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.

Benzos?
Date: 1/1/2008
Does ambien come up positive for benzos?

Ed

AskDocWeb: Assuming that you are talking about drug testing the answer is no.

Wanting to stop
Date: 1/2/2008
Hi there, I have been taking ambien for about 3 months. I am wanting to stop taking the medication due to me eating alot at night and having no memory of it. Should I stop it cold turkey or do you recommend slowly stopping? I am on 10mg should I cut them in half and slowly ween myself off? Any advise would be great!!! Thanks!

Veronica

AskDocWeb: The directions say do not stop taking Ambien suddenly if you have been taking it for several weeks. This may cause withdrawal symptoms and make you uncomfortable. Since you have been taking it for 3 months you should talk to your doctor first.

Subglottic swelling
Date: 1/6/2008
Can you give more information about throat swelling? I have taken Ambien for several years, and I have subglottic swelling that is making it difficult to breathe. Doctors have been unable to diagnose the cause, although a prenisone pack relieved the symptoms greatly. Thank you.

CW

AskDocWeb: Swelling in the throat is one of the signs of a severe allergic reaction. Other signs are hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, or tongue. The directions say to stop taking Ambien and get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction.

Nightmares are horrible
Date: 1/7/2008
I would like to know where I can go and be a guinea pig to get off this stuff so no one else has to ever experience this mess of having to go off of it. Nightmares are horrible. Realistic, frightening, taste and smell of what is happening in the dream. People being hacked to death and people constantly chasing me. How can these drugs be administered for 2-3 years freely without monitoring the patient. My PC fills my prescription every month without even checking on me. Nice huh, could have killed myself by now from insanity but what do they care? I need to go somewhere and get off this stuff immediately. Please someone help me.

Lisa

AskDocWeb: Remember, it is your responsibility to tell your doctor about the affect any drug has on you. It is also possible to find another doctor and have him help you.

Long term use
Date: 1/10/2008
I have been on Ambien for at least 10 years. I have experienced most of the side effects mentioned in these posts. From sleep eating, jail, receiving things in the mail I do not remember ordering…I am on Metadate due to ADD which has a side affect of insomnia and now I’m afraid to make any medication changes because I seen what happens to some people who start tampering with their meds and my doctor encourages me to leave things as they are…My problem is that I have lost my ability to multitask. My once always-perfect checkbook has been a mess for a couple of years now. I used to be reliable and “on it”. My house is a mess with stacks of paperwork that I have to step over. Simple household chores intimidate me… I have had a successful career as a health care worker for over 30 years with experience in management, speaking, and consulting. My work now is just clinical and I can bearly get to work. My friends comment on the changes and I can see the concern in their eyes. (I could go on and on.)… I’ve told my doctor this, she seems to think it is anxiety. In my heart I think the ambien is the root of this. Are there studies out there of long term use?

Kay

AskDocWeb: In long-term clinical trials at doses less than 10 mg, the most commonly observed adverse events associated with the use of Ambien were dizziness (5%) and drugged feelings (3%). Please note that in those clinical trials the manufacturer defined long-term usage to be 28 to 35 nights.

Ambien tinnitus
Date: 1/12/2008
Is there any connection to taking 5 mg. Ambien nightly for the past 9 months and developing tinnitus in Sept? This roaring in my ears and sound intensity is making me so uncomfortable. I read somewhere that this med may cause tinnitus. I have cut down on dosage and discontinued but as yet no difference. Thank you.

GSR

AskDocWeb: According to the 2008 PDR, one percent of Ambien users experience tinnitus.

Pills have stopped working
Date: 1/14/2008
I have been using Ambien 10mg for seven months. It worked great until recently. When I take a pill, I go straight to bed, but I can lay there up to two hours without feeling any effects. I only get 18 pills per month, and I usually have some leftover at the end of the month. Luckily, I don’t have an addictive nature. But it doesn’t matter if the pills have stopped working. I do plan to discuss this with my doctor in a few days.

Jamie

Badly frightened
Date: 1/15/2008
I began taking Ambien 10 mg last summer. I was very pleased with the quality of deep sleep I was able to enjoy until about a month ago when I began experiencing hallucinations within minutes of taking the pill. Two weeks ago, I apparently ordered a product that I have only the vaguest memories of doing and that I thought was dream until I got the product in the mail! A couple of friends reported getting very strange phone calls from me and were worried. Then last night I was talking with my daughter after having taken the pill approximately ten minutes earlier when she said I suddenly pitched forward and would have hit my head if she hadn’t caught me. She was badly frightened thinking I was having a heart attack. I am going to stop taking this medication immediately!

