Beyond Roseanne, here's 5 things you might not know about Ambien
The manufacturer of Ambien reminded Roseanne Barr that, despite her blaming her recent Twitter outburst on the drug, racism is not one of its side effects.
"People of all races, religions and nationalities work at Sanofi every day to improve the lives of people around the world," the company's U.S. Twitter posted about 10 a.m. Tuesday. "While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication."
Barr sent a Tweet telling supporters not to defend her statements, and that "It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien tweeting," later noting that she has had odd experiences while taking the drug late at night.
So what is Ambien, anyway? Here are five things to know about it.
IT'S A SLEEP MEDICATION
Ambien, whose generic name is zolpidem tartrate, is a sedative-hypnotic medication prescribed for short-term treatment of insomnia in adults.
SIDE EFFECTS
The medication guide at Sanofi's website urges patients to take Ambien immediately prior to getting in bed, "and not sooner. … After taking Ambien, you may get up out of bed while not being fully awake and do an activity you do not know you are doing." Other side effects include drowsiness, dizziness, diarrhea and grogginess.
OTHER SIDE EFFECTS
In combination with alcohol or other drugs, some patients have reported very strange behavior. Congressman Patrick Kennedy said he was using Ambien and another sedative, Phenergan, when he was pulled over by police and cited for driving erratically at 3 a.m. in 2006. "I simply do not remember getting out of bed, being pulled over by the police or being cited for three driving infractions," Kennedy said during a news conference following the incident.
IT'S BEEN AROUND
Zolpidem was first approved for medical use in the United States in 1992, and became available as a generic medication in 2007.
IT'S INSPIRING QUITE A BIT OF HUMOR
Twitter users, never shy about going in on a celebrity scandal, have been tossing off Ambien/Roseanne jokes left and right since the company's Tweet.
Comedian Andy Richter took it straight to the Hitler joke:
Look, I'm not trying to make excuses for anyone, but the last time I took Ambien I annexed Poland
" Andy Richter (@AndyRichter) May 30, 2018
Television producer, screenwriter and author Shonda Rimes advocated for personal responsibility, while also cracking a joke:
Omg. I used to take Ambien! How many times was I racist in my sleep?! GIRL BYE. #ownyouractions
" shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) May 30, 2018
A Twitter account for "William Shakespeare" got in on the action:
Iago now wonders if he should have been using the Ambien excuse all along.
" William Shakespeare (@Shakespeare) May 30, 2018
This guy is wondering if this is still even real life …
We are living in a time where the makers of Ambien, a sedative that is used for trouble sleeping, actually had to publicly deny that racism is a side effect. ♂️
" Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) May 30, 2018
Let us all take a moment to boo this terrible pun …
Roseanne: I'm sorry for the racist comments but Ambien a good girl now
" I Ambien a Good Girl!! (@deedles420) May 30, 2018
… and singer Josh Groban has had just about enough of all this:
*logs on twitter*
*logs off twitter* " josh groban (@joshgroban) May 30, 2018
Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2862, pvarine@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MurrysvilleStar.
