HEALTH BULLETIN .CO

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Syphilis tests could save a million babies:

LONDON (Reuters) - The lives of almost a million newborn babiescould be saved every year if simple, cheap and rapid tests forsyphilis were offered to pregnant women in poorer countries, global health experts said on Thursday.

The Global Congenital Syphilis Partnership, a group set up to help tackle the sexually transmitted disease, said testing women in early pregnancy would cost less than 1 pound ($1.58) per woman, and those who tested positive could be treated with a single dose of the cheap antibiotic penicillin.

"Screening and treating pregnant women for syphilis is one of the most cost-effective ways to save lives. New rapid tests are easy to use, ... affordable and give a result in just 15 minutes," said Peter Piot, chair of the partnership and director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

He said if screening were carried out routinely and women who needed treatment got it before 28 weeks' gestation, "no stillbirths or neonatal deaths would be due to syphilis."

"It's as simple as that," he told a briefing in London.

Experts estimate around 2 million pregnant women are infected with syphilis every year and more than half of those pass it on to their unborn children. According to the World Health Organization, between 3 and 15 p

5 things doctors don't want you to do

1. Believing everything you read. While all the experts say they appreciate a patient who is well-informed and does her research, they also caution against assuming all the information you find online is accurate. Googling your symptoms can lead you to misinformation, and you could end up focusing on scary stuff that doesn’t apply to your situation.

2. Keeping secrets. To treat you properly, your doctor needs to know your health history, all the medications and herbal supplements you’re taking, and any alternative therapies you’re using, as well as symptoms you wouldn’t share at the dinner table.

3. Assuming that over-the-counter equals safe. Over-the-counter drugs are safe only if you're taking the recommended amounts and following directions. But exceeding the labeled dosage can be dangerous.

4. Jumping to take newfangled tests or scans (like a virtual colonoscopy or a full-body CT scan) just because they are on the menu. Talk it over with your doctor to see if a simpler test is just as informative.

5. Messing with your meds. There’s a reason your doctor recommended a specific dosage or combination of medications. Certain drugs can have negative interactions, and others, like antibiotics, are less effective if you don’t take the entire prescribed course of pills. Take all medications as directed.

Chef Tackling Acid Reflux Creates New Cookbook

Marc Bauer is not your typical French chef: He does not finish sauces with two grams of butter or create soups that are 20 percent cream.
So is Bauer, who was born and raised in Alsace, France, a calorie-counting, flavor-sacrificing chef?
Not by any means.
Bauer, who is now based in New York City, along with an estimated 100 million other Americans, suffers from acid reflux . Rather than abandon rich, savory ingredients, Bauer teamed up with Dr. Jamie Koufman, the director of the Voice Institute of New York and professor of Otolaryngology at New York Medical College, to create delicious recipes that will not upset the digestive tract of those who suffer from acid reflux. They compiled these recipes into Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet Cookbook & Cure.
The layout of this cookbook is both culinary and educational, with 70 of the 200 pages dedicated to information on acid reflux, including things to avoid, items to enjoy and even a three page chart of pH levels found in common foods, vegetables and condiments. At the bottom of each recipe is a notes section where Bauer provides technical, cooking gems. Bauer stressed that in all of the recipes, he uses simple ingredients, which are available to all people, from New York City to the Midwest.
Acid reflux occurs when the acidic contents of the stomach pass up into the esophagus, and the sphincter muscle (the barrier between the two) has a defect, so it is unable to block the acid.

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Causes of acid reflux can include, but are not limited to: a sphincter having low pressure, pregnancy, hiatal hernia and obesity.
Doctors often prescribe proton pump inhibitors like Nexium or Pepcid to treat the condition, but sometimes surgery or lifestyle changes are needed.
“I don't like medications,” Bauer confessed. “That was one of my interests in working with Drs. Stern and Koufman on this cookbook. I'm really not for using medication, but my life is stirring around food, fresh ingredients, quality ingredients.”
Bauer remembered as a kid in France feeling as if acid was in his throat after eating certain foods high in fat, like smoked pork or Bavarian cream pie, but he had never heard of acid reflux.
“Now in the past few years, what I feel is more like a coughing after eating,” Bauer explained. “I cough, and you would think, ‘Oh, I swallowed something wrong,’ and then it will stop after a while.”
Koufman said the symptoms of acid reflux are more than heartburn and indigestion for some.
“Having the sensation of a lump in their throat, hoarseness, chronic cough, difficulty swallowing, sore throat and sometimes even sinus and asthma can have reflux as its primary cause,” Koufman said.
Although foods that bring about acid reflux vary from person to person, some common triggers are onions, citruses, eggs, fatty meats, deep-fried foods, hot sauces and high-fat milk chocolate.
In addition, people who have acid reflux should steer clear from bottled and canned products because acid is added to help kill bacteria. Alcohol most likely will not cause acid reflux when consumed in moderation but timing must be taken into account.
Koufman said that a glass of wine right before bed may trigger acid reflux, while a glass with dinner can go unnoticed.
While writing the cookbook, she and Bauer measured the acidity of foods in order to modify, substitute, and limit acidic ingredients.

