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 rash?
Date: 7/8/2008
I have been taking Ambien for 5 years – 3 to 5 mg a night. I had previously been on Halcion for night terrors but that seemed to intensify them. The small dosage of Ambien works well for me. I had none of the scary side effects of others but it is also a very low dose. However, for the past 5 years I have had a chronic problem with a psoriasis like rash and hives on both sides of my forehead down to the eyes. I thought it was seasonal. Prednisone had “cured” it in the past and I would be good for several months. We (my doc and I) have done biopsies with “inconclusive” results. I am also hypothyroid. We are considering Armour Thyroid if the discontinuence of Ambien does not resolve the skin issue. Today I am switching to Lunesta to see if perhaps it is the Ambien that is causing the rash.

Dianne

Ambien overnight
Date: 7/10/2008
I’ve been taking ambien every few nights and on weekends for the last couple months but last night was STRANGE! I took the ambien, read for about a half hour in bed then turned out the lights. then I noticed a figure in my room standing by the door- I could very clearly make out details, he was moving slightly and then there was another one on the other side of the room. I was wide awake and part of me was convinced they were ghosts or guides and I even tried talking to them. the other part of me kept reminding myself I had taken ambien and maybe that had something to do with it. I woke up this morning and pulled up “ambien, hallucinations” on google and found this site. its quite a relief to know that they WEREN’T ghosts in my room! I’m concerned about developing a dependency so I am sure to make sure I don’t take them too frequently, and alternate with melatonin and magnesium on many nights.

Lisaohhh

Ambien suicide
Date: 7/16/2008
Our neighbor, struggling with a lack of sleep, concern for kids in Iraq and job dislike, was prescribed Ambien. He took all of it during the course of the first day for no reason he could think of. Hospitalized, he was released with more Ambien. 5 days later he committed suicide by shooting himself. How scarey to read he is not the first and think that some other family will be put through this horror.

Jean

Terrible nightmares
Date: 7/19/2008
I had a prescription for Ambien 10 mg. Used it for one month worked well. Then on my refill, I received the generic form. It did not work as well. Started getting depressed, sick to my stomach, nightmares and thinking someone was trying to get into our house. Also got muscle stiffness. I stopped the drug and after three days I am feeling a little better and still not sleeping but not having the terrible nightmares and my stiffness is gone. My depression is better also.

Midge

Brain damage improvement
Date: 7/20/2008
I suffered from a cerebral hemmorhsage many years ago and have substantially recovered. I developed Insmnia about 2 years ago and was given Ambien. Since I’ve taken it, I’ve noticed a huge improvement in my short term memory and have seen positive changes in my peripheral vision, which was damaged by the bleed. My GP has no problem with continuing the ambien given the improvement, but I’m concerned about never sleeping again. If I use sublingual melatonin to taper off the ambien, what is a good schedule?

Eric

AskDocWeb: From what we have read the improvement is lost when Ambien is discontinued. For that reason we suggest you discuss this with your doctor before making any changes.

SERIOUS mental problems?
Date: 7/23/2008
Ambien on and off for a number of years with no problems. Wonder if most of these complainers have other SERIOUS mental problems and/or just like to blow things out of proportion for attention. You know the 1 beer and “I am so wasted” person.

Sdoug

On Ambien for over 4 years
Date: 7/24/2008
Dear readers, I have been on Ambien for over 4 years now, and I think that it has had severe effects. I also have memory loss and it has consumed my life. I now have severe health problems and think that it is all because of the ambien. I cannot quit going to the doctors, and they have been prescibing me anti-depressants and now I have suicidal thoughts.

Scott

SERIOUS WARNING!!!
Date: 7/25/2008
Please do NOT use this product! I have not personally taken ambien, but I have witnessed the WORST possible side effects from it- DEATH. In the past two years, I have known two different people who were on ambien to help with their sleeping problems for whatever reason. They were both average, well-off, generally happy and normal people with good family relationships before taking this sleep aid. Both shockingly took their OWN lives to everyone’s complete surprise. There was absolutely no way to predict these horrible tragedies because neither person had a history of depression or anything. I don’t know why, but this pill seems to cause completely IRRATIONAL behavior. If it happened once, I’d call it bad luck, but I have seen this happen two times already, and I strongly hope that I don’t ever hear about it again. Please be careful and take into consideration before even thinking about taking this pill or other sleep aids…

Sarah

Ambien improved short term memory
Date: 7/25/2008
I have been taking Ambien 1/2 10 mg nightly for about 2 years now. As a survivor of Brain Injury, I suffer from memory defecits and visual impairment for the past 23 years. The Ambien has greatly improved my short term memory and appears to be causing changes in my visual fields as well. Needless to say, I’m thrilled with the results…all this AND SLEEP TOO!! My point in writing is to share an experience. I had recently been experiencing jitteryness or nervousness during the day and a strange feeling in my stomach, sort of like nausea, but not quite, more like a nervous stomach. I have started taking sublingual melatonin at night and most of the problems have dissipated. Anyone have thoughts?

