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.

Recommend Ambien
Date: 11/27/2008
I use Ambien 5mg now and then when I need to fall asleep, b/c it takes me hours to fall asleep usually. I find it works well… it does give me very vivid and weird dreams… but that doesn’t bother me. I would recommend Ambien to a friend.

Rose

Ambien problem
Date: 11/30/2008
My wife is a staggering, fall down drunk the day after taking ambien. She can not remember what she did 15 minutes before. I took her ambien and threw it away. She hid my medicine and could not remember where she put it or if she even did it. She got more ambien. How can I get her off of this drug? She is 66.

Lee

AskDocWeb: That is a difficult position to be in, she has to acknowledge her problem before you can do much. Her doctor may be able to help or at least have a suggest for counseling.

Side effects are wired
Date: 12/2/2008
I have taken ambien on and off over years. I take a max of 1/2 pill because it makes me very sleepy. When I take ambien I am fully awaken and suddenly asleep. It takes away my inhibitions as I get up in the night and eat. It also seems to affect my arousal side. I do not remember most of what I said or did in the night. Ambien does allow me to sleep – it is the side effects that are wired.

Linda

Sever reaction
Date: 12/12/2008
I do not take many medication; I took one Ambien one night and had no help with sleep but had a sever reaction within 12 hours of hives, rash swelling of lips and itching. Had to go to emergency room. I had no other medication in my in my system.

Carol

A small amount of Ambien?
Date: 12/16/2008
I have been taking Ambien for a few years. My problem seems to be falling asleep which Ambien works wonders for. I too am concerned about its addictive qualities. I take 1/3rd of a 10mg tablet to take the edge off and it works wonderfully. Even with this small dose I do have side effects such as memory loss. My doctor seems to think that it is a psychological addiction since the dose is so small. Could this little amount actually work? I have had trouble sleeping off and on most of my adult life.

Patria

AskDocWeb: You know that some people are more sensitive to sunlight than others. Some people burn easily and others take a long time just to tan. The affect of drugs also has a range because people have different levels of sensitivity to them. When they say that “results may vary” they may be talking about you.

Very weird stuff
Date: 12/16/2008
My wife takes Ambien CR. I don’t know the dosage. She first took it when she was pregnant 8 years ago. She’s been off and on since then. She’s back on it now. She launches into these conversations right when she goes to sleep. It’s so frequent that I record them on my phone and play them back in the am. Tonight she was channeling an Indian woman in the Adirondacks. It was like talking to a stanger. Very wierd stuff.

Thedrifter

Side effects can drastically change your life
Date: 12/17/2008
I took ambien 2 nights ago after I had been drinking for a little bit. I drove my car into a tree and did not wake up for another hour and a half when I was in the back of a police car. I remembered nothing of the event. I spent last night in the county jail all for taking this pill. I do not recommend taking this pill. The side effects can drastically change your life.

Blake

Taking extra pills while sleepwalking
Date: 12/23/2008
I’ve been taking Ambien for about a year. For the past couple of months (Nov & Dec 2008) I’ve noticed that I’m “missing” tabs in my prescription container. At first I thought perhaps the pharmacy made a mistake and miscounted, so I began counting my pills each morning. Sure enough, there were more missing than the one I take each night. I’m really concerned because I live alone & I’m the only person who has access to my meds (in a lock-box). After doing some research on side-effects, I can only conclude that I’ve been sleepwalking and taking additional meds in the process. Is it possible for me to accidentally overdose? Should I ask my physician to give me smaller prescriptions (like a refill every three days or so) rather than a 30-day prescription? Or is it safe to have the full amount in my home? THANK YOU for your help! This situation is really disconcerting!

Jacki

AskDocWeb: There have been reports from others who have taken additional pills while sleepwalking. At least one ended up in the Emergency Room and was accused of trying to commit suicide even though they don’t remember taking the pills. If it has happened once it can happen again. If getting only a few pills at a time would work for you, your pharmacist may be willing to help you with that.

Walking around naked
Date: 12/28/2008
I was taking Ambian before bed at night only to wake up to stories from my partner not to mention naked, of horrific embarrasing things that I would do with no memory of. I never believed her until my child eventually asked me if I was ok. Apparently I was walking around the house naked saying random odd things to my children. I was mortified! This is a dangerous drug and in my opinion there are by far better choices for sleep aids if you really need them..

