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.

Ambien – feel drugged
Date: 8/3/2006
I only take it when needed, I am on no other meds. I take Ambien maybe once every 3 months for 1 night at bedtime. I usually sleep and/or feel drugged WELL into the next day (for up to 18 hours).

Lee

Ambien pain, upset and shaky
Date: 8/4/2006
I have had a prescription to Ambiem and refilled it a number of times. I usually only will take a half of one on occasion. But the past couple months I have taken it every night as my daughter left 3 weeks ago to study in India for 5 months. The anticipation of her leaving, then the reality of her leaving has caused me much anxiety and has contributed to my already insomniac nature. Anyway today I have realized that I think I am really having bad side effects. For the past month, I kept thinking that I have the flu or something. My back is killing me, my knee and hip hurt, my stomach is very upset, sometimes I get really shaky, I have a bad taste in my mouth. Finally today it occurred to me that it may be the Ambien. I have never taken it daily before and I think it has built up in my system. So tonight I am not taking it so I probably won’t sleep but I am determined not to use it anymore. Wish me luck and hopefully I will start feeling better. Thanks for your very helpful website.

Lisa

AskDocWeb: Good luck Lisa. Something that may help is to increase your physical activity during the day so that you are tired and ready for sleep at the end of the day.

Great for a few nights BUT
Date: 8/6/2006
Ambien was great for the first few nights… but after a few weeks I was hooked… I couldn’t sleep without it… so I would try to quit on weekends, and by Sunday nights id be so sleep deprived Id give up and start taking them again. after a month of this… I was starting to get sick… I would sleep 6 hours avg. on a 12.5mg cr then snap awake, never feeling really rested after about a month of taking them. I felt like I was in a hypnotic type of sleep and not “real” sleep sometimes. I finally just quit a few weeks ago, and now 2 weeks later I’m able to get 6 hours a night naturally (so far). My advice is if your stressed out… don’t take these to drown out your worries and pass out. Your anxiety will possible build and build like mine did. I finally realized if I would have just talked to someone (counselor) etc… about why I really wasn’t sleeping in the first place I would have been alot better off. It seems like this little pill really is bad for some folks. Please reconsider taking this, and read forums online. Try typing “quit ambien” in Google and see what comes up.

Jay

64 year old taking Ambien
Date: 8/8/2006
I take Ambien CR every third night. The other nights I take Tylenol PM and Zanax. On the average, I have one alcoholic beverage 4 nights a week about four hours before retiring. About once a week, I have two drinks about four hours before retiring. Am I courting disaster? I’m 64, 15 pounds overweight, a prostate cancer survivor and have to get up between 3 and 10 times a night to urinate. I had a TURP Oct. 2004. I also take Lipitor, which has reduced cholesterol reading from 254 to 188. Thanks for your help.

Richard

AskDocWeb: You probably already know that you aren’t suppose to take Ambien CR with alcohol. With that said, one drink four hours before bedtime is not courting disaster but for safety sake, any concern regarding your health should be brought to your doctor’s attention.

Memory loss
Date: 8/13/2006
Right after Ambien takes effect, I get up and I might fix toast and eat. I’ve gone through my purse and took papers out and set them beside my computer. I talk to my partner. But when I do get up, I usually eat. Thank goodness I weigh only 130 lbs. I am completely unaware of these things I do. I have no recollection of them even after I am told of what I have done. I don’t do this every night but often enough. I also wonder if it is impairing my memory.

Sharon

AskDocWeb: When you say that you have “no recollection” that’s what people are talking about when they say they have memory loss.

2 Years on Ambien
Date: 8/13/2006
I have been taking Ambien for almost 2yrs now. I have always struggled with insomnia since adolescents. I went for years on 3-5 hours of sleep and just dealt with it, now I’m almost 40. I take 15mg of Ambien w/ consent of PCP. She states she is comfortable with that dose. I use a 30 day supply in 15 days and ins. will not allow my to change quantity. So I pay out of pocket, which drives my husband crazy! I ran out once and was up all night my stomach hurt and I uncontrollably shook. I also dump my pills and count and look at the calendar. It SUX! I have an apartment at a sleep lab in 1 wk and I’m hoping to really tap into my problem and to get off this drug. Yes, I sleep at night but the controlling factor is a problem for me. I know I need to get off. Thanks for listening.

Tracy

Hair thinning
Date: 8/24/2006
Has any woman experienced hair thinning, I have been taken ambien every night for about a year. Also started on lipitor one yr. ago, so I am trying to figure out which one it is.

Ronnie

AskDocWeb: It’s probably the Lipitor. Less than 2% of people using Lipitor experience hair loss but you may be in that group.

