Potential Side Effects of Prescribing Medication for Unrelated Conditions

Question
Dr Manger,
         Sir, my question is, if an individual is prescribed a medication for an illness or condition that they do not have, can there be serious side effects?  I have been prescribed a medication to help me sleep, but in researching it I found out it is primarily for depression, if I don't have depression can it cause me to be having problems? Thank you for your time.
John Gibbs

Answer
Some antidepressants are used to help patients sleep.  Often, certain types of antidepressant side effects are sleepiness or sedation.  Your doctor is likely using the medication's side effect as a sleep aid.  This is used commonly, and not necessarily a bad practice.  These type of drugs offer less "addiction" potential and dependence than typical sedative.

As an aside, if you are concerned about the medication that your doctor has prescribed for you, you should discuss it with him/her.  There is no substitute for proper communication between a patient and his/her doctor.