and advice of a medical professional. This drug information does not cover all possible uses, precautions, side effects and interactions. It should not be construed to indicate that this or any drug is safe for you. Consult your medical professional for guidance before using any prescription or over the counter drugs.

 
Veterinary Dictionary: secobarbital

A short- to intermediate-acting oxybarbiturate, used for sedation and anesthesia. Called also quinalbarbitone.

 
Wikipedia: secobarbital
Secobarbital.svg
Secobarbital
Systematic (IUPAC) name
5-(1-methylbutyl)-5-prop-2-enyl-
hexahydropyrimidine-2,4,6-trione
Identifiers
CAS number 76-73-3
ATC code N05CA06
PubChem 5193
DrugBank APRD00497
Chemical data
Formula C12H18N2O3 
Mol. mass 238.283
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailability  ?
Metabolism Hepatic
Half life  ?
Excretion Renal
Therapeutic considerations
Pregnancy cat.

D (USA)
Legal status

Schedule II(US)
Routes Oral

Secobarbital (marketed by Eli Lilly and Company under the brand names Seconal® and Tuinal) is a barbiturate derivative drug. It possesses anaesthetic, anticonvulsant, sedative and hypnotic properties. In the United Kingdom, it was known as Quinalbarbitone.

Indications

Secobarbital is indicated for:

  • Treatment of epilepsy
  • Temporary treatment of insomnia in patients resistant to mainstream hypnotics
  • Use as a preoperative medication to produce anaesthesia and anxiolysis in short surgical, diagnostic, or therapeutic procedures which are minimally painful.

Availability

It is available as either a free acid or a sodium salt. The free acid is a white amorphous powder that is slightly soluble in water and very soluble in ethanol. The salt is a white hygroscopic powder that is soluble in water and ethanol.

Secobarbital sodium

The sodium salt of secobarbital is classified separately from the free acid, as follows:

  • CAS number: 309-43-3
  • Chemical formula: C12H18N2NaO3
  • Molecular weight: 260.265

Side effects

Side effects of secobarbital include:

Withdrawal

Secobarbital is a fairly addictive drug, and withdrawal symptoms can occur if long-term usage is abruptly ended. Withdrawal symptoms can include:

  • Insomnia
  • REM rebound
  • Anxiety
  • Tremors
  • Seizures
  • Lack of appetite
  • Death

Recreational Use

Secobarbital began to be widely abused in the 1960s and 1970s, although with the advent of benzodiazepines, they have become less commonly used.

Secobarbital has acquired many nicknames, the most common being "reds", or "red dillies" (it was originally packaged in red capsules). Another common nickname is "seccies". A less common nickname is "dolls"; this was partly responsible for the title of Jacqueline Susann's novel Valley of the Dolls, whose main characters use secobarbital and other such drugs.

Another popular brand of barbiturate pill Tuinal contained a combination of secobarbital and amobarbital but is now rarely prescribed due to problems with abuse and overdose.

Cause of Death of Charles Boyer

Two days after his wife died from cancer in 1978, Charles Boyer committed suicide with an overdose of Seconal.

Cause of Death of Bartley Crum

Bartley Crum was the attorney for some of the so-called "Hollywood Ten" who were subpoenaed to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. The FBI tapped Crum's phones, opened his mail, and shadowed him constantly. Labeled as subversive, he ended up losing most of his clients and, unable to cope with stress from the harassment, committed suicide in 1959 by washing down an entire bottle of Seconal with whisky.

Cause of Death of Judy Garland

Judy Garland, of "The Wizard of Oz" fame, was found dead in her bathroom by her husband Mickey Deans on June 22, 1969. The stated exact cause of death by coroner Gavin Thursdon was accidental overdose of barbiturates; her blood contained the equivalent of 10 1.5-grain Seconal capsules.[1]

Role in Death of Jimi Hendrix

Secobarbital played a role in the September 18, 1970 death of legendary rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix, who purportedly took nine Secobarbital tablets after a night of drinking wine and was later found dead in his London apartment. Hendrix' death was caused by asphyxiation, after Hendrix presumably vomited in his sleep as a result of the mixture of the excessive Secobarbital dose and alcohol.

Role in Death of Anissa Jones

Anissa Jones' fatal overdose was of a combination of cocaine, PCP, Methaqualone, and Seconal. The San Diego County coroner said it was one of the most severe cases of drug overdose ever seen in San Diego County.

Cause of Death of Carol Landis

On July 5, 1948, Carole Landis committed suicide by taking an overdose of Seconal in her Brentwood Heights, California home.

Cause of Death of Marilyn Monroe

In March 2007, an LA-based Australian writer and director named Philippe Mora uncovered previously-classified government documents regarding Marilyn Monroe's death. These documents, in turn, cited Seconal as Monroe's barbiturate of choice for her alleged suicide.

Cause of Death of Alejandra Pizarnik

Alejandra Pizarnik, an Argentine poetess, reportedly died, in 1972 at the age of 36, from a self-induced overdose of seconal.

Use as a lethal injection

Secobarbital overdose was the most common method of implementing physician-assisted suicide (PAS) in Oregon until Eli Lilly and Company discontinued manufacturing it in May 2001, leading to a shortage of the drug. Since then, pentobarbital has dominated in Oregon PAS. Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited have experienced approval issues in their attempts to produce 100 mg secobarbital capsules, but there is no longer a shortage as of October 2006.

It is a component in the veterinary drug Somulose, used for euthanasia of horses and cattle.

References

  1. ^ Thomson, David,Film Studies: She couldn't act for toffee - until she burst into song; The Independent; 2004-06-27; Retrieved on 2007-01-26

External links

Barbiturates (N01AF, N03AA, N05CA)
Psycholeptics: hypnotics and sedatives (N05C)
Barbiturates Pentobarbital - Amobarbital - Butobarbital - Barbital - Aprobarbital - Secobarbital - Talbutal - Vinylbital - Vinbarbital - Cyclobarbital - Heptabarbital - Reposal - Methohexital - Hexobarbital - Thiopental - Ethallobarbital - Allobarbital - Proxibarbal - Phenobarbital
Aldehydes Chloral hydrate - Chloralodol - Acetylglycinamide chloral hydrate - Dichloralphenazone - Paraldehyde
Benzodiazepine Flurazepam - Nitrazepam - Temazepam - Flunitrazepam - Nimetazepam - Estazolam - Triazolam - Lormetazepam - Midazolam - Brotizolam - Quazepam - Loprazolam - Doxefazepam - Cinolazepam
Piperidinedione Glutethimide - Methyprylon - Pyrithyldione
Quinazolinone Afloqualone - Cloroqualone - Diproqualone - Etaqualone - Mebroqualone - Mecloqualone - Methaqualone - Methylmethaqualone
Nonbenzodiazepine Eszopiclone - Indiplon - Pazinaclone - Saripidem - Suproclone - Suriclone - Zaleplon - Zolpidem - Zopiclone
Melatonin receptor Agomelatine - Melatonin - Ramelteon
Other Apronal - Bromides - Bromisoval - Carbromal - Clomethiazole - Dexmedetomidine - Ethchlorvynol - Ethinamate - Hexapropymate - Methylpentynol - Niaprazine - Propiomazine - Scopolamine - Triclofos - Valerian - Valnoctamide

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Drug Info. Gold Standard. Copyright © 2008 by Gold Standard. All rights reserved.  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Secobarbital".  Read more

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