Posted by chemist on July 26, 2004, at 0:38:40
In reply to Re: Hallucinations on zolpidem, zopiclone, zaleplon, posted by jlbl2l on July 25, 2004, at 23:58:42
> i can't respond my posts get deleted. you know my email if you want talk about this.
>
> jasonhello there, chemist here...the reason i am going after this one with vigor is that, in my opinion, two kinds of information posted on this board: (1) questions concerning medications; and (2) answers to questions that can be further divided into 2 classes: (a) ``this is what my experience was, good luck;'' and (b) ``here is some factual information that - despite it coming from an internet chat room, from a person you do not know - you are going to heed because you are fed up with your doctor or whatever reason.'' i am not an oracle, genius, or all-knowing being. i do regularly see posts where the answer is of type (2b) and occassionally i really, honestly know that this is the wrong course of action. don_bristol posted a query regarding a strange reaction by his girlfriend who has tried three sedative-hypnotics as prescribed by her medical care person. the query was along the lines of ``are hallucinations common?'' and ``what alternatives with the exception of benzos are available?'' in my opinion, and based on the literature and white papers, the response to this post should include 2 items: one concerning hallucinations, and one concerning alternatives. the former is actually of minor interest in that the issue here is that a woman has an atypical reaction to this class of drugs and has problems sleeping. suggestions for alternatives were offered. every post that is relevant to any person reading these threads may or may not take the advice, opinions, etc. some will. your post was a very strongly-worded one that, in the context of the original post, indicates that these medications - taken as prescribed - are very commonly associated with hallucinations. this is not true. your tangent concerning taking sedative-hypnotics and then trying to stay awake was not germane to the post, as that was not what don_bristol was seeking. i am not attacking you but addressing a thread that is misleading and incorrect and worse, has clouded the issue. the fact is, when taken as prescribed, these drugs work as advertised for almost everyone. don_bristol did not mention any other drugs his girlfriend takes, and that makes a valid response that includes that possibility important. a blanket statement that might actually sway a passerby to dump ambien for, say, halcion is not warranted. there are very few data in the literature and in adverse events reported in post-marketing studies of the 2 drugs marketed in the U.S. that indicate that these drugs are very commonly known to cause hallucinations. your post more than implies this, and it is not true. a google-based search of anecdotal stories of people who have taken these medication not in accordance with the instructions of use - i.e., take the meds about 30 minutes before going to bed - does not provide any useful information except that we know that people - including you - have reported hallucinations while forcing themselves to stay awake after taking a sedative-hypnotic. this information is damaging to your credibility in that you have stated that you have actually performed this experiment. there is the issue of the one drug that is not FDA approved or available in the U.S., which indicates that you were in another country when you performed that experiment, or that you have obtained the drug illegally and performed the experiment here, in the U.S. in conclusion, this is not a personal attack: it is my way of doing my best to answer the questions raised by the poster and not introduce information that is not supported by the literature or properly controlled studies. that is all. all the best, chemist
poster:chemist
thread:370403
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040724/msgs/370576.html