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Severe brain injury and paralysis temporarily reversed with a sleeping pill

sciencedirect.com

41–50 of 187 posts

Re: Severe brain injury and paralysis temporarily reversed with a sleeping pill

#41
post #11

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.

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.

Re: Severe brain injury and paralysis temporarily reversed with a sleeping pill

#42
post #28

Zolpidem is famous for this, although it’s raised more questions than answers. This particular phenomenon has been known since the early 2000s; NYT has a good write up about it: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/magazine/can-ambien-wake-...

After taking it for sleep, I think it should be researched for way more. It’s clearly rewiring things.

Can you elaborate on your experience with it? I’m super curious about that.

Re: Severe brain injury and paralysis temporarily reversed with a sleeping pill

#43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes I wish I was smart enough to have gotten involved with things like neuroscience. I watched part of a lecture on certain brain functions a good while back, regarding the mechanics of various mental illnesses, and it was incredibly fascinating. Such a powerful organ that we simply can't understand well enough.

You probably are smart enough. It’s never to late to learn and contribute.

This is true. I pivoted from EE to Neuroscience after several years in industry.

Re: Severe brain injury and paralysis temporarily reversed with a sleeping pill

#44
I’ve been taking Zolpidem for about 13 years now and suffer from addiction. I’ve sought treatment for this but it doesn’t work as now I cannot sleep without taking something. If you haven’t taken Z-type sleeping aids, I would definitely suggest not to start, as from experience the consequences outweigh the benefits. I’ve lost a considerable amount of friends/reputation/etc. from the abuse. Every experience that you hear about from sleeping aids, I’ve been through it (from the loopy fun to binge eating to weird sex to psychosis to crashing my car)

Re: Severe brain injury and paralysis temporarily reversed with a sleeping pill

#45
post #33

Ah, the video at the bottom of the paper is really emotional! I hope they can figure out how to prolong the effects. Still, an hour of lucidity and verbal communication and a stroll every few weeks and a visit with the family is infinitely better than nothing at all.

I'm glad you pointed that out. It was great to see video of him.

Re: Severe brain injury and paralysis temporarily reversed with a sleeping pill

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

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

Re: Severe brain injury and paralysis temporarily reversed with a sleeping pill

#47
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After taking it for sleep, I think it should be researched for way more. It’s clearly rewiring things.

Can you elaborate on your experience with it? I’m super curious about that.

Zolpidem is Ambien, which is notorious for its interesting side-effects https://www.healthline.com/health/side-effects-of-taking-amb...

Re: Severe brain injury and paralysis temporarily reversed with a sleeping pill

#48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sometimes I wish I was smart enough to have gotten involved with things like neuroscience. I watched part of a lecture on certain brain functions a good while back, regarding the mechanics of various mental illnesses, and it was incredibly fascinating. Such a powerful organ that we simply can't understand well enough.

You probably are smart enough. It’s never to late to learn and contribute.

I agree. Even a minor contribution is more meaningful than you'd think.

Re: Severe brain injury and paralysis temporarily reversed with a sleeping pill

#49

Excerpt: A man, 29-year old, with a history of alcohol abuse suffered from hypoxic-ischemic brain injury after choking on a piece of meat. After an initial, though slow neurological recovery, spontaneous movement and speech disappeared. The patient developed such a severe impairment of arousal that he required intensive auditory and tactile stimulation to maintain a wakeful state. No structural lesions were found usi…

Thanks for that excerpt. The part I found most terrifying is that not only was the patient given no real treatment, but "Eight years passed without...neurological follow-up", meaning even an examination to see what his status was.
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