'Sleep driving' issue caused by Ambien concerns reader

Q. Why don't they take Ambien off the market? I spoke to a friend who drove 20 miles at 7:30 in the morning and doesn't remember a thing that happened. Another driver saw him weaving around on the road, tried to block him and then called 911.
Fortunately, my friend wasn't killed and didn't kill anyone else. Needless to say, he was terrified when he "came to."
The thing that bothers me is that not one doctor at the hospital asked him if he had taken Ambien. They did many tests and sent him home, saying he had global amnesia (whatever that is).
I'm no doctor, but the first thing I asked him was had he taken Ambien. The answer was "Yes." He just found out about the new warnings that are going to be on the bottle.
A. We have heard from others who have also reported "sleep driving" while under the influence of Ambien. This has finally gotten the attention of the Food and Drug Administration. The agency will require new warnings on prescription sleeping pills such as Ambien, Lunesta, Restoril and Rozerem.
According to the FDA, "Sleep driving is defined as driving while not fully awake after ingestion of a sedative-hypnotic product, with no memory of the event." Many people can take such sleeping pills safely, so the FDA does not plan to ban these drugs. Nevertheless, it is hard to predict who will experience this unusual but scary side effect.
Q. After months of nausea, my mom was diagnosed with a Helicobacter pylori intestinal infection. She has completed the two-week antibiotic course and is still sick. She had such hope that this would be her cure. How long does it take to recover from H. pylori?
A. Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that invades the stomach lining and causes gastritis and ulcers. Symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, bloating, abdominal pain about an hour after eating or at night and bad breath.
Experts aren't completely sure how people "catch" this infection, and curing it can be tricky. Untreated, this infection may increase the risk of certain cancers.
This bug has become resistant to some antibiotics. That is why many doctors treat it with multiple medications and bismuth (Pepto-Bismol).
Q. Thank you for telling a reader who wrote about eating ice chips excessively to see a doctor. I also was eating ice, but no one detected my problem until it was almost too late. Yes, I was anemic -- a result of colon cancer, which had metastasized to my liver. It has been 19 years, and I consider myself very lucky.
A. People who are anemic might develop cravings for ice or even certain foods. We have heard from readers who consumed huge quantities of radishes, carrots, tomatoes, popcorn or orange peels and were later diagnosed with an iron or zinc deficiency. Thanks for sharing your story. It demonstrates how important it is to get to the bottom of such cravings.
In their column, Joe and Teresa Graedon answer letters from readers. Write to them in care of The Vindicator or e-mail them via their Web site: www.PeoplesPharmacy.com.
& copy; 2007 King Features Syndicate Inc.