Ok, I'll play.

Doctor Tim Johnson (Boston Channel 5 and ABC News in-house media doctor)
stated the other day that for short term use (as in a few days at a time) the
daily limit is 4 grams (4 thousand milligrams).

My BCLD said - at last while I was on treatment - that 2 grams was his limit.
There was no context provided - ie: whether I was taking that much daily for
weeks on end, or just on Shot Day and the next day or so (as it turned out, I
needed much less).

As for the Ambien CR, if you review this:
http://products.sanofi-aventis.us/ambien_cr/ambienCR.html

you'll find this:

"Hepatic Impairment:
Ambien CR was not studied in patients with hepatic impairment. The
pharmacokinetics of an immediate-release formulation of zolpidem tartrate in
eight patients with chronic hepatic insufficiency were compared to results in
healthy subjects. Following a single 20-mg oral zolpidem tartrate dose, mean
Cmax and AUC were found to be two times (250 vs 499 ng/mL) and five times (788
vs 4,203 ng·hr/mL) higher, respectively, in hepatically compromised patients.
Tmax did not change. The mean half-life in cirrhotic patients of 9.9 hr
(range: 4.1 to 25.8 hr) was greater than that observed in normals of 2.2 hr
(range: 1.6 to 2.4 hr). Dosing should be modified accordingly in patients with
hepatic insufficiency (see Precautions  and Dosage and Administration)."

and this:

"A study in subjects with hepatic impairment did reveal prolonged elimination
in this group; therefore, treatment should be initiated with Ambien CR 6.25 mg
in patients with hepatic compromise, and they should be closely monitored."

And, for what it's worth, there is this under Adverse Events:

"Gastrointestinal system: Frequent: abdominal pain, diarrhea, dyspepsia,
hiccup, nausea. Infrequent: anorexia, constipation, dysphagia, flatulence,
gastroenteritis, vomiting. Rare: enteritis, eructation, esophagospasm,
gastritis, hemorrhoids, intestinal obstruction, rectal hemorrhage, tooth
caries."

Did Doug just start using the Ambien CR?

/greyhackles

Hi Cindi (or Doug)
 I sure hope Doug is doing OK now.  His tylenol, well, I never used much, I
used ibuprofen instead.  I wonder if Doug had ultrasound done recently and
if perhaps there is any indication of the start of gall stones which could
certainly be painful.  What kind of stomach thing is he/you experiencing,
anyway?  How are Dougs BM's?  Don't know about the Ambien connection, I
think though that I have read other peoples cases where some kind of stomach
disorder happened to them, too.  Is there some concern about blood in the
stomach?

goodwill this season
cactus jammies (Bob) ==========================

how it goes, Doogie?  You OK?

cactus jammies ===========