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.

Terrible mistake
Date: 1/14/2010
I started using Ambien back in the early part of 2006. I have a severe muscle disorder which is extremely painful and debilitating. I was prescribed Ambien to help me sleep. The first night I felt like I slept for a week. It was wonderful to get a full nights sleep. One day when I took the pill to sleep, I had to get up for a friend who was at the door. While having a conversation I realized I was not in pain and there were no spasms. The night ended and I slept all night. It was the very next day I took half of an Ambien to see if it would stop the spasms & pain, it did. What a terrible mistake on my part. With in a week I was up to six halves a day. The Ambien was not working anymore. The more I took, the less it worked. To make a long story short, I ended up in the hospital for several days. I was put on several medications for the pain and spasms. Now, what about the Ambien? I still use Ambien when needed to sleep, which is probably no more than once or twice a month, and have been doing so since.

Lucie

Every night
Date: 1/16/2010
Good for me for insomnia and recurring pain due to a medical condition, with no known side effets. It’s great not to have to lay there awake all night in pain. I feel it works better for those who really need it but may not be the right medication for general or occasional insomnia. It helps me every night.

Carla

Recurring nightmare
Date: 1/17/2010
My daughter has this recurring nightmare and it is so bizarre I was wondering if this happened when she took Ambien. This incident that she is talking about seems so violent and bizarre, but she says that this incident is real. Could her taking Ambien have caused her to think a nightmare was actually reality, because that is what she thinks.

Laurie

AskDocWeb: Reports from Ambien users have described their nightmares as vivid, horrible, violent, frightening, and so realistic that they can taste and smell what is happening in their dreams.

Ambien IS addictive to some
Date: 1/17/2010
There is a lot of good information here, but as a previous review stated, some of the side effects are under played or absent. This is an extremely powerful drug and it seems to be advertised and taken lightly. Ambien IS addictive to some, perhaps many, people. More studies need to be done and published to illuminate this issue.

Michael

My memory is fading
Date: 1/18/2010
I’ve been using Ambien fairly regularly for about 5 years. My memory is fading fast. If you stop taking Ambien, do you regain some or all the memory function lost because of it?

Dan

AskDocWeb: There are some reports of patients regaining some memory and some regain all their memory after discontinuing Ambien. More research is needed to find out what percentage of lost memory is most likely to be recovered.

Memory function
Date: 1/19/2010
I’ve been on Ambien for about 4 years. Have stopped taking it. Will some of the memory function I’ve lost come back?

Dan

AskDocWeb: Yes, generally when the drug is discontinued, memory function improves but not always and it could take some time. One patient reported that it took two years to completely recover.

Ambien is great
Date: 1/20/2010
Ambien is great. I’ve taken every other sleep med you could possibly think of and none of them worked. Ambien is my sleep savior.

John

Feel weaken and sick to my stomach
Date: 1/20/2010
I have used Ambien for over two years now and think it works wonderful at helping me fall asleep and getting a great night of sleep. That is the positive, the negative is I believe I am truely addicted to this drug even though my doctor told me it is not an addictive med. Even worse is the withdraw when I don’t take it! I feel weaken and sick to my stomach along with a “jittery” feeling. Wanted to know if anyone else had withdraw?

Greg

Best option for me
Date: 1/21/2010
I am convinced that Ambien is the best option for me in that it is not addictive, won’t make me feel hung-over the next day and will allow me to wake during the night if needed. Anyone who is serious about resolving chronic insomnia issues should definitely devote the time in giving Ambien a try.

Trisha

The whole nine yards
Date: 1/22/2010
I have taken the drug Ambien off and on for about 2 years now. It is imperative you are in bed when you take it, because you will literally be sleepwalking and sleeptalking! My kids have taped me while under the effects of the drug, which by the way hits me with 10 or 15 minutes–it’s very fast-acting! I have spilled food on myself, had memory problems, the whole nine yards. If I am without it, or try not to take it, I can’t sleep for up to 3 or 4 days at a time! I feel nervous and agitated, and just out of sorts. You have to wean yourself off slowly, and the side effects will be less severe. These days I don’t take it as much as I used to, though I still take it when I really feel I need to. I am waiting for a class action lawsuit from folks saying it causes early Alzheimers or something. Very scary. It works well for sleep, but I wouldn’t recommend liking it too much–your memory is worth more than your sleep! You will eventually sleep well, especially if you get off all the drugs–they are the problem!!! Hope this comment helps! Take care…

Renee

Great product!
Date: 1/27/2010
I tried Ambien for over a month with good results. The major difference I found between Ambien and other sleep aids was that I did not have that groggy hung over feeling. Thank you for a great product!

