Posted on 03/07/2006 8:06:19 PM PST by neverdem
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...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I used to think like that also, until I got a job working with the public...
Trans-Pacific flights from Japan, Australia, etc. crossing the IDL to the USA usually result in arrival a couple hours before the time you took off. Anything that will give you 6 to 8 hours of genuine sleep during a flight like that probably is a godsend (as long as you're not the pilot - that "driving directly into stationary objects" bit could otherwise be a problem).
"Would it keep you awake?"
Um, NOT taking Ambien?
"Just Say No" ping.
Somehow, I stopped underestimating how dumb people can be many decades ago! The "Darwin Awards" merely chronicle the tip of the iceberg!!!
Also known as "the Virgina driver"...
Did it come back to you once you noticed?
Jack Daniels has the same effect... my hubby and I know that for a fact.
I suggest a cat sleeping next to your pillow.
I always get worried about her when I am away from home for a few nights at a time, because that's what gets her nervous/anxious, and then that leads to her sleepwalking.
One time a few weeks ago, I came home after a week away and somehow there were four loafs of bread in the cabinet. My wife said when she woke up on Thursday morning, they were there, and she knows that when she went to bed Wednesday night, they were not.
Needless to say, I am glad that starting next week, I'll be in a new job with much less time away from home!
I'll have to try it . . . airlines are cutting-back on the free booze.
Yes, but you would have to turn counter clockwise when you got up to go to the bathroom.
Trust me, many are taking ambien to get HIGH and it is addictive. Say hello to the newest addicts on Ambien. They either just started taking it or switched over from Ocycontin and Vicodan.
I take trazodone for sleep insomnia. Works very well and is not addictive. I will probably be off it by the end of the month.
It happened to be once long ago – but Ambien had nothing to do with it.
I was 18 years old and working at an amusement park. We started at 9:30 AM and worked to 2:00 AM and sometimes 3:00 AM – seven days a week.
One early morning on the way home I suddenly found myself in a cornfield. The last thing I remembered was leaving the park – several miles down the road.
I know, I know. I simply cannot pass through an international airport without drinking. I love to travel. :)
WARNING: may cause drowsiness
OH! Those Evil SUVs!
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