Ambien

I was totally shocked to hear about Heath Ledger's death yesterday. I can't believe he was only 28; somehow he seemed older than that.

I'm curious to hear what the results of the autopsy are; supposedly it will be about 10 days before they're released. The only thing they seem to be reporting is that he had a bottle of sleeping pills near his bed but it doesn't appear to be a suicide. That strikes me as a little alarming, given that almost every woman I know has problems sleeping and takes some form of “sleep aid”.

I'd be willing to bet that the medication they're talking about with regard to Heath is Ambien. Assuming that’s the case, I'm having a hard time believing that it's possible to "accidentally" take a lethal overdose of Ambien. I have a friend whose boyfriend once took 12--along with a ton of alcohol--but thanks to 911 he survived. Unfortunately, a week or so later he tried harder and succeeded, but it apparently took MANY pills and much alcohol. Maybe I have too much faith in drugs being safe but I can't imagine Ambien is that strong that you could die from taking 3 or 4, and I can't imagine anyone would "accidentally" take more than that. I could see thinking maybe 2 would be safe but would never dream of taking more than that. Ok, actually, I could dream of it if it could make you stay asleep for more than 3 hours but wouldn't be willing to test it.

I do find it interesting that, as I said above, almost every woman I know has admitted to having sleep problems and, in almost every case, taking something to alleviate the problem. Apparently millions of people take Tylenol PM every single night, or the Tylenol-free version of it, which I guess amounts to, what, Benadryl? I always laugh when my British friend refers to them as her "tablets"--don't ask me why. It's a little scary to hear these women talk about the lengths they have to go to just to get a good night's sleep--usually the formula includes varying proportions of red wine and Tylenol PM, sometimes with some melatonin thrown in there to make it more holistic.

I personally am an ardent believer in Ambien but try to only use it if absolutely necessary. My dr. has lately become a little skittish about prescribing it because apparently people are doing all kinds of crazy stuff on it—eating through the entire refrigerator without knowing it and even driving places. I personally think it’s safe as long as you take it and go directly to sleep. If you take it and continue to go about your business waiting for it to kick in—well, that’s where you might run into trouble. I have never done anything like go anywhere or eat through house and home, but I have written stuff I have no recollection of writing, including, once, an entire short story. It definitely can enhance your writing skills, or at least it can mine. If you try it, though, make sure you’re not connected to the internet because you may end up sending emails you have no recollection of sending. Ditto for talking; apparently I’ve had 45 minute conversations with Patrick that I don’t remember the next day.

Anyway, sad about Heath.