Sleeping pills | Arthritis Information

 

Lorster this is in response to your question under the thread of OK I've had enough of this RA.
I was put on sleeping pills (Imovane/Zopiclone but think they have another name in USA - possibly Lunesta but am not sure). They are a benzodiazepine and are also part of the Valium family. 6 years ago I was waking in pain from RA at 3 - 4 am every morning and getting so tired and stressed my dr. put me on Imovane. My dr. left and the new dr. just kept on prescribing the pills and also gave me another lot as an antidepressant.   I could hardly function on those so came off them but was still taking the sleeping pills. Read on the net you should not take them for longer than 4 weeks so went to my old dr. who had returned to practice who nearly had a fit I was still on them and said I had to get off them. They are according to a book I am reading called Benzo Junkie harder to get off than heroin and have an unbelievably long list of side effects, both physical and mental.
They are extremely difficult to get off. If Lunesta is a benzo Lorster you are probably coming off too quickly.
You may be just doing very well but benzos are extremely addictive and hard to get off.   If you have any tips I
would appreciate hearing them. Lunesta may not be part of that drug family.
There is a website by a pROF. Heather Ashton (now retired) but worked at an English hospital helping people to get off these pills - her manual which can be downloaded free off the website is used by a lot of drs & drug clinics around the world.   
You will, according to the info have a lot of symptoms for a long time after the drugs come out of your system.
Your CNS and whole body needs to repair itself and learn to function without the drugs.
They can cause everything from suicidal symptoms, irritability, electric shock sensations in your head or body to urinary symptoms and far too many others to list but if any of you are on sleeping pills from the benzodiazepine family (google & you will find which ones are) then find help to get off them - they are dangerous.
I know sleeping is such a prob. with RA and I worry about how I will sleep without them but hopefully there are safer options. A lot of psychologists & psychiatrists around the world are trying to get them banned and I believe there is legal action being taken against the drug manufacturers in the U.S.
I think trying to get off them is the hardest thing I have ever had to do and it will be a long process but I will never use them again.
Hope this is of help to those of you using the benzo sleeping pills - check on google the symptoms, you will be surprised how many come from these sleeping pills. I am gonna have to disagree here. I think ya need to look up the meds again, Lunesta is NOT a benzodiazepine nor is it NOT chemically related to valium beyond being in the hypnotic class of medications. That is the whole point of the medication. It is also not near the level of habituation as the benzodiazepines. People apparently tolerate them well and they have a very short half life.

But it is still a sedative-hypnotic type medication. So care needs to be taken when used. But, heck, I suspect 99% of the folks here are physically dependent on some form of pain reliever already. It sort of comes with the territory I guess.

The thing about these new sleep meds is it can take MUCH, MUCH longer to become dependant on them. And to be honest if you cannot sleep without them, again as with out pain meds, who cares if one does become dependent on them? I would rather get a good sleep and wake up rested with more energy then simply lay in bed all night then get up wondering why I even bothered to go to bed. Rest is extremely important to us folks with auto-immune disease. Without proper sleep the disease can become even more dominant in out daily life.

I use Lunesta and it WORKS. Nothing, and I mean, nothing else has helped me sleep. And we with auto-immune disease cannot use things like Melatonin because of the increased immune response, right? Chamomile tea is OK but eventually stops working, valerian works after a fashion but not really, and the other herbal remedy's work sort of too but again not really. I am a huge believer in more natural alternatives whenever possible, but in this case I have to side with the DrugCo's sleep aid as this new class of meds is the only thing in the past 15-years that has helped me get a full night of sleep without fail.
Hi there - if you read my post again you will see that I did not say Lunesta was a benzo - I said I wasnt sure whether it was or not and to google it.   Am glad it is not a benzo and for the information you gave - it certainly seems safer than the benzos and I will check it out. Imovane/Zopiclone also has a short half life and it causes side effects because of this and the fact that consequently you are continually withdrawing from it. Have heard Valerian can also become addictive
with continual use. Good sleep is such a problem with RA. How long have you been on Lunesta and what is the recommended time for using it?   I realise it is so important to get sleep with RA which is why I started using Imovane but although it was great to get some sleep at first they soon stopped working and the side effects are horrific - it wasnt worth it in the end.
Hopefully I will find some alternative. Any ideas would be appreciated.

