Drug Ratings for AMBIENAverage Rating: 3.2 (1308 Ratings)
Compare AMBIEN with similar: |
Results are sorted by Date Rating Was Added Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 |
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR AMBIEN | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
  | F M | | | | |||
| 3 | insomnia | If I take only 1/3 10mg. tablet and go to bed right away, this drug is very effective. I am grateful for this site because I was taking this drug and staying up and didn't realize what I felt was euphoria. I would take it with alcohol and then take a bath and now realize I could have slipped and drowned. I looked in the mirror and looked like I weighed 300 pounds. I have walked to McDonalds and ordered four orders of fries and then walked down a busy street literally stuffing them in my mouth, wondering what everyone was looking at, all the time stumbling like a drunk. Then the next day wondering if it happened or not. when I later found out about the amnesia, I realized it had indeed happened. I could not deal with the guilt of hitting someone with my car, but I could see how it could easily happen because you don't know what you are doing, you are uninhibited and just want to have fun, and obviously the results could be tragic. | Take the smallest possible amount necessary to fall asleep and go right to bed. Take only when really needed. Like any drug, it depends on the responsibility of the user. | M | 2 years | 9/24/2005 | 3 | inability to sleep | Drowsiness, hallucinations, anxiety, grogginess, hangover. | It made me overly drowsy-- if I took it when I was not already laying in bed I would start hallucinating/dreaming while still awake. Don't take it unless you are already in bed, preferably supervised. I took it when I was plucking my eyebrows before bed and I hallucinated that they were talking to me....not a pleasant experience. I was missing half of my eyebrows for my senior pictures.The side effects outweighed the benefits for me. Yes, it made me sleepy, but it made me drowsy and groggy | F | 18 | 1 years | 9/22/2005 | 3 | sleep problems | F | 35 | 380 days | 9/21/2005 | 5 | Insomnia | After taking the med for over two years it is losing it's effect to keep me asleep all night. However, when I first started this med it was a blessing to get some sleep. I have developed a need for this med. It seems to be the only way I can go into deep sleep. I have never had any hang over feeling the next day, however I do sometimes see an increase to get irritable. I have anxiety and Ambien relaxes me at night way more than anything else I ever had. For this reason, this is the only med in my whole life that I have ever stayed on for years. My husband hates me on it for it makes me act as if I'm drunk. The longer I am on it, I'm realizing it is harder to remember what I did before I fell asleep. Many times I pick up the phone and say things I normally wouldn't. This is definately the truth med. I tell people things deep in my heart that I normally wouldn't. Do not drive on this med. You don't realize the way your acting. You feel fine but it is no different then a drunk | I think the med may contribute to worsening my IBS. However, I can't imagine life without my Ambien. I think the med also effects my memory in general, this did start until I was on the med for over 2 years. | F | 33 | 2 years | 9/20/2005 | 2 | Sleep | Uncontrollable hicopps, nausiated feeling, dry heaves. | Ambien worked great for me for the first year, but I only took it a couple of times a month. By the third year I was taking it 3 times a month...all in one week of a month and then the negative drug simptoms reared their ugly heads. By the 4 fourth year I couldn't stand to hear the name "ambien". | M | 58 | 5 years | 9/19/2005 | 3 | Depression-induced insomia | Hallucinations if I didn't go to bed and fall asleep immediately after taking 2 pills. I thought all the books on my shelf were falling down and going to smother me. THe biggest problem was that I was unable to have orgasms consistently. It would take lots of work and then it was weird, lots of pre-ejaculate and very little semen and sperm, followed by an anticlimax. The sensitivity is so great it is almostg numbing | I did get twenty pages out of my book on ambien and they're some of the best stuff I've written in a while. I remember writing this, but only faintly, | M | 20 | 1 days | 9/17/2005 | 1 | for insomnia | HALLUCINATIONS!!!!!!!I only took the medicine a few times. At first my experience was pretty good. I slept well and woke up rested. Then it happened....One night I didn't go right to bed after taking the pill. Instead I went into our home office where my husband was working. I think I wanted to ask him a question, but before I had a chance, the walls sprouted electric pink shag carpeting....and my husband turned into a furry Hobbit! And I couldn't understand why he kept asking me if I wanted to go to the emergency room! | The next morning I threw out the rest of the prescription, called my doctor (who