- Zolpidem prescriptions reached 58,000 this year, the highest level since records began
- Up to 1 in 100 users may experience strange “sleep-related behaviors.”
- But experts warned that it was a “potent drug” and should only be used for short periods of time.
Record-breaking prescriptions for common sleeping pills may be due to misuse by Britons who want wild sex, experts warned today.
Zolpidem prescriptions this year reached the highest level since records began in 2018, with 58,000 doses distributed in March.
Z-drugs like Zolpidem, better known by the brand name Ambien, have long been touted as easy-to-use alternatives to notoriously addictive tranquilizers.
But it’s estimated that up to 1 in 100 people who use this drug experience strange “sleep-related behaviors,” such as sleepwalking or having sex without being fully aware of it.
Thousands of Ambien users have also shared their drugged sex experiences on online forums, rating it “the best sex ever” and making sure that sleeping pills allow them to do “things they would otherwise be too scared to do”. It is evaluated that it has become. .
But experts warn that the drug is a “strong drug” and should only be used by people experiencing “unpleasant sleep behavior.”
Nuno Albuquerque, head of treatment at the UK Addiction Treatment Group, told MailOnline: “It is entirely possible that the increased prescribing of zolpidem may be associated with increased libido and sexual experience resulting from zolpidem use in some individuals.”
“Of course, this is not the case for everyone, but anecdotally, we had a conversation with a Zolpidem patient during a treatment program.
“My advice to everyone regarding prescription drugs is to take them exactly as prescribed and only when they are prescribed.
“Zolpidem is a powerful drug and should only be used for short periods of time by people experiencing disturbing sleep behavior.”
This side effect is notorious for its association with celebrity debacles.
Golf icon Tiger Woods reportedly took the same drug in 2009 to spice up his sex life with alleged mistress Rachel Uchitel.
A source close to her said Uchiteru told friends, “You know we have crazier sex in Ambien, but it makes me feel like Ambien.”
She added, “We have crazy ambient sex.”
And this phenomenon has become so common that forum users share their experiences of using Ambien specifically for sex in online chat rooms.
In a Reddit group with more than 147,000 members, one user wrote, “Every time I get a prescription for Ambien, my partner and I save a dose or two for recreation.”
They added that every occasion was “the best sex ever.”
“Has anyone else gotten this at Ambien?” That’s interesting to me, but I guess I didn’t expect Ambien to get me so excited. “
In another thread titled “I can only have sex with Ambien,” one user said, “Drinking Ambien makes my head quiet and clear.”
They go on to say, “We’re messed up but we have good sex, so we have to sleep, so we sacrifice sleep time.” I love it.
“But I want normal sex again.” I can’t get it out of my head or my body reacts. “
In another group, a member of Reddit asked, “Sex in Ambien?” Anyone tried it and have any thoughts or tips? Both me and my partner are on 20mg and alcohol so I’m considering trying it soon. “
“Yeah, I love sex on Ambien,” wrote one user.
A second said, “My husband said it was great, but I only vaguely remember it.”
But a third person warned, “Be careful, alcohol can make hallucinations worse.”
Another warned, “Don’t take alcohol in that dose.”
The NHS advises people taking this drug not to drink alcohol while taking zolpidem.
He adds, “You can fall into a deep sleep together and have a hard time waking up.”
Studies have also shown that mixing both drugs together can significantly slow down the central nervous system and affect its function.
Being awake and experiencing such side effects has become known as “ambien walrus” on internet forums.
Van Winkles of Sleep Blog says: [Ambien] When functioning as intended, the user is like a mass, but when its ill effects manifest, the user is driven to sleepwalking, shuffling awkwardly like a walrus flipping over ice floes. “
“If a walrus happens to share a bed with someone, it may become lustful with that person,” Van Winkles added.
Increased arousal is not listed as a side effect of Ambien, but “lack or loss of self-control” is.
Health officials also warn people with symptoms such as memory loss or seeing or hearing things that aren’t real to stop taking Zolpidem and call their doctor or call 911 as soon as possible. ing.
Zolpidem enters the intestine, enters the bloodstream, and interacts with the benzodiazepine binding site of the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor complex.
This increases the activity of GABA. GABA is a neurotransmitter, or chemical, that inhibits certain types of brain activity.
Through its action on the GABA system, zolpidem increases brain inhibition, calms nerve excitability in the brain, and helps induce sleep.
Sleep is improved when the function of GABA in the brain becomes active.
However, the risks of this drug have long been known by medical institutions.
In 2014, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which oversees the safety of medicines in the United Kingdom, released a Drug Safety Update warning of the risks of drowsiness and impaired driving ability when taking zolpidem.
To reduce this risk, patients were advised not to drive, operate machinery, or work at heights for at least 8 hours after taking zolpidem.
Patients should also be warned not to take zolpidem with alcohol, illicit drugs, or other central nervous system depressants, and to avoid driving, operating machinery, or working at heights if drowsiness persists after taking zolpidem. did.
This is a change in the recommended dosage by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the US drug safety watchdog, to sanofi-aventis, the manufacturer of Ambien and Ambien CR, and all other manufacturers of Zolpidem. It was only a year after I ordered it.
This was in response to more than 700 reported zolpidem-related driving accidents involving drowsy driving or drowsy driving, i.e., driving out of bed while the patient was not fully awake.
Some people also reported eating, walking, making phone calls, or having sex after taking Ambien but had no memory of doing so.
The drug’s label now lists risks for “preparing and eating meals, making phone calls, and having sex.”
It was also the first and only time a drug was placed under an FDA-mandated gender-specific dosing regimen in the United States.
Under its updated guidance in 2013, the FDA recommended that women take half the dose of men, citing new data that women are at higher risk of next-day cognitive impairment that jeopardizes activities such as driving. did.
At the time, Jean-Pierre Caplan, who co-invented the drug that became known as Ambian, described Zolpidem as an “occupational disaster.”
“This is not life-saving, nor does it cure the most intractable diseases such as cancer, malaria or Alzheimer’s disease,” he added. Therefore, I call it a comfort medicine.
Dr. Hugh Celsic of the Royal Psychiatrists’ Association told MailOnline, “Sleep-related abnormal behaviors are known side effects of Zolpidem, but the vast majority of patients will not experience them.”
“They may manifest as sleepwalking, but they may also be performed before a person falls asleep and not remembered because of the amnesic effects of the drug.”
“While no patient has reported a positive effect on libido from the drug, treating insomnia may help normalize libido, as it is not uncommon for insomnia to reduce libido,” he said. There is,” he added.
But some warn of its dangers as a date rape drug.
A 2008 review of case reports on complex sleep behaviors associated with Ambien, published in the medical journal CNS Drugs, reported a single case of “sleep sex” in which an Ambien consumer was raped.
According to a 2019 review of sleep-related violence published in Contemporary Reviews in Sleep Medicine, reports of environment-related crimes also included homicide/manslaughter.
