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.

Sore throat
Date: 7/15/2006
sore throat? Can ambien cause a sore throat? I’ve been taking ambien for about 5 months and after about 4 weeks I started to get a sore throat. I seen a ENT and he found nothing wrong and thought that had a pulled muscle or pinched nerve in my neck which was causing my sore throat. I did pull or hurt something in my neck or shoulder a while back. It seems odd that my throat started hurting about the same time I started ambien, also my throat dose seem to hurt more at night after taking ambien. but then again it could be my pillow or bed?

David

AskDocWeb: No, Ambien should not cause a sore throat. It wouldn’t sound like your pillow caused them unless you have these pains in the morning when you wake up. But then, maybe you’re a rare duck that this happens to, who knows.

Ambien panic attacks
Date: 7/17/2006
By far, Ambien is the best sleeping aid on the market today. I was wondering if any of the readers had experienced what I perceive to be “panic attacks” or feelings of extreme anxiety following use of Ambien. I have been using Ambien off and on for the past four years and nightly the last four months. Thank you.

Agnes

AskDocWeb: Ambien is a short term medication and should not be used for as long as four months. We would be concerned about addiction.

Want to get off Ambien
Date: 7/20/2006
I have been taking ambien for over 2 years now. Sometimes I can sleep and sometimes I cannot. I don’t remember anything that I have done the night before. I can read and not remember anything. I can’t sleep without them. I also have to take flexeril with mine to sleep. I want to get off them so I can fall asleep naturally, but I also have pain and the doctors want me to sleep instead of fixing my problem.

Darlene

AskDocWeb: We suggest getting a second opinion from another doctor. Someone to fix your problem, whatever that may be.

Ambien affect hormones?
Date: 7/20/2006
Question–Can Ambian affect hormones in post-menopausal women? Thanks,

Jody

AskDocWeb: No.

One tragedy after another
Date: 7/24/2006
I’ve been taking Ambien for almost two years now. Menopause, and one tragedy after another left me wide awake, tossing and turning everynight. Ambien works very well for me. I sleep great and wake up feeling great. I do find that I can’t remember things. I have to write everything down, or I forget. One thing that has been happening to me has been real weird. The top inside of my right leg feels like it’s buzzing. No matter how I sit or stand or move, it continues to do it. Feels like a scared to death bee stuck to my skin, without a stinger of course. I know that sounds weird, but it’s true. It was driving me crazy this morning. It doesn’t happen all the time. It does seem to happen mostly in the mornings for at least an hour or two. I fear that it might be something connected to nerves. It does scare me. My Mom took Ambien for 10 years, and it changed her personality for the worse. Very Nasty with yelling and hollering. I love the sleep it gives me. There’s nothing worse than not sleeping and having to go to work to face the day. What is going on with our bodies? I want to give Ambien up, and I’m hoping I can. I will try to cut down little by little and hope for the best. Thanks for listening.

Linda

Want something else
Date: 7/25/2006
I find sleep is a better quality, because I sleep sounder and longer, but am afraid I am becoming dependent on it. I would like to take something else but don’t know what to ask my doctor for. If anyone knows of something else to recommend please e-mail me. Thanks

Patricia

AskDocWeb: All prescription drugs for sleep have side effects and may become addictive. And all of them are for short-term use only. Below is a current list of what is available.

• Dalmane Capsules from Valeant Sanofi-Synthelabo
• Hyland’s Calms Forte from Standard Hemeopathic
• Nembutal Sodium Solution from Ovation
• Nytol Quick Caps from GlaxoSmithKline
• ProSom Tablets from Abbott
• Simply Sleep Caplets from NcNeil Consumer
• Sleep-Tite Caplets from Wellness International
• Sominex Original Formula from GlaxoSmithKline
• Sonata Capsules from King
• Unisom Sleep Tabs from Pfizer Consumer health care
• Unisom Maximum Strength SleepGels from Pfizer Consumer health care

Scariest hour of my life!
Date: 7/26/2006
(I’m 15 by the way) I have had bad, bad experiences with ambein. The first time I took it I got really loop/excited/hyper and it was kind of hard to control my balance. That was 6 months ago and so I took it again last night because I needed to get to sleep and I swear it was the worst experience of my life. I heard voices in my head and I was hallucinating like you wouldn’t believe. I think I even started crying. I was stumbling around and I couldn’t stop falling and when I was on the computer talking to one of my friends the letters would just float across the screen. My brother thought I was drunk/on acid. It was the scariest hour of my life. I wouldn’t suggest taking ambien.

