_. anaphylactic/anaphylactoid rxns (rare) _. withdrawal if abrupt D/C
Common Reactions
_. headache _. drowsiness _. dizziness
lethargy drugged feeling back pain
- allergic reactions diarrhea
_. sinusitis _. pharyngitis _. dry mouth
_. lightheadedness _. flu-like sx _. palpitations
_. depression - rash
Ambien: Safety Monitoring Pregnancy: C Lactation: Possibly Unsafe Monitoring Parameters: no routine tests recommended
Ambien: Pharmacology
Metabolism: liver; CYP450: 3A4 substrate
Excretion: urine primarily; Half-life: 2.5-2.8h
Class: Anxiolytic/Hypnot, Non-BZD
Mechanism Of Action interacts w/ GABA-benzodiazepine receptor complexes
Caution Advised
[This section Lists many drugs. Just touching cursor to drug's name shows the effect. Most, as the few below are: risk of CNS depression; psychomotor impairment]
excerpts:
acetaminophen/caffeine/CNS depressant combos
aspirin
cannabinoids
ibuprofen/oxycodone
-
Ambien: Safety Monitoring Pregnancy: C Lactation: Possibly Unsafe
--
Although it's excreted primarily through urine, metabolism is through the liver. There is a hepatic (liver) caution and dosing adjustment. Again, short-term use is how this drug is supposed to be used, and sudden stopping or fast changes in dosing can pose risks.
Those with impaired respiratory function are also cautioned.
Doctors who have researched the drug Ambien and other sleeping pills make the following recommendations:
* Take the lowest dosage that works. Side effects are more frequent with the 10- and 20-milligram doses than with 5 milligrams.
* Take Ambien on an empty stomach. If you have eaten recently, the drug takes longer to work and you might be more apt to roam around the house.
* Put chimes on your bedroom door and exterior doors. If you start sleepwalking, the noise might wake you up.
* Never take Ambien when you are the sole caretaker of a small child.
* Never take Ambien when you are a doctor on call or have a similar work obligation.
* If you have ever abused a substance before, including alcohol, you probably should not take Ambien. People with histories of addiction are more likely to become dependent on the drug.
* Before taking sleeping pills, try cognitive behavior therapy, a nondrug program that helps you learn how to sleep. Some doctors think it works as well or better than sleeping pills. Among techniques used in the therapy are muscle relaxation and breathing exercises, as well as learning not to go to bed unless you are tired.
-
This information was supplied by Dr. Daniel F. Kripke, professor of psychiatry, University of California, San Diego; Dr. Martin B. Scharf, director of the Tri-State Sleep Disorders Center, Cincinnati; and Dr. Mark Mahowald, director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center, Minneapolis.
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Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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Excerpt: " . . . "There has to be a stronger warning," he said, "about what this drug does to you. . . ."
With a tendency to stare zombie-like and run into stationary objects, a new species of impaired motorist is hitting the roads: the Ambien driver.
Ambien, the nation's best-selling prescription sleeping pill, is showing up with regularity as a factor in traffic arrests, sometimes involving drivers who later say they were sleep-driving and have no memory of taking the wheel after taking the drug.
In some state toxicology laboratories Ambien makes 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.
And as a more people are taking the drug -- 26.5 million prescriptions in this country last year -- there are signs that Ambien-related driving arrests are on the rise.
In Washington State, for example, officials counted 78 impaired-driving arrests in which Ambien was a factor last year, up from 56 in 2004.
Ambien's maker, Sanofi-Aventis, says the drug's record after 13 years of use in this country shows it is safe when taken as directed.
But a spokeswoman, Melissa Feltmann, wrote in an e-mail message, "We are aware of reports of people driving while sleepwalking, and those reports have been provided to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as part of our ongoing postmarketing evaluation about the safety of our products."
A spokeswoman for the F.D.A. 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. "People should be aware of that," said the spokeswoman, Susan Cruzan.
While alcohol and other drugs are sometimes also involved in the Ambien traffic cases, the drivers tend to stand out from other under-the-influence motorists. The behavior can include driving in the wrong direction or slamming into light poles or parked vehicles, as well as seeming oblivious to the arresting officers, according to a presentation last month at a meeting of forensic scientists.