Dozens of common medications identified as risky for the elderly

Estrogen patches, aspirin and ibuprofen are among 53 medications and classes of medications that are potentially inappropriate for the elderly if not carefully prescribed, according to a newly revised list by the American Geriatrics Society.
The list of potentially dangerous medications for adults 65 and older was posted online Friday by the organization.
Known as the Beers Criteria, the list is aimed at guiding doctors to avoid adverse drug events (ADE) for the elderly.

According to studies cited by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS), more than 40 percent of people 65 and older take five or more medications and more than a third of them will suffer an ADE each year.
"Older adults run a particularly high risk of ADEs, in part because age-related physiological changes and multiple health problems can make them more vulnerable to such reactions," Jennie Chin Hansen, the organization's CEO, said in a statement announcing the update to the Beers Criteria.
The Beers Criteria, created by the late geriatrician Mark Beers in 1991, was last revised in 2003 and is widely referenced by doctors in the field of geriatric care.
The 2012 list was updated by a panel of experts in geriatrics and pharmacotherapy based on the latest available research, the study says.

Saturday, March 3, 2012

'I sincerely apologise': Rush Limbaugh says sorry for calling student a 'slut' in row over birth control which led advertisers to boycott show

Rush Limbaugh has apologised for calling a college student a 'slut' after she argued that employers should pay for their workers' contraception.

The controversial radio host's comments, which included a suggestion that Sandra Fluke should make a sex tape, caused a row which saw him abandoned by advertisers and even drew in Barack Obama.

Rant: Mr Limbaugh, 61, called a student at a Catholic university a 'slut' for saying religious institutions should cover birth control under health insurance

Attack: Rush Limbaugh claimed Sandra Fluke, of Georgetown University, was promiscuous for saying woman should get the pill for medical reasons

But today he acknowledged that he 'chose the wrong words' while trying to 'illustrate the absurd with absurdity', and insisted: 'I did not mean a personal attack on Ms Fluke.'

Rant: Rush Limbaugh, 61, left called Sandra Fluke, right, a student at Catholic college Georgetown University, a 'slut' for saying religious institutions should cover birth control under health insurance

Mr Limbaugh had faced repeated calls for an apology after claiming that the student must be sexually promiscuous because she supported a contentious measure which would have forced religious institutions to fund birth control for their employees.

But instead he dialed up the rhetoric, first saying that Ms Fluke should film herself having sex and then claiming that she 'had boyfriends lined up around the block'.

However, after three companies pulled their advertisements from his show and the President called Ms Fluke to express his support Mr Limbaugh finally backed down on Saturday afternoon, three days after his initial remarks.

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On his radio show yesterday, the 61-year-old defended his comments and went on to suggest that Ms Fluke 'had boyfriends lined up around the block. Or they would have been in my day'.

He said: 'She's having so much sex that she's going broke, she says... You're worried here that I'm just stepping in it deeper, yes you are but this is the truth.'

'If we are going to pay for your contraceptives and thus pay for you to have sex... we want you to post the videos online so we can all watch'

Rush Limbaugh

On Friday three advertisers revealed they will pull all adverts from the radio show after the host had made fun of Ms Fluke for saying religious institutions should cover birth control in health insurance - and said in a further show that she should have to make sex tapes if this ever happens.

Mattress retailers Sleep Train and Sleep Number, as well as mortgage lender QuickenLoans, have all bowed to pressure on Twitter and said they will no longer advertise on the show.

