Text 19654, 67 rader
Skriven 2006-05-07 13:27:24 av BOB SAKOWSKI (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av STAN HARDEGREE
Ärende: Ambien
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Hardegree knows more than the medical profession regarding Ambien and like
drugs.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/v-pfriendly/story/415301p-350960c.html


Pol's 'zombie' story echoes nightmares of other users
BY HELEN KENNEDY
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Saturday, May 6th, 2006

Rep. Patrick Kennedy's claims that he doesn't remember crashing his car
after popping a popular sleeping pill may sound hard to believe, but
experts say it could fit the description of an "Ambien zombie."

"The bizarreness of it certainly sounds consistent with a side effect from
these medications," said Dr. Michel Cramer Bornemann, a specialist at the
Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorders Center.

"He has these other complicating medical conditions that would increase the
possibility of complex nocturnal behavior."

Ambien, the hugely popular sleep aid that was prescribed to 26 million
Americans last year, has been linked in some rare cases to extraordinary
sleepwalking escapades.

Patients have reported driving, cooking, eating - even shoplifting - in
their sleep. They generally don't remember doing it and have a hard time
believing evidence that they did.

New York lawyer Susan Chana Lask filed a class-action lawsuit against drug
maker Sanofi-Aventis in March, saying the pills are dangerous.

Among the plaintiffs are a Florida housewife who often ate raw eggs and
whole loaves of bread while sleepwalking; a Texas woman who woke up in jail
after driving while asleep and crashing into parked cars; a Navy lieutenant
facing court-martial for shoplifting an "X-Files" DVD; and a New York woman
who opened her door to a stranger while asleep and was sexually assaulted.

Cramer Bornemann said Ambien is generally very safe but problems can arise
when patients mix it with other medications or have preexisting physical or
mental problems.

Kennedy (D-R.I.) has battled depression and said he also took Phenergan, an
anti-nausea medication that can boost the effect of sedatives like Ambien
and is known to cause confusion.

Kennedy may also have taken pain pills - he said yesterday he was an addict
- and that in addition to the cocktail would be a very bad idea, Cramer
Bornemann said.

"If you're mixing narcotics with sedative hypnotics, you're mixing
basically two depressants," he said. "You're compounding issues and there
is increased risk of side effects."

Sanofi-Aventis notes the rare possibility of sleepwalking on the drug's
label and says the drug is safe when used correctly. The company dismissed
last month's series of media reports about weird side effects as
"anecdotal."

Responding to the Kennedy case, a company spokeswoman noted that patients
aren't supposed to drive after taking Ambien.

The drug maker just launched a big ad campaign to revive sales after
prescriptions dropped 10% in March. 
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