"These cases are just extremely bizarre, with extreme impairment," said Laura J. Liddicoat, the forensic toxicology supervisor at a state-run lab in Wisconsin who made the presentation.
Her presentation, which reported on six of the cases, was made at a meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, where her counterparts from other parts of the country swapped similar tales.
Several of Ms. Liddicoat's cases involved drivers whose blood revealed evidence of Ambien overdoses. In one of them the driver, who was also taking the antidepressant citalopram, crashed into a parked car, was involved in another near collision, then drove over a curb. When confronted by police, he did not recall any of the recent events, according to the presentation.
Ms. Liddicoat did not describe any of those cases as sleep-driving -- in fact, she said she had not heard of that defense -- and it is possible that some drivers' claims of driving while asleep may be mere Ambien alibis.
But some medical researchers say reports of sleep-driving are plausible.
Doctors affiliated with the University of Minnesota Medical Center who have studied Ambien recently reported the cases of two users who told doctors they sleep-drove to the supermarket while under the drug's influence.
Neither of the patients remembered the episode the next day, according to Dr. Carlos Schenck, an expert in sleep disorders who is the lead researcher in the study.
"Luckily, neither of them got hurt," said Dr. Schenck, who added that sleep-driving -- which really occurs in a twilight state between sleep and wakefulness -- was more common than people generally suspect. He said he believed that Ambien was an excellent sleep agent, but that patients need to be better warned about its potential side effects.
The traffic cases around the country include that of Dwayne Cribb, a longtime probation and parole officer in Rock Hill, S.C.
Mr. Cribb says he remembers nothing after taking Ambien before bed last Halloween -- until he awoke in jail to learn he had left his bed and gone for a drive, smashed into a parked van and driven away before crashing into a tree. Mr. Cribb is still facing charges of leaving the scene of an accident.
A registered nurse who lives outside Denver took Ambien before going to sleep one night in January 2003. Sometime later -- she says she remembers none of the episode -- she got into her car wearing only a thin nightshirt in 20-degree weather, had a fender bender, urinated in the middle of an intersection, then became violent with police officers, according to her lawyer.
The woman, whose lawyer says she previously had a pristine traffic record, eventually pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of careless driving after the prosecutors partly accepted her version of events, said the lawyer, Lloyd L. Boyer.
Many states do not currently test for Ambien when making impaired- driving arrests.
But a survey still under way by a committee from the forensic sciences group and the Society of Forensic Toxicologists found that among laboratories that conduct tests of drivers' blood samples for two dozen states, 10 labs list Ambien among the top 10 drugs found in impaired drivers, according to Dr. Sarah Kerrigan, a forensic toxicologist in Houston involved in that survey.
Ms. Liddicoat, in Wisconsin, is among experts who suggest that Ambien may need a stronger warning label. Others arguing that case include doctors, Ambien users and defense lawyers. "Doctors are handing out these drugs like Pez," said William C. Head, an Atlanta lawyer who is one of the nation's leading defense lawyers specializing in impaired-driving cases.
The F.D.A., which would have to order any labeling changes, says it is not aware of any pattern of problems with the drug. Still Ms. Cruzan, in response to a reporter's question, said the agency would look into unusual sleepwalking episodes.
Including the notifications from Sanofi, which as a matter of policy the F.D.A. declined to discuss, the agency did receive 48 "adverse event" reports in 2004 involving Ambien use without other drugs. They involved three cases of sleepwalking, six reports of hallucinations and one traffic accident.
Ambien's competitors -- Lunesta by Sepracor and Sonata by King Pharmaceuticals -- are not as widely used in this country, and do not seem to be cropping up with any frequency on police blotters. Ambien sales last year reached $2.2 billion, according to IMS Health. Among the three drugs, Ambien accounted for 84 percent of prescriptions dispensed.
A federal prosecutor was persuaded that Ambien played a part in a well-publicized case last summer involving not a car but an airliner. A US Airways flight from Charlotte, N.C., to London last July was diverted to Boston, after a passenger who had taken Ambien became "like the Incredible Hulk all of a sudden," according to his lawyer.
The man, Sean Joyce, a British painting contractor, became agitated, tore off his shirt and threatened to kill himself and fellow passengers, according to court documents. If convicted, Mr. Joyce could have faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail for interfering with a flight crew, according to his lawyer, Michael C. Andrews.
