About Ambien and other sleep drugs.......

[hedgehog]

Are there really that many people taking these drugs on a regular basis? The numbers I saw would indicate something like 10% of all adults in America using sleep aids. If so, I'd say this is about the biggest drug problem we have. It's really a sign that the entire society is out of whack that so many people are so stretched and stressed taht they can't get a decent night's sleep.

[tridim]

1. Pot is the best sleep aid

and it's not dangerous like the prescription sleep drugs. If the lawmakers cared, it would be legalized tomorrow.

[skylarmae]

5. touche'

gets my vote...

[PuraVidaDreamin]

2. I've needed it. At times still do

Shift worker here who worries way too much about the future of
my kids, America's kids and this countries future.

[hedgehog]

13. Boy I hear you on that one

I spent a year working a second shift that ran anywhere from 8 to 12 hours, 5 to 7 days a week (which meant 14 to 21 days without a break sometimes) It took over a year to get back to normal and I'm still not sure I've recovered. That's what I meant in my post about how we're using legal drugs to cover the fact that our lifestyle is killing us. This economy is just not designed for real people.

[Warpy]

16. I used benadryl when I did shift work

There was no dependence and not much of a drug hangover. I've had terrible drug hangovers on every other sleep aid I've tried, so I avoid them.

Plus, I didn't suffer from allergies on it.

[teenagebambam]

37. Benadryll is my best friend

especially when preceeded by a Vodka martini - I sleep like a baby!

[FearofFutility]

55. I work night turn

Benadryl is my best friend. Can't sleep without it.

[warrens]

3. Wanna get scared?

NY Times had a story the other day that one side effect is people are getting out of bed, getting in their cars, and driving. When they get pulled over (or slam into another car), they're basically unconscious and unaware that they're driving. Like zombies. Ambien is now in the top ten of drugs detected after traffic stops. Way behind alcohol and marijuana, but still scary.

[slide to the left]

32. I trip

My husband swears that i say the wierdest things on ambien. I talk to inannimate objects and stuff. It also makes me very experimental if you catch my drift.

[FearofFutility]

57. Ambien does have problems

I'm a nurse and always warn patients that I give it to that they may experience bizarre dreams and wake up totally disoriented and frightened. I've seen it happen many times, especially with the elderly. There are so many other drugs that can be used, but the docs like Ambien.

[triguy46]

65. I've had none of those side effects...

I used Ambien, 10mg, prn, about 1 -2 times per month, for about 10 years. Works like a charm, wake up fresh. If you cannot get 6 hour uninterrupted sleep, do not take it, ( beleive that is on the insert). No grogginess in the AM. The new CR, however, in my epxerience, take a little more time to wear off, I dont' like it as well as the plain version.

I'll stop tking it when life becoems more predictable, kids stop being kids, coworkers more humanlike, customers less shrill and threatening, in other words, when I retire, I bet I'll never need it. But for me and the millions with periodic sleep difficulties, why not?

[FearofFutility]

73. Whatever works! I have to take benadryl to help me sleep

I think one of the reasons I see so many problems with Ambien is that people are not getting uninterrupted sleep in the hospital. The staff goes in and out, roommates getting up to go to the bathroom etc. Another issue is that probably 80% of the patients are elderly and don't metabolize drugs in the same way a younger person does.

[davekriss]

69. Alarmist and sensational (but amusing) article

However, the article in the NY Times on 3/8 said something to the effect that 178 traffic incidents have occurred (sleep zombie drivers) over 4 years. That's hardly something to get concerned about. Talking on a cell phone while driving is a much much bigger problem. The Republithug consolidation of electronic voting machines in key states is a much much bigger problem. The quagmire in Iraq is a much much bigger problem. So much wasted type, 178 traffic incidents over 4 years...

[bigmonkey]

70. There was a Larson cartoon about a similar subject.

The caption was: Zoombies, the driving dead. (Not meant as an insult to those who need these substances to sleep!)

[dogday]

4. Many use Alcohol

the amount of people who drink like fish when they get off from work is astounding....

[SmokingJacket]

46. Alcohol can contribute to night - waking, too.

It makes you fall asleep, but it's very poor quality sleep.

