Temazepam Overdose

[Justforfun000]

Hey everyone. I just went through a very scary experience that I can't understand for the life of me, and I'm hoping some people on this board with medical experience, psychiatric knowledge, etc....whatever might apply, could help guide me on how to get to the bottom of this.

Friday night I had just gotten two prescriptions from the doctor here. One is a 5 day, once a day antibiotic called Factive. Gemifloxacin Mesylate.
I had laryngitis from Dec 2 until the 8th, and immediately after heavy cold (possibly flu) symptoms. Stuffy nose, chest congestion and 3 days of a low fever at night where I'd shiver when going to the bathroom and dove back in bed to warm myself as quick as possible.

So I went to him saying I had been sick for over 2 weeks and should I just wait it out assuming it's viral or should I get antibiotics? He gave me these just in case.

So the next thing was I asked for some Restoril which is temazepam. A sleeping pill. I've had it prescribed a few times before, and it's always worked well. Just helps you drift off especially if you aren't that tired but want to go to bed earlier. Because I work nights, I sometimes end up having my schedule set so late that I can lie awake until 6:30 or later. So I find every now and then the pills help set me back earlier a bit.

Well on Friday I took one while at my computer and was waiting for it to hit so I'd feel sleepy. I vaguely remember taking one more an hour later when I didn't feel much from it. They are 30 mg capsules by the way. The highest dosage.

Well that is the last memory I have that's clear. Apparently my partner found me in bed with the bottle beside me, TWENTY FIVE pills were missing, and 5 were on the floor. There was 30 in the bottle. This was at 1:00 the next day.

He woke me up and I was incoherent. I was supposed to be performing at 3:00. I was arguing with him that I was "fine". He couldn't talk sense into me. So he took me to the gig and when my parents arrived they eventually (I was STILL arguing otherwise) talked me into going to the hospital by telling me the gig was moved to later that night.

They gave me fluids but no antidote to their knowledge, and talked about giving me charcoal, but that didn't happen either. The doctor told my mother that even if I had swallowed all 30 pillls it wouldn't be enough to kill me so don't worry. (Does anyone here think otherwise? I highly doubt that. I would think that amount is dangerous).

I slowly cameout of it in very little bits, but I don't have any recall. I woke up this morning, (Sunday), and I thought it was Saturday. That whole day is gone.

So my question is, WHAT THE HOLY FUCK HAPPENED?? Why did I react this way? Especially to something I had no problem with before?

Secondly, I'm not satisfied to leave it at that. What kind of tests should I be requesting from the doctors? Could this be a brain chemistry issue? For the record, I've had Tourrette's Syndrome since a young kid but it's extremely mild in me and I don't take medication for it. But I'm mentioning it just in case it might have relevance.

So any suggestions? It scares the hell out of me that I unconsciously took all of those pills. The doctor was asking my mother if I could be suicidal and she said she almost laughed because anyone who knows me wouldn't even have to wonder. I don't have a suicidal bone in my boy. I'm aiming for immortality in any way shape or form if it ever becomes possible. I love life and have no desire to leave it.

Well that's the whole main story. Any clue what the freaking hell could have happened to me? There has never been any episode in my past even remotely similar.

[Darth Wong]

Why are you asking us? You live in Toronto. Call TeleHealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 to get ahold of a professional. It's free for all Ontario residents.

[Justforfun000]

I'm actually in Halifax right now. I'll be back up for the New Year. I wasn't aware of that number or the organization though. Thank you. I will definitely call.

I was going to go to my family doctor and tell them the story as well, I was just throwing it out here because we have such a mix of professional medical workers, scientists, etc, that I thought any opinions or suggestions might come up and be useful.

[montypython]

From what I've read on Temazepam, it is relatively safe wrt overdosing, so that shouldn't be too problematic given time, but the drug is known to cause unusual behaviours such as 'sleep-driving' in people, and having amnesia about it. Best thing to do is stop taking the medication and check with your primary practitioner for a followup.

[Justforfun000]

From what I've read on Temazepam, it is relatively safe wrt overdosing, so that shouldn't be too problematic given time, but the drug is known to cause unusual behaviours such as 'sleep-driving' in people, and having amnesia about it. Best thing to do is stop taking the medication and check with your primary practitioner for a followup.