had never heard of such a side effect). I would never endorse taking such a debilitating medicine - a medication that impairs judgement to a dangerous degree. It's unfathomable that this side effect isn't well known. | F | 45 | 5 days | 9/12/2005 | 5 | Insomnia | Memory loss (not only after taking the medication, but also during daily activities), built up tolerance after 6 months, inability to achieve orgasm, psychological addiction to drug, weight gain | Even though I put a rating of | F | 33 | 6 months | 8/26/2005 | 5 | Insomnia | Memory loss (not only after taking the medication, but also during daily activities), built up tolerance after 6 months, inability to achieve orgasm, psychological addiction to drug, weight gain | Trying again (don't use quotation marks in post!) Even though I put a rating of 5, I actually rate this a 3. I don't think people should have to read through 100 5s before being able to read a lower rating. They should be listed as-posted. My doctor prescribed Ambien because I would go to bed and not be able to stop my mind from racing. I started with 5mg/night. Positive- it knocked me out within 20-30 minutes. I slept better than I ever have/no grogginess, even with an avg. of only 6 hours sleep/night. Negative- I would do things that I didn't remember the next day. Nothing too extreme, but I would have conversations with my husband that I couldn't remember, eat uncontrollably, trip over furniture, etc. I learned to go to bed immediately after taking - | F | 33 | 6 months | 8/26/2005 | 4 | sleep problems after surgery | Complete destruction of sleep patterns after 2 months of hospitalization and two surgeries | M | 56 | 1 years | 8/26/2005 | 5 | Insomnia | I've been taking Ambien for almost four weeks, every night; starting with 10mg. After one week, moved to 15mg (a night). Twice I've taken 20mg. It generally only creates a sleepy-dreamy euphoric state until I fall asleep, which generally takes about two hours after taking one (and a half) pills. On one occasion, I began to hallucinate and thought a house plant was talking to me and begging me to water/prune it. At least...I think it was a hallucination! | For about two weeks, my left hand (middle, ring, and pinky fingers) have been almost totally numb and tingly. After reading a similar statement on this page, I can only assume it is from the drug. | M | 31 | 25 days | 8/24/2005 | 5 | depression/stress-induced insomnia | I suffered from absolutely no harmful side effects; the | Doctors expect their patients to follow directions. Ambien is meant to help you get back on track. That's why its suggested dosage period is only 7-10 days. You take it at the same time every night and establish a good sleep cycle. Then save the rest for the really bad nights. Everyone's body is different, so some people's bodies will react negatively, others positively. So some may find physical/psychological dependence, others may not. Take it as directed, not to stay awake through. I took this years ago (on and off for a few weeks at a time, only a couple nights a week), and the times my body did fight the sleep, the most I got out of it were hilarious e-mails to my best friends and making real sure that my mom noticed how pretty the stairs were. Like with any drug, just be smart about it. Ambien helped me get back on track, and I had no problems | F | 22 | | 8/23/2005 | 4 | insomnia | drugged behavior, incoherant. Take occasionally. Life long sleep problems. Ambien worked great. | good sleep, clear head and energetic in morning. Follow the advice here, take 1/2 dosage and immediately go to bed. Best if spouse home. | M | 41 | 2 months | 8/23/2005 | 5 | insomnia | a little | A miracle drug for me. I take it when I know I may have trouble sleeping through the night. Works 90% of the time without grogginess the next day. | F | 44 | 1 years | 8/22/2005 | 3 | Insomnia | If staying up: TOTAL amnesia. While under it's effect (even on ~15mg) my short term memory is so severely affected I can't function coherently or rationally. Also some strange but fun mental imagery (*NOT* the same as hallucinations). If sleeping: Very, very strange dreams, otherwise nothing. | The guy who said it was a dangerous drug and should be taken off the market wasn't too far off. It's great at what it does; I haven't found a better hypnotic; but if you resist sleep or are kept up for some reason, things can get very, very strange or in some cases, dangerous... and worst of all you won't remember a thing. Be careful with this drug. | M | 16 | 1 months | 8/22/2005 | 4 | Fibromyalgia/ Insomnia | total loss of memory when on the drug | I take ambien almost every night becuase I often have chronic pain and it makes it difficult to sleep. I have read many comments about people stating that they have had hallucinations etc and yes this is true if you take it when youre not in bed!! Its not meant to be taken to stay awake on. | F | 25 | 1 years | 8/21/2005 | 1 | Back pain, frequent urination | Amnesia, hallucinations, numbness & tingling in extremities, headaches, insomnia,panic