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MELATONIN DRUG FOR INSOMNIA
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"Insomnia Sufferers REJOICE!" (He said with tongue firmly planted in cheek)

The drug industry came to the insomniac's rescue with a *DRUMROLL* NEW DRUG!

Meet Rozerem�

Now, instead of using an inexpensive, natural supplement (melatonin) you are able to purchase a drug called Rozerem� that costs ten to twenty times more than melatonin!

The drug company chemists started with the natural melatonin molecule and subjected it to some laboratory wizardry until they ended up with a melatonin derivative they call ramelteon (trade name Rozerem�). 		 

Sleep Allergen Free!

Cleanrest.com
I'm really being facetious with my title. I think this is a crime. The drug maker took a hormone that is produced naturally in the human body, melatonin, and modified it JUST SO THEY COULD GET A PATENT. For that bit of chicanery they are allowed to charge an insane amount of money. Of course, most users won't care because "their insurance company will pay the bill." Sadly, very few people even think about the FACT that somebody - NOT the insurance company - actually pays for these drugs.

Is Rozerem� BETTER than melatonin?
Well, the package insert doesn't say it is. Actually the drug works on the same exact receptors that natural melatonin works on. What about side effects? They're about the same as experienced when using a placebo - practically zero. Of course, that's about exactly the same side effect profile attributed to melatonin - the NATURAL, LOW COST, NON-PRESCRIPTION alternative.

What do I conclude?
Primarily, Rozerem� is a very expensive alternative to melatonin. It seems safe now, but we don't have a history with it. The odds are that over time we'll probably see side effects that are much more serious than the placebos - and the use of REAL MELATONIN (all drugs exhibit more side effects than the natural substance they try to mimic). Someone would be foolish to even think that a chemically modified melatonin would be better and safer than the real thing. It is even more foolish to think it would be a good use of money to pay ten to twenty time the price for a drug that probably isn't much better than the original natural substance.

In Summary:
*It is supposed to work on melatonin receptors - like melatonin does
*It's a synthetic molecule that hopefully acts like melatonin
*It costs significantly more than melatonin
*Unknown side effects are likely to pop up (they always do)

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