‘We don't condone negative comments directed toward any group,’ a Sleep Train spokesman tweeted. ‘Thanks to all of you for your concern and input.’

'Recent comments by Rush Limbaugh do not align with our values,' a Sleep Number spokesman said. 'So we made decision to immediately suspend all advertising on that program.'

A QuickenLoans spokesman said: 'Due to continued inflammatory comments - along with valuable feedback from clients & team members - QL has suspended ads on Rush Limbaugh.'

Meanwhile advertiser ProFlowers said it will 're-evaluate’ its marketing plan and dating site eHarmony insisted it will look into ‘the matter of 'network buys’.

Mr Limbaugh said earlier this week that Ms Fluke, of Catholic college Georgetown University in Washington D.C., was promiscuous for saying woman should get the pill for medical reasons.

And he went even further on his next show, saying: 'If we are going to pay for your contraceptives and thus pay for you to have sex... we want you to post the videos online so we can all watch.'

Annoyed: President Barack Obama, seen on Friday, considers Mr Limbaugh's remarks 'reprehensible' and called Ms Fluke to express his disappointment that she was the subject of 'inappropriate personal attacks'

Shock: Ms Fluke told MSNBC's Today show on Friday that she was 'stunned and outraged' by the comments

Mr Obama said he considered Mr Limbaugh's remarks 'reprehensible' and called Ms Fluke to express his disappointment that she was the subject of 'inappropriate personal attacks'.

'He said he hoped my parents were proud of me,' Ms Fluke said, adding that the President 'thanked me for speaking out and for expressing the concerns of so many women'.

'The fact that our political discourse has become debased in many ways is bad enough,' a White House spokesman said. 'It is worse when it's directed at a private citizen simply expressing her views.'

More surprisingly, Mr Limbaugh has also faced criticism from the Republican presidential candidates, with Rick Santorum calling his comments 'absurd'.

When Mitt Romney was asked what he thought about the remarks, he replied: 'I'll just say this, which is, it's not the language I would have used.'

Mr Limbaugh said on his original show regarding Ms Fluke's comments on birth control: ‘What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex.

‘She's having so much sex she can't afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex.’

Ms Fluke said on Friday that she has been left 'very upset' by the comments made by Mr Limbaugh.

'My reaction was the reaction a lot of women have had historically when they’ve been called these types of names,' she told MSNBC. 'Initially to be stunned by it, and then to quickly feel outraged and very upset.'

New IVF method increases chance of pregnancy by a quarter, experts say

A woman's chances of becoming pregnant through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) can increase by more than a quarter with new technology that mimics the effects of the womb, experts claimed.
Fertility experts at Newcastle University in northeast England discovered a way of processing embryos during IVF treatment that does not require the embryos to be removed from incubators for examination, which can be harmful.
The team developed a system of interlinked incubators that allows all such procedures to be carried out within an enclosed and controlled environment, according to research published in the journal PLoS ONE.
A three-year study showed that the new system resulted in a minimum 27 percent increase in pregnancy rates compared with conventional IVF equipment.
Women in the study had a 45 percent chance of getting pregnant, compared with a 32 percent and 35 percent chance in the preceding two years.
Professor Mary Herbert, who led the research, said, "Our aim was to keep eggs and embryos in conditions similar to those they would experience naturally—inside a woman's body."
She added, "This led our team to design and develop a system in which it is possible to perform all of the technical procedures while maintaining stable conditions throughout the IVF process."
Professor Alison Murdoch, head of clinical service at Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life added, "Since installing this new technology over 850 babies have now been born."

Friday, March 2, 2012

What are the odds of that? Meet the THREE leapling siblings each born on February 29 on consecutive leap years

A trio of American siblings have equalled a world record - after they were each born on three consecutive leap year days.

David and Louise Estes' daughter Jade was born on Wednesday morning in Provo, south of Salt Lake City, Utah.

It came four years after their son Remington was born on February 29, 2008, and eight years after their son Xavier was born on the same day in 2004.

Triple trouble: Louise Estes (left) hold new-born daughter Jade as sons Xavier, 8, and Remington, 4, watch. The three siblings were each born on consecutive leap years

Baby Jade was already five days overdue when doctors induced labour and the family hit the elusive date.

'I have never gone over so I wasn't sure if she was going to wait,' Mrs Estes told The Daily Herald of Provo. 'As soon as we passed midnight I knew it really, really could happen.'

