Zolpidem Sleep Medication - Zolpidem side effects -

Zolpidem is a pharmaceutical drug chemically unrelated to classical benzodiazepines but has demonstrated relatively high affinity binding to the alpha (1) GABA (A) receptor. Zolpidem is indicated for the treatment of insomnia. Until you know how zolpidem will affect you, you shouldn't drive or operate machinery. See Good Night Rx for a natural way to sleep with herbs and nutritional supplements.

Zolpidem Side effects

Side effects from zolpidem may include next day drowsiness, dizziness and headache. You shouldn't take zolpidem with alcohol. All sleep medicines carry some risk of dependency. Do not use zolpidem or sleep medicines for extended periods without first talking to your healthcare provider. Memory problems are not very common zolpidem side effects. Zolpidem should only be used on a limited basis because it causes temporary amnesia. Sanofi-Aventis said sleepwalking is a rare side effect listed on the zolpidem label.
     Strange behavior by insomniacs taking prescription drugs, ranging from binge eating to having sex while asleep, have raised safety questions about anti- insomnia medications such as zolpidem. It appears that insomniacs taking zolpidem get up in the middle of the night, binge uncontrollably, then remembered nothing of their actions. Such sleep-induced zolpidem side effects have been around for years, but the incidence is rising because of an explosion in the drugs’ use. Something in zolpidem causes binge eating in susceptible people. It appears that patients who take other, older sleep medications don't experience the eating disorder.
 

Zolpidem and Car accidents

About 30 million people in the United States take sleep medications, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. By some counts that is a 50 percent jump since the beginning of the decade. Zolpidem, manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis, boasts 12 billion nights of patient use. Other insomnia medications are Lunesta from Sepracor Inc. and Sonata made by King Pharmaceuticals Inc. Some of the most serious zolpidem side effects are short-term memory loss, and accidents involving patients who drive the next day while still feeling drugged. The daytime sleepiness — that drugged feeling that people may have — is probably the most worrisome because of the (vehicular) accidents that can occur.

     Zolpidem, the nation's best-selling prescription pill for insomnia, is regularly showing up as a factor in traffic arrests, sometimes involving drivers who don't remember getting in the car.  In some state toxicology laboratories zolpidem is in the top 10 list of drugs found in impaired drivers. Reports of zolpidem -related traffic arrests include driving in the wrong direction, slamming into light poles or parked vehicles as well as seeming oblivious to the arresting officers.

Zolpidem Lawsuit

Two women who claimed they became sleep-eaters while taking zolpidem were among four former zolpidem users who filed suit against Sanofi-Aventis in United States District Court in Manhattan, charging they were harmed by the drug.