Temazepam
Pronunciation:teh-MAZ-eh-pam (also pronounced tem-AZ-eh-pam)
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number:846-50-4
Formal Names:Euhypnos, Levanxol, Normison, Planum, Restoril, Temazepam
Gelthix
Informal Names:Eggs, Temazies, Temmies
Type:Depressant (benzodiazepine class).Seepage 21
Federal Schedule Listing:Schedule IV (DEA no. 2925)
USA Availability:Prescription
Pregnancy Category:X
Uses.This metabolite ofdiazepamis used to fight anxiety and insomnia.
Those medicinal characteristics give sedative properties to the drug. Tema-
zepam has had experimental success in treating posttraumatic stress disorder,
a condition that may be aggravated by poor sleep. In one study the substance
reduced depression, although in another study some people said it made them
melancholy. The drug has been used in veterinary large-animal anesthesia.
Laboratory tests indicate the drug can help rotating-shift workers turn their
sleep schedule around and perform better at night work; those tests did not
detect a hangover problem. Researchers report that aspect of the drug may be
particularly useful for emergency changes of sleep schedule imposed upon
combat pilots. The drug’s usefulness for that purpose was studied in Opera-
tion Desert Storm during the Gulf War of 1991; in one unit about half the
pilots using the drug reported it useful for shifting their sleep schedule. The
drug has official U.S. Air Force approval for combat support. The substance
has also been used to treat jet lag, which is fatigue caused when air travelers
cross too many time zones without being able to adjust their sleep schedule.
Military researchers concerned about effects of jet lag and other sleep distur-
bances on parachute troops concluded that temazepam could help parachut-
ists get proper rest before making an assault. Elite athletes have used the drug
to promote proper rest, with no adverse effect noted on performance.
During mountain climbing in the Himalayas at altitudes well over 4,000
meters (13,123 feet) the compound improved quality of sleep, but researchers
were unsure about whether it interfered with breathing at such heights, where
atmospheric oxygen begins to become inadequate. Diminished oxygen pres-
sure was measured in the blood of mountain climbers who took temazepam