Posts: 913
From:
Registered: Jul 2004

posted October 01, 2005 10:11 PM         

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I'm sure you've seen the ads on TV for Ambein, the new prescription sleep aid. They gave it to my father when he first went into the hosptial, and it made him have panic attacks when he woke up in the middle of the night and left him incredibly disoriented and "druggy" for most of the day afterwards. You know the bit in the commercial that says "Only take Ambein when you can devote 8 hours to uninterrupted rest."? Yeah well,t hat because it's psychotrophic - it is a mind-altering chemical that changes your brain processes, and if you don't literally "sleep it off" it make you as functional as you would be on an antipsychotic drug (which are also psychotrophic), which means, not very functional at all.

It was very dumb that they gave my father Ambein, when he's in the hospital because of severe breathing problems. This means he wakes up regularly throughout the night. Plus they would wake him up two or three times to check vitals and other things. It is impossible for him to get enough sleep to counteract the effects of the Ambein. We told the nurses to stop the Ambein and my dad's gotten back to his normal self, more or less.

So just be informed. Those ads don't mention Ambein is psychotrophic, and they didn't mention that to us when they started giving it to my father. I suspect most people would just be better off taking a Benadryl before going to bed.

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Posts: 1804
From: Ontario Canada
Registered: Jun 2005

posted October 01, 2005 11:21 PM         

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Yeah, or Gravol!!!!
Holy Crap!!!!
That is unbelievable.

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Posts: 16
From: Granite City, Il. USA
Registered: Jul 2005

posted October 02, 2005 10:23 AM         

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My husband and I take Natrol Melatonin 3Mg tablets each night. Two or three of them help me sleep just fine; it's a hormone your body produces naturally and I've never felt druggy with them. These are 100% vegetarian: NO yeast, milk, egg, soy, glutens, artificial colors or flavors, no added sugar or preservatives. It has the medical supervision warning and the FDA disclaimer on it. Hope this helps.

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Posts: 5092
From: Southern 'Bama
Registered: Aug 2002

posted October 03, 2005 10:06 PM         

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Geez, I had no idea, GN.

Thanks for the heads-up.

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Posts: 1042
From: Calm Blue Ocean, Calm Blue Ocean
Registered: Jun 2003

posted October 04, 2005 05:26 PM         

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DON'T TAKE AMBIEN. They really need to take it off the market, I'm SO glad you posted this. My brother was on it, and he was having sleep walking episodes in the middle of the night where he'd act out his dreams and fall down and hurt himself. Sounds similar to what you described GN. THANKS

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