It's no pyjama party: lawsuit looms over sleep drug

April 5, 2007

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21493697-29677,00.html

Caroline Overington April 03, 2007

THERE was a time when waking in the morning to discover you had slept with a stranger, but could not remember the details, was called adolescence. Now, it means possible class action.

Legal firm Slater & Gordon is looking at a range of complaints of bizarre behaviours after taking the sleeping aid, Stilnox. Some say they have had sex without knowing it; emptied the contents of the fridge on to the floor (or even cooked it while asleep); or driven a car between power poles, without knowing even how they found the keys.

Slater and Gordon partner Tim Hammond said it was not yet clear whether the events could be linked together in a class action against the makers of the drug.

"It would depend on whether it could be shown that the drug caused the bizarre behaviour, and whether there is a link between the cases," Mr Hammond said.

Brisbane's The Courier Mail reported that a woman taking Stilnox had to have her leg amputated after lying on it, unconscious, and losing circulation.

The federal Government's Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee last month issued a bulletin on Stilnox, saying it had complaints of people binge-eating and painting the front door while asleep. One patient gained 23kg while taking the drug, after eating through the night. She had no idea how it happened, until she was found asleep in front of an open fridge.

Stilnox was introduced to Australia in 2000. The federal Health Department has received about 206 complaints about the drug.

The manufacturer, Sanofi-Aventis, said there was no evidence that the drug caused the bizarre behaviour.

A hotline is receiving 35 complaints a day. Pharmacist Geraldine Moses told AAP yesterday that patients complained of waking "with cuts and bruises and no idea what's happened".

She said one plumber had started work on the gas mains during the night, later lighting a match and "exploding the whole kitchen, and burning his arms".