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Comment by mariopt | Hacker News Reader

Zolpidem, I use this pill to sleep and works fantastic for me. My MD told me that regular use could lead to dementia and the risk for addiction is considerable. I've tried antidepressants to sleep but always wake up with a headache, the feeling of it it's not great either. But with this one, never had an issue.

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Ever tried Hydroxyzine for sleep? It's an anti-anxiety med that was prescribed to me for insomnia after zolpidem and the other popular non-benzo hypnotics had the opposite effects on me.

Hydroxyzine works ok for me. Not great. Flexirol + hydrocodone work fantastic for me, but that's not a viable option.

The only one I tried was trazodone, half a pill is enough to induce sleep but falling asleep and waking up doesn't fells nice. 15 minutes after taking the pill I get a sensation that I can only describe as "being poisoned", in the morning I get a long lasting headache for 4+ hours. Antidepressants are prescribed as a "safer" alternative to zolpidem/dangerous medication but there is some controversy in the medical community about it. Some people developed a zolpidem addiction up to the point where they need it or won't sleep at all.

Trazodone literally poisoned me. My body couldnt break it down, and I ended up with worse than double vision, very impared thinking, no balance, and more. It started getting better the next day but took a few days to really get back to any kind of "normal"

Hydroxyzine aka Atarax aka Vistaril is an anti-histamine. Off-label used for other things. Habitual anti-histamine use causes Parkinsons...

Dementia as a side effect? Aren’t you scared of that?

Check this out:

Zolpidem may cause serious or possibly life-threatening sleep behaviors. Some people who took zolpidem got out of bed and drove their cars, prepared and ate food, had sex, made phone calls, sleep-walked, or were involved in other activities while not fully awake. After they woke up, these people were unable to remember what they had done. Tell your doctor if you have ever had an unusual sleep behavior while taking zolpidem. Be sure that your family or caregiver are aware that these symptoms are serious and to call your doctor if they occur. Stop taking zolpidem and call your doctor right away if you find out that you have been driving or doing anything else unusual while you were sleeping.

https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a693025.html

Look up Ambien Walrus for humorous takes on what's a serious issue.

It’s a crap calculation but dementia years away is better than a life without proper sleep. You might not make it to those dementia years or skip it through some other process-like not triggering it. I’ve accepted similar trade offs with medication for chronic migraine (as in literally every day sometimes multiples per day). Functioning today definitely matters more than decades down the road if that’s what it truly takes.

People making choices of that sort are almost always much more afraid of something else, that "something else" being what happens if they don't treat for X. If they had better options, they would be all over them.

I take medication that results in Parkinsonism Syndrome to some extent. It sucks, and it's very frustrating when it manifests.

That said, without the medication I'd be miserable and might not even be alive.

One of these is better than the other, so it's the choice I make.

L-Dopa by chance?

Of course, that is why I only take it strictly when I need it.

Take seroquel instead. Less risky, at least mentally. Also more powerful and effective.

I would be very hesitant about taking antipsychotics (of which Seroquel, quetiapine is one). There is research suggesting they may cause brain atrophy (reduction in brain volumes over time).

Now, if one is dealing with something really serious like psychosis or acute mania, maybe it is a preventing a short-term harm which outweighs the risk of this long-term harm. But if it is just trouble sleeping, considering this risk, I think one should explore other options first.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3476840/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S09249...

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30191724/

(I used to take Seroquel for insomnia and anxiety myself. I stopped when I discovered this research. It also contributed to our decision to get our son off risperidone.)

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