attacks, blackouts, low oxygen intake contributing to low blood pressure contributing to blackouts, waking after a blackout not knowing what happened, grogginess the next day | Short term use 7-10 days may be okay but long term use I believe is extremely dangerous and maybe deadly. The link just hasn't been made yet. It will because too many people are having serious side effects from the long term usage of Ambien, Use Caution. Also, no problem stopping. | F | 35 | 9 months | 8/8/2005 | 1 | arthritis and | suicidal thoughts, inability to think clearly | At first this medication worked great- I took it for months every night without problems (except the amnesia if I didn't get to bed right away). After about 3 months, my life changed dramatically- my mood became very somber, I was tearfull all the time and began to think about suicide. I was groggy all day and couldn't concentrate or think clearly. One day I just had this idea that it could be the ambien, and as soon as I stopped taking it my suicidal thoughts went away. I was shocked but comforted to see other posts about this reaction. The tricky part about this effect is that it doesn't occur immediately, so it may be hard to figure out the cause is the ambien. I haven't told anyone in my life about these experiences, but I thought it was really important to get this out to others who might be in a similar situation. | F | 30 | 3 months | 8/7/2005 | 5 | Insomnia | feeling completely out of it | It was a Godsend. | F | 22 | 3 months | 7/30/2005 | 4 | Insomnia | Dizziness, hallucinations, strange behavior, and hunger | I am a shift rotator and use this drug to adapt to a new shift. It works better on an empty stomach. It should be taken while still in bed. I have stayed up instead of going right to bed and the following happened to me: I talked to a light switch for a while, trees grew in my living room, I called friends on the phone and dazzled them with nonsensical sentences, I ate 2 lbs. of turkey breast, I stared at a wall in my laundry room for god knows how long and talked to birds and elves, my head felt like an anvil, and i didnt remember I did all this crap untill certain things jogged my memory DAYS later. I am also a police officer and have seen this used as date rape. I have seen a woman who was on ambien drive a car over a construction worker, killing him, and had no idea what she had done until the next day. IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU TO! When taken properly this medication was a GOD SEND. I had GREAT sleep and woke up with no problems the next day feeling well rested. | M | 32 | 1 months | 7/30/2005 | 1 | insomnia due to back pain | I submitted my very negative rating on 7-18-05 and someone has removed it. It is very curious that on this website all of the favorable ratings are at the top and the most dissatisfied opinions are at the very bottom. How can you come up with an average satisfaction rating if you are removing the dissatisfied opinions from your website. This is very disturbing. I believe that Ambien is a very, very dangerous drug and I would like to know who is running this website. I feel that this drug almost killed me and I wanted to warn people. I am not some nut throwing around unsubstantiated bits of info. Why is my rating deleted and how many more have been deleted? | F | 8 months | 7/19/2005 | 5 | fun..iguess. | well..i took this with a soma..of which my friend gave me..and we went to a coffee shop. Immediately i started feeling so weird..like my life was a movie that i wasnt in..like i was watching everything go on but it wasnt real. My boyfriend told me i was being mean..but i have no memory of that. I was Hallucinating..BAD. I almost wrecked..alot..and..it made me see little midget like soilders running across the road. The road was also swiving and coming at me it seemed. The next day..i had to basically sit on my bed and try and remember what happened the night before and if it had really happened or not. Im serious..this drug freaked me out. | i dont think i will be taking it again..even though i slept good.. | F | 16 | 1 days | 6/23/2005 | 4 | Insomnia | Double vision sometimes, occasionally not making it to bed before falling asleep. I don't remember saying or doing things about 1/2 an hour before actually falling asleep. | I only seem to have double vision when watching TV or looking at lights. Overall I still like it a lot. I have only been able to sleep 2 hours at a time for the last 5 years, but 10 mg of Ambien gives me 7 solid hours, and I pop awake in the morning all rested! I'm careful to use it only 2 or 3 times a week, but that's 2 or 3 more nights of sleep than I was getting. | F | 30 | 3 months | 6/22/2005 | 3 | sleep problems | None | M | 28 | 1 days | 6/19/2005 | 5 | trouble falling/staying asleep | If you don't take it and go to bed and stay there, you might do things you don't remember. Use it correctly and you get fairly good sleep. | Use it as directed, stay in bed, turn off tv. | F | 48 | 5 years | 6/17/2005 | 4 | can't