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.

Love ambien but addicted
Date: 12/8/2009
I love ambien but I’m addicted to it. I take a day script of 10 mg pills in 6 days. I dont know what to do. I’ve been taking them and keep taking more and more for the last 3 years. I’m in misery for the rest of the month without them.

Amy

AskDocWeb: Sometimes it’s helpful to find out how others have solved the problem that you are facing. Many people have found support and solutions at a Sleep Disorder Center.

I was arrested
Date: 12/9/2009
BLACKOUTS, INCREASED DEPRESSION, MENTAL FOG, MEMORY LOSS: AMBIEN IS NOT WORTH THE PRICE. I was arrested on Oct 31, 2009, with no memory of the days events, phone calls or driving. I don’t drink and was found passed out in my car with my dog, my behavoir was aggressive toward others and myself. Including banging my head on the police car, biting, and I have no memory of leaving my house, driving, drinking, nothing!!!! I beg you STOP TAKING AMBIEN before it ruins your life or ends it!! If you suffer from depression it will cripple you!

Julie RN

Had I only known
Date: 12/10/2009
Ambien is the scariest drug I’ve ever used, and I’m not a stranger to medications. I suffer chronic migraine and my Rx list is long. The Ambien was given to me to help me sleep better and get out of headache cycle. What it has done to me is cause significant MEMORY LOSS, RETENTION ABILITY & COGNITIVE LOSS. Had I only known I was going to lose my memory, my job, my family…. this drug would have never made it’s way to my medicine cabinet. I would suffer a million migraine headaches to have my life back. I lost a major job, my kids think I’m an addict, my husband has lost all faith in me. Why is Ambien still available and prescribed??? THE MONEY!! of course. My generic brand was Dr. Reddy don’t use or you will lose your life like I did.

Felicia

Severe migraine
Date: 12/12/2009
I have tried Ambien for two nights only. The first night I took a 5mg pill cut in half and woke up with a bad headache. The next night I took the whole thing and today I have a severe migraine that 6 ibuprofen will not get rid of. I think it’s these crazy pills. No more for me! And I feel groggy with nine hours of sleep!

Desiree

Ambien
Date: 12/14/2009
I ask our dr to give me something for my mother for sleep. She has been in and out of the hospital for various reasons, she is 81 and she wants to get strong again, but my dr tells me it is going to be hard. So, I just want her to rest and the sitters and I can help with that and when the time comes, she will at least have had some peace and grace. I want to keep her at home as long as I can, it is becoming harder and harder for me during the night, so maybe the Ambien can help her rest safely? right?

Tommy

AskDocWeb: Remember that the elderly are more sensitive to the effects of this drug and because of this, a lower dosage is generally recommended. Accidental falls are common for elderly patients who take sedatives.

Dangerous drug
Date: 12/16/2009
I took ambien 5 times, 4 of the 5 I did got up and did things without any memory. The last time, I drove, shopped, cooked, got into fights on the phone with family and have NO recall of any of it. I am thankful I didn’t kill or be killed while sleep driving. I flushed the pills and made an official report with the manufacturer. This is a dangerous drug.

Holly

Addicted to Ambien
Date: 12/19/2009
I became addicted to Ambien and it ruined my life. It was a very gradual addiction. Started using it a few times a year when I traveled. Then it was a few times per week at home… And I needed more of it to get me to sleep. While using Ambien, I always felt uncertain and agitated. My judgement and thinking became disorganized. My short term memory got very bad…thoughts would evaporate and disappear. That I could not concentrate at work is an understatement. My firm terminated my employment due to my inability to form cogent thought patterns and utilize sound judgement. If I could get a do-over, I would gladly take a couple nights of little or no sleep and have my life back! Please beware of this drug.

Patrick

Best thing that has happened to me
Date: 12/24/2009
I have used Ambien now for about a year. It is the best thing that has happened to me. I was having so much trouble with sleep, it had finally got to the point that I was falling asleep during the day no matter what I did. I had a sleep study and they said I don’t get REM sleep. The other sleep aids they gave me caused extreme daytime drunk like feelings and grogginess to the point that its almost impossible to function. The ambien has never caused me any daytime side effects, and very little night side effects. My husband takes ambien too, for different reasons. The worst side effect he had was when he first started taking it. He stumbles a little if he don’t go right to bed. He has no daytime problems. I think it is the best sleep aid ever.

Amanda

I flushed them down the toilet
Date: 12/30/2009
I just started using Ambien 9 nights ago and this morning I flushed them down the toilet. After breaking my ribs in October I just could not sleep, I was awake every few minutes all night long but…I don’t drink and I have been accused of being drunk 2 nights out of the nine. I am very shy and my husband told me of things I did the night before and I don’t remember anything. I don’t even remember talking to people or even Christmas morning because I took it so late that night. The clincher was when I ate a whole tin, big tin of carmel popcorn sometime in the middle of the night and didn’t even know I was up or ate it until the next morning. No prescription has ever affected me like this.

