Alex Lenkei, a 61-year-old hypnotist, opted against using any traditional anesthetic for his recent surgery, choosing instead to send himself into a hypnotic trance for the duration of the surgery.

He was able to hear the cracking of his bones and the surgeon asking for a saw -- he could even hear the surgeon "hammering away at the bone" with a hammer and chisel. He could feel the doctor "pulling and manipulating" him, but felt no pain.

Much of the medical community is quite interested in this, as studies have shown that using less anesthetic can reduce the time patients spend in the hospital and speed healing. Additionally, many patients are nervous about using an anesthetic, and while they might not opt for using hypnosis only, it might help to calm them and allow a lower dose of anesthetic to be used.

Source

I'm not sure I am a fan of a hypnotic drug used to soothe insomnia (your mileage may vary), but Ambien, the sedative used to get insomniacs to sleep, is now going generic as of this morning.

The FDA approved generic versions of Ambien in the form of 5mg and 10mg tablets and will be made by multiple generic drug companies in the U.S.

Have you taken Ambien in the past (or right now)? If so, did it help you sleep without any kind of negative side effect? I'd like to hear from you if you're a fan (or not a fan) of Ambien and other sedative drugs used to negate the effects of insomnia.

Source