Michelle

Vivid, evil dreams
Date: 1/15/2008
I have been taking Ambien for over 3 years now. I recently separated from my husband, began getting “wiggy” hormonally and was prescribed Xanax. When I have taken 1/2 of a Xanax and no Ambien, I have had the horrible hallucinations. I thought I was going crazy. My memory has been going for several years now, as well. After getting on your site today, I am going to gradually get off of the Ambien or maybe go cold turkey. There was nothing worse than those terrible, vivid, evil dreams and the realization that my memory is impaired, hopefully temporarily.

Sharon

Severe Brain Injury
Date: 1/16/2008
Hi, I give ambien to my son who has a TBI. He is not able to speak and I have read articles that say ambien has helped some people with TBI. Please let me know of any articles on the effect of ambien in people who have suffered a Severe Brain Injury.

Nena

AskDocWeb: We will post links as they become available.

Sore throat
Date: 1/17/2008
I have had trouble falling asleep since my teens, sometimes staying up as last as 4 or 5am. Ambien has worked great but I have decided to stop taking it. After not using it for awhile, a very sore throat has returned which antibiotics and my doctor can not get rid of. I just realized the last time I the sore throat (for months) I was also taking ambien nightly.

Brian

Tingling and burning
Date: 1/18/2008
My mom has been taking ambien and celexa and has began to complain of tingling and burning in her arm from elbow down and in her legs from her knees down could this be a side from either of these meds?

Ashley

AskDocWeb: These symptoms are not caused by those drugs but they can indicate a serious health problem that should not be ignored. Please have her consult with her physician as soon as possible.

Scary side effects
Date: 1/20/2008
I have taken ambian for about 2 years. I have had some pretty scary side effects—memory loss being the worst. I have had sex, bought stuff off of eBay, and eat myself out of hose and home, not to remember any of it! The only reason I knew what happened was when my husband mentioned the sex!! I also talk crazy. Why do I still take it you might ask. I like how it puts me out. I just don’t take it unless my husband is around. He kinda likes the side effects!

Marsha

Trouble with withdrawal symptoms?
Date: 1/21/2008
I started taking Ambien 5 mg. for a few nites, and then added a second 5 mg. for three weeks or so. I have been tapering to get off Ambien — I tapered to 5 mg. for two weeks, and have tapered to 2.5 mg. for the last few weeks. Do you think I will have trouble with withdrawal symptoms after I quit taking the 2.5 mg? I have been having nite sweatiness, and some nites are rough for sleep. Thanks in advance,

C

AskDocWeb: In studies of patients that stopped taking Ambien some patients experienced a “rebound effect” but according to the 2008 Physician’s Desk Reference, it only lasted one night.

Ambien’s been a lifesaver
Date: 1/22/2008
I’ve been using Ambien CR for a year now and it gives me a good night sleep. Before that, I never got a good night sleep. I’ve run out of my prescription twice, and I went right back to my usual pattern of waking up after a few hours and not being able to fall back to sleep. Ambien’s been a lifesaver. I do worry when I hear it might have had an effect on causing Heath Ledger’s death. Any other reports of ambien overdose causing death?

Mike

Sleep-eating and mild hallucinations
Date: 1/23/2008
I took Ambien off and on in 2006 for insomnia due to hurricane Katrina related stress. It helped me sleep for 5-6 hours but prevented me from going through REM, which I believe is necessary for one’s overall health. At any rate, I experienced strange episodes of sleep-eating and mild hallucinations, which unnerved me since I was living alone much of the time. Several times I would awake and find myself wearing a particular fur-lined jacket I had just bought with no memory of having gotten up and fetching it out of my closet! I once ate a whole jar of candied ginger and on another occasion I tore into some tamales late at night and imagined 2 women were in my kitchen telling me what to do! I was shocked at the mess I would find in my kitchen the following morning! Needless to say I stopped taking it after reading about sleep-driving associated with Ambien and I would advise others to talk to their doctors about GAD and depression and treating those issues first….. Atavan helps with sleep but has few side effects.

Dianne

Ambien suicide
Date: 1/23/2008
I’ve known 2 people who attempted suicide while taking ambien, and one who actually committed suicide while taking ambien. This drug definitely has an effect not published that involves getting people to kill themselves.

Allen

Heath Ledger died while using Ambien
Date: 1/23/2008
I have not used Ambien, but have heard reports that deceased actor Heath Ledger died while using the prescription. If side effect include getting up, doing things like eating, walking, driving – with no memory of doing so – is it possible Heath took more medication without realizing it, thus causing an accidental overdose resulting in his death?

Elizabeth

AskDocWeb: That is one of the possibilities but it doesn’t look like we will ever find out for sure what happened. Read more Ambien Feedback. Ambien – 40 – 41 – 42 – 43 – Page 44 – 45 – 46 – 47 – 48 – Last Page 120

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