I have a bedtime routine (I sound like a little kid lol) that I adhere to as much as possible.  Lights in my living room go out (I'm begging for dimmer switches lol) and the tv volume goes down about 30 minutes before bedtime.  Then I go turn on my blanket...brush my teeth...wash my face..etc.  Kiss hubby good night (he works 2nd shift usually up later than I am lol).  Climb under warm blankie with book I am reading and read for about 20 minutes.  Lights out and I drop off.

I feel the key is to TRY and relax before bed.  When you are in pain it is really hard sometimes.  When you are on a high dose of pred forget it lol.  I have used Ambien before when on a pred pack because I was just WIRED for sound and couldn't get to sleep no matter what I did.  There are times if I am in a lot of pain and the pain killers just aren't doing their job...I will pop into a hot shower and sometimes a hot bath that hubby will help me in and out of.  It relaxes me and my muscles and the heat feels ohhh so good on my aching bones. 

[quote]Lorster this is in response to your question under the thread of OK I've had enough of this RA.
I was put on sleeping pills (Imovane/Zopiclone but think they have another name in USA - possibly Lunesta but am not sure). They are a benzodiazepine and are also part of the Valium family. [/quote]

sorry, I guess I read that differently as it still reads to me that was what ya were sayin'...D'oh!!!    BUT, I am glad ya wanna avoid those benzodiazepines because they have some many drawbacks.

Been taking Lunesta since the first of the year. There basically is no limit on how long one can take it. But things being as they are I still prefer to stop for a week every now and then. I try this with all my meds.

Something I also do because of these awful meds we all have to take is I take Silymarin (milk thistle extract) to help support my liver. It actually is an honest to goodness tried and true medication outside the US to help people with liver problems or those at risk of them. I suspect this helps me stay more responsive to meds over time by keeping the liver working to process stuff.

Overall I feel very safe with Lunesta, for now. I mean I felt safe with Bextra too... With it, I can sleep and actually get things done. The only thing is I have to let it work. Meaning I need to be ready for bed when I take it. And I can have the occasional vivid dream. Though I have always had those until the ability to sleep was lost to me. So I am not sure the vivid dreams are due to the medication.

I just have to add that I LOVE my vivid dreams. I feel as if I am watching a movie while I am having them...it's weird. I had one last week and loved it even though is was not a happy sort of dream. Kinda like going to the movie theater while sleeping only w/o the popcorn...

About the herbal options. I mentioned a few already. And the valerian is not addictive. You can develop tolerance and have it stop working. St John's is the closest I have found to "addictive". It has a physically dependence factor, for me, similar to an SSRI. If I take it on a longer term regular basis then stop abruptly there can be some withdrawal symptoms. But they go away in short order or you can simply taper off it the same way you would an SSRI.

About Valerian and "addiction". Remember that there is a difference between addiction, physical dependence and tolerance. And the difference is extremely important.

Tolerance is when a medication stops working. Meaning the body no longer responds in any way to the medication. The body simply tolerates the presence.

I suspect you are confusing the other two. Or more likely the articles you read had them confused. It's not surprising as most people don't know there is a difference. Addiction can be purely mental or can have a physical component as well. Physical dependence only has the physical component. Physical addiction is NOT a big issue and can be addressed by properly tapering off a medication as I suspect you had to do with other sleep meds. Addiction is a personality & mental issue that can destroy lives no matter what a person becomes addicted to...A fast google will help you feel better about the difference.

I have not read anywhere that Valerian is "addictive" or even about a dependence issue. I suspect dependence is possible but probably not likely. St Johns OTH can have a big physical dependence problem. And Kava Kava, while very effective, needs experience to use safely.

