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Ambien Side Effects Reported
Did You Know?
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, an estimated 30 million people in the U.S. take sleep medications
Ambien users have been found to have developed habitual behavior now referred to as "Ambien sleepwalking" in which people find themselves in a virtual "Twilight Zone" where they engage in various forms of binge eating. Ambien lawsuits seeking monetary damages from drug maker Sanofi-Aventis report experiencing sleepwalking, memory loss, amnesia, binge eating while sleeping, having sex while sleeping, and other disturbing side effects. Ambien users also report having auto accidents the day after taking Ambien due to daytime sleepiness and the lingering feeling of being drugged.
Ambien Quick Facts
- Ambien is an anti-insomnia drug manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis.
- Ambien has annual sales of more than 2 billion.
- There are 26 million Ambien Prescriptions.
- Ambien boasts 12 billion nights of patient use.
- Mayo Clinic research conducted earlier on Ambien had similar findings.
- Consumer group Public Citizen has called for very limited use of Ambien because it causes temporary amnesia.
Toxicology labs in a number of states have identified Ambien to be in the "top 10" drugs found in the blood of "impaired drivers" involved in accidents (usually running into stationary objects) or erratic driving while in "zombie-like" trances.
Ambien Researchers - Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene
Laura Liddicoat, supervisor of the toxicology section of the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene in Madison , presented her findings at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences meeting.
According to Liddicoat, drivers under the influence of high doses of Ambien have crashed their cars and then had absolutely no memory of the accident. The sleeping pill apparently continued to impair drivers even after they have attempted to sleep off the effects.
Liddicoat described extreme mental and physical effects when driving within five hours of taking the drug. "Drugged driving cases have been steadily increasing over the last five years, and Ambien cases have mirrored this trend..."
Ambien Researchers - Minnesota Medical School
The researchers identified 32 Ambien users who were experiencing sleep-related eating disorders with amnesia, part of a group of studies they plan to publish, according to a report in The New York Times. The Minnesota researchers estimated that thousands of Ambien users in the U.S. experience sleep-related eating disorders while taking the drug.
Researchers in Minnesota are looking at instances where people taking Ambien for insomnia got up in the middle of the night and engaged in such behaviors as binge eating. The patients reportedly remembered nothing of the experience upon awakening.
Dr. Michael Cramer Vornemann, a researcher at the University of Minnesota Medical School and the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis , said it appears that those with a prior history of sleep walking and also women may be at higher risk for experiencing these side effects.
"Doctors who prescribe this medication do need to engage in discussions with patients to describe and try to understand potential contributors to this behavior," Vornemann told "Today."
According to the New York Times , Sanofi Aventis maintains that "the drug's record after 13 years of use in this country shows it is safe when taken as directed." The company has provided the FDA with reports of people driving while sleep walking due to residual effects of the drug.
Merrill Mitler, program director at the sleep disorder unit at the National Institutes of Health.
"The risk was always there; we are seeing it more now because so many more people are using the drugs."
Ambien Lawsuit
Personal injury claims are now being investigated and reviewed by pharmaceutical litigation experts around the country and there is little doubt that many of these claims will evolve into lawsuits seeking monetary damages from Sanofi-Aventis.
A federal class action was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York warns consumers and doctors about the adverse side effects of sleep walking and sleep eating because it is unfair to Ambien users to enter this hypnotic state then sleep walk and drive, putting themselves and others in danger.
Two women who claimed they became sleep-eaters while taking Ambien were among four former Ambien users who filed suit against Sanofi-Aventis in United States District Court in Manhattan last week, charging they were harmed by the drug, The New York Times reported.
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