Posted by chemist on July 25, 2004, at 17:40:34
In reply to Re: Hallucinations on zolpidem, zopiclone, zaleplon, posted by jlbl2l on July 25, 2004, at 17:10:27
> VERY common on all these sleeping meds. Also severe MEMORY loss can occur. They are addicting as well and tolerance is gained.
> Be very careful on these... Don't drive!hello there, chemist here....i quickie on pubmed with keywords ``hallucination and zolpidem'' yielded 13 hits, many with no abstracts available. one indicates a 54 year-old male was stopped for erratic driving and blood tests were positive for zolpidem, fluoxetine, and hydrocodone (no alcohol); the next reports a young woman who experienced hallucinations during stopping/restarting zolpidem use; the next (published in 1998, so the number of cases is low, i suspect) states that the Washington Poison Center received 5 reports of hallucinations associated with zolpidem in the previous 2 years and that all 5 individuals were concurrently taking an antidepressant; and another reports 2 cases who had psychotic reactions and suggests that in addition to other cases (number not specified), all were female and there was dose dependence. keywords ``hallucination and zopiclone'' yielded zero results; and ``hallucination and zaleplon'' yields one result (abstract not available) entitled ``Perceptual disturbances with zaleplon.'' while a quick jaunt through pubmed is hardly conclusive, i find it hard to believe that hallucinations associated with these medications are ``VERY common,'' as you state, given that collectively, there are 14 publications that might apply, and a few of them indicate that other drugs were on board. in the white paper for zaleplon, hallucinations were noted to occur in the 1% to 10% range of subjects in post-marketing reports; hallucinations are not listed at all under adverse effects for zolpidem, and i do not have the white paper for zopiclone, although given that my pubmed search yeilded zero hits, i am going to go out on a limb here and state that in my opinion, hallucinations associated with zopiclone are not reported. if you have references you can share with us indicating that visual and/or auditory hallucinations are ``VERY common'' for any/all of the 3 drugs listed above, please do provide, as there appears to be a dearth of support in the refereed literature and manufacturers' information.....all the best, chemist
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thread:370403
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