Kathy

I’m hooked and I want to get off
Date: 12/31/2009
13 months ago I began having trouble sleeping. Not wanting to take Tylenol PM or Benadryl due to the effects on the liver I asked my Doctor if there were any alternatives. Hoping he would give me something along the lines of Melatonin or Valerian Root (which also didn’t work). Low and behold he recommended I try Ambien. I initially told him that I didn’t want to take prescribed sleeping pills. That they were addictive and that I’d heard they had a wide variety of side effects that I didn’t want to deal with. He assured me that these side effects were few and far between and that the addiction rate was minimial.

A year later I take Ambien every single night to be able to sleep. I don’t take the pills recreationally, I don’t do more than the prescribed dose and I certainly don’t combine them with alcohol. I DO however live in fear every afternoon as night time approached because I know that a pill is in my not to distant future. I’m not a drinker, I don’t smoke and I go to the gym daily. Funny thing is I am against all OTC and recreational drugs. For all intensive purposes I am an athletic, healthy, intelligent, successful person – who is fully addicted to sleeping pills. Sure, at first I loved sleeping 8-hours every night. Waking up fully rested, no hangover, ready for the work day. If I timed it correctly at night I could even get up earlier and work later. It was great for my career! But now, I get a headache every day at four. I have to lay down to make it go away and it feels like my spinal cord is being pulled through the back of my head. The whole outside of my brain tingles all day. I’ve felt like I’ve been sick continuously for the last 6-months and my blood pressure has gone through the roof.

So there you have it. I’m hooked and I want to get off of these for good. I want to be myself again and not feel trapped by sleeping pills. Every time I’ve tried to quit the withdrawls are so bad that I go back on them 3-days later out of pure frustration and exhaustion. My Doctor just wants to switch me from one thing to another and that just defeats the purpose. help.

Nick

AskDocWeb: Medical doctors tend to think in terms of medications but there are alternatives. Sleep clinics and sleep disorder centers address the cause of sleep problems rather than just treat the symptoms.

Sleep driving
Date: 12/31/2009
!!!!!!!!STAY AWAY FROM THIS DRUG!!!!! I took Ambien for sleep after a couple weeks of really severe bronchitis. My Dr. said I needed to sleep. I took the 10 mg dose, awoke fell down the stairs and over a coffee table. Got into my car and attempted to go to the store. My pants were undone, shirt on inside out and backwards. I was arrested after hitting four parked cars. Taken to the hospital I work at as a RN in handcuffs for BAC blood test (which was negative). Now facing thousands of dollars in fines. Worst part is I have no memory these events. I read it all from a seven page police report to my horror. Thank God I didn’t kill some one.

Will

Ambien helps with pain from TMJ
Date: 12/31/2009
my girl friend takes 5-10mg tablets a day. she has a severe case of TMJ. She says it helps with her pain from TMJ. She has been my girlfriend for 8 mos. She said she has been hooked for 3 yrs. and believes there is no way to get off them unless she goes to Moriphine. She is very difficult to deal with. Any suggestions?

Ken

AskDocWeb: Have you considered visiting a local sleep clinic for some educational brochures on what they do and how they help people with sleeping problems?

Horrible side effects
Date: 1/1/2010
I took ambien every night for approx. 5 yrs – only 5 mg. I went cold turkey after experiencing horrible side effects – night sweats, heart palpitations, extreme anxiety that was treated with Lorazipam, neck and shoulder pain, blurry vision, metallic taste, cloudy urine, thinning dry hair. My cholesterol was 290 while taking Ambien. I’ve been off for 6 months. It was difficult but well worth it. Sleep continues to improve and I usually sleep 7 to 8 hrs a night. Just had blood work done and my cholesterol dropped 42 pts! It’s now 248. I no longer have anxiety and don’t require medication.

For those asking about side effects of long term use – Many of the side effects I listed started after using it for several years. I think we’re told it’s for short term use because it does cause health problems with long term use. I don’t know if thinning, dry hair is a side effect, but I have 4 siblings and many family members and none of them are experiencing it. If my hair continues to fall out I’ll need to wear a wig. Another thing I’m dealing with is a red and splotchy neck – didn’t have that issue before Ambien. I’ve read from others who’ve taken this drug that they’ve experienced these two side effects. Be careful if you’re taking Ambien long term. You may be very surprised at the side effects that appear suddenly. I feel a tremendous sense of peace now and am so happy I’m no longer addicted. Good luck to all who are trying to get off Ambien!

Nancy
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