sleep at night | extreme drowsiness high like feeling severe amnesia in some cases | Please get to sleep right after taking this. This drug will make you REALLY loopey as if you were high . It will cause extreme memory loss sometimes. It does lose its effectiveness over time. First time I took it I thought I saw little green men running around and thought people were in my house spying on me. Just be careful. It really works if you want to just get agood nights sleep. email me tracyinva@aol.com if you have any questions. I know an online pharmacy with the best prices on ambien if you are interested. | F | 32 | 3 months | 6/16/2005 | 4 | Insomnia | None until the last year, during which I've had almost nightly anxiety dreams (could be my life and not the Ambien). Very recently, I've had dizziness during the night if I turn over in bed, turn my head or get up. Again, this may not be the Ambien but something else. The dizziness stops after I've been up about fifteen minutes in the morning. | When I first started taking Ambien, it was a miracle! I took 5 mg at bedtime, fell asleep within 30 minutes, and woke up refreshed, just like the commercial says! After years of use, I typically have to take 10 mg to get to sleep. I still fall asleep quickly, but wake up all night. It takes me awhile to wake up in the morning. However, I haven't found anything else that works at all. | F | 54 | 6 years | 6/13/2005 | 1 | Insomnia | Extremely suicidal thoughts and feelings. | This is definitely the scariest medication I have ever taken. My doctor prescribed it for insomnia in around 1995. I took it once a month, and it definitely put me out of commission. I had to be already in my bed when taking it, because within 15 minutes, it was impossible to walk. I took it sporadically over the next five years, as needed. After moving and getting a new GP, the guy led me to believe that it was OK to use long-term and prescribed it to me like candy. I think he gave me a prescription for 1/day for 30 days and 5 refills. In reality, I didn't take it that much. I took it probably every other day, at one point, for three or four months. I did start taking it more often, but found it was very addictive. Also, I began to feel extremely restive and nervous. Then it was hard for me to be around people, I was so anxious. I'd never felt anything like that before. Soon I found I was having lots of suicidal thoughts and feelings and even planning how I might do myself in. My wife started to get really freaked out, and we wondered if it was Ambien. I flushed what I had left down the toilet, and immediately the suicidal stuff subsided and I began to feel like a normal and fairly happy human being again. I flushed what I had down the toilet (that was in 2001). Just recently, I second-guessed myself and wondered if it really was the Ambien. I haven't had it since 2001 until this year (2005). I took two or three spaced several days apart (my doc again gave me the 5-mo. refill :) ) and began again to have the nervous and depressed feelings I had experienced before. The doctor is freaked out about me having more than a half of a Percocet for my chronic back pain, but he prescribes this stuff like it's a panacea or something. Please don't take this stuff. I'd rather not sleep than go through this again. What actually prompted me to write this, though, was a neighbor. Three days ago I saw a life flight helicopter fly about 50 feet above my house and land near his. He had just blown his brains out. Interestingly, he had also been taking quite a bit of Ambien at the time. | M | 39 | 10 years | 6/13/2005 | 4 | insomnia caused by hot flashes | Ambien is a very effective sleeping pill if used for that and only that purpose. When I took my very first Ambien I experienced horrible, frightening hallucinations. I took a 10 mg. pill which my doctor prescribed. After researching and consulting with my doctor about the drug, I cut back to 5 mg. or less and the hallucinations and other frightening symptoms were gone. I went to sleep, woke up and that was that. Since that time (one year ago), I can now take up to 10 mg. per night without too many negative side effects. I'd say the one most disturbing ongoing side effect, though, is the memory loss that results while I am taking the pill. The next day I have little recall of anything I might have said or done while taking this pill. | If you are taking other central nervous system depressant drugs such as pain medications or tranquilizers, then Ambien may not be what you need. It will sometimes compound the negative | F | 50 | 1 years | 6/10/2005 | 5 | Insomnia | Seems to not be working as well now as when I first started. | M | 61 | 6 months | 5/28/2005 | 3 | i take welbutrin, it keeps me awake | keep in a safe place! go strait to bed, stay in bed! don't try to fight it or you will act like a fool. | you will sleep like a baby. I wouldn't take it if i was responsible for children that wake at night. | F | 47 | | 5/27/2005 | 5 | Severe Insomnia | Works very quickly. If I don't stay in