Sleeping drug Ambien makes people eat in their sleep

[El Fuego]

http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_3599413

(snip)

The sleeping pill Ambien seems to unlock a primitive desire to eat in some patients, according to emerging medical case studies that describe how the drug's users sometimes sleepwalk into their kitchens, claw through their refrigerators like animals and consume calories ranging into the thousands.

The next morning, the night eaters remember nothing about their foraging. But they wake up to find telltale clues - mouthfuls of peanut butter, Tostitos in their beds, kitchen counters overflowing with flour, missing food, and even lighted ovens and stoves.

(snip)

[xmas74]

1. At first I thought this might be a joke.

Damn, I'm glad they never gave me Ambien when I had insomnia!

[El Fuego]

2. Can you imagine

If you gained 50 pounds, and you had no idea that you ate all night?

[xmas74]

6. I'd be uber-pissed!

You'd have to spend all that money on larger clothes, you'd wonder why all those wrappers were in your bed and how Cheez Whiz got stuck in your hair.

That's a nasty thought.

[supernova]

3. That's dangerous!

Night foraging is one thing; the only thing that will hurt is your waistline. But stoves turned on!? :crazy: :yoiks:

[Richard Steele]

4. That article actually MINIMIZES the real issue.

Dozens if not HUNDREDS of people have been found _DRIVING_
in their sleep because of this stuff!

There was an article floating around DU the other day;
it's not just one or two cases. Folks are driving
down the road SOUND ASLEEP; they wake up in jail
or in the hospital with NO RECOLLECTION of what happened.

Going to go look for a link; BRB.

EDIT: Found it, NYT article. Definitely HUNDREDS nationwide.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/business/08ambien.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1141794000&en=007b513ad6cde706&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin

[swag]

7. Yeah, great article.

They either take ambien, polish off a bottle of booze in their sleep, get in the car and go for it, or take it on the way home in their car so it'll "kick in" by the time they hit the sack, it kicks in and then, baby, look out.

[slide to the left]

16. I have

driven on it one time. I did it knowingly though. I don't remember why. I haven't done it since and that was a few years ago.

[KitchenWitch]

12. One of our local tv news outlets did a story about the sleep driving thing

:scared:

[Spacemom]

5. Some People

Are even driving around WHILE SLEEPING. :scared:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/09/eveningnews/main1384884.shtml

[wildhorses]

8. I have been taking Ambien for several months now and I have

not experienced any of these problems...

[slide to the left]

17. maybe you just don't remember nt

[wildhorses]

20. funny

slide on over a little more

[Fleshdancer]

9. This Ambien stuff really needs to be pulled

Driving, eating, or lighting stoves while sleeping...no thank you.

[RumpusCat]

10. Ambien is a hell of a drug!

I used to have a prescription and would sometimes experience the memory black-outs if I took the pill and tried to stay awake (which I would, because it was kind of trippy). Once I was waiting for my friend to come visit me and he was super late, like two hours late, so I shrugged and took an Ambien and prepared to go to sleep. Of course he showed up right after I took it so I let him in to chat for awhile, thinking I would ask him to leave when I got sleepy. The 'sleepy' never came--it's like I was talking to him, blinked, and then it was daylight and I was lying on top of my covers. Apparently I'd just started babbling nonsense at him and unceremoniously laid down and gone to sleep. I remember none of it! It's a very strange feeling--I didn't even recall going to sleep or waking up. It was just a blink. Luckily I'd told my friend that I'd taken a sleeping pill so he didn't panic, just turned my lights off and locked my door behind him, lol.

I guess it's a good thing I didn't own a car at the time!

[no name no slogan]

11. Both the sleeping meds I take make me do that

I take Ambien to fall asleep, but also take a low-level dose of Trazodone to stay asleep (on Ambien alone I tend to wake up in the middle of the night and not fall back asleep).

Trazodone makes me VERY hungry unless I eat right before I take it, but I've had numerous occassions where I've found empty food containers in the kitchen while taking Ambien.

Part of the reason may be that most Ambien users tend to forget the 30 minutes right before they fall asleep. That happens to me all the time. In fact, I've posted some pretty hilarious shit on DU whilst in the throes of an Ambien reverie.

[slide to the left]

18. I used to

smoke when I took it if I treid to stay awake. In college, I would wake up with some pretty wicked IM conversations that I had had still on my screen.

[slide to the left]

19. dupe

[XemaSab]

13. .

:rofl:

[CatWoman]

14. that's not Ambien

that's that big ass doobie you smoked before crashing :D

[slide to the left]

15. maybe

this is why I am not losing any weight