But under a plea agreement Mr. Joyce was sentenced to five days already served, after the prosecutor accepted his story that his eruption, which he said he could not recall at all, occurred as a result of taking one Ambien pill and drinking two individual-serving bottles of wine.
Many of the impaired-driving cases involve people who drank alcohol before taking Ambien. Mr. Cribb, for instance, said he had two beers with dinner before he took the drug and went to bed.
Sanofi-Aventis says that while sleepwalking may occur while taking Ambien, the drug may not be the cause. It also notes that the warnings with Ambien, including those in its television ads, specifically instruct patients not to use it with alcohol and to take it right before bed.
Alcohol has sometimes been shown to cause sleepwalking, and it can also magnify Ambien's effects, according to Dr. Mark Mahowald, director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center at Hennepin County Medical Center, who is also involved in Dr. Schenck's study.
In the past, the center has received grant funding from Sepracor, Lunesta's maker, but Dr. Mahowald said that none of the researchers currently received any funding from sleeping pill companies.
Ambien's alcohol warning is apparently ignored by many people. But Mr. Head, the defense lawyer, says he has concluded that no one should take Ambien the same evening they have been drinking alcohol. "Not even a toast," he said.
Mr. Head is now defending a man in Decatur, Ga., who, after having three drinks one night, said he took two Ambien and was in bed watching David Letterman's monologue on television. Without realizing it, the man says, he got back out of bed and behind the wheel and was arrested on multiple charges that included driving on the wrong side of the road.
Too many other people taking Ambien also evidently disregard the other label guidelines.
Ann Marie Gordon, manager of Washington State's toxicology lab, said that many of those arrested reported that they took Ambien while driving so it would "kick in" by the time they got home. "Hello -- it kicked in before you got home?" Ms. Gordon said. "That's not a good thing. I'm amazed at the number of people who do that."
But misuse of the drug may not explain all the cases. The nurse near Denver took a single Ambien and went to bed, according to her lawyer, Mr. Boyer of Englewood, Colo.
Mr. Boyer said that only when the woman returned home after her arrest did she discover a partly consumed bottle of wine on her counter -- unopened when she went to bed, she said -- leading her to suspect she had begun drinking after taking Ambien.
Research by Dr. Schenck and others elsewhere have found evidence that Ambien users engaged, unawares, in various middle-of-the-night behaviors. In a study published in 2001, researchers at the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center reported on five cases of unusual nighttime eating, sometimes while sleepwalking, in patients taking Ambien.
The chief of physical medicine and rehabilitation for the VA North Texas Health System in Dallas, Dr. Weibin Yang, said he became aware of Ambien's potential side effects while at another hospital treating a 55-year-old patient after hip surgery.
The man, who had no history of sleepwalking, walked into a hospital corridor one night, where he urinated on the floor. On another night, he got out of bed and told nurses he was going to church. Dr. Yang said the patient was also taking other medications, but the sleepwalking stopped when Ambien was discontinued. The patient, he said, had no recollection of either event.
Dr. Yang said such experiences persuaded him that people could drive, without realizing it, after taking Ambien.
Meanwhile in South Carolina, Mr. Cribb, who has already pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, still faces a charge of leaving the scene of an accident.
He says he has sworn off Ambien. "There has to be a stronger warning," he said, "about what this drug does to you."
"The interactions of taurine and its precursor hypotaurine with the GABA-benzodiazepine receptor complex were studied by investigating their effects on GABA and flunitrazepam binding in rat brain membranes.
Taurine, and to a lesser degree also hypotaurine, displaced the high- and low-affinity GABA binding.
The maximal binding capacities of both sites were decreased in the presence of taurine, while the binding constants remained the same, suggesting noncompetitive interactions.
Taurine and hypotaurine affected flunitrazepam binding only at a very high concentration (50 mmol/l), whereas GABA (within the concentration range of 0.1-100 mol/l) significantly enhanced the binding.
Taurine inhibited the GABA-stimulated binding dose-dependently. These modulatory effects of taurine on the GABA-benzodiazepine receptor complex could result from interactions with the GABA recognition site but not from direct actions on the benzodiazepine site."
Hold the phone...I remember something...
Taurine...
WHOA!