The only other known case of triple Leap Day babies is the Henriksen family of Norway, which logged February 29 births in 1960, 1964 and 1968, according to the Guinness World Records.

Socially transmitted' anorexia: Peer pressure drives eating disorders,

Anorexia is a socially transmitted disorder and appears to be more prevalent in countries such as France where women are thinner than average, according to new research from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
The "economic analysis" of anorexia, using a sample of nearly 3,000 young women across Europe, concluded that peer group pressure is one of the most significant influences on self-image and the development of anorexia and appeared just as the autumn/winter season is winding up with Paris Fashion Week.

The research by LSE economist Dr Joan Costa-Font and Professor Mireia Jofre-Bonet of City University, showed that it is becoming increasingly apparent that standards of physical appearance are important and powerful motivators of human behavior, especially regarding health and food.
"We found evidence that social pressure, through peer shape, is a determinant in explaining anorexia nervosa and a distorted self-perception of one's own body," Costa-Font said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

The LSE researchers analyzed the influence of peer pressure on 2,871 women between the ages of 15 and 34 who reported their weight, height, eating habits, age, gender, marital status, educational level, professional category, political attitudes and most crucially their own perception of their body image.
"The distorted self-perception of women with food disorders and the importance or the peer effects may prompt governments to take action to influence role models and compensate for social pressure on women driving the trade-off between ideal weight and health," Costa-Font said.
The researchers determined which women in the study were anorexic by calculating their body mass index (BMI), which is defined as the individual's body weight divided by the square of his or her height. Women with a BMI of less than 17.5 were classified as anorexic.

Pediatricians reaffirm breastfeeding guidelines

Unbreakable Relationship Between

Women should breastfeed their newborns exclusively for about the first six months of life, after which some foods can be added along with continued breastfeeding, according to updated guidelines from United States pediatricians.
The recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which call for additional breastfeeding until a baby's first birthday or longer, are similar to those from the World Health Organization, which promotes breastfeeding for the benefit of both moms and babies.
"It's a health choice and not just a lifestyle choice, and it's going to protect her baby as well as her," said Dr. Richard Schanler, a neonatologist from North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System and one of the guideline's co-authors.
"Our problem as pediatricians is we're not getting that message across enough to mothers," he told Reuters Health.
Although the six-month exclusive breastfeeding recommendation is not new, AAP members said that it's a firmer guideline, with more evidence behind it, than in the organization's last breastfeeding statement published in 2005.
Recent studies suggest that only about 13 percent of moms in the U.S. still haven't used any formula or added solid foods at six months.
And many women, especially young, poor mothers, don't ever start breastfeeding, according to the report, published in Pediatrics.
That's worrisome because breastfeeding provides babies with a range of health benefits, including protection against respiratory and ear infections and sudden infant death syndrome.
Later in life, some evidence also suggests that kids and adults who were breastfed are less likely to be obese or have diabetes, and tend to score higher on intelligence tests -- although it's not clear that's because of the breastfeeding.
"It's clear that in order to realize all of those benefits, to ward off all of these adverse health outcomes, you need exclusive breastfeeding," said Dr. Lori Feldman-Winter, a pediatrician at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, and chairperson of the policy committee for the AAP's Section on Breastfeeding.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/02/pediatricians-reaffirm-breastfeeding-guidelines/#ixzz1nyxCW3jW

New Jersey CVS store mixes up child drug with breast cancer pill

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March 02, 2012
New Jersey CVS store mixes up child drug with breast cancer pill

A CVS store in Chatham, N.J. accidentally mixed up fluoride tablets for children with tamoxifen, a breast cancer drug, My Fox New York reported.
The mistake could affect dozens of families who filled their prescriptions at the Chatham CVS store location between Dec. 20 and Feb. 20, according to the station.
The tamoxifen pills and fluoride tablets look alike – both being round, white, and roughly similar in size.
The Chatham Courier and the Madison Patch reported that parents who are concerned they might have the wrong pills should check the tablets for the letters ‘SCI’ stamped on one side and the numbers ‘1007’ stamped on the other side. The tamoxifen pills have the letter ‘M’ on one side and the numbers ‘274’ on the other, the newspapers reported.
Representatives for the national drug chain have issued an apology for the mix-up:
“The health and safety of our customers is our highest priority and we are deeply sorry for the mistake that occurred at our Chatham, N.J. pharmacy. Beginning last week, we have contacted or have left messages for every family whose child was dispensed a 0.5 mg fluoride prescription from our Chatham location within the past 60 days.”
CVS representatives said that most of the families they reached did not indicate their children had taken the incorrect tablets, but they will still continue to follow up with families who may have been affected by the incident.
According to the National Cancer Institute, common side effects for tamoxifen include blood clots, stroke, uterine cancer, and cataracts.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

