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Have you ever really watched commercials for medications? They describe a problem and suggest that their medication is a cure, however, if you listen to the “side effects” of the medication at the end of the commercial, you usually find that they are worse than the problem themselves. In this particular medication, a few, (not all) side effects include:

  • Hallucinations
  • Drowsiness the next day after medication use, (the last thing you would expect from a sleep aid)
  • Thoughts of suicide
  • Sleep paralysis during waking, (sleep paralysis is a normal state, but in this case more prevalent during the period of waking)

Take a look at the commercial and listen to the side effects for yourself.

21 Spice ups
2

I’m so glad the side-effects don’t have to be read out loud on TV commercials in the UK!

Though, I love the little kitten sleep logo…

3 Spice ups
3

You are so lucky. Here in the US, a 2 minute commercial advertises the medicine for the first 30 seconds and the remaining 90 seconds is devoted to reading the “possible” side effects of the medicine.

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4

Yup, in so many cases any one of the items in the list of possible side effects is way scarier that what it’s supposed to help with.

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One of the side-effects of that particular medication is sleep paralysis while awake (as noted by OP). I wouldn’t wish that one anyone. Until you figure it out, it’s some of the scariest stuff you’ll experience in your life. Having gone through it, I can say that these stories are pretty accurate:

2 Spice ups
6

Why would you not want the side effects listed? Rather than spend the entire 2 minutes making it seem like the pill makes you crap sunshine and burp fairies, it actually tells you what you get to enjoy while taking the pill.

My favorite side effect? Anal leakage.

8 Spice ups
7

That is really, really freaky. So many people have such similar experiences you wonder if there is actually something else out there… Creepy.

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8

Seems like a ploy to sell more medication.

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9

Don’t know if it’s still the case; but in the US, the different companies used to be able to bad mouth each other.

"Don’t forget, ‘Sleepy Night’ doesn’t give you stomach cramps like “Bye Bye Time”.

“Bye Bye Time; for a peaceful rest without the heart palpitations caused by ‘Sleepy Night’”

4 Spice ups
10

I too have had this. Fortunately, I knew what it was and mentally forced a system reboot, (I forced myself away) and immediately I regained all movement.

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11

There is no disease so bad I’d be happy with that as the side effect of my medicine. At the very best I’d be mildly annoyed.

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12

“My favorite side effect? Anal leakage.”

No sh!t. Wait a minute, maybe yes should be the correct answer.

But don’t worry, they have a suppository for this.

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13

Alien abduction perhaps?

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That’s what normally happens. You take medicine A to fix problem A, but then have to take medicine B to fix problem B that came about as a side effect of medicine A. I have a friend that stopped taking a medicine for a condition she has because of that very problem. The side effects were worse than what she was trying to take care of, and the recommendation was just adding more medicine.

If I remember correctly, wasn’t it brought about because of legal action? Because pharma was spinning all of these commercials that made the medicine seem amazing and flawless without ever disclosing anything else about it, and it was decided that it was either outright (or at the very least, borderline) deceitful?

I’ve not had any bouts of this in a few months, but the ones I did have were terrifying. The feeling of not being able to move despite all of your efforts, the unsettling to downright terrifying visuals and sounds, and even worse… thinking that you’ve finally woken up and shaken it only for it to happen again.

2 Spice ups
15

Beat me to the punch on this one. It always seems to be a side affect. What I learned recently though is that the medicine doesn’t always cause these side affects. Some people a re given placebos and even if someone in the placebo group has a problem it has to be reported but I can’t figure out why it has to be reported being caused by the medication. Maybe there is one person that is a “professional medication tester” that always has anal leakage and the pharmaceutical companies haven’t stopped including him/her in these tests. :slight_smile:

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Is it no wonder why I don’t trust doctors? Some doctors pass out prescriptions like they passing out M&Ms. If anything, I don’t take anything stronger than a BC Powder , (link provided in case you are unfamiliar with these.) The strongest thing I have taken, though not a “true” medicine, is a strong shot of Jack Daniel’s.

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17

My favorite is for a medication to treat depression. One of the side effects is “sexual side effects” aka: erectile dysfunction.

But wait! What if the reason you are depressed is because you are suffering from the side effect to begin with. Great, you won’t be depressed anymore, but the reason you were depressed to begin with remains the same. The only difference is that now you can laugh it off!

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“You’ll get the best 8 hours of sleep you’ve had in a while…and may also wake up to an entire bed full of sh!t”

2 Spice ups
19

You should see the pages of side effects for the medicines I’ve been on…

Thankfully, I’m mostly resistant to side effects, and haven’t had any that I’d deem not worth taking the original medicine. Remember that during testing, any side anyone had has to be reported regardless if one person in the one thousand person trial got it.

My last medicine for example:

A Fungal Infection - Aspergillosis - A Malignant Pigmented Mole or Tumor - Abscess - Acquired Decrease of All Cells in the Blood - Active Tuberculosis - Acute Liver Failure - Allergic Reaction causing Serum Sickness - Blockage of Normal Bile Flow - Blocked Bowels with No Movement - Bronchospasm - Cellulitis - Chronic Inflammatory -Demyelinating -Polyradiculoneuropathy - Decreased Blood Platelets - Decreased Neutrophils a Type of White Blood Cell -Decreased White Blood Cells -Disease caused by Cytomegalovirus Infection - Drug Therapy that Worsens or Flares Psoriasis -Erythema Multiforme - Fluid in the Covering of the Heart or Pericardium - Fluid in the Lungs - Guillain-Barre Syndrome - Heart Attack - Hemolytic Anemia - Hepatitis - Hepatosplenic T-cell Lymphoma - Infection caused by a Fungus - Infection caused by Coccidioides Fungus - Infection caused by the Bacteria Listeria Monocytogenes - Infection due to Nocardia Bacteria - Inflamed Spinal Cord - Inflammation of Blood Vessels in the Skin - Interstitial Pneumonitis - Legionnaire’s Disease - Leukemia - Life Threatening Allergic Reaction - Liver Inflammation caused by Body’s Own Immune Response - Low Platelet Count and Bleeding from Immune Response - Lung Fibrosis - Lupus-Like Syndrome - Malignant Lymphoma - Malignant Tumor or Cancer - Merkel Cell Carcinoma - Multiple Sclerosis Pneumonia - Reactivated Tuberculosis - Relapse of Hepatitis B - Infection Symptoms - Seizures - Sepsis Caused by Bacteria - Skin Ulcer - Slow Heartbeat - Stevens-Johnson Syndrome - Stomach or Intestine Blockage - Sudden Blindness and Pain Upon Moving the Eye - Swollen Lymph Nodes - Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura - Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis - Tumor of the Skin - Vasculitis - Vocal Cord Swelling - Worsening of Chronic Heart Failure - Yellowing of Skin or Eyes from Liver Problems - Blood Clot in Vein - Disease of the Nerves - Dizzy - Excessive Sweating - Incomplete or Infrequent Bowel Movement - Temporary Blindness

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20

There was one a few years ago, I can’t recall, but it was for Acid Reflux.

The side effects were explosive diarrhea, anal leakage, and any other number of things that would require one to wear diapers for. Seriously. I stopped taking nexium because it was giving me one of the side effects, and the cure was worse than the symptoms.

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