A recent study from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices identified 31 drugs that are disproportionately linked with reports of violence towards others.
At number seven on their list was the drug triazolam, also known as Halcion. Triazolam is a benzodiazepine that’s often used to treat insomnia. It was found to be 8.7 times more likely to be linked with violence than other drugs.
Of course, all medicines comes with their own risks and potential side-effects. In Ireland, benzodiazepines were implicated in almost a third of all drug poisoning deaths between 1998 and 2007.
Make sure you’re aware of all the risks when deciding which insomnia medication is right for you.
Source: PloS ONE
As always, there's more information and advice in our insomnia support forum.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Halcion is implicated in Pres. Reagan’s mental decline. He was taking it almost daily, I seem to recall. These days, you can only get 12 pills a month, because there ARE serious mental issues (memory, for instance) that result with taking it longer.
My husband takes one at the beginning of a flight to quell his phobia–before the diabetes, he would drink quite a few drinks on the plane, but because of adrenaline, would be completely sober once the plane landed. Sometimes on longer flights (to Japan from SFO), he’ll need to take a second one midflight, especially if there’s a lot of turbulence. He never takes it any other time.
Xanax has been enough for me for panic attacks, but it doesn’t make me sleepy, as it does so many. I haven’t had a really bad attack since the end of March in 2003, when the current Gulf war began. That was an unusual set of triggers–very different from the usual ones, which happen very rarely.