The dramatic moment police rescued suicidal woman, 24, from window ledge of tower block's 32nd floor

These dramatic photographs show the moment a suicidal young woman was dragged kicking and screaming to safety from a 32nd floor window ledge of a tower block.

Chinese police had to physically pull the 24-year-old, who once appeared in a television dating show, to safety after three hours of talks to persuade her to come down failed.

She had previously cut her left wrist with a stone and climbed out onto the ledge of the building under construction in Changsha.

Suicidal: Chinese police had to physically pull the 24-year-old, who once appeared in a television dating show, to safety after three hours of talks to persuade her to come down failed

Saved: The moment police hauled the suicidal 24-year-old in through the window

Why? When asked afterwards why she wanted to kill herself, she repeatedly said: 'I don't have love, I don¿t have a job, my family hates me, and everyone is very disappointed in me'

While out on the ledge, she was seen talking on her mobile telephone. She reportedly complained that she had failed to kill herself. One police officer tied a rope to one of her feet, while the other grabbed her other foot.

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'It makes me happy when I can make someone angry': Meet the RIP troller who feeds off the pain of grieving relatives with sick online taunts

The third officer then pushed himself from the balcony to the top of the bay window to hold the girl’s arm. Another two officers then pulled the girl her back to the room.

Fear: Police said the woman was originally from Pinjiang County outside of Yueyang City in Hunan Province

Rescue effort: These dramatic photographs show the moment a suicidal young woman was dragged kicking and screaming to safety from a 32nd floor window ledge of a tower block

Police said the woman was originally from Pinjiang County outside of Yueyang City in Hunan Province, and once participated in a dating show on television.

When asked afterwards why she wanted to kill herself, she repeatedly said: 'I don't have love, I don’t have a job, my family hates me, and everyone is very disappointed in me.'

Saved: The moment police hauled the suicidal 24-year-old in through the window

5 ways to boost your energy at work

Sitting at your desk all day, though not physically taxing, can be exhausting.
“Over time you build up tension in your muscles, and end up becoming fatigued and exhausted,” says Erik Peper, professor at the Institute for Holistic Health Studies at San Francisco State University.
In fact, some of the work habits you’ve developed, especially if you’re tied to your computer, may be draining your energy. Here’s what you can do to raise your energy level at work, and avoid that afternoon lull.
1) Take a 2-second micro-breaks. When you’re using your mouse or keyboard, you unknowingly tense your muscles, actually holding them tight, essentially not moving a muscle fiber. This tension starts to build up as body-wide fatigue. To try to relax the tension, take one to two-second micro-breaks by dropping your hands to your lap and letting your arms, shoulders and hands go limp—and relaxing your stomach, which may be clenched as well.
To remember to take micro breaks, time them to something that occurs often. For instance, take a micro-break every time you get an email or phone call, or when you’re reading on your computer don't need to click or type anything, or at the end of each sentence you type.
2) Take deep breaths. Just as you tend to clench your muscles when doing fine motor skills at the computer, you may be breathing shallowly as well, if not completely holding your breath for seconds at a time when you’re doing fine motor skills. Think about breathing deeply, with your diaphragm, rather than taking shallower breaths in your chest. Your abdomen should become bigger when you inhale and smaller when you exhale. Deep breathing tends to relax all your muscles as well.
3) Take a walk, not a coffee break. If you’re feeling an energy lull in the afternoon, rather than get a cup of coffee or a caffeinated soda, go for a 20-minute walk. Exercising increases your energy and gets rid of muscle tension. In addition, a new study on mice suggests that if you eat after exercising, your brain gets a boost of energy, lending support to the theory that exercise enhances cognitive function. A great strategy would be going for a brisk walk and then eating a low-fat snack.
4) Wiggle and squirm. Being fidgety can also energize your body and release muscle tension. You can do it without others knowing simply by moving your feet in circles, tapping your feet, shifting your weight from one buttock to the other, or gently bouncing your shoulders up and down as if your are giggling. You can download a free break-reminder program like Mindful Clock or Free-Eye Rest and Break Reminder .
5) Eat protein for breakfast. Breakfast foods—bagels, muffins or cereal—tend to be chock full of carbs, and although carbs can give you an energy boost because they are quickly converted to sugar, which is used for energy, their energy punch doesn’t last long.

