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Please note that any comments expressed in these forum posts do not reflect the opinions of Medical News Today in any way at all. Opinions posted in this forum do not constitute medical
advice, which should be sought from qualified medical advisers. Disclaimer.
What about side effects
posted by Cherrie on 05 Feb 2005 at 5:23 pm
I have not yet tried Lunesta but my doctor has said she would like me to do so.
My concern is that for persons on high doses of antidepressants for Major Depression, will this aggrevate the condition? Also, I have found that even though at times I cant sleep well because of bad dreams or trauma and anxiety, my body seemed to do better once my mind was allowed to go through this "healing process". I know sometimes people have no specific reason for lack of sleep or can actually develop mild psychosis from lack of sleep. Do the producers of this drug know which conditions of sleep would be best to prescribe this long term, and will it interfere with the healing process, as the body repairs daily wear and tear through your deep rem sleep process..
Read the news article that this opinion was posted about:
Lunesta (Eszopiclone) Approved by FDA for Treatment of Insomnia
Re: Depression
posted by JB on 13 Apr 2005 at 7:54 am
I doubt this medication will have any negative effect on your depression. If anything, it should help. The lack of sleep can actually cause depression and bad dreams.
Side effects
posted by aesy on 21 Apr 2005 at 9:31 pm
I am currently on lunesta and the only side effect I have had was a bad taste in my mouth. I works very similar to ambien which is what I was previously on. I am very happy with lunesta so far and feel it is definately a better alternative to Ambien or Sonata.
Thanks for replies
posted by Cherrie on 24 Apr 2005 at 4:40 pm
All what you said makes sense, that lack of sleep can cause depression and make you more stressed for the following day. I think Ambien and Sonata are also quite helpful, but as you comment; Eventually your body builds a tolerance and then for awhile it might be harder to go to sleep.
I found that using some form of exercise as well as a sleep aid is good so that when you stop using the sleep aid, you don't have to suddenly try to do exercise to get rest at night. It doesn't have to be alot of exercise, especially when you're depressed, it can be difficult. I joined a weight loss club to also help because some medications can cause weight gain if we become more sedentary or feeling more like sleeping during the day .
Some people can't sleep if they do any activity just before bedtime and need at least 30mins for a "slowdown" period. I usually augment that with reading material, but dont pick your favorite book as you might not want to put it down to sleep!
Bad taste from Lunesta
posted by DB on 27 May 2005 at 6:05 pm
My rheumatologist warned me about the bad taste but I didn't know it would be continuous. I just started taking it. Will the bad taste decrease? Is there anything I can do to decrease it, short of sucking on hard candy all day? I was on Ambien before and will ask to return to that if this horrible taste does not go away!
Experience with first time try of Lunesta
posted by MM on 28 May 2005 at 3:36 pm
Last night was my first time trying Lunesta. I have always had difficulty falling asleep, so am always interested in new meds that help in that area. Lunesta did work very fast, but I definitely noticed the horrible taste in my mouth...which made my iced tea taste bad as well.
I also had a slight headache, nothing too terrible, until I fell asleep. The only side effect that concerns me is this morning I woke up VERY EARLY (for a Saturday) with sharp stomach pains. I'll try Lunesta again, just in case the stomach pains weren't from the Lunesta...and if they weren't then I would use it again. I fell asleep faster than with Ambien - which sometimes seems to have no effect on me at all.
Also - even though I'm up way too early on a Saturday - I do feel wide awake and refreshed and usually in the mornings I'm a zombie...so we'll see. Let me know if anyone else has experienced the stomach pains on this medication. Thanks! (Oh PS: I really do hope this bad taste doesn't stay around - I saw a post that said it was continuous -- I am hoping that is not the case because I don't know if I'd keep taking it if it were....we'll see).
Continued bad taste from Lunesta
posted by DB on 29 May 2005 at 7:03 pm
Thanks to MM for the comments. I have not noticed any other side effects other than the horrible taste that affects everything I eat and drink! I seem to sleep better than with Ambien but I feel more hung over during the day. This bad taste would surely be helpful to anyone that wanted to lose a few pounds because who wants to eat when food tastes so bad!