"Dietary Taurine Enhances Cholesterol Degradation and Reduces Serum and Liver Cholesterol Concentrations in Rats Fed a High-Cholesterol Diet"
Bb's lipoproteins are...
BTW...sleepwalking occurs during DELTA sleep.
Sleep...watch esp. for the delta time...
"Stage 1 is the gateway between waking consciousness and sleeping unconsciousness. As we fall asleep, yawn.
In the second stage of sleep ones awareness of the external environment slips away.
Stage 2 occupies 45-55% of total sleep.
Stage Three is a transition into Stage 4's delta deep sleep.
Stage Four Delta Sleep is deep sleep, it is difficult to quickly awaken from Delta sleep. .
Delta sleeps dominates the first third of the night and makes up about 10-15% of total sleep time.
This is a period of intense but slow brain waves. Brain waves significantly slow
Heart rate & respirations slow, the body becomes mostly immobile.
It is during stages 3 and 4, or slow brain wave sleep,
that growth hormone levels increase and changes in immune function occur.
Delta Sleep could be considered the anabolic part of sleep. Delta Sleep is when growth and rejuvenation occurs. A period of rejuvenation for our muscular, immune, nervous and skeletal systems.
This pre-dream state stage of sleep is the time when sleep walking occurs. In REM sleep skeletal muscles are frozen.
Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, associated with dreaming. REM sleep is most prevalent in the final third of a sleep period. The nutrient GABA definitely increases REM Sleep.
Predominates the late stages of sleep and can comprise up to 50% of the final 90 minute cycles.
A period of very active brain activity, pulse rate increases & we lose the ability to use our skeletal muscles.
REM sleep helps with the organization of memory.
When you awaken with 'a problem solved' thank REM sleep's memory optimization process.
REM sleep is the center piece of 20th century western psychiatry. Sigmund Freud's 'school of psychoanalysis' contends that dreams represent our frustrated desire
quote:Originally posted by jamescase20: I dusted a slide lightly with ambein and then saw the bugs swimming around hard...they then all slowly died!!!
Why are people copying and posting all these stories about the (known) side-effects of ambien (zolpidem). Jamescase20 was posting about the possible bug killing properties of zolpidem.
I think that's interesting, and I would hate to see this thread be highjacked by people who are just copying what we already know, ambien can cause side-effects.
If anybody has anything to contribute to what Jamescase20 posted, I am interested
Nelly
Posts: 416 | From france | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
I would think the news of killing lyme would be something to consider, regardless of what it is.
But I would also want to know what those same lyme bugs did when dusted with different abx, with saline, with sugar, with other chemicals.
Did the ambien kill the lyme, or would they have died anyway based on oxygen exposure, light exposure. How different is the kill times for abx, saline, etc. And of course, what made it kill the lyme? Was it creating a higher temperature, intercullar problems, lack of food somehow?
Obviously, Im not a scientist, far from it. So Im not saying good or bad...Im just saying that if presenting info, then the test results should probably also include other trials, samples, including null/placebo for comparison purposes.
But by all means...continue to experiment and share. Who knows, the answers could be found from the members here... and anytime something new is found that kills lyme...thats great!
Posts: 514 | From . | Registered: Apr 2008
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jamescase20
Unregistered
posted
No, they wouldnt have died otherwise.
Other abx do kill them too.
Usually not that fast.
I have many posts on the topic.
I am going to human test ambien myself.
I long suspected that benzopens kill lyme. Never actually looked.
To be continued. No, the dusting of a slide is not an accurate test...hence...human subject...me...to be continued.
So what if ambein has side effects...I agree...paranoids here...gentamicin I took...I dont wobble..my llmd said never saw a single case in 35 yrs...everyones so worried about a .0000001 percent risk of this or that....Ill take the risk.
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posted
I'm so confused about the experiments you are running and have concerns with regard to how others may decide to apply some of the things you describe.
First, Bb is very difficult to detect in the blood, nevermind trying to culture it. How do you manage to have a constant supply of Bb for all of these experiments?
Posts: 561 | From mass | Registered: Jul 2007
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Keebler
Honored Contributor (25K+ posts)
Member # 12673
posted
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If you take ambien, please lock up your car keys - and hide that key. Seriously. This is no joke. Read what this has done to others.
