Ambien, the nation's best-selling prescription sleeping pill, is regularly showing up as a factor in traffic arrests, sometimes involving drivers who don't remember getting in the car, according to a report in the New York Times Wednesday.
In some state toxicology laboratories Ambien is in the top 10 list of drugs found in impaired drivers. Wisconsin officials identified Ambien in the bloodstreams of 187 arrested drivers from 1999 to 2004, the newspaper reported.
A spokeswoman for the Food & Drug Administration told the newspaper that the agency is aware of reports of people driving while sleepwalking, but said the drug's current label warnings, which say it should not be used with alcohol and in some cases could cause sleepwalking or hallucinations, were adequate. Users are advised not to drive or operate machinery while taking the drug.
My Mother was involved in a minor accident when she accidently took ambien instead of another medicine. I take it myself. There are times when I have no memory of what I do. Needless to say I'm afraid of it. My wife tells me I get frisky and I don't remember it-darn! It is the only available sleeping pill that is not addictive. I can't imagine taking the stuff somewhere besides home.
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04:52 PM
pokeyfiero Member
Posts: 16189 From: Free America! Registered: Dec 2003
My Mother was involved in a minor accident when she accidently took ambien instead of another medicine. I take it myself. There are times when I have no memory of what I do. Needless to say I'm afraid of it. My wife tells me I get frisky and I don't remember it-darn! It is the only available sleeping pill that is not addictive. I can't imagine taking the stuff somewhere besides home.
"But there are reports of "hangover" effects such as grogginess as well as some risks of abuse and dependence. Some patients have also reported an amnesia effect where they may sleepwalk, sleeptalk without remembering it."
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04:56 PM
Darth88Formula Member
Posts: 1323 From: Mt. Holly, NC Registered: Aug 2005
My girlfriend is on it, there are times when she doesnt remember things that have happened whiel taking it but occurances of such things are pretty rare, and only happen when she has taken it and hasn't gone to bed for too long after taking it, so she's asleep but not.... But after taking it that's it, off to bed within 30 min to an hour
My wife took ambien, two of them turned into a halucinagen for her. She would trip out watching the Cabinets "flowing" made me really uncomfortable.She would want all kinda weird stuff, food ect. I'm surprised she didn't try to drive, she went swimming one time on it when we were camping. Kinda glad she stopped taking it. She's on friggin morphene and Ambien tripps her out go figure. I tried "accidentally" taking two. Nothing happened, I slept good, but hey, at least I wasn't out driving around. Told a friend about it, and he still doesn't believe us. The doc decided it was time for something else when we told him lol. Brad
------------------ Smoke Free since March 1st 2006
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05:24 PM
Boondawg Member
Posts: 38235 From: Displaced Alaskan Registered: Jun 2003
I have a friend that takes Ambien, she regularly gets back up, hops back on the computer, and says some completely random, irrational things sometimes, lots of which will embarass her the next day. I usually tell her to go back to bed if I see her online after 11 or so... and off she goes, like a zombie. She doesn't remember anything about any of it the next day, though. She likens the side effects of her Ambien to being drunk.
If I ever develop sleeping problems, I think I'll just stick to taking a couple shots of something 80+ proof before bed. Sleep like a baby.
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06:12 PM
Mar 10th, 2006
larryemory Member
Posts: 838 From: Greensboro, NC USA Registered: Jan 2003
"But there are reports of "hangover" effects such as grogginess as well as some risks of abuse and dependence. Some patients have also reported an amnesia effect where they may sleepwalk, sleeptalk without remembering it."
The "hangover" only occours when you haven't slept enough. If you need to sleep I supposed you could call it abuse. I've had cronic insomnia for years. Sooner or later you'll do anything to sleep. There is no addiction but because insomnia tends to be permanant people, like me, tend to use it regularly.
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02:50 PM
larryemory Member
Posts: 838 From: Greensboro, NC USA Registered: Jan 2003
My mom has a prescription for it. I have taken it a couple times. It is ok I guess.I have an extreme tolerance to things, it seems. Pretty much, I could go to sleep or stay up while taking it. I didnt wake up feeling drunk, infact I had taken one the night before and when I woke up this morning I was not drunk and could or couldnt have slept longer.
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Originally posted by pokeyfiero: BTW i'm out of 1/4 inch rivets bring some.
many people think that ambien is the onyl way to get a good nights sleep. Seriously go out to your local supermarket and buy the store generic sleep aids. 25mg/s of doxylamine succinate.... seriously knocks you out in an hour, and is non addicting... its OTC
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02:34 AM
Boondawg Member
Posts: 38235 From: Displaced Alaskan Registered: Jun 2003
Ummm uh oh I take that crap!!! Sometimes I don't remember going to the bathroom but then again I have noticed a unflushed toilet now and again in the morning and the seat was up!! Maybe I have been sleep peeing. Sounds dangerous.
