I read an article sent out by the Today Show on Face Book regarding the sleep aid Ambien.
It highlighted the odd behavior patterns people display while asleep who
take the drug. The woman who was the
focus of the piece would sleep walk, eat, and shop online all while under the
influence of Ambien. These behaviors
presented while she was in a different state of consciousness. Disturbing enough but it gets worse, for she
didn’t recall any of these actions in the morning.
Several
years ago, I have had personal experience with Ambien. A man I was seeing at the time was taking the
drug. It slowly became clear to me that
I was involved with two different men: one pre-Ambien and one post-Ambien.
In the
early stages of the relationship, what we call a “honeymoon phase,” things were
close to perfect. Naturally this changes
over time. However, I began to grow
confused by his conduct as he frequently displayed contrasting behavior. A clear picture began to emerge one evening
when I spent the night. He decided we
should watch a movie in bed. I watched
as he made popcorn in the kitchen, went over to a cabinet, popped a pill in his
mouth, swallowed the remains of a glass of wine and made his way to the
bedroom. We were in the bed with the
popcorn conversing when he nodded off for a moment and then popped open
wide-awake. It was like a computer
rebooting itself. After this, he started
to talk differently. His tone and
attitude completely changed. Suddenly,
he was open, confessing that he was “crazy about me” and that I should consider
“moving in with him.” It was so unlike
him – he was generally guarded emotionally and didn’t share what he was
thinking. I questioned him cautiously at
that point. I asked the one question I
thought would answer all of this; “Did you take an Ambien?” His response was yes that he had taken one
before the movie started, noting that I was in the room when he had done so. I asked him why and he stated that it takes a
while to work. Clearly, he was
wrong.
The drug
Ambien took away his guarded behavior.
He spoke openly and freely about his feelings toward me as well as life
in general. Additionally, he became an
insatiable lover who focused on my needs.
He made sure these were met before he completely passed out. I must admit, this side effect was a well-received
pleasure for me.
The problem
was when morning came he didn’t remember any of this. He would accuse me of making up stories when
I told him things he had said and done the night before. Sadly he returned to his normal state of
guarded, defensive behavior with the sunrise.
I began to recognize that I preferred the Ambien man to the Awake
guy. Ambien man was a dream: sweet,
giving and emotionally available. Awake
guy turned out to be a self-absorbed, arrogant ass. It was a twisted play on Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde minus murder. Eventually, I ended
the relationship.
Although doctors state Ambien is
for short-term use it appears to be an easy drug to become addicted to. As in the story from Today, people can switch
doctors to extend the use of sleep aids.
I have not been Mr. Ambien Man’s life for quite some time and I have no
idea if he continued to use the drug. Clearly
this powerful sleep aid has many odd effects on the human body and should be
studied further.