Write down the time you take the drug- put it with your keys - and then be sure the correct number of hours have passed for it to be totally clear - out of your bloodstream. And hope that you are not in a dream state when you see those keys again.
Ambien, as reports indicate, can be a very dangerous drug - especially if in the bloodstream during daytime or time when one may drive. And, as the reports confirm, some people are not aware that they even are leaving the house.
It is worse than driving drunk.
There are far better, safer ways to approach killing lyme without putting one's self and others on the road at risk.
Seeing all sorts of things on a microscope slide can be very exciting. Seeing stuff happen to them can, too. Learning about the microscopic world can be fantastic.
But, in our bodies, things are not as clear cut as on a glass slide.
Please be careful. And, again, please lock up the car keys before you do this experiment.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving would request the same thing. Seriously.
Anyway...I dont care what others do with my information...not my problem...I am just posting my findings.
I noticed that benzopens shake the gaba receptors in the brain...SEVERELY, and I felt this could possibly disrupt an infection. I discovered that gentimicin caused me severe right side migraines...and I knew from experience that benzos and the "non" benzos..IE ambein, caused this migraine like head pain just the same. WEll, I have a microscope so I checked....and I watched the bugs run from the ambein instantly...and then within about 1 minute...they all stopped moving...a recheck the next morning verified they where not sleeping...but dead..nothing was moving next morning either.
Now...after taking ambein last night...I checked the blood...my own...no dusting...just MY blood...and I found um...2? 3 invaders...I think one was a babsia...but as I viewed it...after about 1 minute it appeared to die.
I am on other drugs....a flurry...but I have been watching my blood for months now...and I am certain that its the ambien causing this.
I am not suggesting anyone take ambein thinking it kills bugs...I really dont know for sure...but I feel it does merit further more scientific study.
Considering the poor response from ABX...I feel this is well worth it.
I will keep an eye on this notion...and post further information as I see it.
Good luck to you all.. Again...I am just a person with the ability to do my own live blood microscopy...and with the deficet of research out there...I feel its worth it...even if just for myself. I cannot loose this battle...I wont...we wont. Were too smart for this brainless bug.
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jamescase20
Unregistered
posted
Wait a second here...
Your suggesting that non-benzopens are so dangerous...
What about the "real" benzopens that people take during the daytime...yes...even though they shouldnt drive...do in fact drive I am sure.
Tolerance is something that occurs with these drugs...day one valium can knock you out cold...after a month...it may do nothing.
Sleep walking is something that has occured with ambien...but is it really caused by ambien or was it an underlying defect that ambien simply brang out.
I have taken ambein during the daytime, I have taken xanax during the daytime...I would rather be driving on ambein then xanax any day.
Again, tolerance...and personal resposibility plays a big role here.
You can get drunk and if you dont go driving...no one seems to bat an eyelash...but geez any little legal drug side effect...and the whole bunch of people go nuts and poo poo it to death.
Take what you want...I'll take what I want. But the final responsibility lies with me/ or you...
I cant seem to kill these bugs with abx...thats the point here. Thats WHY I tested ambien...because conventional treatment dont work...and you know it!
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I am a trained microbiologist who has spent countless hours earning a living looking into a microscope. I really am curious as to where you are getting your spirochetes and 'blebs' from? Are you telling us that you can get a drop of your own blood and easily see Borrelia?
How is this feasible, especially since you've been treating with antibiotics?? If it were this easy, why even have the horrible diagnostic tests that we do when we could instead just put a drop of blood under a scope.
Obviously we don't have all the answers when it comes to lyme disease and I am all for discussing theories and ideas but they have to stem from some baseline of facts.
Posts: 561 | From mass | Registered: Jul 2007
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Dawnee
Unregistered
posted
ks... go look up other posts from James and all those questions will be answered.
I am very interested in James' work.
I took Ambien and didn't have a problem with it. Heck...I've sleep walked since childhood without the use of drugs, and Ambien still didn't do anything bad to me.
I think it's interesting that people jump on here posting the side effects also... I figured everyone knows there are side effects to pretty much EVERY drug.
James isn't on here shouting for people to run out and do what he is doing because he's found some miracle cure... he is only telling us his own findings. I don't really think there is much danger of someone running out and swallowing a bottle of Ambien because of James' research... most of the people who come to this board is an adult...I think
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Marnie
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 773
posted
See the MODE OF ACTION.
