Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Ah Ambien

So I go to an appointment that I had yesterday morning (Monday), south of the airport (about 35 miles), and decide to take my prescription "Ambien" in an effort to allow it to "kick in" so I can sleep when I get home. Coupled with my BP medication, and some kind of cholesterol pill, I swallowed them all in one gulp, and proceeded to the interstate, in my car, NOT my America (thank God). So onto I-285, set the cruise, and start getting "really comfortable". Onto Interstate 20 toward Birmingham, and I notice that Im drifting in and out of the lanes, but don't really care. I do remember swerving quite a bit, but made no effort to correct, all hazy. Then KA-BLAM, EEEECCCCCHHHHH, GRIND, Im awake, and seem to be sanding down the drivers side of my car with the median wall. I am awake now, but still woozy, and still not seeming to care. Some dude (maybe 2) with flashy blue lights pulled up behind me, said something and left. Yet another, more crafty fellow was backing a large white vehicle toward me, and I thought it may be Saint Peter, being creative. I agreed to whatever he said, and before I knew it, he had pulled me off the interstate, onto a motel parking lot, changed the left front tire, all without asking for a penny. I was thinking, boy, this IS St. Peter! Another person approaced me, this time from THREE cars with flashing blue lights, and we talked about something, which I really don't recall, but he too, and his other buddies left. A few minutes later, Im awakened again, this time, by my big brother, Gary, knocking on my window. His shiny 2010 Camaro parked where "the others" were just a few minutes before, then my wife Kimmy and her mother pulling up in another vehicle. Now at this point, Im thinking Im either at some crazy family reunion, or I have indeed died, and my family is coming to take my dead body to the funeral home. I don't remember much of anything until I woke up at like 7:00 last night, but I was very well rested and ready for work. The only damage to the little cavalier, was the left front tire and wheel totally destroyed, not another scratch anywhere on the car...Thank you St. Peter!

Wow, you're a lucky one. Someone was watchin out for you.

Yes, I am very lucky to have a wonderful, caring, and loving family...they were there in no time...

you're lucky for not being charged with dui or killing someone.
stop that!

Hard to believe the guys with flashy lights didn't take you in for tests.

Promise you'll never do that again! You're lucky you didn't hurt yourself or someone else. Not good!!!!

So Mark, tell me...Did you see that little glowing butterfly fluttering around your head just before you nodded off, just like in their commercials for that stuff???

(oh and BTW, I sure hope you learned your lesson here!...next time St.Peter might just wait for ya at those Pearly Gates instead!!!)

You must have forgot about the part about not driving or operating heavy equipment while taking Ambien.

you are a very lucky man ,glad only a tire and wheel was damaged,that coulda been so much worse .
i had to have my OL drive me to the Doc yesterday for a cortisone shot ,after i had taken some tramadol....... the night before. ho lee was i wasted ,didnt even feel the needle in my knee.

Where is that darn flashlight when I need it?

'Round these parts your butt would belong to
the guys with the flashing lights.

Flashing lights...flashlight...hahaha...just
caught that one.

If you were in Nevada, you would have gotten some well deserved jail time. DUI isn't limited to alcohol.

I know, right? Like I said, it was all a blur to me. I have no idea what I said, but it must have been enough to satisfy them. I feel I was "taken care of", as it was an honest mistake.

Just a suggestion:
Don't do dat no mo!

Lucky and dumb.

I always was suspicious of that radio-active butterfly.

You're one of the cagers we worry about!!

Starting back with the solar powered dog BBQ, and up & through the upside down thermostat, and now this,
I'm fairly confident that Mr. King wrote this just for you.

Well, now you've learned how fast that stuff kicks in. Hopefully you won't be making that mistake again. Glad you're okay.

Your disappointment is dumb.

Well Mark, to be fair, the way you wrote up your tale kind of makes it sound like you really weren't concerned about anything... even after you woke up fully rested and realized what happened. You make it sound like you were happy the car wasn't damaged too bad and that's about it. I got no sense of remorse or any kind of WTF HAPPENED?!?! by what you posted. Just that you got lucky. And got off easy. With no injuries and no major car damage. So yeah, some of the guys here are gonna call you a dumb cager. You are going to have to accept that. It's not that you made a mistake, but that you don't really seem to care.

RW, I'm sure that part of the effect of that is that the Ambien severely blunted the emotional effect of what happened. Even after he'd woken up, it's hard to get quite as worked up over something when you haven't had that initial shock.

You may be right. I don't know since the only pills I take are Aleve every now and then. Maybe I think that if I were in the same situation, I would be feeling kind of like a douche for being irresponsible behind the wheel.

Maybe so. I've never taken Ambien, but I've taken things like Xanax and valium, and I probably could have heard a nuke go off next door, and think that was okay.

I really didn't want to even say anything about this thread at all, but when I read that he was disappointed in the replies, I couldn't help but remember last year when one of the guys here (not naming names) admitted to doing some dumb stuff (DUI) and he got all kinds of abuse, even though he admitted he was wrong and stupid and never should have done it! Anyway, I know mistakes happen, and I'm sure it was not intentional. That just got me when he said he was disappointed in the responses. If anything, they were pretty mild.

Sorry that I sounded like I did to you, but a lot of the other cagers don't go out saying or thinking about how many people they can take out when their out driving but their actions speak for them selves. I didn't want to give you a "that a boy" on your actions and like every body was/is saying, your lucky!! Don't try for second chances!! Like I said before, I'm sorry for sounding the way I did. Steve

Ambien is some serious stuff and affects some people in really wierd ways. Reports of hallucinations, confusion, feeling drugged, psychotic reactions and even "driving while asleep" have been associated with Ambien (that fine print on the label is real). Combining it with other meds can add even more unexpected complications.

My wife is one of those who experiences wierd reactions to seemingly innocuous meds. She won't take any new med without me being nearby for the day.

Glad it all worked out for you. I'll bet you won't make that mistake again and let's hope your warning will prevent someone else from doing the same thing with disastrous results!

Thank you Steve, you know, my biggest problem I think, is going onto these forums, and sharing too much. I don't take into consideration the thousands of personalities out there that may have un-expected responses to my posts. Will keep this very simple, and only post reply's when I think I may be able to help someone...my bad (Hey, another lesson learned!!!).

Needless to say, wifey was a "little" less non-chalant about the whole situation. I varied from frustrated, to scared to death, to livid. Brother showed up because I SENT him to the scene to stay with him til I could get there to take him home.
I will say that I agree that he may seem off about it because he honestly doesn't recollect it at all...therefore doesn't have the benefit of the "shock" of the situation. I've been given meds before that I honestly don't recall how I got from point a to point be or what happened inbetween..fortunately, I was with someone very trustworthy who took good care of me while I was out.
Needless to say, I now control when he takes his "sleepy" meds and what he does afterwards.

Mark
I'll bet quite a few members here have done something stupid at one time or another, I know I have and I learnt my lesson, even though I made it home without incident. I get the impression that you're not going to do it again and no-one was hurt so thats acceptable, but I am glad it was your car that got damaged and not your bike, but thats just me

BTW Kimberly, has the first bit of your post got lost somewhere?

I don't think so, I just have a bad habit of starting conversations mid thought...my friends and family refer to it as "being hit by the train when it changes tracks"