Lunesta may be the only sleeping pill that is FDA approved for long-term use, but it still has some of the same effects as other sleep aids. Ambien, Sonata and others have all been known to cause this problem. It can make life strange and difficult for some of us.

I'm talking about memory problems; also known as amnesia. When you're treating insomnia with Lunesta, you may have trouble remembering things if you go to bed too late at night, and have to get up for work early in the morning. Why? You should only take your dose of Lunesta if you'll definitely have enough time to sleep. Otherwise, you could wake up during the time the medication is supposed to be working, causing drowsiness and even memory loss. Lunesta is designed to give you a great night's sleep without any interruptions, so waking up too early will leave you feeling "out of it."

If you're getting plenty of sleep while using Lunesta, but are experiencing memory loss, talk to your doctor about lowering your dosage. Lunesta is available in 1mg, 2mg and 3mg dosages; so if you or your family notice memory loss with Lunesta 3mg, your problems could be solved by switching to Lunesta 1mg.

Copyright 2004,2005 Ian Mason, lead researcher at Shoppe.MD.

Can Lunesta help you sleep? Learn more and compare monitored pharmacies to buy Lunesta online.