TiPS has been a "Tiger Woods Free Zone" (unless I've missed some posts) and I am loathe to infect with it with TW news but as I was going through the Sunday NY Daily News this morning a headline caught my eye:
"Ambien is aphrodisiac, swear randy bloggers" NOTE: the online version of this story has a slightly different title: http://tinyurl.com/ydr95ed As an occasional user of Ambien I admit to having been surprised to read this (if the claim is true that one can engage in wild sex and not remember it then I may have even more things to be surprised about). A quick search of the web confirms that the claim was made on bloggers' websites relative to Woods; see: http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2009/12/skank_week_is_not_yet_over_the.html http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/xxfactor/archive/2009/12/07/tiger-woods-crazy-ambien-sex.aspx http://www.celebitchy.com/83467/tiger_woods_mistress_we_have_crazy_ambien_sex/ There are other bloggers who also report sexual side effects prior to the Woods disclosure; for example: http://ezinearticles.com/?Ambien-Side-Effects-May-Make-You-Think-Twice-Before-Using-It&id=430781 This article was submitted on January 25, 2007. Quoting it: |In the same vein as the above side effects of Ambien is that some |people become sexually uninhibited and display extreme sexual |behavior while on Ambien. Again, most do not remember acting |that way or that they engaged in sexual activity when they wake up |the next morning. While some may find this to be a side benefit |rather than a side effect it can be dangerous. Often the person |tends to not have inhibitions about WHO they have sex with. |One woman reported that several people who knew she was |taking Ambien used it as an opportunity to have sex with her when |she normally would not have done so with them. Now, a check of side effects shows that there are a variety of side effects including various activities where the person appears to be awake but has no memory for the activities; for example, see: http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-9690-Ambien+Oral.aspx?drugid=9690&drugname=Ambien+Oral Although it seems possible to have sex while on Ambien it doesn't appear to function either as an aphrodisiac (that is, increase one's desire to have sex) or to engage in more extreme sex though these behaviors may not have been reported by the people who particiapted in the original studies validating Ambien as a sleep aid (perhaps they were embarassed to report such things or thought that they were unrelated to Ambien use). So, "crazy Ambien sex": mass delusion/urban legend/self-fulfilling prophecy or unexpected side effect affecting a small proportion of people or whatever? -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([email protected])