P

Charged with DWI
Date: 12/31/2008
I am (or) was a police officer for 14 years. In November I took a 12.5 mg dose of Ambien CR after a meal and went to bed. Approximately 4 hours later I apparently got up, got, dressed, and proceeded to get in my personal vehicle and was involved in a crash with a parked vehicle approximately 6 miles from my home. Thank God I didn’t hurt or kill and innocent party. I was subsequently arrested and charged with DWI and taken to jail. In the interim I have lost a 14 year career after serving my Country for 11.5 years. The blood results revealed I was within acceptable limits of proper prescription use and no other substances or alcohol in my system. Working shift work and having irregular sleep patterns due to court, training, and callouts I opted for prescription relief after trying herbal, over the counter products, and diet and exercise. I had a similar incident 3 years ago on the old formulation and went to Lunesta. When it failed to work after approximately a year and a half I inquired about Ambien CR with my health care provider. It was determined it was a viable option due to the fact it was re-formulated. I had no known incidents that I was aware of. I recently had a lot of stressors in my personal life and believe an over active mind caused this reaction. I had done research and it appears to be a factor. I strongly encourage anyone taking Ambien in any form to cease it immediately. The life you save maybe someone else’s, your own, as well as your livelihood. The FDA should pull this medication off the market due to its unpredictability of side effects. Those of you that say you haven’t experienced any never say never. I hope you never experience it.

G G

La-la land
Date: 1/3/2009
My RA doc perscribed Ambien with the reasoning that it’s good to get a full night sleep. (I was going to sleep, but waking up at 2am and remained awake the rest of the night) My joints hurt more, and I was just miserable. Ambien has allowed me to get full nights sleep. I’ve been taking it for 5 years. My memory is really bad, and sometimes I feel like I’m just in la-la land. Is this the Ambien? Am I a candidate for dementia?

Ann

AskDocWeb: It may be the Ambien, other Ambien users have reported similar side effects. As for the possibility of being a candidate for dementia, as far as we know, there is no way to tell before it happens.

Started noticing crumbs in my bed
Date: 1/4/2009
I had been taking ambien a couple of times a week for about 3 months. Then I started noticing crumbs in my bed. When I got up I would find an empty bag of chips or crackers. I actually ties the doors of my refrigerator shut one night. When I awoke the tie was on the kitchen table and half a vanilla cream cake was gone. I have since switched to Lunesta and do not have a problem with it.

elaine

Addicted to Ambien
Date: 1/5/2009
Phew! I read just the first page of this ambien message board and I am amazed! I have so many of these symptoms and I have to tell you this “Hi, my name is GiGi and I am addicted to Ambien” so much so that I can not wait till it is time to take it. I can not sleep without it. I started taking it after opening my own business and could not sleep. I also started to use it when I went to see a weight loss Dr who prescribed a med. that had phentermine in it so again, I could not sleep. This drug I feel, makes me very depressed, but again, I am addicted to it. I see my personality has changed and I seem to have no fear of any type of retaliation from others after I take it and away my mouth goes. WE need a new type of ambien and something that is not addictive.

GiGi

Mistake
Date: 1/6/2009
I do not take Ambian on a regular basis but take a 10 mg maybe once a week or when I’m having stress at work and haven’t slept well for a couple of nights. So maybe I’ve taken 10 in the past 4 or 5 months. I made the mistake last night of taking the pill thinking I was going straight to bed and ended up getting distracted watching a football game. The next morning, my boyfriend asked me what time I came to bed. I didn’t remember going to bed. He said I was sitting on the sofa eating left overs from the dinner we had that I was going to take to work this morning. He said that I looked awake and talked and that the next thing I knew I was in our office on the computer typing away – “like mad.” I don’t remember any of this. Scary thing.

I also have noticed feeling dizzy on occasion which I thought was from sinus pressure or maybe blood pressure was up. In addition I have experienced some clumsiness that is very unlike me to have. I told my boyfriend that I must have been sleepwalking although I have never done that to my knowledge. He said that I looked wide awake and talked like I was awake. Now after reading the other comments on this site, I realize that I WAS awake but had a black out or amnesia. The only memory loss is after taking the dose. I notice no other memory loss. I will not take the medication again.

Victoria

Black outs
Date: 1/8/2009
I’ve been on ambien CR 12.5 for about 1.5 years. I have been having these black outs that make me do the stupidest stuff in the world. The other night I had this LONG email convo with a director, just randonly out of the blue. In the emails I sounded like I knew what I was talking about and had a clear head. No memory of it at all. So I tried to stop taking it and wow, it’s hard. I’ve been addicted to many things and have kicked them all w/o rehab but I think I might have to go to treatment for this. One thing that really sucks is that I just got 90 of them. What’s a girl to do?

DEMO

How do I post?
Date: 1/9/2009
How do I post? I have a question about using ambien.

MDS

AskDocWeb: Just use the same form at the bottom of the page that you used to ask this question.

I do things in my sleep
Date: 1/9/2009
Thank you for the opportunity to give a testimony about Ambien. This drug has been a God-send for me and I have had many great nights sleep. However, every now and then I experience severe memory loss. I do things in my sleep including: sex, walking, and eating. One thing that has hurt me forever is flushing my wedding rings down the toilet. They were wrapped in a tissue after cleaning. I flushed what I thought was a dirty tissue. Emotions are still flying. My mistake was not going directly to bed after taking Ambien. I will still use this medication, but with extreme caution. By the way my diamond was 1.25ct!

Sally

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