James posted:
"Mechanism Of Action interacts w/ GABA-benzodiazepine receptor complexes"
More on how it works:
"Pharmacodynamics:
Subunit modulation of the GABAA receptor **chloride channel*** macromolecular complex is hypothesized to be responsible for
sedative,
anticonvulsant,
anxiolytic, and
myorelaxant drug properties.
The major modulatory site of the GABAA receptor complex is located on its alpha () subunit and is referred to as the benzodiazepine (BZ) or omega () receptor. At least three subtypes of the () receptor have been identified.
Does it lower cholesterol or is it working by interfering with NaCl? What about the impact on CO2?
NO ALCOHOL in conjunction!!!
More...CO2 levels (Bb uses CO2 and follows the carbon fixation route)
Ambien, Xanax and CO2 levels:
"Abstract Studies in human volunteers that can demonstrate proof of concept are attractive in that possible mechanisms and potential new drug treatments can be examined.
We have been developing models of anxiety disorders using the
inhalation of 7.5% CO2 for 20 min to model generalised anxiety disorder,
as well as using the previously reported 35% CO2 as a model for panic anxiety.
In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-way crossover study in 12 healthy volunteer subjects, we compared a full agonist at the benzodiazepine receptor that binds to four alpha-subtypes of the receptor = alpha-1,-2,-3,-5 /alprazolam 1 mg/, with zolpidem at 5 mg,
an agonist selective for the alpha-1 subtype of the gamma amino butyric acid-receptor subtype A (GABA-A) receptor, which is a widely used hypnotic drug.
Compared with placebo, both drugs significantly attenuated peak CO2-induced changes in subjective feelings after the inhalation of 7.5% CO2 for 20 min.
However, there were fewer significant differences after a single vital capacity inhalation of 35% CO2, where zolpidem was less efficacious than alprazolam at reducing CO2-induced symptoms.
In conclusion, our results show that zolpidem shows some anxiolytic efficacy in the 7.5% CO2 model, similar to alprazolam, and this is the first report of such an effect of zolpidem in a model of anxiety.
These and other studies of benzodiazepines in clinical and volunteer studies suggest a definite role of the GABA-A receptor in CO2-induced anxiety, and it would be of interest to examine other GABA-A receptor subtype selective drugs, which are now in early phase clinical studies and are showing selective efficacy in pharmacodynamic studies.
PMID: 18562427 J Psychopharmacol. 2008 Jun 18
And here's something amazing:
"Brain Injury May Be Reversed With Common Sleeping Pill - Ambien Has Helped Some Patients Regain Use of Some Functions - Reverse Damage
July 16th 2006Remarkable research shows that the common sleeping pill Ambien may help patients with brain damage recover the use of some of their brain.
Although the awakening side effect is rare, doctors say that some patients may benefit. ABC News reporter, Mike Von Fremd, interviewed a doctor that has been studying the prescription sleeping pills.
Dr. Ralf Clauss speculates that while brain injury may cause some parts of the brain to remain dormant, sometimes the drug may temporarily reverse this change.
The news segment involved a young man, George Melendez, who had a passion for baseball, but was involved in a traffic accident leaving his brain damaged.
The injury was serious enough that he was unable to talk or take care of himself.
She turned to her son and said ``Hey George''. Her son responded ``what?'' That was the first word he had spoken since his accident.
He began to respond and say other words as well. Since that very first dose in 2002, pat has given Melendez Ambien three times a day, every day.
Recently the reporters went to visit the family. The morning they saw George was remarkable.
Before Ambien he was stiff, unresponsive and uncomfortable.
After the first dose of the day he was able to say his name and hold up one or two fingers. His mother told the reporters that the drug will last for hours before it begins to wear off.
She gives him three pills per day and says she is happy to have just a little more of her son back. Doctors are uncertain whether George will continue to improve."
COMPLEX!
[ 24. September 2008, 05:39 PM: Message edited by: Marnie ]
Posts: 9481 | From Sunshine State | Registered: Mar 2001
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Ambien among top 10 drugs found in impaired drivers
Sleep medication found in DUI cases
March 8:
Police and toxicology labs across the country say that the sleeping medication Ambien is turning up in the blood of people arrested for DUI.
