Ambien - More Sleepwalking, Strange & Dangerous Behaviors!

[RedOnce]

To Sleep, Perchance to . . . Walk

Reports Raise Questions About Sleeping Pill Side Effect.
Is Ambien Sleepwalking Understated?

By Martin F. Downs
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, March 14, 2006

The most prescribed sleep medication in the United States may be linked to episodes of sleepwalking and related strange and dangerous behaviors, experts say -- including incidents of nocturnal eating, phone conversations, shoplifting and even driving -- of which the subject has no memory. Sleep specialists and researchers cite a growing though still inconclusive body of reports associating Sanofi-Aventis's drug Ambien with the incidents. More than 24 million prescriptions for Ambien were written in 2004.

Timothy Morgenthaler, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center in Rochester, Minn., says he has seen many cases of people who sleepwalk and sleep-eat after taking Ambien. He described five such cases in a 2002 report in the journal Sleep Medicine. All those patients stopped having sleep-eating episodes when they discontinued Ambien, Morgenthaler said.

Other case reports of Ambien-related sleepwalking have been published in medical journals, and researchers of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center reported 19 additional cases at a medical conference last year. Reports made to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by doctors and patients show more sleepwalking incidents associated with Ambien than with all other sleep aids combined.

...after taking Ambien, Lasswell said she sleepwalked into the base exchange, carrying several DVDs which she had purchased previously or rented from the base library. After returning an "X-Files" DVD to receive store credit, she was approached by base police, who claimed she had taken the DVD off the shelf, failed to pay for it and returned it for credit. She was handcuffed and charged with shoplifting DVDs and a candle...According to the complaint, Lasswell's top-secret security clearance was subsequently revoked, and she faces larceny charges and a dishonorable discharge. A 17-year Navy veteran, she risks losing her pension and severance pay. "I've never had a problem before in my life until I took Ambien, and it's literally ruined my career and everything I ever worked for," Lasswell said in a statement. "I have gaps in memory from the whole time I was on Ambien, which is very terrifying."

Lasswell said she has no memory of the incidents. In January, Lasswell requested a polygraph test to support her defense in the military judicial process.... The polygraph examiner found "no deception" in her responses, according to the report.

More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/13/AR2006031301317_pf.html

(edited for brevity)

[Kolesar]

1. see the skeptic's comments in this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2165728

[sam sarrha]

12. that is a streach. just nutty, sounds more like the producers protecting

their own asses..

[Norquist Nemesis]

2. Don't give Claude Allen any ideas!

Just in case the evil twin thing doesn't pan out.

[mod mom]

4. It sounds as if this article was written for him. nt

[Inland]

3. Without commenting on Ambien at all, let me suggest

those nighttime pain reliever pills for an over the counter. Take them a half hour before bed, it may do the trick.

[DanCa]

5. I would also cut out caffine about two hours before bedtime.

On a side when I first started taking my parkinson's medication it caused me to sleep walk. I managed to crawl out of the house and into the neighbors yard. They called my house about 4.00 am and told my mom I was wandering around looking for my legs. It seems that certain medications are worse than the disease.

[Warpy]

9. Caffeine's duration of action is 8 hours, FYI

[DanCa]

18. Thanks I love DU . I learn something new every day.

:hug:

[Warpy]

8. They're benadryl and an analgesic

Generic Benadryl is diphenhydramine. It's not habit forming (unlike Ambien, Dalmane, or any other prescription sleep aid) and interacts only with other depressants, including alcohol. The hangover is mild and short lived.

Plus, you won't wake up sneezing.

[RedOnce]

13. I like your suggestion of Benadryl...

It has been around for a long time. It is inexpensive and available over-the-counter.

[Stephanie]

19. My MD recommended it - when I was begging for Ambien

I guess I better hoard the ambien I still have left!

[bigscott]

17. PLEASE DONT TAKE THESE

if they contain acetominophen - long term use will destroy your liver!

[Gabi Hayes]

20. just buy generic benadryl caps

they didn't work for me

Lunesta, or whatever it is, did, though

my neighbor gave me a couple samples from doc. it was a pleasant high, too, before I dropped off, and woke up hangover free about six hours later, which was surprising, considering how it started off

dunno about long term side effects

we're having a party on Friday

don't tell HS, though

http://www.lunesta.com/lunestaDifference/lunesta-dependency.html

says its not habit forming...if that's true, I'm there. who knows what to believe, though, and lord knows what other long term effects might crop up

[mduffy31]

25. All those are is

...Benadryl. Take two of those with a shot of something and you will sleep fine.