Oh I'll NEVER take it again! I wouldn't take the chance. That scared the be-jesus out of me. I've never had a 'lost' day in my memory before. Even in occasions of drunkeness which I never do anymore to that extreme, I had a few HOURS of fuzziness, but this was an entire day and night. I have 10 different people telling me what I was doing and my conversations, and I don't remember a single thing. That is spooky as fuck and I want to investigate every possible angle to find out what could be the reason. Could I have some latent schizophrenia? Could I just develop an allergy to a medication? I mean, I just don't know WHAT to think.

[montypython]

Oh I'll NEVER take it again! I wouldn't take the chance. That scared the be-jesus out of me. I've never had a 'lost' day in my memory before. Even in occasions of drunkeness which I never do anymore to that extreme, I had a few HOURS of fuzziness, but this was an entire day and night. I have 10 different people telling me what I was doing and my conversations, and I don't remember a single thing. That is spooky as fuck and I want to investigate every possible angle to find out what could be the reason. Could I have some latent schizophrenia? Could I just develop an allergy to a medication? I mean, I just don't know WHAT to think.

The unusual behaviors and amnesia can occur even with normal doses in both people who have never had the drug before and those who have had it before. It isn't an indication of an allergy, rather more of a particular neurophysiological reaction to the active agent. The active agent can affect a number of different metabolic processes causing a reaction, but I'm rather rusty on pharmacokinetics/dynamics.

[Larz]

Take what I say with a grain of salt because I'm no pharmacological/medical expert. What I know, temazepam is sedative/relaxant that is known to have amnesic side effects and is quick to have a body tolerance built against it (7-11 days) hence why it is an 'as needed' dosed medication. It is a rather safe drug for overdosing because the body easily passes it without damage (I've never seen anyone come through the ER with a temazepam OD needing more than an hour observation and a stern finger shaking at... if they would have given you activated charcoal it would have probably been more for aversion therapy to prevent future ODs rather than for actually benefiting you.)

As for your exact reason why this happened now I'll just parrot what others have said: when taking medication (prescription or otherwise) shit happens. Maybe since you where taking cold medications which usually cause drowsiness your body had already built a tolerance to such drowsiness causing chemicals. Thus when you took the temazepam it had none of the sleep inducing affects you desired and then popping another set off the amnesic side effects where you just continued popping them trying to fall asleep without really being aware of it. Maybe the gods of mischief just thought to play a nasty bit of fun on you. More likely than not you'll probably never get a very clear answer to exactly why this happened because for the most part we still don't know a lot about how the brain works and why certain medications work and react the way they do under different circumstances. Best thing is to talk to your PCP about an alternative treatment and not take anymore temazepan.

[Broomstick]

They gave me fluids but no antidote to their knowledge, and talked about giving me charcoal, but that didn't happen either.

If the pills had had time to pass out of your stomach (and it sounds like that might have been the case) then giving you charcoal would have had no benefit and, like all such procedures, would have carried some risk so I am not surprised they didn't give it to you.

The doctor told my mother that even if I had swallowed all 30 pillls it wouldn't be enough to kill me so don't worry. (Does anyone here think otherwise? I highly doubt that. I would think that amount is dangerous).

It depends on the drug. Consuming 30 pills of some things can be lethal (acetaminophen/paracetamol is bad for that, as an example) but in other cases will "merely" make you extremely ill. I would take the word of a medical professional in this case, particularly an ER doc who probably sees a LOT of overdoses/accidental poisonings.

So my question is, WHAT THE HOLY FUCK HAPPENED?? Why did I react this way? Especially to something I had no problem with before?

You had an adverse reaction to a drug that resulted in non-conscious behavior, which is a known risk factor for many sleep aids. To some extent, it's a risk every time you take it. On the other hand, if you take this same medication again this reaction may never recur.

Secondly, I'm not satisfied to leave it at that. What kind of tests should I be requesting from the doctors?

Likely none, if they suggested none. I would, however, discuss this incident with the doctor who prescribed the pills particularly given your level of concern. It probably should be noted in your medical records, and certainly such reactions should be of concern should you ever require similar medications in the future.

Could this be a brain chemistry issue? For the record, I've had Tourrette's Syndrome since a young kid but it's extremely mild in me and I don't take medication for it. But I'm mentioning it just in case it might have relevance.