[triguy46]

66. absolutely, you may get to sleep, but it is not quality sleep. n/t

[gunsaximbo]

6. zzz z zzzz What?

You're not kidding. The real drug problem in the United States is LEGALLY PRESCRIBED DRUGS. Pot isn't the problem is Ambien and all the other pharmaceuticals that are legally prescribed.

I'll guarantee that this will be another huge issue in the coming years.

These people will not be able to sleep without this medication.

Gunsaximbo

[laruemtt]

7. as a medical transcriptionist, i can tell you

it's the medical industry's first line of defense. i do countless reports everyday - a patient comes in, says he/she's not sleeping well. out comes a prescription for ambien. no questions as to what's going on in their life, how are their other health habits, nothing. just straight to the drugs. amazing. i do a thousand primal screams (quietly) everyday............

[roguevalley]

8. my dad does. he's had chemo and finishing radiation so it is the

only way he can sleep. boy does it work fast. he takes it and he's ringy immediately. :)

[Blue Belle]

10. You pratically have to be sitting in bed when you take it.

Scary!!

[KyndCulture]

19. Yes you do!! I took it a few years ago.. ONCE and only once.

I was sitting at my desk and literally fell out of my chair asleep... The doctor didn't warn me how strong it was. I flushed the rest of them cause I had my daughter in the house with me, it was way too scary.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

9. I think one thing that happens

is that people, as they age, sleep less. AND WE DON'T LIKE IT!

We want those old 8 hour nights without getting up five times to pee.

I personally take an ativan every night. It helps with sleep and also a mild generalized anxiety I have where I can't get a good deep breath.

Whatever works. I also found out that my sleeping problems were due to sleep apnea and I wear a cpap machine now. Not very attractive, but it's my best friend. Looks like a little vibrating egg and I look like Top Gun in it.

I'd smoke pot but I can't smoke. I mean I never have smoked anything so it would be hard to do it.

[MuseRider]

23. Yes Yes Yes!

At 52 as a female I am hitting that age where sleep is very elusive. I remember my mother and grandmother talking on the phone at 4AM because neither slept. It is often 2 AM before I really sleep and by 4AM I am getting up every 20 minutes. A large part of it is anxiety, part getting up to pee and part just getting to that age. I have found that every couple of weeks or so if I take a Tylenol PM or just 25 mg of Benedryl I can sleep like a baby for one solid night. It helps me to get through the rest of the time and Benedryl is relatively safe.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

53. There is a supplement I've taken to help

sleep called ZMA. Zinc, magnesium and something else. It really does a good job. I've also found that just plain Tylenol can help. I think it has somewhat of a relaxing effect.

[MuseRider]

54. Why thanks.

I will look for it. :hi:

[davekriss]

71. Things like benadryl and tylenol PM...

...leave me very hung over and almost frozen with depression the next day. I have zero tolerance for such drugs.

[Babette]

28. For sleep apnea... play the digeridoo

This sounds odd, but in a recent issue of Science News there was a report of a study done of sleep apnea. It turns out that learning to play the digeridoo significantly helps treat sleep apnea.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

48. I read that too!

I'm not sure I could stop laughing long enough to play it. It is a very strange sounding instrument!

[Wickerman]

11. It is scary, and the ad blitz by Lunesta is one of the best I've seen

Hell, it makes me want to take it and I sleep like a baby.

What are the effects of Lunesta? Guess we won't know for awhile, but by ten the Pharms will have developed the next miracle sleep drug.

[KyndCulture]

21. My doc told me she doesn't trust it yet.

She's given a few patients scripts for it but she's concerned that it's as addictive as ambien is.. and by addiction she means that if you stop taking it you can't sleep at all.

[slide to the left]

40. I have

really good results with ambien, I had sleep apnea and "idiopathi hypersomnia" (kinda like narcolpesy). My mind would not really distinguish between sleep and awake and ambien really helped.

Scarier is Providgal- the awake medicine. I used to have to take those too. WOW.

[slide to the left]

If people

Were just healthier, they would not need all this shit. Eat locally grown food (better for allergies) and organic stuff! 100 years ago people didn't have these sort of problems.

[formercia]

12. I have allergies and Generic Benadryl works for me.

a lot cheaper too.

