203 Frightening Side Effects From Prescription Sleeping Pills

The most popular prescription sleeping pills on the market today are Sonata, Lunesta and Ambien. And with the current economic crisis in the world, insomnia has skyrocketed as a health problem. Millions upon millions, desperately worried about their futures, have turned to these sleeping aids as insomnia remedies.

And they DO seem appealing. A woman in a gorgeous bed with 1000 count sheets sleeps peacefully as a fairy-like green butterfly hovers overhead. What’s not to like? It seems to be an easy answer (and we all like ‘easy’.)

But the reality is far different and even the FDA – an organization which often favors Big Pharma – has taken notice. In March 2007, it requested the manufacturers of popular sleeping medication to please use stronger warning language. The FDA noted increased risks of facial swelling, intense allergic reactions, really frightening sleep behavior (like driving a car while mostly asleep!), memory lapse and even hallucinations. http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2007/NEW01587.html

Chilling Stories From Users Of Sleep Pills

"When my friend Karen called me one morning, she was near tears. Karen had been battling insomnia for years, and she told me how her doctor had prescribed her the popular sleeping medicine Lunesta. After taking Lunesta for only 2 weeks, Karen had felt depressed and aggressive, so she quit. But the Lunesta withdrawal symptoms had her literally bedridden for more than a week. She told me about being nauseated and having stomach cramps. She couldn’t stop trembling and was even having panic attacks."

An artist in Wisconsin stated that she believed she had been sleeping peacefully while taking Ambien, but she awoke one morning to find out her wrist was broken–the result of a fall while she was sleepwalking.

The Wall Street Journal reported a story about a lady who painted her front door while she was sleeping. In some cases, people have been in severe automobile accidents or even set fire to their own houses while they were in the seemingly hypnotized state caused by prescription sleeping pills.

There are others who have engaged in relentless eating binges. One woman gained more than 50 pounds in less than 8 months while she was taking zolpidem (the generic NBZ found in Ambien). She could not figure out why she was gaining so much weight until finally, one night, she was found in front of her open refrigerator while sleeping.

Side Effects Of Prescription Sleeping Pills

Some of these side effects are common while some are rare – but every one of them has appeared in human beings who have taken prescription sleeping pills:

1. Dizziness …
2. Facial swelling …
3. Headache …
4. Prolonged drowsiness …
5. Severe allergic reaction …
6. Abnormal sleep behaviors, such as "sleep-driving" and "sleep-eating" …
7. Withdrawal symptoms similar to those of drug addicts …
8. Dysuria: difficult or painful urination …
9. Micturition frequency: urinating frequently, an excessive number of times …
10. Nocturia: excessive urination at night …
11. Polyuria: the passing of an excessive quantity of urine …
12. Anxiety …
13. Unusual, disturbing dreams …
14. Stomach cramps …
15. Muscle cramps …
16. Nausea …
17. Vomiting …
18. Excessive sweating, often for no apparent reason …
19. Varicose veins created or aggravated …
20. Ventricular tachycardia …
21. Migraine …
22. Nervousness …
23. Abnormal itching …
24. Can’t stay awake during the day …
25. Shakiness …
26. Blurred vision …
27. Constipation … or …
28. Diarrhea …
29. Weight gain … or …
30. Sudden weight loss …
31. Anorexia …
32. Drug tolerance
33. Drug dependence …
34. Confusion …
35. Tetany: a state marked by severe, intermittent tonic contractions and muscular pain, due to abnormal calcium metabolism …
36. Paresis: partial motor paralysis …
37. Stomach and other muscle cramps …
38. Irritability …
39. Shakiness …
40. Seizures …
41. Personality disorder …
42. Somnambulism: sleep walking …
43. Forgetfulness …
44. Dry mouth …
45. Clumsiness, feeling off balance …
46. Urinary retention …
47. Dry throat …
48. "Hangover" feeling that has nothing to do with alcohol …
49. Ordinary headache [other than migraine] …
50. Back pain …
51. Influenza-like symptoms …
52. Chest pain …
53. Heart palpitation …
54. Uneven heartbeat …
55. Lethargy …
56. Drugged feeling …
57. Lightheadedness …
58. Depression …
59. Abnormal dreams: weird or disturbing dreams …
60. Amnesia …
61. Abdominal pain …
62. Sinusitis …
63. Inflammation of the mucous membrane of the pharynx, sore throat …
64. Skin rash …
65. Pallor …
66. Fainting …
67. Altered saliva …
68. Increased amount of saliva …
69. Flushed face & body …
70. Glaucoma …
71. Low blood pressure …
72. Impotence …
73. Loss of strength …
74. Edema, water retention …
75. Increased danger of falling …
76. Fatigue …
77. Fever …
78. Malaise …
79. Anaphylactic shock …
80. Hot flashes …
81. Restless legs …
82. Cerebrovascular disorder …
83. Hypertension …
84. Tachycardia: excessively rapid heartbeat …
85. Angina pectoris …
86. Arteritis: inflammation of an artery …
87. Circulatory failure …
88. Premature contraction of the heart …
89. Leukopenia: a decrease in the number of white blood cells in the blood …
90. Tooth decay …
91. Anemia …
92. Hyperhemoglobinemia: unusually large amount of hemoglobin in the blood …
93. Myocardial infarction: death of heart tissues …
94. Phlebitis …
95. Pulmonary embolism …
96. Loss of coordination …
97. Vertigo …
98. Agitation …
99, Decreased cognition …
100. Detached from your emotions and those around you …
101. Neuropathy …
102. Neurosis …
103. Panic attacks …
104. Unable to stop yawning …
105. Dyspepsia …
106. Hiccups …
107. Dysphagia: difficulty in swallowing …
108. Increased aggression …
109. Difficulty in concentrating …
110. Stammering or stuttering …
111. Hallucination …
112. Decrease of sensitivity of touch …
113. Leg cramps …
114. Speech disorder …
115. Stupor …
116. Tremor …
117. Abnormal gait …
118. Abnormal thinking …
119. Apathy …
120. Decreased libido …
121. Delusion …
122. Dementia …
123. Depersonalization …
124. Dysphasia: inability to speak or understand words …
125. Feeling "strange" …
126. Hypokinesia: abnormally diminished muscular function or mobility …
127. Arthritis: acute or chronic inflammation of a joint …
128. Arthrosis: malfunction in the junction of two or more bones of the skeleton …
129. Muscle weakness …
130. Coughing …
131. Difficult or labored breathing …
132. Rhinitis: inflammation of the nose or its mucous membrane …
133. Bronchospasm: spasmodic contraction of the muscular lining of the bronchi, as in asthma, causing difficulty in breathing …
134. Nosebleed …
135. Hysteria …
136. Intoxicated feeling …
137. Manic reaction …
138. Neuralgia …
139. Neuritis: continuous pain in a nerve …
140. Flatulence …
141. Gastroenteritis: inflammation of the stomach and intestines …
142. Eructation: excessive belching or burping …
143. Eesophagospasm: spasm of the walls of the esophagus …
144. Hemorrhoids …
145. Intestinal obstruction …
146. Rectal hemorrhage …
147. Vaginitis …
148. Breast neoplasm: uncontrolled growth of abnormal tissue; tumor …
149. Breast pain …
150. Upper respiratory infection …
151. Chronically swollen lymph nodes …
152. Purpura, a disease characterized by purple or brownish-red spots on the skin or mucous membranes …
153. Thrombosis: intravascular coagulation of the blood in any part of the circulatory system, as in the heart, arteries, veins, or capillaries …
154. Infection …
155. Abscess …
156. Herpes simplex …
157. Herpes zoster …
158. Inflammation of the external ear …
159. Otitis media: inflammation of the middle ear, characterized by pain, dizziness, and impaired hearing …
160. Inflammation if any shots are given …
161. Excessive sensitivity to light …
162. Urticaria: pale or reddened irregular patches on the skin …
153. Diplopia: a pathological condition of vision in which a single object appears double …
154. Abnormal hepatic function: abnormal functions of the liver …
155. Increased SGPT: increased enzyme activity in the blood when the heart or liver is damaged …
156. Bilirubinemia: a high level of pigment in the blood which produces the yellow skin symptomatic of jaundice …
157. Hyperglycemia: an abnormally high level of glucose in the blood …
158. Excessive thirst …
159. Gout …
160. Excessive amount of cholesterol in the blood …
161. Hyperlipidemia: excessive amounts of fat and fatty substances in the blood …
162. Increased alkaline phosphatase: abnormally high blood levels of an enzyme that may indicate disease in bone or liver, bile duct obstruction, or certain malignancies …
163. Increased BUN: excessive urea level in blood – may indicated kidney damage …
164. Periorbital edema: inflammation & puffiness around the eyes …
165. Joint pain …
166. Muscle pain …
167. Abnormal Lacrimation: abnormal secretion of tears …
168. Parosmia: a disorder of the sense of smell, especially the perception of odors that are not present …
169. Photopsia: seeing objects that aren’t really there …
170. Sciatica …
171. Tendinitis: inflammation of a tendon …
172. Menstrual disorder …
173. Bronchitis …
174. Hypoxia: inadequate oxygenation of the blood …
175. Laryngitis …
176. Pneumonia …
177. Pruritus: itching …
178. Acne …
179. Blisters …
179. Dermatitis …
180. Boils …
188. Eye irritation …
189. Eye pain …
190. Scleritis: inflammation on the external covering of the eyeball …
191. Weird, strange tastes in the mouth …
192. Tinnitus …
193. Conjunctivitis …
194. Corneal ulceration …
195. Urinary tract infection …
196. Cystitis …
197. Urinary incontinence …
198. Acute renal failure …
199. Pyelonephritis: inflammation of the kidney and/or pelvis …
200. Pain in the kidneys …
201. Urinary retention …
202. SUICIDE ATTEMPTS! …
203. INSOMNIA!!! …