Bad taste
posted by Cherrie on 29 May 2005 at 10:45 pm
I guess I have been lucky and don't notice a bad taste. I don't seem to need to take it every night to go to sleep, but the nights I don't take it I seem to wake up earlier.
Trouble Sleeping with Lunest
posted by Barbara on 06 Jun 2005 at 5:38 pm
It seems I've had insomnia since I was born and there is not a night that goes by that I don't take several Benedryl. I also use Ambien which works great but I don't want to develop a dependence on it. So, when Lunesta came out I was very hopeful especially since it was suppose to work great for long term use. I tried it and the first night I woke up several times and the second night I couldn't even go to sleep at all! And I also had that horrible taste in my mouth for the entire next day! I was very disappointed, so I guess I'll go back to Ambien.
Probably not going to stick with Lunesta
posted by MM on 07 Jun 2005 at 3:05 am
Okay - I tried Lunesta a couple of more times and the ONLY really awful side effect I experience is the horrendous taste in my mouth the next day. I just can't deal with it. It affects everything I eat for about 24 hours after I wake up and is just gross. It is a bummer because the pill makes me go to sleep...but I will stick with Ambien since the bad taste is so gross.
Lunesta Bad Tasting
posted by Misty on 08 Jun 2005 at 2:56 am
I have tried Ambien and Sonata also...thought I would give Lunesta a try....same thing that you are all saying...HORRIBLE taste in my mouth the next day. I think sales will go down because of this....we just can't live with bad tastes! I will have to go back to Ambien if they don't find a way to help the taste. Has anyone heard if they are working on that terrible side effect or not??
worthless
posted by Karen on 08 Jun 2005 at 8:35 am
I have been an insomniac since I can remember, and have had an especially bad bout for the last couple of years. Was very excited about Lunesta but, not only do I agree w/ everyone about the hideous taste, I pretty much think the drug is a marketing scam: the first night I took it I ended up taking 4. I felt relaxed (like muscle-relaxers-relaxed), but it did nothing for my sleep. Recently I started taking the lowest possible dose of seroquel, and I think that's going to get me off ambien for the first time in 2 years--and I will not miss either my dependence on ambien, or the utterly bizarre things I did when I did stay awake on it (amnesiac, you know). I hope Lunesta works for some of you, but it sure didn't for me.
Unbearable taste
posted by Lacy Robinson on 08 Jun 2005 at 3:48 pm
After taking Ambien for several years, I was hopeful Lunesta would provide aid not found in Ambien. Not only was it not has effective as Ambien, the rotten egg taste in my mouth kept me awake and lasted throughout the next day. No thanks.
No change from bad taste of Lunesta
posted by DB on 08 Jun 2005 at 10:42 pm
I have given Lunesta a fair chance weeks! It works fairly well for sleep but I still can't tolerate the gut wrenching terrible taste in my mouth. I am an oncology nurse and I can now relate to how my patients feel when they say that chemo affects the way food tastes! The bad taste never goes away! Even water tastes bad! Seems like to me it would be easy to change the formulation to change the bad taste side effect.
Bad tast with 3mg but not 2mg
posted by DS on 12 Jun 2005 at 5:23 pm
My doctor gave me some free samples of 2mg Lunesta and it worked OK (no bad taste). When I called in my prescription I requested 3mg thinking it would increase its effectiveness. The morning after I took the 3mg (opposed to 2mg) was the first time I noticed the bad taste. The taste is very bitter and unpleasant. So tonight I'm going to split my 3mg in half and hope that I'll still get a good night sleep without the bad taste the next day. I'm thinking maybe the 3mg is too strong and is causing the bad taste.
