Ambien & Emergency Room Visits

[Misfit]

Emergency Room Visits Seen Rising Among Sleeping Pill Users - ABC News

Pop an Ambien – or its generic version, zolpidem – and you’re supposed to get a good night’s rest. But according to a new study released today, a growing number of users are ending up in the emergency room because of adverse reactions to the medication.

 

[withrespect]

Emergency Room Visits Seen Rising Among Sleeping Pill Users - ABC News

Pop an Ambien – or its generic version, zolpidem – and you’re supposed to get a good night’s rest. But according to a new study released today, a growing number of users are ending up in the emergency room because of adverse reactions to the medication.

 

[slotpuppy]

Emergency Room Visits Seen Rising Among Sleeping Pill Users - ABC News

Pop an Ambien – or its generic version, zolpidem – and you’re supposed to get a good night’s rest. But according to a new study released today, a growing number of users are ending up in the emergency room because of adverse reactions to the medication.

A bottle of Jack instead of the pills and you will sleep like a baby.

 

[vraiblonde]

adverse reactions to the sleeping pills – which may include hallucinations, paranoia, confusion and drowsiness

Um.....?

 

[MMDad]

Um.....?

Instead of sleepiness. All it did for me was make me black out. I didn't sleep, I am told that I acted drunk, said stupid stuff, and did stupid things.

Unlike the normal me that just says stupid stuff and does stupid things.

 

[NextJen]

Instead of sleepiness. All it did for me was make me black out. I didn't sleep, I am told that I acted drunk, said stupid stuff, and did stupid things.

Unlike the normal me that just says stupid stuff and does stupid things.

Like this?

 

[libertytyranny]

Sleeping pills are over-prescribed.

People taking them should never have been given them in the first place. But NO ONE wants to hear the stuff you are actually sup to do to get better/more sleep. Because it takes more effort than popping a pill. Pretty much like most medications.

 

[withrespect]

 

[Kris10]

Instead of sleepiness. All it did for me was make me black out. I didn't sleep, I am told that I acted drunk, said stupid stuff, and did stupid things.

Unlike the normal me that just says stupid stuff and does stupid things.

:tomatocage:

Like this?

That's horrible

Pills are over-prescribed.

Some people taking them should never have been given them in the first place. But most people don't want to hear the stuff you are actually sup to do to get better/more sleep. Because it takes more effort than popping a pill. Pretty much like most medications.

:fixed: at least that's my opinion anyway. I think most medications are over prescribed. While I agree that people don't typically want to change their way of life (eating habits, sleeping habits, etc), I do think sometimes medications like sleeping aids are helpful

In your opinion, what is it that people should be doing to get better/more sleep?

 

[withrespect]

:tomatocage:



That's horrible



:fixed: at least that's my opinion anyway. I think most medications are over prescribed. While I agree that people don't typically want to change their way of life (eating habits, sleeping habits, etc), I do think sometimes medications like sleeping aids are helpful

In your opinion, what is it that people should be doing to get better/more sleep?

I am assuming she means exercise... and I am assuming she MUST have a medical degree to be making observations like that...

 

[Kris10]

I am assuming she means excercise... and I am assuming she MUST have a medical degree to be making observations like that...

I've never had to take sleeping aids so I can't really say one way or another. Plus I'm not a doctor or anything

 

[MMDad]

People taking them should never have been given them in the first place.

That's a pretty huge generalization. Yes, they are overprescribed, just like Adderall and pain pills. But to say they are never indicated is just wrong.

All the things you are supposed to do - exercise, eat right, limit caffeine and alcohol, quiet, light levels, temperature, times, etc. is just not enough for some people.

When I did the Avon walk, we stayed in a hotel the night before. With the strange room i only slept maybe a couple of hours. After walking a marathon the next day, I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I had no caffeine or alcohol. I ate well, long before I went to bed. I still only got one or two hours of actual sleep, with most of the night just staring up wondering if I would sleep at all. The next night, back at home after walking another 13 miles, I still couldn't fall asleep before midnight.