Ambien suicide
Date: 8/24/2006
My husband has been taking ambien for 2 years as I just found out and didn’t know until recently. 2 1/2 weeks ago my husband committed suicide, and I really believe it was the ambient that did this to him as we were very happy and when I went to sleep the night before he was just fine. We were laughing and joking and excited to try out the wakeboard the next day that I bought him for his birthday. Everything was fine the night before, and I woke up the next morning to the sound of a gun shot and found him dead. I am absolutely horrified over this. This was so out of his character and I need answers. I know this was not planned, and I believe ambient is responsible for his death. I am still waiting on his blood test results. I am needing to know if there are other lawsuits out there for suicides because of ambien. Please for everyone that reads this. DO NOT TAKE AMBEIN. I do not want anyone to go through what I just went through a couple of weeks ago. We have been happily married for 18 years.

Kim

Ambien withdrawal insomnia
Date: 8/26/2006
Last night was the first night I didn’t use ambien after using it for several weeks and I had a terrible night. Hardly got any sleep and felt anxious. I think it can be addictive.

Nelly

Ambien affects
Date: 8/27/2006
I use ambien on an infrequent basis. Usually if I’m having troubled sleep for a few days (weird dreams and such) that begins to affect my performance I’ll take 10mg and get a good nights sleep. I might go for another month or two before taking another. The med seems to get me to sleep in about a 1/2 hour. The next day I feel well rested but there is some kind of foggy hangover that actually gives me a good feeling. I could easily see becoming addicted to this drug.

Rob

Ambien feedback
Date: 8/29/2006
I have taken Ambien off and for a while. Last week I took it on vacation and shortly thereafter I woke to pee and was extremely dizzy falling causing a moderate severe nosebleed!

Sanford

Ambien story
Date: 8/29/2006
I have been on Ambien for several years. I can only say that it does help me sleep. My husband says I do not remember doing or saying things to him the next day. My friends and family call it my “drunk” pill! I do not like taking it, but I suffer with back pain, and cannot go to sleep. Pain med keeps me awake too. I also have vivid dreams, but not usually bad ones. I hope to change to something else soon. My advice is to only take it when you actually go to bed. It is very unpredictable and if you don’t want to make a fool of yourself or hurt yourself, then make sure you are IN bed when taking it. I do find food in my bed in the morning which I don’t remember eating? Try putting alarms on your doors. This might keep you from leaving the house. Good Luck

Judy

Ambien and pituitary function?
Date: 8/31/2006
For a couple of years, starting in 2002, I started taking ambien, the 10 mg dose. In 2005, I was diagnosed with a complete pituitary gland shutdown, something that the specialists never see. I have no pituitary tumor, it’s just completely non-functioning. Anyone here anything similar?

Phil

AskDocWeb: Let’s see if we hear from anyone.

Couldn’t figure out how to call 911
Date: 9/4/2006
I have been using ambien on an off for 4 years. I began taking 2-3 to get that effect that personally I like, no hallucinations, just good sleep and serious addiction. Withdrawal (when I ran out)- I couldn’t figure out how to call 911. This was followed by seizures, and stopped breathing, I simply fell over while talking with my wife and woke in the emergency room. Be careful with this drug, withdraw under supervision if you are dependent. Allow at least two weeks or more to taper. The seizures happened after one week.

Jim

Ambien
Date: 9/4/2006
Well if you want to feel light-headed dizzy and a little dis-oriented. This is the pill for you.

Veronica

Beyond help?
Date: 9/6/2006
I have been on Ambien for almost 5 years now. Worked well in the beginning. When I took my first dose, within ten minutes I was out like a light. Or at least I thought I was. My roommate told me of the crazy things I would say. I always fell when I would get up to use the bathroom. After taking if for a while 10mg didn’t work as well. And you know the rule of thumb, “If one pill doesn’t work, take 18 or 22. Eventually 2 pills stopped working so a real true friend (yeah right) recommended crushing and inhaling (ashamed to say the s-word) the medication. This actually worked for a while but things went from bad to worse. I never have done anything like that in my whole life until then. I feel I am beyond help. I also take Ativan 1mg and Trazodone 50mg BY MOUTH! They are my only saving grace most times. After reading the side effects of Lunesta I probably won’t consider it. Is there anybody that can relate to my story? I would welcome any help or advice.

Sammorton

AskDocWeb: You are not beyond help but it does sound like you need some serious counseling from your doctor. Read more Ambien Feedback. Ambien – 14 – 15 – 16 – 17 – Page 18 – 19 – 20 – 21 – 22 – Last Page 120

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