That’s some brilliant stream of consciousness poetry. I think you should Ambien post more often.
That was a post of otherworldly beauty.
But it convinced me that I should never take Ambien unless under strict full-time watch by someone I trust, from whom I have no secrets.
I remember this when you shared it here. Awesome.
Actually, my favorite line is right in your opener: “collections of tingling, distractionary thints.”
Especially the word “thints.” It’s got a Jabberwocky kind of ring to it.
I was arrested and thrown in jail for three days on a DWI charge that was totally bogus (I was the designated driver.) During my time in jail, I got into several fights with a dude that was coming down on some sort of heavy drug. When I got home, I had insomnia for the first time of my life.
This persisted during the legal proceedings and whatnot, and even after I got the charges thrown out, the cop’s peace officer license recended, and my record purged, I couldn’t get any sleep.
The Witch Doctor at the university I was attending at the time put me on this new drug called Ambien. It was completely safe, non habit forming, and should coax my body back into a normal sleep cycle.
Night One
I shared a town house with a couple dudes. One was out of town and the other had brought his date over. I decided to give the two of them some space so I headed to my room and took my medicine like a good boy, then was going to read a bit and try to get some sleep. I take the pill, start to brush my teeth, then wake up fully clothed in my bed instantly. It is 7:00 AM.
I looked at the book I was reading, it was a pretty good sized book and my bookmark had made its way through the whole first half. I don’t remember any of it. Also, I don’t remember walking out into the livingroom while my roommate and his date were making out on the couch right by the front door. I also don’t remember taking a leak on the front door, which was about seven inches from their heads and bitching that the Dallas Cowboys would have their asses handed to them by our Division 2 college team. I still don’t remember asking my roommate “When does dad get off of work? I want to see if we can talk him into borrowing his car.”
Night Two
After my roommate and his date figured out what the hell was wrong with me, peace was made. Apparently cleaning up your roommate’s urine doesn’t constitute a great first date, but they seem to have overcome this travesty. The roommate suggested that I only take half of one this time. In agreement, I brushed my teeth, popped half the “little whitey” as we were calling it, and layed down. I woke right back up again, right at 7:00 AM, and swung my feet across the bed and to the floor. In this swift motion, I managed to kick my roommate in the head. Not knowing why he was there in a sleeping bag in my room on the floor, I woke him up and asked him what was going on. Here is what he said:
There were signs all over the apartment saying “DANNY DON’T LEAVE” (I’m Danny). Needless to say, I didn’t take the pills again, but never had a sleeping issue ever again either, so I guess it worked out.
I don’t watch TV very often (I don’t even own one) but I did laugh out loud when I was watching the Ambien commercial tell me that “sleepwalking has been reported, and in some instances, driving has also been reported.”
Jeeeez…these stories are all very interesting. Is there a particular “type” of person who should avoid it? Like, I dunno…hyper people, sedentary types, small or large stature, depressed, etc?
I don’t know, Kalhoun. I just had the one sleepwalking episode but my older brother takes it and he does similar wacky things that other people have reported. Author Jen Lancaster has a hysterical bit in one of her books about how she internet shopped for Barbies while taking it.
I’ve only taken it once and didn’t know how fast it would hit me. I figured I’d at least have time for a shower. I was wrong. I don’t even remember finishing the shower but apparently I then went over to the sink and cut off half my beard. Then I got ready and dressed for work, slacks, dress shirt and shoes… at 10:00 at night. Coincidentally our upstairs AC had gone out that day, mid summer, and although I’d pulled out a mattress for us downstairs, I crawled into bed upstairs in the heat, fully clothed and went to sleep. When I awoke the next day I asked my wife why she had let Chuck Berry come into our house and mangle my facial hair.
I tried to post about it here the next day. It’s without question the most indecipherable thing I’ve ever written.
A friend told me women have more problem with sleep walking and stuff while taking it. However, his information is not always based on the highest intel…
I don’t really have a problem with it - but once I take it must be ready to sleep.
Wow, now my Ambien experience seems so…mundane 
A couple of years ago I was on a family camping trip. Now keep in mind that it’s pretty difficult for me to sleep under ideal circumstances, so falling asleep in a tent was going to be exceptionally difficult. One of my nephews, who is a [del]dealer[/del] independent pharmaceutical supplier, gave me an Ambien.
Here’s what my experience was like: put head on pillow - stare at ceiling - black out - smell coffee brewing the next morning. I honestly am glad I laid down immediately after I took it; I get the sense that I would have fallen asleep where I stood otherwise.
I’ve thought about asking my doctor for a script, but I’m terrified of becoming one of those people who, on Ambien, unconsciously gorges on food, or drives to Texas for no discernable reason, or whatever. More than once I’ve given Mrs. Homie a bruise from flailing about in my dreams; I shudder to think what would happen with Ambien. And, I’m on antidepressants (Fluoxetine 20mg bid, FWIW), so I’m concerned about interactions.
Wow. Just wow. I have difficulty sleeping at times, an I’ve been taking melatonin as suggested by a friend, with mixed results. However…no fucking way do I want to try this. It actually sounds kind of trippy (been a long time, and I don’t want to revisit that chapter of my life thankyouverymuch). It seems as though nearly everyone gets weird from it.
I take it about 4 nights a week. It takes me about half an hour to fall asleep. No sleepwalking, eating or other weirdness.
I used it off and on back in the early 00’s. No “swallow, then insta-coma” for me. I could be awake for an hour or two afterward. Though as it kicked in, I might have trouble focussing my eyes, I was as coherent as ever (i.e., marginal at best :D).
I definitely slept more deeply than when not under the influence, as evidenced by fewer night-time wakings for bathroom trips (my theory was that if I wasn’t as deeply asleep, the bladder signals had less trouble waking me). I never was so soundly asleep that I wet the bed, fortunately!!
The biggest part of me was the rebound. A single dose and I’d have trouble falling asleep the following night. Either no sleep at all, or a few hours of that awful not-quite-awake, not-soundly-asleep twilight mode. It got to the point where I’d only take Ambien if a) I could plan on taking it every night until the weekend, or b) I knew the following night, I could get away with not sleeping. And I was dopey in the mornings after I used it.
I did NOT ever have any incidents of sleep eating (I think… no food mysteriously disappeared anyway), or sleep driving.
I used it on the flights to India and back. I usually cannot fall asleep sitting up, but those pills did the trick. My SO woke me up to walk around the cabin after 4 hours or so and then I went right back to sleep. What was really nice was that it helped forcibly move my internal clock to more of the local time and jet lag was minimal.
I had a roommate with hard-core insomnia (think: literally unable to sleep for days at a time) who was on it. Mostly she was fine, but she had some past incidents of things like waking up to find that she’s stacked all of the toilet paper into a pyramid in the hallway. I also had an absolutely hilarious conversation with her once when she was on it–all I can remember now is that she asked me for a cheese slice, and when I handed her one, she clutched it to her breast like it was the most precious thing she’d ever been given.
When I first took it several years ago, I would get hallucinations. They went away after a few weeks. I’ve never had any sleepwalking that I know of. I am very happy with it now that the hallucinations have gone away. It’s especially nice when I am stressed out and having bad dreams. No dreams on the Ambien.