zolpidem in Thailand

[Sheryl]

4 hours ago, ricklev said:

Dr. Donna at MedConsult  prescribes and dispenses Zolpidem or has in the recent past anyway.  It is the Dactive brand as posted above.

Very good to know, thanks

[RichardColeman]

I took this stuff for a while, found it made me forget everything I watched on the tv for the hour before bed.

[Sheryl]

39 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

I took this stuff for a while, found it made me forget everything I watched on the tv for the hour before bed.

 

i took it exactly once.

 

Did not make me in the least bit sleepy, but did make me hallucinate mildly. Never again.

 

But some people apparently find it helpful.

[RichardColeman]

2 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Did not make me in the least bit sleepy, but did make me hallucinate mildly. Never again.

Yeah, I did walk into a wall once !

[tgw]

53 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

i took it exactly once.

 

Did not make me in the least bit sleepy, but did make me hallucinate mildly. Never again.

 

But some people apparently find it helpful.

 

effect on me is that it shuts me down. this is for the 10mg dose. if I don't lay down, the effect is similar to being drunk.

usually I take just 5mg and with this dose I would not fall asleep unless trying. but when I lay down and actively try to sleep, half the pill is just enough to shut down my thoughts which otherwise would keep me awake.

the big advantage for me is that the next morning I am not sleepy or drowsy and I wake up well rested.

 

obviously effects are different from one person to another

[ThaiPauly]

I was taking Zolpidem until recently.

I have discontinued  it now because of the side effects.

Apart from nocturnal eating I was sleepwalking and fighting with the mosquito nets around the bed.

I have no idea what else I would be capable  of while taking them but the effects got worse over time and were scary. When I was taking them in hospital  there was no problem  but once I was discharged  about a month ago the problems started 

[ricklev]

I also will never take it again.  I nocturnaly cooked and ate and sent some regrettable text messages!  But more than that I think it deranged my perception of the world for several days after taking it and left me depressed.  

[tgw]

On 3/8/2021 at 4:01 PM, Sheryl said:

 

i took it exactly once.

 

Did not make me in the least bit sleepy, but did make me hallucinate mildly. Never again.

 

But some people apparently find it helpful.

 

2 hours ago, ThaiPauly said:

I was taking Zolpidem until recently.

I have discontinued  it now because of the side effects.

Apart from nocturnal eating I was sleepwalking and fighting with the mosquito nets around the bed.

I have no idea what else I would be capable  of while taking them but the effects got worse over time and were scary. When I was taking them in hospital  there was no problem  but once I was discharged  about a month ago the problems started 

 

1 minute ago, ricklev said:

I also will never take it again.  I nocturnaly cooked and ate and sent some regrettable text messages!  But more than that I think it deranged my perception of the world for several days after taking it and left me depressed.  

 

so the dangers are real - thanks for sharing !

 

[fvw53]

On 3/11/2021 at 10:57 AM, tgw said:

 

 

 

so the dangers are real - thanks for sharing !

 

I take zolpidem 10 mg (prescribed by neurologist) since about 5 years : I cut the tablets in 2 x5mg because the half life time is only a few hours and so I take always 5 mg before going to sleep and another 5 mg when I (always) wake up very early in the morning. (this sleep interruption to urinate seems not unusual for person of my age 77 years)

[tgw]

18 hours ago, fvw53 said:

I take zolpidem 10 mg (prescribed by neurologist) since about 5 years : I cut the tablets in 2 x5mg because the half life time is only a few hours and so I take always 5 mg before going to sleep and another 5 mg when I (always) wake up very early in the morning. (this sleep interruption to urinate seems not unusual for person of my age 77 years)

yes, I do the same: half a tablet in the evening and I sleep easily for 7 hours. the short half time makes it the best sleeping pill for me, I didn't experience such side effects as the other posters.

[retiree]

Puzzled by this thread -- I just called Phyathai Hospital, and they said they are dispensing Zolpidem as usual.   It has been my experience over the years that a) the specific drug supplier is government regulated, and b) these change periodically, so the hospital dispenses whatever brand they're given.   

 

Fwiw I also take just 5 or 6mg (pill-splitters and milligram scales are easy to find), never more then 3 times per week, and it's always lights out immediately.   I do wish they'd sell the delayed-release forms, but like everybody else I make do with 6 or 7 hours sleep.

-- Retiree 

[Sheryl]

19 hours ago, retiree said:

Puzzled by this thread -- I just called Phyathai Hospital, and they said they are dispensing Zolpidem as usual.   It has been my experience over the years that a) the specific drug supplier is government regulated, and b) these change periodically, so the hospital dispenses whatever brand they're given.   

 

Fwiw I also take just 5 or 6mg (pill-splitters and milligram scales are easy to find), never more then 3 times per week, and it's always lights out immediately.   I do wish they'd sell the delayed-release forms, but like everybody else I make do with 6 or 7 hours sleep.

-- Retiree 

The private hospitals are not given drugs by the government. They purchase from distributors and manufacturers. Of which there are many licensed in Thailand.

The manufacturer took Zolpidem off market in Thailand. Usually it is because the cost of maintaining registration was not considered worthwhile for the volume of sales. It has happened with many drugs that were not in much demand except among foreigners.

 

However this is fairly recent so some hospitals may still have stock. In addition, they can, if they want, import it directly themselves since it is approved for use. Private hospitals do not do this often but they can for all but controlled drugs.

[retiree]

Interesting.  Over the years I've seen three, maybe four different Zolpidem manufacturers / countries of origin at Phyathai.  It has stayed in mind because only one brand had long, scored tablets.  The current round dome 10mg guys don't always split evenly, even with a pill cutter.  

Both doc and pharmacy were sympathetic, and agreed that a 5mg dosage (or easily split pills) were better for older patients.  But, the pharmacy always insisted its hands were tied because the gov specified a single supplier.  Of course, they may have just been asking me to get off their lawn ????   

-- Retiree 

[fvw53]

On 3/8/2021 at 3:20 PM, RichardColeman said:

I took this stuff for a while, found it made me forget everything I watched on the tv for the hour before bed.

Very interesting it may partly explain why I feel since 5 years problems to remember names or what I looked on TV one hour earlier etc...but I am also 78 which is another factor ..my memory problem did not become much worse as some people with Mild Cognitive Impairment should expect ....but since 5 years zolpidem makes me sleep very well (I take 5 mg before going to bed and another after waking up between 3 and 4 a.m.)