Blech!!
posted by cuteculturechick on 13 Jun 2005 at 2:45 am
I have been on Lunesta for three days now and I've had the best nights rest I've had in 18 months. But I too have he bad taste in my mouth. I have been sucking on Red Hots candies which seems to burn away the taste for about 20 minutes, but I can't go for much longer without the taste. I also can't drink water without having something else to counteract the taste.
Did breaking the 3mg in half work?
posted by MM on 13 Jun 2005 at 11:58 pm
DS: I'm curious if it worked when you split the 3mg pill in half....let me know....that's interesting...I never thought about trying a lower dosage.
Bad taste goes away with Lunesta
posted by Jesse on 14 Jun 2005 at 3:18 pm
I had a horrible taste for the first 2 weeks, but it seems to have subsided... I taste it a tiny bit when I wake up, but it is not so bad any more!
Did it work
posted by Misty on 14 Jun 2005 at 6:57 pm
DM ~ Did it work by cutting your 3mg Lunesta in half to get rid of the terrible taste? THANKS!
M
The Horrid Taste is enough for me to go back to Ambien
posted by melissa on 14 Jun 2005 at 8:39 pm
I'm really dissapointed in Lunesta. Oh sure it works ok, but 20 minutes after taking it, the most horrid after taste starts happening and doesn't let up! Even far into the next day. It makes EVERYTHING taste horrid, even water.
I really hope they get this fixed, I think their sales will be affected by this.
I know I won't be spending the money on it again until that taste is gone.
Gave up--Went back to Ambien
posted by DB on 14 Jun 2005 at 9:33 pm
Still had the bad taste after two weeks and using cinnamon altoids every waking hour!
Lunesta
posted by stacy on 16 Jun 2005 at 7:19 pm
I've had insomnia since childhood. I believe it is a side effect of PTSD. anyway, I have been taking lunesta since it came out and have been waking in the AM with numbness and a "pins and needles" type of pain in my hands and legs. I feel overall quite swollen, is it from the medication or is it indicative of something else? if anybody has had this problem please comment.
Can't stand the taste
posted by Lue on 17 Jun 2005 at 5:25 pm
So glad to know it wasn't just me....my GP wrote me a prescription for a trial of 2 pills. After the first night, even though I slept like a baby for the first time in a long time, I can't bear swallowing another one of those pills. The taste is indescribable and lasts for 24 or more hours. Wish the maker could do something about that. I would gladly use Lunesta if the taste wasn't so bad. YUK!!!
crazy taste
posted by Megan on 18 Jun 2005 at 5:24 am
I took Lunesta for the first time last night. I knew little to nothing about the drug, and about twenty minutes after I took the pill, I thought I had swallowed a roll of quarters. The taste in my mouth was very metallic and disturbing and persisted all throughout the next day. You are all correct in noting that even water tastes bad. This will deffinately discourage my usage of this product to desperate circumstances only.
Itchy, creepy crawling skin
posted by Mindi Stavish on 19 Jun 2005 at 6:11 am
I have been taking lunestly for a little over a week now. The bad taste in my mouth was there for a few days but I don't even noticed it now. I do notice that I have dry mouth and need to drink lots of water. My main problem I have been having is a itchy, creeping crawly feeling with my arms, legs, and face at night near the time I should be taking the medication and a few hours before actually. Has anyone has any similar experience? Actually the other night my hands and fingers started to tingle so that was definetly different. I just want to sleep with no itchy werid feeling. Is that possible??
I no longer think I'm nuts
posted by patty hommerson on 20 Jun 2005 at 3:14 pm
I knew it I knew it I knew it. I recently started 3mg lunesta and the first night I accidentally broke a pill removing it from the sample package. I didn't get the water bottle open fast enough and it started to disolve on the back of my tongue, the bad taste was instantaneous and has not let up in the week I've been on them. Sure sleep is awesome but how can you survive if even your water is bitter. I would recommend to anyone breaking them to keep the water ready. The disolving pill is the nastiest I've ever come across. I feel like I continually have a aspirin disolving in my mouth 24/7. Someone please tell me it gets better!
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