Anna

Couldn’t sleep without Ambien
Date: 7/27/2006
Hello, After taking it for 20 days on and off (my first 14 pills) (I take no other meds, or never have) I pretty much couldn’t sleep at all without it. I thought I was in control by quitting on weekends Fri and Sat nights, only to be taking it again (exhausted) every Sun – Thursday night. Some side effects I started experiencing were anxiety, extreme nervousness, slight nausea, and slight tingling in my forearms, and I couldn’t type my normal speed, I knew then it was time to stop. I just think my body just plain started to reject it. So I told my doctor 3 days ago I can’t take them anymore, and he told me that I was sensitive to it. So if you just quit a few days ago don’t give up, talk to a real friend (or counselor) about what’s really bothering you in life. Also I’ve noticed the symptoms seem to ease a bit after day 3 of no use (less anxiety). The first two days off of it with only a few hours sleep a night were so painful… It is hard to describe. I had to call in sick the second day to work. But if your experiencing negative side effects… see your doc right away and be honest about it. (total time taken 3 months, never more than one 12.5 cr per night)

Jay

Problem with Ambien or boyfriend?
Date: 7/29/2006
I have been taking Ambien for quite a few years. Diagnosed with PTSD, restless leg syndrome, and a form of apnea. If I do not take it, I will not sleep…period. Other sleep medications cause my blood pressure to lower (it’s already extremely low). My problem? My boyfriend says I get very verbally aggressive during the night. I told him it’s because he often will talk to me after only about 3 or 4 hours of sleep; my head is “fuzzy”. I don’t seem to have any control over what I say and often don’t remember everything. I just remember having this intense anger towards him. Once he starts talking to me, I’m awake for hours. What should I do?

Michelle

AskDocWeb: The anger may come from the fact that he is sabotaging your sleep. That’s something you need to discuss with him during the day, before taking the Ambien.

Question about Ambien
Date: 8/2/2006
I have suffered from insomnia for about 3 weeks now. It originally started as a side effect of Vicotin and novacaine that I was given during and after oral surgery. One bad night on vicotin created all kinds of anxiety that has led to my insomnia. I am simply trying to break the cycle and get back to my normal sleep patterns. My doctor gave me Ambien to try out for a couple nights. I took a pill the first night and could not fall asleep until 6 am. It didn’t seem to help at all, in fact, it seemed to keep me up. Is this common? When I called my doctor, they said that you cannot know if it will work for you after only one night. Nevertheless, I am hesitant to try it again, because I don’t want the same thing to happen. So, I guess my question is if it possible that it just doesn’t work for some people and it will have the same effect each time I take it? Or, could that be just a one-time thing and it could still work next time I take it?

Anne

AskDocWeb: There is no way to tell until you try it the second time. Sometimes (for some people) medication has the reverse affect, like Benadryl. Some people become tired and some become wired. For those who have that reverse affect, it happens every time.

High blood pressure and high glucose levels
Date: 8/3/2006
I have been taking ambien off and on for some time now. I hate the way it makes me feel, muscle pain and depressed. My husband has been taking it also, and he has become distant and withdrawn from our relationship. I suffer from high blood pressure and high glucose levels also. Do you think any of these things could be ambiem related?

Bitsy

AskDocWeb: We found no reference to high glucose levels but blood pressure should be monitored. A variety of abnormal thinking and behavior changes have been reported to occur with Ambien usage such as bizarre behavior, agitation, and depersonalization. Behavior changes like these can have a strong affect on relationships.

Ambien overdose +DUI
Date: 8/3/2006
I’m 59, took Ambien the night before I needed to get up at 6 a.m. I took one 10 mg. at 10 PM., still awake at 12:00 PM and took another. Woke up, had my son drive to the airport because I don’t like driving. My son reports that I was acting weird and was worrying and wanted to miss his plane to drive me home. I felt okay, until I got into the car. I didn’t experience double vision until I hit the 4 lane highway. I was trying to stay within the slow lane lines by covering one eye because I was seeing more then 4 lanes on an 8 lane highway. A CHP pulled me over and arrested me for a DUI. My breath test was negative. They took a blood test, booked me and made me spend 4 hrs. in a cold solitary cell. I don’t have the results of the blood test, but I saw my doctor and he said to discontinue the medicine right away! I’ve had insomnia problems all my adult life. I’ve use Ambien for 12 months and had 2 sleepwalking experiences with too much alcohol.

If you are older, please do not drive within 8 to 10 hr. after using this medication. I’m glad the CHP stopped me, but not glad that he arrested me! PLEASE TAKE this as a WARNING.
Oh, I’m experiencing another side effect. If you discontinue the medicine after taking over 30 days, the insomnia is intensified. It’s 2:00 a.m.

Concerned citizen. Read more Ambien Feedback. Ambien – 13 – 14 – 15 – 16 – Page 17 – 18 – 19 – 20 – 21 – Last Page 120

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