Maryann

Stopping Ambien
Date: 1/29/2010
I apprecitate this informative article. I had called my doctor to inquire about stopping taking Ambien. The nurse told me just to “stop taking it, and take it only when I needed it”. This just didn’t sound corrent. Your article makes more sense to me, and as a result, I will reduce my 5mg dosage for a while and then just gradually reduce it, in order to “wean” myself from it. Thank you. I will also be aware of any side effects and if I experience any side effects I will be sure and personally see my doctor. Thanks again,

Mary

Waking up in a panic
Date: 1/29/2010
I took Ambien after starting a stressful new job for 3 months and six weeks into it started getting serious panic attacks. Dry mouth, sweating and sensitivity to noises. I lost all confidence in my ability at the new job and they lost confidence in me. I would space out in meetings, even leave the room in a panic. The Ambien started to only work for 3 hours so my Doctor prescribed me Ambien CR which only worked ~5hrs and made the panic worse! I was then waking up in a panic – the vibrating Blackberry would send me over the edge. I quit after 3 months and my Doctor put me on Celexa 20mg in the morning and Seroquel 25 mg to sleep. It took about 6 weeks for the anxiety to go away completely. The Seroquel was great for sleeping, but now I’ve quit it and withdrawing from it while trying to sleep with nothing for the first time in nearly a year. I haven’t figured out how to get off the Celexa yet… Don’t take Ambien unless it’s just 1 time for a plane ride, rough night, etc…it’s not worth it.

J

Going through a stressful situation
Date: 1/31/2010
I have been taking Ambien now for 2 1/2 yrs. I have recently began going through a stressful situation in my life, and the Ambien alone does not help me sleep more than 2-3 hrs at a time & then I have a hard time going back to sleep. The euphoria that others talk about I am truly interested in. I have been going through hormonal/depression & wish that there was a medication that provides the part of ambien that works and gives you that great euphoria, but without the sleep side. Is there anything similar to ambien that does not affect the sleep part, but could be taken in the mornings to help someone who is in a very deep depressive state. Other antidepressants have not been working after 3 weeks of treatment.

Misty

AskDocWeb: There are alternatives and you can find which would work best for you by talking to the doctor that prescribed your other antidepressants.

Kick Ambien and the insomnia
Date: 1/31/2010
I have been taking Abmien CR for quite some time now. I have a high stress life including several young children, highly technical job, and a hellish daily commute. Somewhere in my early 30s I developed insomnia. After several visits my doctor prescribed Ambien CR. It has worked wonders and it does make you sleep as intended when taken strictly according to the directions. I find no fault with it there. However, the side effects can be serious. It has had a noticable effect on my memory, particularly short term. This is far more noticable during the time that the medicine is supposed to be active, but also during the following day to some extent. I’d have to say that I am addicted at this point as well. I truly believe that the medicine is a good stop gap measure to break the cycle of insomnia and should only be used that way. Once it helps, I think it wise to completely focus on changing to a much healthier lifestyle (nutrition, gym, and planned rest) if possible. That is how I plan to kick it and the insomnia. Hope this helps those in a similar position.

Don

Wonderful drug for bipolar use
Date: 2/1/2010
Can you please help me? I am bipolar and my doctors had a lot of trouble find meds that would work for me. We finally decided that since depression was my main problem, I would use Serzone to treat that and take Ambien to help me get sleep and slow down the cycling. This has worked well for over 10 years. I am now having a lot of other problems such as memory problems, and c-reactive protein of 56. Do you know of any research on very long term use of Ambien? Without the ambien my mind is totally awake at night and I’m not rested in the morning. With the Ambien it’s like turning off a switch and I can sleep without my mind racing and I’m like a different person. I think it’s a wonderful drug for bipolar use even though I’ve never heard it used for that except for me. Any help you give would be helpful. I’m afraid of getting off this combination of drugs but need an answer for my memory problems. oh yes, the dosages are 10mg Ambien at night and 400mg Serzone at nig ht. Thanks,

Margaret

AskDocWeb: Sorry Margaret, we were unable to locate any research on the very long-term use of Ambien. It appears that all the studies so far involve taking it for 12 months or less. Read more Ambien Feedback.

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