To sleep, perchance to dream...
May. 5th, 2006 11:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lurkittyI note the hubub this morning with respect to Rep. Patrick Kennedy crashing his car near the Capitol. The Washington Post reported that Rep. Kennedy claimed to have been taking Phenergan and Ambien.
If Patrick Kennedy had indeed been taking Ambien, there are plenty of precedents for "sleep driving" under the influence. This drug is notorious for the side effect. My nephew had several incidents of sleepwalking before his doc actually warned him about the possibility. He is now off the drug. It is highly dangerous, as it appears to remove the sleep paralysis that keeps us from getting out of bed and acting out our dreams.
I have no idea if this is what happened. It would be a convenient way to cover a drunk driving episode. But it is also a plausible explanation, and another reason that Ambien's potential for harm needs further exposure.
If Patrick Kennedy had indeed been taking Ambien, there are plenty of precedents for "sleep driving" under the influence. This drug is notorious for the side effect. My nephew had several incidents of sleepwalking before his doc actually warned him about the possibility. He is now off the drug. It is highly dangerous, as it appears to remove the sleep paralysis that keeps us from getting out of bed and acting out our dreams.
I have no idea if this is what happened. It would be a convenient way to cover a drunk driving episode. But it is also a plausible explanation, and another reason that Ambien's potential for harm needs further exposure.
