Long-Term Side Effects of the Lunesta Sleeping Pill
- This prescription sleep drug is in the same family as other newer drugs you may have seen on TV, including Ambien and Sonata. This class of drugs was developed to bind better to sleep receptors in the brain. The result: fewer side effects of the kind associated with older prescription sleep drugs, according to Harvard Women's Health Watch. Traditional side effects include a rising tolerance to the drug in less than a few weeks, which leads the user to raise the dosage of the drug he is taking.
- Unlike Sonata or Ambien, the FDA has approved Lunesta for long-term usage, according to Physician's Desktop Reference. When we talk about "long term use" that means in studies those who used Lunesta did so for up to six months without developing a tolerance to the drug. In the case of OTC drugs, they are often not recommended for use for longer than two weeks. Sonata and Ambien have been approved for up to 35 days of continued use.
- Even so, the maker of Lunesta, Sepracor, has included a caveat. On its site, it suggests that anyone still using the pill for more than seven to ten days should consult his or her doctor to see if disordered sleep is the sign of another underlying condition. It also says that, like other sleep medications, Lunesta also has some risk of dependency.
- Dependency has been known to occur with Lunesta, according to Physician's Desktop Reference. It's this dependency that results in withdrawal symptoms when the drug is stopped abruptly. In the case of Lunesta, it is more likely for withdrawal to occur if the drug has been used over the long-term, as opposed to days or even weeks, though it reports that some symptoms have occurred within one week of a sudden discontinuation.
- According to the Mayo Clinic, the symptoms associated with this specific class of drug, eszopiclone, include bizarre dreams, nervousness, upset stomach and feelings of fear. There may also be a risk of what's called "rebound insomnia," a type of sleeplessness that re-emerges more powerfully than the initial onset of disordered sleep.
