Zolpidem Sleep Medication dosage - 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 Extended release may not cause next day
grogginess
Treatment options for insomnia--pharmacodynamics of zolpidem
extended-release to benefit next-day performance.
Postgrad Med. 2008 Sep;120(3): Bogan RK. SleepMed Inc., Columbia, SC 29201, USA.
A concern with insomnia medications is the risk of next-day residual effects,
which can impair memory and ability to perform certain tasks, such as driving,
and may increase the risk of accidents and falls, especially in the elderly. We
describe the impact of current insomnia treatments on next-day performance. The
longer-acting benzodiazepines are associated with next-day "hangover" effects
and, as a result, have been largely replaced by agents in the nonbenzodiazepine
class, which typically have shorter half-lives. The hypnotic, sedative
activities of these classes of drugs depend on variations in binding
characteristics to the alpha1 subunit of the gamma-amino butyric acidA-receptor,
which inhibits neuronal activity in broad areas of the brain and is found in
areas of the brain responsible for sleep/wakefulness and sedation. However,
nonbenzodiazepines with a rapid onset of action and short half-life have shown
limited efficacy for maintaining sleep throughout the night. These properties
have contributed to the development of modified-release formulations. Zolpidem
extended-release is a bilayer tablet that retains the fast onset of action of
its parent compound zolpidem while extending the duration of hypnotic activity,
owing to a slower-release portion of the tablet. Based on clinical evidence, the
risk of residual next-day effects of zolpidem extended-release is limited,
mainly due to the similarly short half-life in its extended-release formulation.
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.
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