For me none of the herbal options work for squat really. All seem to eventually become ineffective and even when they do work, they actually still pretty much, well, suck...just being honest. But I think I am a tough case because I simply have lost the ability to sleep. I know I should try a real sleep study thing but just no money for that so I rely on medications now. And really the Lunesta is AWESOME and seems tailor made for my situation. My insomnia is so bad that, I cannot sleep even after extreme physical exertion in the evening...and I mean as in the stuff that makes most guys fall right to sleep after...

I have not had any issue of the Lunesta becoming less effective over time. I do try and prevent that with my stopping it for a whole week ever 5-weeks or so. But I really do understand your frustration as I have the same problem with every DMARD I have tried and every combo.

Just thought of something maybe can help compare. Have you tried Ambien? I have it too worked great for about 3-weeks. But eventually stopped working unless I increased the dose or stopped taking it for a week or longer. Maybe if you had similar experience this might offer a bit of hope?Grammaskittles - maybe I just need a hubby to kiss me goodnight but will try a hot bath and see if that helps.
I have read routine can help so that also would be worth a try. Tks for your advice.
BreckLundin - I go to a group that have specialised for many years in getting people off benzos and they said that valerian was addictive - will ask where they got that info from.   I believe milk thistle is a good liver tonic and well worth taking - took it many years ago & will try again.   I did say in my initial post 'If lunesta is a benzo and also that lunesta may not be part of the benzo family' so I hope I did make it clear that I was not sure that it was. If you can stop Lunesta for a week or so then that is a good sign that it is not addictive but my medical knowledge is limited and I am sure Lorster will be able to answer some of these queries when she reads this post.]
Thanks for your information, I will do some more researching for myself but there are so many conflicting views it is sometimes hard to reach a conclusion.
But whatever, we all need some good quality sleep with RA
so Lunesta may be the answer.Cassandra, I have a prescription for Lunesta. My Rheumatologist talked me into having them because I was so completely sleep deprived with the ra. The cycle was something like this: The fatigue would knock me on my a** during the day, I'd lay on the couch and rest, and then I was so rested I couldn't sleep at night, no sleep - real deep sleep - meant pain and agony with the ra. He suggested I get on a sleep schedule and to help me, I'd take a Lunesta, get a full 8 hours, have a decent day after that but taking care not to overdo the activities during the day..break the cycle. Anyway, my experience with the Lunesta is that its fine, I sleep deeply, and DO NOt feel groggy in the least in the morning, however I really only take it like maybe once every two weeks. Also, I do it only if my husband is home (not on a business trip) in case my kids need me in the middle of the night - I worry that I might not be "all there". Anyway, my feeling is have them, keep them in the medicine box and if you have a long stretch of no sleep,you know you have them to fall back on. I heard that sleep aides like Ambien are causing people to do sstrange things like (yes I'm being serious here) sleep eat (yes eat), and drive their cars in their sleep. Lunesta is in a different class of drugs though, thankfully. Good luck.Thanks for the info on Lunesta - sounds like it is just what I need.I got tired of the bad taste in my mouth all the time. Had constant bad
breath. Saw my doctor, told her no more Lunesta and she says. "Why
don't you want to take sleeping pills?" I said because I'm more interested
in finding out why I don't sleep. She looked at me with this blank stare
and wrote me a RX for Restoril. The answer for insomnia, lol. I have not
filled it and am out of Lunesta, worked all night, came home and had a
heck of a time getting to sleep so took another Phenergan. I'm so
screwed, lol. I spent all my free time last night on the internet looking at
kidney failure so I'm still freaked out over that. From what I read, many
people are walking around this with renal failure and don't know it. The
kidneys are unforgiving and once damaged, cannot be repaired. How did
I get to this place. I have had two UTI's all my life, don't drink, don't have
hypertension or diabetes. So I have to believe that it is part of an
autoimmune process. The other thing is I'm 60 lbs over weight and the
test is an estimate calculated in the lab and based on a normal weight
woman so I guess I'll find out if my doctor is concerned when I talk to her
on Monday. It is borderline low but indicated moderate kidney disease,
not mild. If anyone knows anything about this, I would love to hear your
input.
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