Adverse effects of Z drugs

Z-drugs

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Adverse effects of Z drugs ..............................................................................................................1
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
As per the Johnson and et.al., 2018 Z class drugs are defined as the psychoactive drugs
which influence the nervous system by altering the functionality of brain. These medicines are
used to treat sleeping disorder but they stimulate the changes in the brain of individuals which
affects their behaviour and actions (Bogdanova‐Mihaylova and Walsh, 2017). The report will
discuss these adverse effects of Z drugs with reference to case study of David. It will justify the
actions and behaviour of David as the result of medicine and cannot be considered guilty for the
actions.
Adverse effects of Z drugs
As per the research conducted by Hefner and et.al., 2015 consumption of Zopiclone has
adverse effect on health and functionality of the brain. There are number of medical authorities
who have accomplished researches on ill effects of consumption of Z drugs which are discussed
below:
 David has been taking Imovane medicine to treat his insomnia. This drug is the class Z
drug and is member of Zopiclone brand. According to Stranks and Crowe, 2014. The
regular intake of the drug results in hallucination and psychotic acts in the David. For
instance he assumes that her girlfriend's house has security concerns and intruders are
regularly keeping an eye on their house. To overcome these effects of nightmares and
irrational thoughts David, used to consume more medicine with the belief that medication
will help him.
 These medicines result in changes in functions like behaviour, mood swings, perception
as well as level of consciousness (Cimolai, 2017). Though these medicines fall in the
category of non-benzodiazepine but they lead to the effects similar to the benzodiazepine.
These drugs are mainly used in the treatment of anxiety, depression and insomnia. As per
the discussion in Seldenrijk and et.al., 2017 the medicine is encountered with several side
effects such as hallucinations, anxiety, fear and encouraging individuals to perform
bizarre actions by changing their mental and behavioural state.
 These medicines follow the functionality of neurotransmitter Gamma-Amino butyric for
inducing the sleep in the individuals (Sjöstedt and et.al., 2017). According to Lai and
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et.al., 2015 the foremost side effect of this drug is that it leads to the great complexity in
sleeping behaviour of individuals.
 Complex behaviour in sleeping mechanisms is also observed in David. During work
when he requires to be alert and attentive his mind feels sleepy and unconscious. To cope
up with the situation he consumes lot of coffee to fight against the sleepiness. On the
other hand, at home when he sleeps at night he is unable to do so because he gets
irrational thoughts regarding work and surrounding environment.
 David has been consuming these drugs for long time and in very high dosage as
prescribed. The adverse reactions of medicine encourage him to consume higher dosage
to deal with anxiety and irrational thoughts (Non-Benzodiazepine Sleep Aids, 2006).
 According to Suda and et.al., 2017 hallucinogens is also common in the people who
consume these drugs. It increases the bizarre behaviour and even creepiness in them
(Tahir and et.al., 2016.). The same is also observed with David. He becomes very vigilant
and panic. For instance, he wakes up in the mid night feels that some noises are coming
from outside or someone else is also present in the house other than him. As a result of
the dosage, he also imagines weird things like intruders are stalking his house. His
nightmares also give motivation to his imaginary beliefs.
 The anxiety and irrational thinking caused due to Zopiclone make individuals very panic
(Kalan, Soysal and Isik, 2018). To eliminate these thoughts David, consumes more than
prescribed medicines. For example, when he was alone in the house and heard some
noises he consumed two 7.5 mg tablets within one hour. In accordance with the
discussion in Carter and et.al., 2018 it is also believed by the scientific authorities that
regular consumption of Zopiclone can degrade its efficiency as a result of which people
are driven to take more dosage.
 The greater intake of the Z class drugs leads to brain and neurological disorders (Z-Drugs
– Non-Benzodiazepines, 2017). This is the reason which encourages the action
performed by David. He is taking these medicines from long term and even in more than
prescribed quantity. The impact of medicine has caused him to imagine that the security
of his girlfriend's house is at stake and intruders are making every attempt to get into the
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house. To make himself correct under the influence of medicine he made plan to give
fake evidences of intruder.
 There are evidences that combination of Zopiclone with coffee can give rise to sleeping
disorders (Chigome, Nhira and Meyer, 2018). Being a workaholic David consumes good
number of coffee cups in the office to work with better concentration. It has increased the
sleeping disorders in the David which led to tiredness, confusion and imagination of
threats to him and his girlfriend.