Well... EVERYONE is at some risk for behaviors followed by amnesia when taking sleeping aids. When I took Ambien for about two weeks at one point the doctor cautioned me about the possibility of sleep walking, sleep eating, sleep driving, etc. and suggested my husband be on hand when I took in, in the event the car keys needed to be pried out of my fingers or the like (actually, the doc suggested I hand over the car keys to the husband prior to taking the pill, as driving while amnesic is pretty damn dangerous). As it happens, I just slept like a log (which is exactly what I needed) with no weirdness, but that doesn't mean it's an impossibility (which is a good reason for limiting one's use of such things).

Very very very wild ass guess: it's possible the Tourette's resulted in an obsessive repetition of an action - taking a pill - rather than have the reaction manifest in, saying, driving down the interstate (which has happened to people). Of the two, the latter has the potential to hurt not only yourself but others and is arguably even worse than what you went through. Which in no way minimizes the scariness of what occurred, I'm sure it was very frightening.

So any suggestions? It scares the hell out of me that I unconsciously took all of those pills.

Understandably this is scary as all hell, a perfectly normal reaction and I'd worry if you weren't scared by it. But - talk to your doctor or other medical professional. Despite my long winded post (intended mostly as sympathy) this is not an area for amateurs, or for experts to deal with over the internet.

The doctor was asking my mother if I could be suicidal and she said she almost laughed because anyone who knows me wouldn't even have to wonder. I don't have a suicidal bone in my boy. I'm aiming for immortality in any way shape or form if it ever becomes possible. I love life and have no desire to leave it.

Bravo for the doctor for following up - that's an entirely appropriate question. However, to me, this sounds more like an accidental overdose brought on by the peculiar, unconscious behaviors that these medication do, sometimes, trigger.

Any clue what the freaking hell could have happened to me? There has never been any episode in my past even remotely similar.

To repeat: these medications are known to trigger odd behaviors with the person having absolutely no memory of them afterwards even at normal doses. I think that's what happened, but instead of cleaning out the fridge or dancing on the lawn in your underwear or whatever it manifested as an overdose. It would be quite understandable if you decided to avoid such medications in the future. If it comes to pass you do need to take such things in the future you might want to give someone else control of the pill bottle and/or have them around to keep you from doing hazardous things while under the influence.

[Justforfun000]

Thanks Broomstick. I really appreciate your input. I'm so surprised that these amnesiac side effects are so relatively common. I thank whatever luck factor that kept me from serious harm. There are so many potential accidents that could have arisen from this that I'm unbelievably blessed that I came through this virtually unscathed.

Even though it wasn't truly funny, we were laughing about my behaviour afterwards. At the hospital I was taking the finger pulse monitor and trying to plug it in my ear because I told them it was my Ipod.
They said I was actually asking the doctor for another prescription for sleeping pills and he said to me "Well considering what you're in here for, I'm not going to give you that.". So I say back to him while throwing up my hands, "Well THIS was a complete waste of fucking time. Why did I even come here"?

Can you imagine? That's how out of it I was.

Well I'll never take another sleeping pill again in my life after that episode. Even though it may never happen, I'd be scared to take the chance. I've never had anything happen like that. Not even a FRACTION of that severity.

[Illuminatus Primus]

I'm actually in Halifax right now. I'll be back up for the New Year. I wasn't aware of that number or the organization though. Thank you. I will definitely call.

I was going to go to my family doctor and tell them the story as well, I was just throwing it out here because we have such a mix of professional medical workers, scientists, etc, that I thought any opinions or suggestions might come up and be useful.

Its not lawful or intellectually honest in many situations for a professional to offer official advise over the Internet in such a setting.

[Justforfun000]

Its not lawful or intellectually honest in many situations for a professional to offer official advise over the Internet in such a setting.

Well maybe not technically, but the situation can be objectively discussed without it being specific medical advice for me to follow. It would be pure speculation anyway, but I thought people might have some insights that would guide my 'investigation'.

[Durandal]

Why is this in N&P? It belongs in SLAM, if anything. Moving there.

[FireNexus]

This happened with Ambien to my sister's friend. You forgot you took it, or forgot why, and just started slamming them down.

Never had the problem, but I hide my ambien so I can't think of where it is while I'm on it just in case. Glad you're ok.

[Darth Fanboy]

Justfornfun, if future medication is necessary and you do get any similar prescriptions in the future, perhaps you should consider using a weekly pill tray, that way if you don't see the pill in there you know you took it. Either that or asking someone else to meter out the dose for you if that's an option.

Pill reactions like that are not fun at all, glad to see you're past it though.