An answer from Ambien - how long will you sleep?
I went to a dinner a couple of weeks ago sponsored by the Ambien people. They had an MD giving the talk, but it was strange as his specialty was not really sleep disorders, I think he was a pain specialist or something, but he sure did like Ambien. He talked about how good it was, and how so MANY people need it. He said it takes effect so fast that sometimes people take is as they are driving home, and they fall asleep in the driveway, or sometimes have accidents. I think he said they have a new version coming out soon; I guess Ambien must be going generic soon. He said a competitor is bringing out something similar, but they said it is not as good. My favorite part was when he was asked about abuse, and he said ANYTHING can be abused. Then he related a tale of how he had a pain patient with DM who used to give himself too much regular or whatever to put himself into a stupor where he did not feel his pain as much. I guess that means we don’t have to worry about Ambien.
Well, the food was 5 star, the kind of restaurant where if you don’t speak Francais or Italian you can’t read the menu, and when they bring you the food, you can’t really identify what it is, but it usually tastes very good.
My friend showed me a trick: he reached into his jacket pocket, and slyly pulled out a wine cork. He likes to grab one of the half full bottles after the dinner and take it home. If I drank, I might try that stunt.
I met an interesting woman at the dinner. No it’s not like THAT, don’t go getting ideas; I guess I should say there was an unusual woman sitting at my table. She was the regional manager, or something, for the drug company. Boy, you could tell she was a go-getter. (She would eat a guy like me for breakfast.)
I have mixed feelings about going to such a dinner. Like I said, this was a 5 star restaurant, and the price were high, I’m sure. I bet they paid at least $50 a plate. I wonder if it’s appropriate to accept such a spendy gratuity. Where I work, once a week, drug reps come in. They used to put out post-it and shiny objects as bait to attract us. A few months ago a physician reportedly objected, I guess, to the ethics of such a practice. It’s funny that they can’t put out pens any more, but I guess the danish and donuts are still okay :-\ I don’t know, I don’t have too much trouble accepting a pen that probably cost them 20 cents, but a fifty+ buck dinner, I’m not so sure about.
It reminds me of the Attorney General in my state, once a year he likes to audit an HMO and drag them over the coals; good publicity for him I suppose. A month ago he released his report on another one. The Board of Directors and CEO types are well paid and receive lavish perks. To make matters worse, the company is a “non-profit.” I guess it’s all bullshit. I guess “we” deserve all the perks we can get.
Well, I’ve got the day off. Time to do some housecleaning, maybe some taxes. Laundry too, but I notice the water is not draining as fast as it should :-\Over and out.