Ericr

Long term zolpidem usage and cancer?
Date: 7/25/2008
I have been taking Ambien/Zolpidem for 3+ years and have generally been pleased with its effectiveness in helping me get a good night’s sleep. My question is about a possible link between zolpidem and cancer. According to Daniel Kripke, MD, there may be a reason to be concerned. Unfortunately, beyond his report, I have read very little regarding this possible link. Do you have any suggestions on where I may be able to find reliable information? Thanks you.

Long term zolpidem usage and cancer?

AskDocWeb: It appears that you will have to wait for the research to be conducted before you can read the results. Dr Kripke has only recently raised this possibility in the Pharmacy News. Although a direct causal link between cancer and sleeping pills has still not been proven, we know that when lab animals are given high doses of hypnotic drugs they develop kidney, thyroid and testicular cancers and suffer chromosome damage, which is a sign of carcinogenicity.

Trying to quit ambien
Date: 7/26/2008
I am trying to quit ambien right now. I am at the 48 hour mark almost. I am so glad it will be out of my system soon.

Sarah

Loosing sleep and irritable
Date: 7/27/2008
I am taking celebrex 100mg twice a day for back pain prescribed by my doctor, every night I suffer from restless leg syndrome, is this due to these tablets? Can I stop taking yhen for a few days to see if the tablets are causing this as am loosing sleep and am very irritable?

Jenny

AskDocWeb: Restless leg syndrome is not a side effect of Ambien. On the contrary several people with restless leg syndrome have reported using Ambien to get a good night’s sleep.

Normal sleep patterns
Date: 7/28/2008
I agree with many of the statements I have read. It does not put me or keep me asleep very well and I have slept walked or something when on Ambien. Will it help create normal sleep patterns again if taken as prescribed and in the short-term?

Mark

AskDocWeb: Yes, that is the idea. Most insomnia is only temporary and Ambien is used to help you through the rough spot.

Crazy
Date: 7/28/2008
My mother is 89 and since taking this sleeping medication she talks crazy and acts crazy. My husband used to drive while taking it over one hundred miles at nite and didn’t know he was up driving.

Ann

Take with caution
Date: 7/29/2008
I’ve been taking 10mg geneneric Ambien for 4 years now. I am very prone to Grand Maal Siezures, and w/o the med I do not sleep and risk seizing. It is very addictive and should not be taken unless unavoidable. Wish I did not have to take it but it beats not sleeping, seizing, and possibly having a stroke. Take w/ caution.

JR

Ambien after affects
Date: 7/31/2008
Ambien definitely helps me sleep, but just 8 hours as suggested doesn’t work for me. If I take it at 10 PM and get 8-9 hours of sleep, I still wake up groggy and have a hard time functioning for a while. It takes me about 12 hours to fully get rid of the tiredness it causes.

Jake

Moody, headaches, using the bathroom, and weird dreams
Date: 8/3/2008
So my boyfriend is 21yrs old just got back from Iraq and is now taking ambien for two weeks now I think and he has been moody, had headaches, using the bathroom constantly, having a lot of dreams and weird dreams. He said he never dreamed before. I know he took it when he was in Iraq too. Not sure if he had these symptoms before. But I know that he is having them now and refuses to go to the doctor will ambien hurt him in some way or its it just going to keep up.

AJA

AskDocWeb: You might remind him that Ambien is for short-term use, usually 7 to 10 days. Long-term use as defined by the pharmaceutical company as 28 to 35 nights.

Confidential?
Date: 8/5/2008
I’ve been on ambien for 5 years, started when I was 16. Could you use some advice and have A LOT to share. Is this all confidential?

DC

AskDocWeb: If you think your story would help others in the same situation then share it. Your identity is confidential and protected, only your story is published.

Valerian Root?
Date: 8/6/2008
Hasn’t anyone ever tried Valerian Root? It may be herbal but if you read Jean Carper’s chapter on it in “MIracle Cures” you will be very impressed. It is actually used to wean people away from sleeping medications! Besides, it works. Nothing, but nothing, will work perfectly 100% of the time, but to all the beleagured insomniacs out there, I promise you it will help.

Sarah

AskDocWeb: Please note that there are some health concerns with using valerian.

Addictive
Date: 8/6/2008
This pill will get you a quick, legal high. Make no mistake, it IS addictive.

Kendra

A dead squirrel broke into your house?
Date: 8/10/2008
I have been taking ambien for about a month and a half now. Very recently I was able to double my dose because a single pill was starting to have no effect in the face of the huge tolerance I have created. As a writer and doctor in training, I find that ambien helps me to stay organized, and as addictive as it may sound, also helps me to think of things in a different and perhaps clearer manner. The only problem is that in the face of tolerance, ambien becomes useless, but simply stopping the drug is no easy feat. The best advice I can give you is not to take ambien unless you have the discipline to take it WHILE IN BED and READY FOR SLEEP. Otherwise you might just pick up some roadkill and bring it home…and when you wake up in the morning there’s a dead squirrel on your kitchen table and you have no idea how it got there. So, in order to prevent any theories of how a dead squirrel broke into your house, use caution with ambien.

Patrick

Memory loss
Date: 8/11/2008
I started taking this due to I couldn’t sleep at night. You fall asleep but it BAD side affect is memory loss. You will not remember what you did the night before. Please don’t start taking this @ all.

Kh

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