Dalmane, originally conceived by our friends and houseWife saviours at
Roche Pharmaceuticals -- those same kind folks who brought us
Librium,
Valium,
Klonopin and a host of various others currently only available in other countries (
bromazepam,
nitrazepam) -- is the trade name for a unique benzodiazepine,
flurazepam. Chemically, flurazepam is 7-chloro-1-
2(diethylamino)ethyl-5-( o-fluorophenyl)-1, 3- dihydro-2H-1, 4-benzo-diazepin- 2-one dihy-drochloride. Flurazepam was introduced in 1972, originally under the name
Dalmadorm (which is what it is still recognized as in several non-US/foreign countries).
They are available in both brand/name and generic form. They come in 15 mg and 30 mg capsules. Generally speaking -- even with generics -- the 15 mg capsules are a combination of blue and white, whereas the 30 mg capsules are completely blue. Mention of dosage is almost always written the capsules. Generic flurazepam is remarkably cheap, especially compared to brand name flurazepam Dalmane. The fiscal difference is, on average, almost one of a hundred fifty percent.
Flurazepam has an extremely long half life -- up two 72 hours. Sedation does carry over into the next day and remains quite pronounced. It is often used in institutions for this very property or in any other situation when daytime sedation is desired. In addition to these scenarios, it is also considered useful for patients who do not adhere to a strict pill-per-night regimine; studies have revealed flurazepam to be effective in alleviating insomnia the next day post previous day administration. Not only does flurazepam has a long onset of action; since only its metabolite is active, it takes the body at least an hour to convert the substance to the active metabolite to a point where peak sedation is reached.
The long half life of flurazepam is a double-edged sword. It guarantees more sleep than any other benzodiazepine but the hangover effect for some can be ungodly. It's likely to get prescribed more often than the other benzodiazepines as it really seems to provide more sedation than relaxation; hence, the potential for abuse is (somewhat) eliminated.