[Ilsa]

22. I fall into that teeny tiny percent that has nightmares on Benadryl.

These are "dead bodies under the bed" nightmares, monsters, etc. Fortunately, I don't need sleep inducements, so I've never even tried Ambien or other drugs for sleep.

[formercia]

26. I do too, and they all look like Administration figures. n/t

[KyndCulture]

29. That's not a nightmare!! lol

[Ilsa]

74. Bwaaahahaha! I haven't taken Benadryl in evening since 1992.nt

[Blue Belle]

14. What about all the OTC sleep aids?

How many people out here take Tylenol PM regularly to get to sleep?? I know I'm guilty of it...

[FearofFutility]

59. It's tylenol with benadryl. Works great.

[triguy46]

67. Tried 'em, ambien is much better

[KyndCulture]

15. My doctor has quit prescribing it. She saw too many addictions.

She prescribed Amitriptyline for me. It's a mild antidepressant but it makes you sleepy if you take it at night and it's non addictive. I have anxiety problems and tend to wake up at 2 or 3 and not be able to get back to sleep, so this stuff has really helped me and it doesn't make you a complete zombie.

[formercia]

20. Works for chronic pain too

An industrial accident was causing chronic pain and I didn't want opioids. Amytryptaline really helped and it was inexpensive.

[KyndCulture]

24. I had read that it's for chronic pain too...

I pay $4.50 for 30 of them... it's very inexpensive.

[disgruntled_goat]

17. didnt Colin Powell say

in effect that the whole administration was taking ambien?

he said this a couple of years ago, IIRC.

scary++

[PuraVidaDreamin]

30. "Doesn't everyone take Ambien"

something to that effect

[Cell Whitman]

42. damb - see my post below

You folks are just too fast. When I started my post below there weren't many replies...anywho you are 100% correct see this post below

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=616699&mesg_id=616976

[Ilsa]

18. Hand-in-hand with this problem, though is the high "Productivity" levels

expected from US workers. All that really means is that the same number of people are increasing their work loads. So there is less time for R&R, sleep, exercise, working through problems so you can relax and sleep the way we were intended to sleep.

[undergroundpanther]

39. the cEOS are killing us

Fuck productivity. America is it worth killing yourself and alienating your kids letting relationships die to please a greedy boss that does not care and die for a job?
WE need strong unions or the corporations will keep killing us slowly than outsource more jobs to indiia and kill them like we have been slowly destroyed ,drug them up towring the last of'productivity' out of them cut thier healthcare and leve the country and than move on to another"untapped market" somewhere else and slowly kill those people..How long is this shit going to go on before we put a real leash on the most rich people with businesses and FORCE them be humane to workers?

[Ilsa]

75. We also need for the Indians and others to revolt against the

long hours and pathetic pay and bennies.

[slide to the left]

25. I have used them for years

But I had sleep apnea. The thing you don't see in the commercials is that is obese people that have to take them for sleeping problems (I am quite small, but have sleep apnea anyway)

[PuraVidaDreamin]

27. Started putting the herb valerian in my chamomille tea at night

It's wonderfully calming, and for me work... like a dream

[KyndCulture]

31. But smells like a dogs butt!!! I love the stuff but it's rank! nt.

[formercia]

36. An unwashed butt covered with cheap perfume....n/t

[formercia]

33. Valerian works for some.

I have it growing all over my yard....don't let it go to seed.

[Cell Whitman]

34. Bush admin has been doped up on them for years - Colin Powell quote

Powell siad "EVERYBODY" does them... from a June 2004 article...

http://www.nypress.com/17/26/news&columns/PaulKrassner.cfm


Last November, Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed, a reporter for a London-based Saudi newspaper, interviewed Powell in Washington. Referring to Powell's description of his international killer schedule, Al-Rashad asked, "So do you use sleeping tablets to organize yourself?"

"Yes," Powell replied. "Well, I wouldn't call them that. 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."