Make sure the electric fences in your area are disconected before you go to bed.
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06:57 PM
moleman_in_a_FieroGT Member
Posts: 792 From: Houston, TX, USA Registered: Apr 2006
I wonder what the effect would be of taking 3 or 4 of them?
My mother took prescription meds for this, and the first night they didn't work but the second they both kicked in (the sleep meds), and she fell asleep standing at the door speaking to the carpenter. It creeped him out really bad........ But these were the ones that can become addictive.
No body is going to ask about the beat up garage pictures? As I said previously my mother takes Ambien. She wanted the car moved, but I have drained the gas. It was at the bottom of the driveway. As far as we can guess she got her truck put it behind the car, then dropped the car out of gear and into her Avalance. Then got back into her truck and pushed the car up. She remembers NONE of it and must have done it in the middle of the night. She woke up with her clothes in my bathroom, from when I used to live there, and they were wet. She had on new clothes and was now in the living room asleep on the couch. She had went to bed in her bed. She is FREAKING out. This was Saturday night. She called me at about 10am Sunday asking if we had moved that car.
She once moved a futon out of the garage and into the extra bedroom. She insisted that I had came over and moved it, which I had intended to but when I got there it was already done. She didn't believe me, unitl now, because the futon is QUITE heavy and I am not even sure it could fit through the door without being taken apart.
I take a combination of over-the-counter supplements at bedtime I call my "coma stack"
3 mg melatonin tablet (a natural sleep hormone, from Wally-world) 100 mg 5-HTP capsule (amino acid, form of l-tryptophan found in turkey meat, from Wally-world) 3 capsules valerian root (herb, from Wally-world) 1 200 mg capsule of l-theanine (an amino acid found in green tea of all things, from GNC) a couple of chelated calcium-magnesium tablets (minerals, from Wally-world) and a couple of kava-kava root capsules sometimes.(herb, have to order those special anymore from herbalists since the liver damage scare)
I'm not advocating this to anyone who is not used to the effects of any one item in the list, or who has been told otherwise by doctor, but it works for me.
Been doing it for several months since I quit drinking, smoking, and taking any prescription stuff for sleep. Knocks me out good, and I don't get up in the middle of the night. When the alarm goes off, a little groggy but feeling very well rested. A cup of coffee, and I am good to go. No weirdness, amnesia, or sleepwalking either.
I've had relatives take the Ambien, and they say it can get scary with a memory loss like a full spinaker booze bender. I prefer the OTC route much better.
I only use the "coma-stack" when I need to get to sleep during the work week, and as a general rule don't want it during the weekends, or when I feel dead tired and can crash solid without any extra help. I have found that a good aerobic workout early enough in the evening after work, and its not needed at all.
I take a combination of over-the-counter supplements at bedtime I call my "coma stack"
3 mg melatonin tablet (a natural sleep hormone, from Wally-world) 100 mg 5-HTP capsule (amino acid, form of l-tryptophan found in turkey meat, from Wally-world) 3 capsules valerian root (herb, from Wally-world) 1 200 mg capsule of l-theanine (an amino acid found in green tea of all things, from GNC) a couple of chelated calcium-magnesium tablets (minerals, from Wally-world) and a couple of kava-kava root capsules sometimes.(herb, have to order those special anymore from herbalists since the liver damage scare)
I'm not advocating this to anyone who is not used to the effects of any one item in the list, or who has been told otherwise by doctor, but it works for me.
Been doing it for several months since I quit drinking, smoking, and taking any prescription stuff for sleep. Knocks me out good, and I don't get up in the middle of the night. When the alarm goes off, a little groggy but feeling very well rested. A cup of coffee, and I am good to go. No weirdness, amnesia, or sleepwalking either.
I've had relatives take the Ambien, and they say it can get scary with a memory loss like a full spinaker booze bender. I prefer the OTC route much better.
I only use the "coma-stack" when I need to get to sleep during the work week, and as a general rule don't want it during the weekends, or when I feel dead tired and can crash solid without any extra help. I have found that a good aerobic workout early enough in the evening after work, and its not needed at all.
Some buzzes are just toooooo muuuuch trouble.... I like to keep it simple. Back in the 60's a buddy did a bunch of dramamine (20?) and spent an hour looking for his mom behind the TV. Ok. Check that one off the list.... If I'm not aware I'm having fun, I tend to avoid it.
I've tried Tylenol PM a couple of times (normal dose). That stuff is interesting about an hour after you take it but if you don't go to sleep around then jerky-leg starts in and you are going to be up a looooong time.....
But if I do go to sleep, it's lights out. Anyone else notice this?
[This message has been edited by TK (edited 05-23-2006).]