NBC's Tom Costello reports. - Nightly News
There's a growing hazard on the roadway, the kind of motorist who smashes into parked cars, plows over sidewalks and drives in the wrong direction, all while oblivious to the destruction left behind.
These drivers aren't drunk or stoned -- they're under the influence of Ambien, the nation's most popular prescription sleeping pill.
Ambien is regularly popping up as a factor in traffic arrests, sometimes involving drivers who don't even remember getting behind the wheel, according to a report in The New York Times Wednesday.
In some state toxicology laboratories, Ambien shows up in the top 10 list of drugs found in impaired drivers.
In Wisconsin, Ambien was detected in the bloodstreams of 187 arrested drivers from 1999 to 2004, the newspaper reported.
As more insomniacs turn to the drug -- there were 26.5 million prescriptions filled last year in the United States -- Ambien-related arrests and accidents are expected to rise.
In Washington state, for example, officials counted 78 impaired-driving arrests in which Ambien was a factor last year, up from 56 in 2004.
Some of Washington's zombie-like drivers said they took the sleeping pill while behind the wheel so that it would kick in by bedtime.
"Wow, that's a really bad idea," said sleep specialist Dr. Brooke Judd, an assistant professor of medicine and psychiatry at Dartmouth Medical School.
"These newer sleep medications have a rapid onset so people can get to sleep quickly. You shouldn't take them until you are really ready to go to bed."
*** Judd also warns sleeping-pill users to get at least eight hours of shut-eye. ***
That's how long the sedative effect can last.
An early-riser who hits the road might still be too groggy to drive, she said.
. . . in some cases could cause sleepwalking or hallucinations . . . .
*** Users are advised not to drive or operate machinery while taking the drug. ***
. . . 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, or sleeptalk without remembering it.
Laura J. Liddicoat, the forensic toxicology supervisor at Wisconsin's state laboratory, presented six cases of Ambien drivers at a meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Scientists, including a man who crashed into two cars and drove over a curb.
This was all news to him when confronted by the police.
� 2008 MSNBC Interactive
====================
A woman is interviewed here who got up out of bed and went driving, unaware. There have been several reports of people getting up out bed and driving, just like she did.
Video: 3/14/07 - "Sleep Driving on Ambien" - about 2 minutes
Dr. Sandra Kweder, FDA
One of the most frequent reports has been of ``Sleep Driving''
*** Carrie Paps, former Ambien user, did not remember getting up, getting dressed or driving. But she did. ***
Dr. Michel Cramer-Bornemann, Minnesota Regional Sleep Center:
*** ``As soon as this gets out of the house and someone is sleep-driving, the public is now in danger.'' ***
==========
ABC Companion Video (at link above) - about 2 minutes
Sleeping Phenomenon 08/08/06
Interviewed Guest: Steven Finley, Managing Editor ``Best Buys, Drugs'' with Consumer Reports Magazine
". . . Drugs manufactures recommend to not take over ten days.
. . . Do not have data on long-term safety on the newer prescription drugs. We don't yet know. . . ."
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[ 24. September 2008, 06:20 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
Posts: 48021 | From Tree House | Registered: Jul 2007
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Silverwolf
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9196
posted
Hello <<<<< JamesC' and each Replier >>>>>,
Perhaps I am in the minority here,but I like to both see what James is working on,and what any dangers may be!!!
Sometimes discouraged folk,weary and not thinking clearly are apt to do things that aren't safe.
Here,w/ folk knowing what James is working on,and able to check w/ him to be sure he is all right... and w/ folk who will post the dangers that may be a problem...
Each person can make a somewhat more informed desicion, if it is something to try,-if it can be done safely- etc.
James you will let the folk check w/ you now and then right?!! Just to be sure you are ok?!
I appreciate both, that there are those trying to find more things that will help,and those who are warning of the dangers.
I hope this is making sense, as I find so much help here on Lymenet!!!
Jus' my humble opinion for what its worth! from Silverwolf in the Fog
-------------------- 2006,May-August2006 Dx w/ Lyme/Bartonella/White Matter Lesion Disease on Brain. [ Clinical Dx w/ two positives and several IND's on the tests from Igenex ], Prior Dx of CFIDS/CEBV 1992, and FMS '93-'94 Diabetes*2 Dx 10/'08 Posts: 3581 | From SE Idaho | Registered: May 2006
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posted
Hubby tried Ambien once -- first pill caused amnesia. As far as I remember it did very little to help with sleep either.
