Eminem and Insomnia and Ambien Addiction

Eminem and Insomnia

and Ambien Addiction

We sit back and envy the stars and their glamorous lifestyles. But it's not as great as it appears. Stardom is hard on people. It's not easy looking "fabulous" all the time and putting up with screaming fans. Elvis Presley suffered from severe insomnia. Singer Ozzy Osbourne has had similar problems. Another star that has admitted to suffering sleep deprivation because of insomnia is Drew Barrymore.

I'm sure there are many more stars who also suffer from sleep problems. The latest to come to our attention is the rap superstar, Eminem. Throughout his latest tour - the five-week Anger Management Tour - he fought insomnia.

Insomnia is a problem with other members of Eninem's family so he has probably inherited the disorder. Of course, add that to the pressure of a tour - on the road, travelling from place to place, sleeping in strange beds, probably never quite sure where he was - and you have the basic ingredients for a case of insomnia - big time.

For a time, Eminem had the solution - Ambien. And it worked, but only for a while. As the insomnia increased, so did his dosage of ambien.

This didn't seem to work. Ambien, when taken in higher doses, tends to have the opposite effect of what one would expect. Instead of inducing sleep, the drug leads to an inability to sleep - and even worse insomnia.

Now Eminem is home again, and with another problem. He's addicted to ambien. Ambien is intended for short-term use and does have the potential to cause dependency and addiction.

Ambien addiction is, in fact becoming a serious problem. The drug also has other serious side effects, including confusion and hallucinations.

When taking ambien or any drug, always take it exactly as your doctor has prescribed. Do not increase the dosage without speaking to your doctor. Discontinuing a medication suddenly is not a good idea, either, and can cause severe withdrawal symptoms.

Insomnia is a growing problem for many people. If it's your problem, talk to a doctor. Then follow his advice to the letter. Don't complicate an existing problem by adding a drug addiction to it.