I tried sleeping pills, but as I said they didn't make me sleep. I'd just wake up in the morning not feeling rested and wondering if I had done anything stupid the night before in the times I couldn't remember. Since then I've found some things that help, but I still have a hard time getting more than 6 hours of sleep, and I definitely need 8.

Insomnia is one of the most miserable things a person can deal with. When it's really bad, it seems like the whole world is in a fog. The simplest task seems impossible. Concentration is gone. And then, when you know you need to sleep so bad, you're suddenly wide awake, staring at the ceiling, watching the hours go by without any sleep.

If Ambien works for those who have real insomnia, then great. It should be used, but only if the right precautions are taken. It is dangerous. Same with other sleeping pills. To say they should never be used is just ignoring a very real problem.

 

[libertytyranny]

:tomatocage:



That's horrible



:fixed: at least that's my opinion anyway. I think most medications are over prescribed. While I agree that people don't typically want to change their way of life (eating habits, sleeping habits, etc), I do think sometimes medications like sleeping aids are helpful

In your opinion, what is it that people should be doing to get better/more sleep?

I agree it is pills in general that are overprescribed. I see people not much older than me popping several a day. Thats not normal.


Sleep is something that affects our well being very much, I get the allure of popping a pill and making it easy. But there are lots of things that should be tried first. Investigations into medical causes (apnea, sugar drops at night, medications you are taking etc) are important, as well as some good mental work. Doing all the goofy stuff like changing the sleep environment, analyzing and changing your schedule, meditation, rearranging medications taken during the day, limiting caffiene, and changing your attitudes towards sleep all help. In fact it has been shown that most people do not need the amount of sleep they think they do, and they attribute lots of "symptoms" they have on lack of sleep when in fact there are other causes. This turns sleep into a stressful idea, which obviously doesn't help the issue.


And the number one thing no one wants to hear? CBT has been shown, in numerous, credible, peer-reviewed studies to be far more effective in terms of quality of sleep and satisfaction than ANY sleeping pill. And further, the techniques learned through CBT last after the "treatment" has stopped..while with pills as soon as they are d/c'd insomnia returns..and sleeping pills are not designed nor recommended by any medical body for long term use because of dependency and side effects. So it stands to reasont hat the more reasonable approach to getting sleep if chronic insomnia is an issue (not, say a short term issue due to a medical condition or medication needed) is to invest some time in some CBT with a therapist.

 

[sockgirl77]

Sleeping pills are over-prescribed.

People taking them should never have been given them in the first place. But NO ONE wants to hear the stuff you are actually sup to do to get better/more sleep. Because it takes more effort than popping a pill. Pretty much like most medications.

WELLLLLLLLLLLL...I get up at 4am, drive over an hour and a half to work, work all day, drive over an hour and a half home, chase 3 kids, feed 3 kids, do homework, bathe 3 kids, do laundry, wash dishes, clean, and chase 3 kids to bed no earlier than 10pm EVERY DAY. I am exhausted by the end of the day but still cannot fall asleep. So perhaps your medical advice is completely worthless because you clearly do not know jack shiat about sleep deprevation and/or insomnia.

 

[libertytyranny]

In all three studies that directly compared CBT-I to sleeping pills, CBT-I was more effective. Meta-analyses show that CBT-I helps people fall asleep faster than sleeping pills and that 75% of patients derive significant clinical benefit from CBT-I. CBT-I also eliminates sleep medication use in 60% of long-term nightly users (Morin et al., Am. J. of Psychiatry, 2004) and reduces or eliminates sleep medication in 90% of patients (Jacobs et al., Am. J. of Med.,1996). Most sleeping pills are no longer considered a safe or appropriate treatment for chronic insomnia because they can have significant side effects that far outweigh their benefits, are only moderately effective for insomnia subjectively, and objectively are no more effective than a placebo.