James,
If Benzodiazepenes were the answer probably 25 or maybe even 50% of the people on LymeNet would have been cured already.
And yes people do sometimes drive when they shouldn't. Hubby totaled a car last year after a long hospitalization.
Drugs do have side-effects and the more meds you are on the more likely there could be an unknown or unreported interaction.
It is a good idea to ask the pharmacist every time you add in a new med if it is ok to take all of the meds you are taking.
I know you can't do this in all states (New York is one I know of), but as we do not have a co-pay on meds I always get a 3 or 5 day supply of any new med before filling the entire scrip. Can save a lot of money if you can't take the med for some reason.
Bea Seibert
Posts: 7306 | From Martinsville,VA,USA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
I am probably going to get yelled at here but. I
have lyme, I have been on ambien for 2 years. I
still have lyme. So it hasn't killed it for me.
I am working on trying some different sleep meds
but ambien works great for me. Yes you build a
tolerance to it and typically you only have the
sleep-walking and stuff if you take more than
your supposed to and if you don't go to bed right
after taking it. You have to be responsible.
You wouldn't drink a 6 pack and go driving. Dont
take sleeping pills and drive. Thats just my
opinion. For what its worth.
-------------------- Love, Merrie Believe in the power of your spirit..for it will carry you through the darkest hours of your life Posts: 261 | From minnesota | Registered: Sep 2004
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jamescase20
Unregistered
posted
I dont think ambien will cure lyme...I dont know...I just know that when I dusted a slide with it...and placed my infected blood on the slide...I discovered the bugs running as if in terror...then they died.
And then I took ambien and checked the next morning..I woke with a bart like migraine as I expected..but I also found few living or moving bugs in the blood plasma.
I found 3...this is on par with MMS and laruicidin.. and that is better then any abx I have tested.
I dont know for sure what this means.
I am looking into it.
I just discovered that if I take probenicid somehow it greatly takes down my migraine.
I think the headache is bart and NOT benzo related.
Anyway... Like I said...I just see that ABX wont cut it...at least in my case.
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posted
Jamescase can you tell me what MMS is? I have Lauricidin. I only took it for about 1 1/2 months and stopped. Maybe I shouldn't have.
-------------------- Love, Merrie Believe in the power of your spirit..for it will carry you through the darkest hours of your life Posts: 261 | From minnesota | Registered: Sep 2004
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Angelica
Unregistered
posted
I have noticed when taking Ambien for sleep that when I use to get flu like symptoms from Lyme and cos that some mornings after taking Ambien if I had not used it for awhile my flu like symptoms would be gone mysteriously in the morning.
Maybe it kills enough bugs to make a bit of a difference in how one feels the next day. I have not taken Ambien for a long time.
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quote:Originally posted by believe3: I am probably going to get yelled at here but. I
have lyme, I have been on ambien for 2 years. I
still have lyme. So it hasn't killed it for me.
No yelling from me. I've taken it ever since it came out... 3-5 yrs ago?? No cure here either.
There's a big difference between putting it on a slide and ingesting it. BIG difference.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 4117
posted
James is testing thats it. But now just a opinion make sure tests are not scured ? You said that your on abx's and they dont seem to be working? Some abxs take longer than others some are on contact so to speak like pennicillin other are static workers which work on the bugs any bugs via there feeding process or cellular processes. Now keep in mind Bb can hide inside cells blood or mucle or even lymphocytes? So now you need something that can reach inside these or all you will do is kill the bugs that are outside. And I know James knows that abxs donot work on babs , or any protozoa or biofilm protected germs. So we are fighting on about 10 fronts and this takes time. So Iam recomending treatment of various bugs continualy for at least 16 months this way your body is rebuilding each and every cell within that period in other words they get kicked out of there house and while they are in the street kill them with abxs and or mepron artimensisn or whatever.
The last 6 months of my treatment was biaxin xl mepron minocin mepron then minocin rifampin.
I did such a thourogh job I now take b12 shots because my intrinsic factor is shot or severly reduced. But I feel better and have been off abxs since march 08. I also take melatonin for sleep and its antioxident properties and b complex vitamin and a one day and mag and acidophilis.
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