Posted by Jakeman on May 18, 2005, at 0:01:20
In reply to Lunesta addictive?, posted by SadDoggie on May 17, 2005, at 22:55:27
> I went to my psychiatrist today and asked about Lunesta which I would like to start taking on a more or less permanent basis because my sleep cycle is horribly affected from my depression. I stay up at night and sleep during the day a lot of times. I wish I could control it but I can't. I was under the impression that Lunesta wasn't addictive but he said it was and that it was the same as Ambien, and in the same class of drugs. I've read everywhere the complete opposite and that it isn't addictive and also doesn't stop working if you keep taking. I think he may be wrong because he says he hasn't started prescribing it, so he probably hasn't had a rep visit him and give him the correct facts on it. Is he wrong about this?
I've been taking Lunesta for about 3 weeks nightly (in addition to Elavil). I would not be surprised if I developed a tolerance to Lunesta but that hasn't happened yet. It has been approved by the FDA for long term use, while Ambien has not.
I'm not sure if that really means anything- many people take Ambien long term as well. I don't know how Lunesta compares to Ambien in terms of it's class or mechanism of action (maybe Lar or Ed will comment). I've taken Ambien before and for now I prefer Lunesta.My former psychiatrist was never up to speed on on new meds and never liked to prescribe sleeping pills. I had to ditch him and go to another doctor who knew something about sleep disorders
(who gave me samples of Luesta).best wishes- J
poster:Jakeman
thread:499238
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050516/msgs/499298.html