NEWS: SMH - 20/03/07 'One in ten Aussies pop sleeping pills'

[lil angel15]

One in ten Aussies pop sleeping pills
March 20, 2007 - 12:04AM

Swallowing sleeping tablets is common practice among Australians, according to new research showing one in ten will pop a pill to get some shut-eye.

And one third of this group admitted they took sleeping medication every night when questioned for a national slumber survey.

The findings are even more concerning in light of new reports that the most popular sleeping tablet, Stilnox, can have bizarre side-effects, prompting some people to binge eat or even drive while asleep.

The federal committee investigating adverse drug reactions will consider adding new warnings to medication packets when it meets this week.

The new Australasian Sleep Association survey of 1,600 adults shows too many Australians have an unhealthy reliance on sleeping tablets.

Professor Harry Teichtahl said the results were concerning given that sleeping tablets were not designed for regular use and do not treat the root cause of sleeplessness.

"After around four weeks of continual use, tolerance to the sleeping tablets may occur and they are no longer effective," said Prof Teichtahl, from the association.

"Often those addicted to sleeping pills will wake feeling drowsy, so they are probably left feeling more lethargic than they would have if they hadn't started relying on sleeping tablets in the first place."

Sufferers of insomnia should avoid pills, reduce their alcohol and caffeine intake and seek therapy for stress and other problems which could be fuelling the problem, he said.

The national study, published in the latest Pfizer Health Report, found that sleeping problems in general were widespread, with as many as 80 per cent reporting waking up one or two times a night.

Twenty per cent said they were disturbed between three and five times during their sleep, and close to two-thirds had problems falling asleep.

Just under 25 per cent had their sleep regularly disrupted either by a snorer or someone in the household who kept different sleeping hours.

As a result of disruptions, two in five say they do not wake up feeling refreshed and close to two-thirds feel sleepy during the day more often than once a week.

"The high levels of self-reported night waking found by this study suggests that sleeping problems are much more common than we had previously believed," Prof Teichtahl said.

"This is of concern because over time, sleep deprivation can lead to an inability to deal with stress, ill health, irritability and feeling distracted and unfocused.

"It's a major public health issue."

SMH

 

[lil angel15]

A link to the Pfizer Health Report.

 

[Teddles]

Well I fall into that group, I either take temaze or nitrazapam, Nether are prescribed to me, I am prescribed 30mgs of oxazepam to take every now and them. My doctor tells me to becareful because there very additive and i say "really?" I don't take them every night but it would be close to three out off the seven and other days it might be aided by diazepam or kalma. Not the best habit in the world.

Once you've had the best night sleep in the world why would you turn back??

My friends and colleages have all said that they find it harder to get benzo's from their doctors which is just making few more products more popular in the black market I know a bottle of twenty five diazepam or temaze is worth a lot more than it would cost to buy at the chemist with a script.

 

[ilikeacid]

sadly I fall into this group too. I regularly take stilnox to get to sleep, about 4-5 nights a week. I have been taking them regularly for 6 months and have so far not had any complications - no waking up, eating, driving, or feeling groggy in the morning. Benzo's leave me too tired in the morning, stilnox does not because of its short half-life. Cost wise stilnox is very expensive compared with traditional benzo's, but IMO a good nights sleep is worth $1 per night

 

[Splatt]

Teddles: Temazepam does something for you? I find it about as useful as caffeine for getting to sleep ;-) Even my sister in law who gets drunk very easily, and never takes drugs found that taking 4 temazepam-10's at once still didn't get her to sleep. I'm not going to say how much I need of them to get anything from them as it might make people copy me (which I don't want people to do).. Very weak benzo.. Now xanax and nitra is where its at

I find temazepam is very easy to get, most doctors will give it out no problem. Valium and xanax is harder though.

 

[Teddles]

Termaze is wonderful if i work a late 2330 finish and have to be back at work at 0645 the next day, i take one/two 10mgs tablets fifteen mins before i finish work, have a shower and a milo and i get clean crisp sleep for 5 1/2 hours and wake up and get right back into it. If i don't i lie in bed worring about that i won't get enough rest before i need to be back.

Nitrazapam is the the shit 10- 20mgs if i don't have to work an early the next day, side effects can be full on though, if need to get up for a leak, i'll get lost in my house, try to get back into bed and i'll be standing in my shed thinking who's moved my house around?? and have no congnative ablity think through whats happened so i just sit down and try to figure it out.

Stilnox, crap in my opinion, last time i had them i though i'd have two, then a family guy episode came on so i grabbed a beer and watched it, when i woke up in the morning i had drunk six beers, the rest of my stilnox and made three purchases on ebay which i don't even remember

oxezepam , wonderful to sleep on, 30-60 mgs and i wake up clean as in the morning no hangover or nothing, unless i have a few drinks, then total amnesia.

Valium 10mgs, wonderful, but it leaves me with such a benzo hangover i can barely can move out of bed, and it won't get better till i have another two.

Seroquel (quetiapine) this is a new anti physcotic , 50mgs and i'll sleep though a truck crashing through my bedroom, No dreams, No rest, just pure unconsiousness, it is used in higher dose's in bi polar in the mania stage 200-400mgs

kalma, wonderful if you have been taking it all day, i was taking 1mg TDS and by the time sleep came around i was out andd i wake up with no hangover, but a lust for more. I really find it hard to source Kalma, in the hospital i work in at the moment we don't even keep it as ward stock, whereas valium, termaze,
nitrazapam are given out like candy cause i'm on a neurosurgical ward at moment. We don't even bother with stilnox cause it give patients odd side effects, metal tasting in the mouth and that can be confused as Myocardial infarct. it also make's people blood pressure drop remarkably if we have to get them out off bed in a hurry or transfeer tthem to a ICU ward.

I reacon Kalma/xanax will be S8 drug soon, it is pretty tough to ween people off it, and valium doesn't even tough the side after been on 2mgs QID for only a couple off weeks.

But to answer your question i thing temaze works a treat for me. What i tell people if there not sleepy don't try cause it stress's more, there better off going for a walk or reading a book or even better some councling to find tthe underlieing prroblem for there sleep problem.

 

[Splatt]

I agree if you worry bout getting to sleep on tema it's not going to happen, but it has worked for me in situations where I didn't need to get up super early. Nitra is nice even with just 5mg for me! 10 and it's blurred as vision, hunger, then eat food and crash out in a very hazy andf out of it way... wierd hangover yeah...

 

[McGruffin]

i was prescibed stilnox for insomnia (didnt work that well). all i can say is its hell fun with a couple of beers during the day time!!!

 

[-Raver-]

Yep. After splitting with my fiance 6 months ago and not being able to sleep i started taking stilnox. After 4 months I changed to zopiclone... im still on only half a tab of either, so i dont think i have built up a tolerance to either, so thats good.

I prefer zopliclone over stilnox, seems to get me through the night better, but have stilnox every now and then for a change.

I am addicted I must admit, but I need to sleep

I have never abused stilnox recreationally i am proud to admit, and i dislike idiots that do.

 

[thinkpink]

I used stilnox once after a night of pills that turned out to be speed bombs, it was 5am and I was wide awake with no chance of sleeping so I 'borrowed' one of my mum's and was asleep in about five minutes which is unusual for me, as I usually toss and turn for an hour before I fall asleep.

I guess now would be a bad time to approach a doctor for sleeping pills

 

[Splatt]

Wasn't for me you just won't get more than 7 of them.