About Ambien

Discussion forum about the side effects of Ambien. Share your experience and opinion about Ambien. What would you tell your best friend about this product? Please remember that we do not give medical advice. That is for your local health care provider, who is familiar with your medical history.

Concerned about getting hooked
9/27/2012
Hi, I have been a chronic marijuana smoker for 15 years straight, i quit cold turkey over 5 months ago. The insomnia started immediatly even alot of ex smokers told me insomnia is normal but its been over 5 months and im sick of taking melatonin, ltryptophan, Benadryl. I stopped everything for over a week now and now i cant sleep longer then 2 hrs with random dreams 1 after the other, is this from the benadryl etc.?

Anyways this insomnia has been putting me off and on into a depression like the days i dont sleep. I havent felt rested in over 5 months. My doc today prescribed my ambien he said it could break the cycle and maybe stop the insomnia but i refuse to take them on a daily bases and get hooked. Any advice and will i get hooked if i take a few and try stoping, will i get withdrawals, im 33. Any answers id appreciate.

Robert

AskDocWeb: The Diphenhydramine in Benadryl typically causes marked drowsiness, although as more doses are taken, that effect might lessen. There are no reports of anyone getting hooked by taking Ambien short-term. Several people have posted useful suggestions about how to use Ambien successfully. You can learn about things to do and things to avoid if you take the time to read some of the earlier posts.

Is this the onset on Alzheimer’s?
9/30/2012
I have been taking Amien 10mg every night for almost 4 years. I can’t sleep without it. I noticed I an having to search for words and I forget things frequently. What is going to happen to me? Is this the onset on Alziemers? I’m only 30!!! Help! I am quitting regardless but I need to know if these effects are permanent????

Helen

AskDocWeb: Ambien is a known cause of memory loss, more commonly short-term issues, but some people have also reported problems with their long term memory as well. The good news is, if other causes have been ruled out, and Ambien seems to be the cause, the memory issues will resolve most times after the Ambien is safely tapered off. This is why Ambien should be reserved for short-term use only, like a few weeks at a time and if more long term treatment for insomnia is needed, then other options should be explored.

Not safe! Broke my arm
10/1/2012
I began taking more ambien in my sleep with out realize it. I even broke my arm well on ambien. I have no idea how I broke I don’t remember breaking it. I don’t even remember going to the hospital. I had a complete black out that lasted a few hours. My arm was broken so badly I had to have a metal plate put in.

Jan

AskDocWeb: Sorry to hear about your arm Jan. Patients taking Ambien should be aware that they are at a higher risk for falls and car accidents. Some accidents involving Ambien make national news like when Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy smashed his Ford Mustang into a barrier near Capitol Hill earlier this spring. In some states, Ambien is on the list of the Top 10 drugs found in impaired motorists.

No alcohol!
10/13/2012
Ambien is great for helping with falling asleep, I take it because my Adderall makes it difficult for me to sleep. When it says DO NOT TAKE WITH ALCOHOL it means DO NOT TAKE WITH ALCOHOL!

Richard

Cutting pills in half
11/15/2012
I used to take Ambien CR until I began to suffer with GERD symptoms. Also breathing felt labored as if I had bronchitis without the mucus. since I stopped taking it all is back to normal. I wondered it cutting the pills in 1/2 caused me to have these terrible side effects. The 12.5mg was way too strong.

Kauri

AskDocWeb: The “CR” stands for controlled release and cutting the pill in half defeats that function. That allows the pill to dissolve much more rapidly, which can cause unexpected problems.

Brain scan?
11/24/2012
Hi AskDocWeb. I have tried all the above ambien seem to work best. However, the side effects for me are blurry vision, memory lost. I have been taken it off and on for the last two years; don’t want to get addictive. My question is, I would like to have a brain scan do you think it will reveal something as to why I can’t sleep? I am not depress. don’t have anything to keep me awake. Just can’t fall asleep.

Mert

AskDocWeb: A brain scan may or may not reveal anything but traumatic brain injury and brain lesions are some of the known causes for insomnia. Other causes are listed here.

Ambien weight gain
12/3/2012
I got up at night and ate, i cook a full meal, of fried chicken mashed potatoes gravy, went back to bed, thought i had dreamed it, i look in the ice box to make sure – well it wasnt a dream. I have gain weight, and often wondered what else i did.

Margurette

Is this weird?
12/3/2012
After the death of my wife I would sleep for 1-2 hours and be wide awake and couldn’t get back to sleep till the next night. My Dr. prescribed Ambein and it worked just fine. I had heard all the horror stories so I tried NOT taking the drug. 12 times in a row that I tried NOT taking Ambein I had bad dreams. Not only does Ambein help me sleep but my dreams are normal, what ever normal is! I even awoke from my lounge chair, still in the sleepy state, went to bed without Ambein and had a bad dream. This was 2 nights ago. I have been on Anbein for just over 2 years now. Is this weird or just me?

Harlow

AskDocWeb: It’s not weird. Sedative hypnotic drugs like Ambien affect people in a wide verity of different ways. However, 2 years is a long time to use a drug that is intended to be used only for a short time (7 to 10 days). No matter how good it is at relieving the symptoms of insomnia, it does nothing to address the underlying cause. Ambien is used as a treatment for insomnia, it does not cure it.

Ambien terrifies me
12/5/2012
I took ambien about 2-3 years ago but stumbled across this forum recently. I wanted to share my experience on Ambien…and NEVER again will I take it! I was in school and living in a dorm room. I was having problems sleeping so I took the 10mg Ambien that the doctor had prescribed me. I apparently woke later that night and vaguely remember myself walking the hallways for I don’t know how long. It was all surreal and the depth to everything was completely off. The strangest thing was moving, for example I’d want to move my arm an inch but would move a foot instead and had meant to rub my face but smacked myself instead. I thought I was dreaming, so didn’t think much of it when I woke up in my bed the next morning.

The next night I took it again and vaguely remember what happened, which I felt I had no control over as if I were watching what was going on. I ended up in the bathroom piercing my own ears with plain earring posts a total of 4 times. I woke the next morning with my ears hurting and posts in my ears only to find out what I’d ‘dreamed’ had been really done. It terrifies me to think of what could have happened if I’d had a car or had not been around others who would have noticed if I’d gone too far such as leaving the dorms or campus. I could have hurt myself or worse.

Malina

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