 

[vraiblonde]

It's like losing weight - people know what they need to do, they just don't want to do it. They want some magic thing to come along and fix their problem with little or no effort on their part.

It's rare that there is a true physical reason for insomnia - which is not to say it doesn't happen, just that it's rare. Insomnia is typically a symptom of something else - fix that, you fix your insomnia.

And that is my professional medical opinion.

 

[Kris10]

I agree it is pills in general that are overprescribed. I see people not much older than me popping several a day. Thats not normal.


Sleep is something that affects our well being very much, I get the allure of popping a pill and making it easy. But there are lots of things that should be tried first. Investigations into medical causes (apnea, sugar drops at night, medications you are taking etc) are important, as well as some good mental work. Doing all the goofy stuff like changing the sleep environment, analyzing and changing your schedule, meditation, rearranging medications taken during the day, limiting caffiene, and changing your attitudes towards sleep all help. In fact it has been shown that most people do not need the amount of sleep they think they do, and they attribute lots of "symptoms" they have on lack of sleep when in fact there are other causes. This turns sleep into a stressful idea, which obviously doesn't help the issue.


And the number one thing no one wants to hear? CBT has been shown, in numerous, credible, peer-reviewed studies to be far more effective in terms of quality of sleep and satisfaction than ANY sleeping pill. And further, the techniques learned through CBT last after the "treatment" has stopped..while with pills as soon as they are d/c'd insomnia returns..and sleeping pills are not designed nor recommended by any medical body for long term use because of dependency and side effects. So it stands to reasont hat the more reasonable approach to getting sleep if chronic insomnia is an issue (not, say a short term issue due to a medical condition or medication needed) is to invest some time in some CBT with a therapist.

Did you write that article yourself? I get some of what you're saying. Really though, are you in the medical field?

It's like losing weight - people know what they need to do, they just don't want to do it. They want some magic thing to come along and fix their problem with little or no effort on their part.

It's rare that there is a true physical reason for insomnia - which is not to say it doesn't happen, just that it's rare. Insomnia is typically a symptom of something else - fix that, you fix your insomnia.

And that is my professional medical opinion.

Nobody asked for your professional medical opinion j/k, j/k!

I hate that too. When I hear someone's on a new fancy diet where they eat so much of this with just a little of that, they're taking vinegar shots or a new lil pill all the while there is NO exercising....ugh, I just wanna bang their head into a wall!

 

[nomoney]

WELLLLLLLLLLLL...I get up at 4am, drive over an hour and a half to work, work all day, drive over an hour and a half home, chase 3 kids, feed 3 kids, do homework, bathe 3 kids, do laundry, wash dishes, clean, and chase 3 kids to bed no earlier than 10pm EVERY DAY. I am exhausted by the end of the day but still cannot fall asleep. So perhaps your medical advice is completely worthless because you clearly do not know jack shiat about sleep deprevation and/or insomnia.

I know one thing, people that don't sleep are sure grumpy as hell.

 

[sockgirl77]

I know one thing, people that don't sleep are sure grumpy as hell.

And manly too?

 

[libertytyranny]

Did you write that article yourself? I get some of what you're saying. Really though, are you in the medical field?



Nobody asked for your professional medical opinion j/k, j/k!

I hate that too. When I hear someone's on a new fancy diet where they eat so much of this with just a little of that, they're taking vinegar shots or a new lil pill all the while there is NO exercising....ugh, I just wanna bang their head into a wall!

lol the quoted section is straight from my head. the article I referenced is straight from an article I had sitting on my desktop for a paper I wrote.

I have been a part of the mental health community, both in an inpatient clinical setting and academically since I was in 11th grade. I am not a doctor, obviously. So whomever and their docs can decide what they need to take. But I have seen the problems with over-prescribing drugs for years. Talked with numerous docs and therapists about it, and done a lot of research. its one of my passionate interests. I fully believe most people are healthy functioning adults without the need for medications. I have more faith in people's mental health than they do in their own sometimes.