[wakeme2008]

6. there was a scary piece on here a couple days ago about sleep driving

on Ambien

:scared:

[knitter4democracy]

7. My hubby tends to only prescribe it in the hospital.

He calls it the doctor's friend--sleeping patients are less cranky and get better faster.

When I took it once (late in pregnancy, no sleep for a week), I only took half and felt awful. I was sleepy all the next day, to the point of barely functioning, and I would never take that stuff again (not even when I was in the hospital last week for surgery).

There's better stuff out there now that doesn't mess with you as much, from what my hubby says. He still doesn't like to prescribe it without a sleep study to see how they're really sleeping. He's caught sleep apnea doing that, and you don't want Ambien covering that up.

[Warpy]

10. Your hubby is a wise doc

I don't know of any sleeping pill that doesn't have horrific side effects when taken long term. Remember Halcion? I took care of a doc who lost 20 years of his memory on that stuff.

Part of the problem with people taking it at home is they forget they've taken a dose and take a second, sometimes a third, dose on top of it. It's a lot more common than you'd think, especially with powerful sleep drugs. They need to be taken infrequently and only under close supervision.

[knitter4democracy]

14. Thanks!

I think so too. :)

I could see that. Your memory goes when you're that tired.

[sam sarrha]

11. if you meditate while laying down you will Theta-Jump into Delta..

if you have a Delta sleep CD on it will help tie you down in the sleep mode when disturbances happen..

my wife and i had a house with a robotic barking dog behind us.. 6 squeaking swamp coolers around us and constant drive by shootings, and BOOM BOOM bass Rap parties down the street.

i left the cd on and when i came home from work at 4pm the dogs were still asleep on the bed.. i laughed and they woke up and made a stampede for the dogie door to pee..

we have a collection form pure digital frequency's to ocean waves with subliminal frequencies behind it.. they work really good for us, my wife has sleep apnia and uses a by-pap machine to breathe a night.

learning to meditate helped reduce the stress and worry that woke me up and kept me up once up..

[FlaGranny]

16. I used to play soothing music

on my tape player years ago when I had trouble falling asleep. Years later I had one of those ocean wave or rain sound generators. They both worked well. Now I just use ear plugs - the very soft kind (Hear-O's I think they're called). I've always had trouble getting to sleep if there are too many noises - like my husband's infernal snoring, so I do need to use some method to block out sound. Once I get to sleep, though, almost nothing wakes me up.

I can't take drugs for sleeping - like the poster said above, they knock me out for a day or two, making me feel like a walking zombie. The only exception is my allergy medication (Allegra). It doesn't make me sleepy at all, but somehow it helps me sleep better.

[Gabi Hayes]

21. wish I'd seen this before i posted.....where can you get the

CDs, etc., you mentioned?

sounds like a much much healthier approach, though whenenver I try meditating, it just amps me up

[sam sarrha]

23. here are some LIIKS>

you can google ..Subliminal Sleep CD's.. ..Delta sleep system jeffery thompson..

http://search.ebay.com/sleep-cd_WOQQfkrZ1QQfnuZ1 ... there is quite a selection.. some have piano and music with waves, others have just surf and waves..

the Delta Sleep System is very good, it is just tones..a little unusual at first..but you get use to it.

i have bought about 6.. and we really like 3 of them.. it is just what works for you

let me know how it goes.

when meditation excites you you need to lower the energy.. the Tibetans have specific techniques for that

[qanda]

15. Remember when Colin Powell admitted to using Ambien

And said that "everybody here" uses it.

From and interview with a reporter for a London-based Saudi newspaper.

"So do you use sleeping tablets to organize yourself?" Al-Rashed asked.

"Yes. Well, I wouldn't call them that," Powell said. "They're a wonderful medication -- not medication. How would you call it? They're called Ambien, which is very good. You don't use Ambien? Everybody here uses Ambien."

[elehhhhna]

22. Cliff Baxter (enron) shot himself on Ambien (in his car)...

Remeber the good old days when GB#1 was on HALCYON? Hooooo that's scary!

[Mr_Spock]

24. I've tried it - strange stuff

I would suddenly have my eyes glaze over & feel like I was sleeping in part of my brain.

I could handle it, but I could see it having interesting effects on some people who are susceptible to sleep walking etc...

[pitohui]

26. okay won't be trying this one

i know many people use it safely but i've had paradoxical results from other sleep aids and this one ruins your life if you're one of the unlucky few to have a bad reaction

just can't risk it

[SammyWinstonJack]

27. Didn't Colin Powell say that all members of bush's cabinet were taking

this drug? :crazy: :scared: