Ambien

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Was there a thread at DU about the sleeping pill Ambien? There was something about it on the NBC Nightly News last night. Users were getting up and driving in their sleep, or they were in the kitchen cooking in their sleep.

Wasn't it Ambien that was with the * administration just as the invasion of Iraq was launched? Didn't Colin Powell in particular laud it?

[theoldman]

1. I have used it with no problem.

Before I start to take a drug I check out the side effects. I learned that Ambien made some people go crazy if they took it before going to bed. I always took it after I layed down in bed. Never had a problem. 5 mg wore off in about four hours and 8 mg wore off in about eight hours. One of the good things about Ambien is that it has a short half life.

[greyl]

2. Nasty stuff. Coincidentally...

This is from another board. Same guy wrote both posts, I'm not including the picture of his wife. ;)

"drunked
was takein sleepingpill for getting slep before work, already

My wif only want me to half wow. Im reelly high. See? shes buetiful huh, crazy woman. I am go now. night nigt.
< do, 09-mrt-06 15:37 >

I can't believe I even typed anything this morning. My wife has taken Ambien for a couple of years to help her cope with our weird schedules, but she has continually had to increase the dosage in order to assure its effectiveness.

As I have been having trouble sleeping the last couple of days, she suggested I take a half a pill and get some decent rest. I had been wanting to get on the FL site and get a "learning" in before bed, but that was obviously a mistake. I was wide awake when I took the pill, and in about 15 minutes I felt rippin drunk. Not sick, just a complete lack of motor skills, seeing double. It felt great to be honest. That lasted for another 15 minutes or so and then I realized that the lights were going out wether or not I wanted them to. And....they did.
< Today 02:12 >

[RedOnce]

3. Here is the thread:

NYT: A New Sleeping Sickness Is Haunting Highways (Ambien sleep-driving)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2151816&mesg_id=2151816

[Warpy]

4. Ambien is just the latest in a long line

Remember the Reagan administration? They loved Halcion, the last sleeping medication that wasn't habit forming and had no side effecrs. :sarcasm:

The problem with Halcion was that long term use erased your memory, which is another reason most of us in the medical profession believed Reagan when he said he couldn't remember anything on the stand.

All of this stuff has side effects. None of this stuff should be mixed with other psychoactive drugs without a doctor's approval, but especially should not be mixed with alcohol.

Big Pill is saying the problem is arising with people who mix Ambien with alcohol. That could be the case, or Ambien could just be the latest pill that has side effects nobody wants.

[TahitiNut]

7. I was prescribed Halcion in those days ... as an antidepressant.

I was going through a particularly painful marriage breakdown and job beakup at the same time. (I was marginally suicidal.) My doctor prescribed Halcion. I still remember sitting in a movie theater with supportive friends and, gripping the armrests, frantically trying to hold on to the factured pieces of my sanity - if it wasn't close to what shrinks call a "psychotic break" then I don't know what it was. My sensory perceptions were cranked up in a bizarre fashion, creating a surreal sense of that going on around me. I seemed only marginally able to filter and process that stimuli and focus my attention. I stopped taking it the next day and carefully clawed my way back to psychological equilibrium for the next several days.

[MadMaddie]

5. There was a long thread....

and many DU folks have had bad experiences with the drug!

[Texasgal]

6. Ambien, along with many other drugs

have side effects. ANY sleep aid no matter what type or brand can effect us all differently. I don't think that this is anything like Celebrex or other drugs that have been classified dangerous.

You must also remember that ambiem is used by millions of people with little or no side effects. It's just the nature of medicine!

[pitohui]

8. yes it is frequently used as a treatment for jet lag

powell famously said that "everyone" takes it by which i will presume he means everyone in his circle

it is certainly a popular drug for jet lag and many take it safely and successfully but the few bad reports i've heard have scared me away from it, i know how i handle a scotch and water and i think i'm going to stick w. that for my internat'l flights, just can't bring myself to try that free sample they gave, some of the people who had a bad reaction will be paying for years or a lifetime because of what they did under the influence and i've had paradoxical reactions to other sleep aids, so, just won't risk it in my case, if you go sleep-walking and urinating on other passengers on a jet aircraft and get arrested by homeland security it's probably pretty much going to ruin your whole day

[mahatmakanejeeves]

9. Got it.

Thanks for the link.