Experts: Syphilis tests could save a million babies

The lives of almost a million newborn babies could be saved every year if simple, cheap and rapid tests for syphilis were offered to pregnant women in poorer countries, global health experts said on Thursday.

The Global Congenital Syphilis Partnership, a group set up to help tackle the sexually transmitted disease, said testing women in early pregnancy would cost less than 1 pound ($1.58) per woman, and those who tested positive could be treated with a single dose of the cheap antibiotic penicillin.

"Screening and treating pregnant women for syphilis is one of the most cost-effective ways to save lives. New rapid tests are easy to use, ... affordable and give a result in just 15 minutes," said Peter Piot, chair of the partnership and director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

He said if screening were carried out routinely and women who needed treatment got it before 28 weeks' gestation, "no stillbirths or neonatal deaths would be due to syphilis."

"It's as simple as that," he told a briefing in London.

Experts estimate around 2 million pregnant women are infected with syphilis every year and more than half of those pass it on to their unborn children. According to the World Health Organization, between 3 and 15 percent of women of child-bearing age in developing countries have the disease.

If untreated during pregnancy, syphilis can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature delivery, low birth weight and in some cases death of newborns. In Africa alone, syphilis causes almost 400,000 stillbirths and newborn deaths each year.

Not tonight, dear: Women's sex problems linked to headaches

Women who get frequent headaches or migraines are more likely than others to have sexual problems, a new study from Italy says.
The results show that more than 90 percent of women seeking medical treatment for their headaches had significant impairments of their sexual function, and 29 percent reported being distressed over their sex life.
"Women referred for severe head pain report a high rate of sexual symptoms and sexual distress," including low desire andsexual pain, the researchers wrote in their study.

Therefore, doctors treating people with headaches should routinely ask their patients about sexual problems, the researchers concluded.
The study was published online Feb. 9 in the journal of Sexual Medicine.
Headaches & sex
Researchers at the University of Pavia looked at 100 women, whose average age was 40, who were being treated for headaches they'd suffered for years. Most had migraines; some had tension headaches or chronic headaches (meaning they had headaches more than 15 days per month).
Researchers interviewed the women, gave them neurological exams and collected detailed medical histories. The women also completed questionnaires about their sex lives.

Ways to overcome insomnia

insomnia Exercise How to overcome Insomnia

For some people, turning their minds off is too difficult, resulting in many sleepless nights.

About 30 to 40 percent of all adults have suffered from insomnia at some point in their lives – and turning to sleeping pills may seem like the best solution.

However, patient advocate and founder of EmpowHer.com, Michelle King Robson, was once addicted to sleeping pills. She came on Fox News Health Talk to explain how she kicked the habit.

King Robson started suffering from insomnia in her late thirties. Initially, she thought it had to do with her crazy work schedule or the stress of taking care of a family – but it turned out to be something else.

“What I learned was that it was really about…my hormones,” King Robson said. “I was actually going into perimenopause.”

Sleep deprivation made it incredibly hard for King Robson to function. She took the sleeping pill Ambien for two years but soon became dependent on it. The drug also had many negative side effects.

“Some people sleep-eat on the drug, some people sleep-drive on the drug,” King Robson said. “But in my case, I was sleep walking.”

King Robson also experienced tingling in her arms and legs, and she said she would hit “a wall” every day at 4 P.M.

In order to get off the drug, she finally had to throw all her Ambien away and deny herself access to another prescription. She now advocates other ways for people to treat their insomnia without resorting to sleeping pills.

“For women in particular – having their hormones checked when they start down that sleepless pattern,” King Robson said. “Developing some type of ritual, which is what I’ve done now to help me sleep. So dimming the lights an hour ahead before you go to sleep…also helps with the brain. And get rid of the devices, the phones next to our bed.”

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