Startling, isn’t it, that taking sleeping pills can result in … insomnia? And even more troubling is the depression that can actually lead to suicide. None of these effects are trivial, but these are incredibly dangerous.

If you take prescription sleeping pills will you get all of these symptoms?

Of course not.

Will you suffer from any of these dangers?

Perhaps not.

Only YOU can decide if the risk is worth it because here’s the thing …

Sleeping Medication Usually Loses Its Effectiveness In Two Weeks

If you use prescription sleeping pills every night, you can almost certainly count on them losing their effectiveness in two weeks – at most a month. After that, they are no better than a placebo. Of course, placebos are sometimes the cause of true ‘medical miracles’ but your placebo of choice should not cause you to risk the 203 effects listed above.

Further Dangers Of Prescription Sleeping Pills

There are other dangers from taking these things:

There may be an underlying physical problem that is masked by the sleeping pills.

Anyone who is taking other drugs may be damaged by drug interactions. No one – including your doctor – can ever be sure that a sleeping medication won’t cause terrible damage to your body. Just because drugs safely interact in other bodies doesn’t mean those rules apply to you. You are unique! There is no one in the world exactly like you.

The sleeping pills might cause you to ignore other, safer, options.

And the most contrary problem of all: once you quit the drugs, your insomnia may be worse than it was before! What a bummer! Take the darned drugs, risk serious illness or impairment – and come out the other end of the process with less ability to sleep than before you started!

"Maybe I Should Use Over-The-Counter Sleeping Pills Instead?"

All over-the-counter sleeping pills are focused around histamines, the ingredients you take for sneezing, coughing and allergies. They make you feel sleepy by depressing your nervous system, thus make you sleepy. Does that really seem like a good idea? Especially long term?

Over-the-counter sleeping pills are meant only for short time use. They are not a remedy for long term insomnia and in fact you will quickly build up a tolerance that will make them useless in a relatively short time. When that happens either:

1. They will no longer work …
2. You will have to take an increasingly large does to sleep …

There is a reason for your insomnia. A health reason. The only genuine answer is to find out what the problem is and fix it. Sleep pills can never be more than a short term solution and they may do a whole lot more damage than the original insomnia, so be smart and think about what you’re doing. I know that sleepless nights are hell on earth. For 15+ years I rarely got more than four hours per night – at least until I was so exhausted I practically fell into a coma. But I solved my problem in a way that improves my health in every possible way and you can, too. The pretty green butterfly flitting through the night sky is very appealing – but it’s only a marketing ploy.