Posted by chemist on July 26, 2004, at 8:19:47
In reply to Re: Hallucinations on zolpidem, zopiclone, zaleplon » chemist, posted by don_bristol on July 26, 2004, at 8:04:28
hello don, chemist here...i am heartened to hear that - as difficult as it may be - that the antidepressant + ``z drug'' effect is likely the target, as it dovetails with the few studies that indicate that this combination is to blame. of course, i am sorry your girlfriend has to deal with this. the *extreme* nature of lack of evidence in the literature to the contrary makes me wonder. your point about not reporting side effects is well-made, as off to bed you go, anyway. finally, i've only been on PB since march, but i have yet to see a thread such the one for effexor withdrawl (where myriad people of different sexes, races, etc. all report a very similar and nasty condition) in re: hallucinations induced by ambien/sonata/zopiclone. taken with the paucity of reports in the literature, in my opinion, this side effect is rare. one thing i did not mention from my brief stroll on pubmed was that the hallucinations are transient in the few cases that make specific comments in this vein. i do suggest trazodone or a low dose of seroquel. i am somewhat certain that others have reported remeron to be effective, but that is just a partial recollection. in any event, be well, and report if, upon trying a different sleep aid, the desired effect is achieved without the hallucinations....all the best, chemist
> > > 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!
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> > 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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> Hello Chemist, thank you for an exhaustive look through the literature.
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> One important point which I omitted and which you refer to is the fact that my girlfriend is also taking an antidepressant. In her case it is 25mg escitalopram.
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> Maybe there is an interaction occurring between the "z" sleeping medications ("imidazoles"?) and her SSRI?
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> She takes a normal therapeutic dose and she hallucinates although the hallucinations tend to be after something like 45 to 60 minutes. I personally tend to find that these meds make me sleep very quickly so when "jlbl2l" say these hallucinations happen in people who remain awake on these meds then I guess her experience concurs with that.
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> However I have heard very few references to this and your searches show the same so I can not be sure it is so very common. OTOH some side effects of some meds go unreported for a long time because no one thinks to ask about them. ISTR that Prozac was not thought to cause a noticeable number of sexual side effects until researchers started asking patients about it.
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> The strange thing is that my girlfriend doeshas not had this hallucinatory effect with any other meds but she can reliably get the hallucinations on these 'z'-sleepers.
poster:chemist
thread:370403
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040724/msgs/370633.html