I hope you will forgive my attempt at levity in the title of today's article/rant. What I have to tell you is deadly serious, and I feel the play on words might help you to remember what I am about to say.
There is nothing more important than a good nights sleep, and million's of Americans turn to prescription sleep aids, like Ambien, in order to accomplish this task.
Most users are aware of the common side effects: sleep walking, sleep driving, and even sleep eating. Some of the over the counter sleep aids can even make you itch and tingle and have the opposite intended effect. The more serious and rare side effects are hardly ever discussed, because if you knew about them you would probably find other ways to secure a peaceful slumber.
Meet 26-year-old Air Force veteran Derek Stansberry. On April 27, 2010, Stansberry boarded Delta Flight 273 from Paris to Atlanta. According to press reports, he passed a note to flight attendants that said, "Forgiveme, I fu***d up, I am sorry... My passports and identity are fake... Please let my family know the truth." CNN reports that he wrote he had brought dynamite aboard in his boots and laptop.
He was taken down by Air Marshall's, the plane diverted to Bangor Maine where, fortunately, no explosives were actually found. Stansberry, an Iraq vet, had just moved to Texas with his wife and baby. Mr. Stansberry was acutely psychotic when he was taken into custody. He told FBI agents that he believed that the passengers were talking about him and that he was being followed. He also told the agents that he had taken Ambien.
In 2006, Rhode Island representative Patrick Kennedy drove to Capitol Hill under Ambien's influence to “vote” at 2:45 a.m. He crashed his car. By 2007, such blackouts were becoming so common the FDA issued warnings about the potential of “complex sleep-related behaviors".
Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and former wife of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo suffered a "partial seizure" and swerved into a tractor-trailer, then kept driving. Kennedy told police when she was stopped that she may have confused the Ambien with her daily thyroid med.
The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders recently reported Ambien-associated homicides. "This Brief Report presents 2 cases in which concomitant zolpidem [Ambien] and paroxetine [Paxil] use was associated with uncharacteristic, complex acts of violence for which the individuals in question claimed total or partial amnesia. Neither individual had a history of aggressive behavior before killing his or her spouse; both most likely took more than 5 mg of zolpidem on the nights of their offenses."
So it should come as no surprise to you that the gunmen involved in yesterday's shooting at Ft Hood was diagnosed with PTSD, and was prescribed the prescription sleep aid Ambien. And again I ask you, when are we going to have a serious conversation in this country about how medicated we are, and the damage it is doing?
Most users are aware of the common side effects: sleep walking, sleep driving, and even sleep eating. Some of the over the counter sleep aids can even make you itch and tingle and have the opposite intended effect. The more serious and rare side effects are hardly ever discussed, because if you knew about them you would probably find other ways to secure a peaceful slumber.
Meet 26-year-old Air Force veteran Derek Stansberry. On April 27, 2010, Stansberry boarded Delta Flight 273 from Paris to Atlanta. According to press reports, he passed a note to flight attendants that said, "Forgiveme, I fu***d up, I am sorry... My passports and identity are fake... Please let my family know the truth." CNN reports that he wrote he had brought dynamite aboard in his boots and laptop.
He was taken down by Air Marshall's, the plane diverted to Bangor Maine where, fortunately, no explosives were actually found. Stansberry, an Iraq vet, had just moved to Texas with his wife and baby. Mr. Stansberry was acutely psychotic when he was taken into custody. He told FBI agents that he believed that the passengers were talking about him and that he was being followed. He also told the agents that he had taken Ambien.
In 2006, Rhode Island representative Patrick Kennedy drove to Capitol Hill under Ambien's influence to “vote” at 2:45 a.m. He crashed his car. By 2007, such blackouts were becoming so common the FDA issued warnings about the potential of “complex sleep-related behaviors".
Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and former wife of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo suffered a "partial seizure" and swerved into a tractor-trailer, then kept driving. Kennedy told police when she was stopped that she may have confused the Ambien with her daily thyroid med.
The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders recently reported Ambien-associated homicides. "This Brief Report presents 2 cases in which concomitant zolpidem [Ambien] and paroxetine [Paxil] use was associated with uncharacteristic, complex acts of violence for which the individuals in question claimed total or partial amnesia. Neither individual had a history of aggressive behavior before killing his or her spouse; both most likely took more than 5 mg of zolpidem on the nights of their offenses."
So it should come as no surprise to you that the gunmen involved in yesterday's shooting at Ft Hood was diagnosed with PTSD, and was prescribed the prescription sleep aid Ambien. And again I ask you, when are we going to have a serious conversation in this country about how medicated we are, and the damage it is doing?
The side effects of Ambien, listed on WebMD, include: severe Depression, severe confusion, strange and unsettling dreams, hallucination, aggressive behavior, extreme sense of 'well being', nervous, anxious, easily annoyed, loss of ones sense of reality.
Are you LISTENING TO ME!?! We are feeding this to people who are already traumatized by WAR! And we stand by shocked when something bad happens.
The pharmaceutical industry served up more than $250 billion worth of sales last year. Do we need all these drugs? Some of them will absolutely yank you back from the brink of certain death. The rest?
Well I guess you have to ask, what price are you willing to pay for a good nights sleep? Are you ready to kill for it?
Are you LISTENING TO ME!?! We are feeding this to people who are already traumatized by WAR! And we stand by shocked when something bad happens.
The pharmaceutical industry served up more than $250 billion worth of sales last year. Do we need all these drugs? Some of them will absolutely yank you back from the brink of certain death. The rest?
Well I guess you have to ask, what price are you willing to pay for a good nights sleep? Are you ready to kill for it?
No comments:
Post a Comment