So I decided to check out the side effects of Ambien: "Sleep medicines may cause the special type of memory loss known as amnesia. When this occurs, a person may not remember what has happened for several hours after taking the medicine. This is usually not a problem, since most people fall asleep after taking the medicine. Memory loss can be a problem, however, when sleep medicines are taken while traveling, such as during an airplane flight, and the person wakes up before the effect of the medicine is gone. This has been called 'traveler's amnesia.' Memory problems are not common while taking Ambien. In most instances memory problems can be avoided if you take Ambien only when you are able to get a full night's sleep (7 to 8 hours) before you need to be active again. Be sure to talk to your doctor if you think you are having memory problems."

If you remember to talk to your doctor, that is.

A study in the May 27 issue of Neuron confirms previous models of memory recall that found sensory-specific components of a memory are preserved in sensory-related areas of the brain. The hippocampus can draw on this stored sensory information to create vivid recall. Which is why, even after you've returned from a vacation, you may still fully recall the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of some of its particularly memorable moments. For their study, the researchers mapped brain activity in human volunteers who sampled different odors and viewed pictures of various objects.

As for short-term memory loss, Wes Nisker writes in The Big Bang, the Buddha, and the Baby Boom: The Spiritual Experiments of My Generation:

"Recent research in molecular biology has given us a clue to the connection between THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, and the actual experience of getting high.

more...

[Imagine My Surprise]

35. When I went off pot and alcohol 11 years ago...

I had trouble sleeping. I went on, and still am on Trazadone -- though a very small dose. During a crisis a few months ago, I was put on Lunesta, which didn't do much good, but that was because of the nature of the crisis. You would be surprised how many people have trouble sleeping. Sleep apnea is also a HUGE problem for an untold number of people. A nasal operation (deviated septum) allowed me to sleep while breathing through my nose, like one is supposed to.

[hedgehog]

41. But there can't be that many people with medical problems...

Can there?

I mean, there's bound to be a certain number with sleep problems, that's been true throughout history. But when you have a society with 10%+ using some kind of sleep aid, prescription, OTC or herbal, something is very wrong with that society people.

[KyndCulture]

44. No it's like a lot of things... like prozac was a few years ago..

doctors are busy, paid off by the drug companies and reach for the easiest thing.... Lots of times it's all wrong.

The story about people sleep driving, sleep drinking on this stuff is REALLY scary. Rachel Maddow did a piece on it yesterday in her blog.

[Earth_First]

38. My father skipped right past Ambien onto Xanax for sleep deprevation...

Honestly, there should be some sort of investigation. The benzodiazepines have an awful addiction rate.

[SmokingJacket]

43. Hard exercise cured my sleep problems.

Ain't got no prescription coverage, so I tried other stuff -- actually, my main issue had been anxiety and on again/off again depression. I think sleep issues are very much entagled with anxiety and depression -- lack of sleep is often noted as a symptom of depression, but I think it's also a cause.

Running 4 to 5 times a week has been a life-saver: I've never slept so well, and my mood is much more stable.

[hedgehog]

49. That's the problem

We'd all like the opportunity to run, to be with friends, to do crafts, to just BE, but we're rushing from work to home to the other job to school (Got to be ready for those 21st century jobs you know) it's no wonder so many people end up on pills to sleep. How many people take sleeping pills because they have to get their sleep done within a scheduled time frame?

[SmokingJacket]

51. It's true.

The fact that so many people don't even have time to *exercise* in the Bush economy is a fricking disaster.

I do think that the people who have time to hang around the mall or watch American Idol or whatever replaced some of those activities with *moving around more,* we'd be a LOT happier in this country -- not to mention healthier.

So much time is spent in self-soothing activities like drinking, screen gazing, and shopping ...

I just spend a couple days in the suburbs. What a tragedy: if you wanted to walk out your door and WALK somewhere... too bad. No sidewalks, and the little cul-de-sacs emptied into highways with no shoulders. We are screwing ourselves so many ways...

[jeffrey_X]

62. And because of anxiety and psychological problems...

...

[Mz Pip]

68. Melatonin

I've taken melatonin on ocassion and it works well for me and doesn't make me feel crappy the next morning.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[erpowers]

45. Bad Prescriptions?

According to CBS Nightly news Ambien claims that the problem is doctors prescribing Ambien as a first result. Also, the CBS news reports claimed that many of the people taking these drugs also take alcohol and other drugs with the sleeping pills. So the problem might be that doctors are just giving out the prescription too much.