 With many of the side effects as per the (Puustinen and et.al., 2018) the prolonged use of
Z drugs can also cause blurry vision, clumsiness and memorising issues. Thus, the actions
performed by David such as feeling the presence of intruders within house can be
considered as the impact of drug. But at the same time he was worried about the security
of his girlfriend. So to protect her because of which David took the undesirable action of
complaining about fake intruder.
 Under the state of confusion and fear he thought that by this way her girlfriend can be
convinced that there is really a need for enhancing security of her house. His intention
was not wrong. Rather, he just tried to gain attention towards the fact which according to
his mental state were correct. To give strong support to his confusion, in the day time
appearance of unknown people taking photographs of house was also an important factor.
Thus, the action performed by David were result of confusion and mental illness caused
by excessive intake of Z drugs.
 The greater frequency and consumption of this non benzodiazepine drug is also
considered to have severe impact on liver performance (For Some Insomniacs, “Z Drugs”
Bring On More Than Just Sleep, 2006). According to Riemann and et.al., 2015 the long
term use can lead to accumulation of the drug substance in the liver and thus the
depression can raise alarmingly. At the same time the fear of breakup with his girlfriend
made David more anxious which encouraged him to take more medicine. Hence, under
the effect of medicine he took the unlawful step to ensure that security arrangements of
house are not compromised.
 In the view of (Beaulieu-Bonneau and et.al., 2017) the significant behavioural change
caused by these Z drugs is aggressiveness. The regular intake of this class of medicine
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can make individual aggressive. They tend to imagine irrational thoughts and have strong
belief in them (Weaver, 2018). When other people are not supportive enough to accept
these thoughts then, it can even lead to violence due to aggressive nature (Insomnia
Treatment: Non-Benzodiazepines Ambien, Lunesta & Sonata, 2018). However, in case of
David he has not shown any violence. But due to dominant aggressive behaviour caused
by Zopiclone he made various attempts to prove himself correct (Kroll and et.al., 2016).
His ultimate intention was just to secure his girlfriend from intruders.
 As per the discussion in Sun and et.al., 2017 the strong influence of Z drug is essential to
treat. It can lead to higher level of psychological disturbance, drowsiness and nightmares
(Pagel, Pandi-Perumal and Monti, 2018). The long term deprivation from sleep can even
increase the risk of suicide and accidental deaths (Becker and Somiah, 2015).
 This class of non benzodiazepine medicines has one of the critical side effect that it
encourages the addictiveness (Markota and et.al., 2016). According to Soares and
Kanungo, 2018 more it is consumed to treat insomnia the more it feels depression and
sleep deprived. Hence, there are evidences that at the greatest risk level it can affect
mortality. As per the views of Noguchi and et.al., 2018 it has effects on liver and brain
functionality. The regular influence of these drugs can cause severe damage to the
reacting capabilities of the brain (Benzos, barbiturates and z-drugs: sleeping pills
explained, 2017).
 In the given case study David is also affected in similar way. He has strong belief that
whatever nightmares and thoughts he is developing will certainly happen in the near
future. It increases the aggressive and impulsive nature. Due to the same reason he was so
firm to prove his girlfriend that there is lack of security and it must be improved. This
effect forced him to achieve such unacceptable action.
CONCLUSION
From the report it can be concluded that Z class drugs have various side effects on
psychological perspective of individuals. It has focused on long term impact of taking this class
of medicine. The report has also justified that for the given case study the actions of David were
result of Zopiclone. The state of defendant was not stable. He was depressed and suffering from
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hallucinations which forces him to take such step. The report has demonstrated several other
physiological effects of this insomnia treating drug.
It has analysed the various researches of scientific as well as medical authorities to
demonstrate the adverse health effect of Zopiclone medicine. The report has evaluated the side
effects of Z drugs on psychological health of the individuals by analysing the behavioural aspect
of David. It has also made an attempt to prove that he cannot be considered fully responsible for
his unjust actions. Rather, he is a victim of these side effects which forced him to behave
abnormally. Thus, it can be concluded that prolong usage of these drugs must be avoided and if
these side effects are observed then individuals must consult to their health care providers
regarding each of the symptom.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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Zopiclone: Further Evidence of a Role for the “Z‐Drugs” in Hyperkinetic Movement
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Carter, S.G., Carberry, J.C., and et.al., 2018. Effects of 1-month of zopiclone on OSA severity &
symptoms: A randomised controlled trial.European Respiratory Journal, p.1800149.
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