I'm so sorry you're experiencing that. How scary! Those heavy meds scare me. Long ago my doc told me Benadryl (allergy -- with no extras) had the most effect with the least side effect. It will put you to sleep, but not prevent you from waking in the middle of the night. But then, maybe Ambien doesn't either.
Tina
Bear with me, this is one of the hardest things I've ever had to write.
> Please be warned that I will be upset if I am mocked in any way about this. >
> Caution: This is a strange one.
>
> For about a year, I've been taking Ambien to sleep. Otherwise, I'm up for
> days at a time (like now. I've been up since Thursday morning) Recently,
> I've been accused by various family members of saying things that are totally
> out of character for me. For example, DD swears I gave her permission to
> "have a few shots" of alcohol while she's in Germany, "because there's no
> drinking age."
>
> Normally, I'd pooh-pooh it, but the way she recounts the conversation has a
> total ring of truth: The wording, the circumstances, _all_ sound exactly
> like me. OTOH, I don't plan to give my thirteen year old blanket permission
> to drink shots. I told her that if indeed that's what I said, I am
> rescinding permission immediately.
>
> Then, this week, a friend told us that he had tried Ambien, and he had
> strange episodes where he said and did things that he could not remember.
> One time when he woke with a beard full of yogurt struck a chord with me: I
> often find several empty cans of Diet Coke on my nightstand, and I swear they
> weren't there when I went to bed. I checked Medline, and it's true:
> retrograde amnesia (and other similar behavior) is a known side effect, and
> it got worse the longer a person takes the drug. Their tests showed only 1%
> of patients had the side effect, but their study only lasted four weeks. >
> Ay Carumba! I sat down with my family, and we just talked over all this
> stuff. Apparently, I've been saying very strange things (and I no longer
> have any secrets) for quite a while. They chalked it up to pain meds, and/or
> constant, severe pain. We've now worked out a contingency plan while I get
> off this medication: anything strange coming from my mouth needs to be
> confirmed with Bob before it's considered permission. That kills me, but for
> the girls' sake, I don't want some whacked out thing that I said hurting
> them. What doubly kills me is that I thank God I'm no longer driving, it's
> scary to think that I could be out on the roads without a clue as to what's > going on.
>
> One other factor is that I'm on a huge number of different medications, some
> of which may be exacerbating the "Kath's a Whacko" effect. I am going to
> call my lung doctor on Monday to get a consult with his pharmacy specialist
> -- she's a doctor that goes through all your medications to make sure that
> you're getting the right treatment. This is essential because lung patients
> usually live on an amazing "Chemical Cocktail," and she's probably saved a
> ton of lives.
>
> So, for now -- if I say anything totally wierd, please bear with me. > > Kathy N-V
>