[BrotherBuzz]

47. Colin Powell loves that shit

Powell described his killer schedule in an interview with Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed, 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."

http://www.state.gov/secretary/former/powell/remarks/2003/26028.htm

[elfin]

50. I have friends who take it every night

despite my pleas.

I do use it and love it when I need it. If I have something important to be "up" for early on the next day such as chairing a meeting, I take one half of a 10mg to get me to sleep, if I am still awake at 1 AM - works like a charm. No "hangover" and can get done what I need to.

If I don't get regular sleep, I get sick - fatigue, headache, grouchiness.

[noonwitch]

52. Nyquil soft gels work, too

But benadryl is probably less harmful for a long-term sleep problem. It's what's in all those PM aspirins.

[A-Possum]

56. Bush taking Ambien?

Wouldn't it make a lot of sense, given his odd behavior and detachment?

They say he "sleeps like a baby" every night (after he says his little prawyers) and I remember that photo of him woken up for an early morning Katrina briefing, he looked weird.

Be cool if reporters would start asking specifically if he takes any sleep medication. They'd lie, I'm sure, but it might make them nervous.

[Catherine Vincent]

58. Tylenol PM is good too.

[CornField]

60. I took it for a short time... discovered sex works better

I imagine anything that allows a person to release a bunch of built up emotions and tensions would work just as well -- exercise?

[JackBeck]

61. A couple glasses of scotch & water works just fine for me.

[NNN0LHI]

63. Sleep drugs will never be as popular as when Quaaludes were around

http://www.bartleby.com/61/56/Q0005600.html

Quaalude

SYLLABICATION: Quaa·lude

A trademark used for the drug methaqualone.

WORD HISTORY: The trademark Quaalude for the sedative and hypnotic agent methaqualone is an example of how a product name is carefully chosen for a positive public response. Methaqualone was developed in the 1960s by William H. Rorer, Inc. At that time, the company's best-known product was Maalox, a digestive aid that derived its name from its ingredients, magnesium and aluminum hydroxides. To enhance the product recognition of their new sedative drug, the company incorporated the aa of Maalox into the name Quaalude. The other elements of the name are presumed to be a contraction of the phrase quiet interlude, a soothing, even poetic description of the drug's effect.

[Horse with no Name]

64. As a shift worker

I've tried Ambien.
Problem is, I'm hung over the next day.
So, I stick to Benadryl and Melatonin.
I take Benadryl a couple weeks then switch to Melatonin (homeopathic) a couple of weeks.
It keeps me from becoming tolerant to either.

[seemunkee]

72. My daughter does. She's had an odd sleep cycle for years

High school makes it worse.

[mcar]

76. I am a chronic insomniac

Like my father before me :-). Since the problem hit, I've had to leave my job and start a home-based part-time business. We've taken a huge financial hit because of it, but I couldn't function in a full-time work environment and still raise kids and have something that vaguely resembles a life.

Over the past 5 years, I have tried several different sleeping pills. I didn't like Ambien because, if I woke up during the night, it didn't help me get back to sleep. Plus, it lost its effectiveness after 5 days.

I can go months with no problems, but then it just hits me out of the blue. During some of my bad stretches, I've had to take sleeping pills for a month or more, so I need something reliable.

I'm taking Lunesta now -- you've all seen the commercials. I take the lowest dosage and it works great with no grogginess in the morning. However, after I've taken it for a week or so I definitely feel a bit foggy headed.

I've tried herbals, melatonin, benadryl, booze and hot baths. I've read more books and articles about insomnia than most people even know existed. My problem is hereditary and partially hormonal; it's not due to stress.

I don't like taking them, but if I have to choose between not sleeping at all or taking a sleeping pill, I'll take the pill.

[hedgehog]

77. I'd put you in the category of people who've always been around

That's why we have the word insomnia. It just doesn't make sense though to have an entire society with sleep problems. The one fact that no one has brought up in this thread is that our society is notoriously sleep deprived as well. The pills are only a symptom of an underlying problem. It's an entire economy that's out of whack. Whether it's the 8 hour day or the 1 hour commute, something has got to give.