Smarter Sleeping 101

From News Inferno:

“New generation sleeping pills, like Lunesta and Ambien, may be as likely to cause serious adverse reactions as older sleep aids.  While older pills are much more likely to cause daytime sedation, addiction and withdrawal symptoms, drug classified as nonbenzodiazepines (NBZs), including Lunesta and Ambien, seem just as likely to cause amnesia and erratic behavior.

Introduced in the 1990s, NBZs are all sedatives used for the  treatment of insomnia. They have proved to be safer than both benzodiazepines and the older barbiturates, especially when taken in overdose, and also have less of a tendency to induce dependence and addiction although these issues can still become a problem with abuse of NBZs.  As a result, NBZs like Lunesta an Ambien have become widely prescribed for the treatment of insomnia, particularly in elderly patients.

But it appears that NBZs have not eliminated all of the problems associated with sleeping pills.  According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, an analysis of adverse-event reports filed with the World Health Organization suggests that some side effects of this generation of sleep medications may be as bad as- and even worse than - the older generation, including Halcion, which was banned in some countries.”

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This week’s Insomnia Story comes from Skwashy.  If you’ve ever been hesitant to take prescription sleep aids (namely Ambien,) just read what it did to Skwashy:

“Why, I ask you, do I wake up at 4:15 a.m., all chirpy and awakey, and then fall asleep right about NOW, at 9:11 a.m. as grumpy people are calling me on the phone, demanding the most detailed arcane information possible? I can barely focus my eyes by Thursday. The insomnia was supposed to go away when my levothyroxine dose was lowered, but it didn’t.

I spoke with a friend of mine about sleeping pills. She takes Ambien, she says, in spite of the reservations she had about becoming dependent on them. She has children, she said, and could not afford to go without sleep.

I have no children. Oh, there is the Stinky Terrierist, of course, but he gets along very nicely, peacefully lying on his side and gazing into space (when he is not scheming to supplant me in the affections of Mrs. Skwashy) from his little cushion-bed on the floor. He does not need help with his homework or to be picked up after dance class. So that is no motivation for regular sleep.

Also…what was I going to say? Darn. Was it something about needing to be alert for work? Don’t believe me if I tell you that.

Oh yes. I remember: Ambien is so strong that even half a pill gave me a blackout. It is scary! I swear! It happened twice. I took a half-pill, then settled on the sofa to check my email before bed, and then woke up at my usual time with no recollection of sending the letter I was writing, shutting down the computer or going to bed. A total blank. Very scary. What if there was some emergency that I need not to be blackouted for? If you understand what I mean.”

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