bed after I take it I wander around talking to my husband and eating things, and I don't remember either. My husband worries about how weird I get. I watch TV in bed and I think that keeps me in that twilight zone of half asleep and half awake and exacerbates the amnesia. But if I really put my mind to it, after I take the pill, I will stay in bed and sleep, and it's the best sleep ever. I have to think about staying in bed, and not making a fool of myself as I take the pill, and as it begins to work, and then I stay in bed and everythings fine. | F | 58 | 2 months | 5/24/2005 | 2 | insomnia | hallucinations, memory loss, horrible horrible nightmares( to horrible to describe), day after dizziness, felt like I was in a fog or dream, upsett tummy, thirsty....and this was with taking the smaller recommended doseage. Heavy induced sleep..which was great the first three or four nights, but after that, the sleep was not satisfying, felt drugged and tired the next day. Midday could hardly stay awake. | Ambien scared the daylights out of me, I was in a fog like state the entire time I took it (2 weeks)...but didn't realize for the drug alters your mind, wasnt until the second week, about an hour before bedtime when I normally would have taken one..that my mind sort of cleared...the | F | 56 | 14 days | 5/22/2005 | 5 | Insomnia, early wakening | Hallucinations if I try to stay awake after taking it, no drowsiness the next day | Truly a saviour. The only sleep med I have found that doesn't completely knock me on my ass... I don't feel tired the next day. Things get a little weird if I try to resist sleep, so I wouldn't bother. Works very quickly if you don't have anything in your stomach. I'm a little worried about the addiction potential, so I don't take it all the time... but it has really improved the quality of my life. | F | 22 | 2 years | 5/21/2005 | 5 | terrible insomnia | I had no memory of anything I did after taking it. I called friends, had sex with my husband, etc and had NO recollection of any of it! I sleep like a baby when I take it though and so now I take it and go straight to bed. | I do think it could be dangerous. Like a date rape drug. My husband says I'll do pretty much anything after taking it and don't remember anything the next day. Scary. | F | 39 | 15 times | 5/16/2005 | 5 | Narcolepsy/help sleep through night | Only time I notice anything is if I try to stay awake after I take it.. That is when the eye crossing, hallucinating, walking like I am drunk effects come in.. But I go straight to bed... | I never feel droggy in the mornings, I actually usually feel better after I take it.. | F | 28 | 4 months | 5/9/2005 | 5 | to sleep | 100% COMPLETE AMNESIA. AMBIEN CAUSES COMPLETE BLACKOUTS AND STRANGE BEHAVOIR. One remains functoning like they are awake but they are in a complete altered 'hypnotic' state. Sleeping pills are hynotics, not sleep aids. AMBIEN NEEDS TO BE REMOVED FROM THE MARKET. DANGER DANGER DANGER. | AMBIEN IS A DANGEROUS DRUG. THIS DRUG SHOULD BE PULLED OFF THE MARKET. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG. IT IS DANGEROUS. One operates as if they are functioning but they are really asleep in an altered state. It causes peculiar and bizarre behavoir. If you value yourself or someone elses life, do not take this drug. It is also used as a date rape drug. VERY DANGEROUS. Read about the woman who shot her mother on halcion, a similar sleep aid. She had no recollection of the event. IT IS VERY, VERY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG. | F | | 4/30/2005 | 1 | to sleep | 100% COMPLETE AMNESIA. AMBIEN CAUSES COMPLETE BLACKOUTS AND STRANGE BEHAVOIR. One remains functoning like they are awake but they are in a complete altered 'hypnotic' state. Sleeping pills are hynotics, not sleep aids. | AMBIEN IS A DANGEROUS DRUG. THIS DRUG SHOULD BE PULLED OFF THE MARKET. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG. IT IS DANGEROUS. One operates as if they are functioning but they are really asleep in an altered state. It causes peculiar and bizarre behavoir. If you value yourself or someone elses life, do not take this drug. It is also used as a date rape drug. VERY DANGEROUS. Read about the woman who shot her mother on halcion, a similar sleep aid. She had no recollection of the event. IT IS VERY, VERY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG. | F | | 4/30/2005 | 1 | to sleep | 100% COMPLETE AMNESIA. AMBIEN CAUSES COMPLETE BLACKOUTS AND STRANGE BEHAVOIR. One remains functoning like they are awake but they are in a complete altered 'hypnotic' state. Sleeping pills are hynotics, not sleep aids. | AMBIEN IS A DANGEROUS DRUG. THIS DRUG SHOULD BE PULLED OFF THE MARKET. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG. IT IS DANGEROUS. One operates as if they are functioning but they are really asleep in an altered state. It causes peculiar and bizarre behavoir. If you value yourself or someone elses life, do not take this drug. It is also used as a date rape drug. VERY DANGEROUS. Read about the woman who shot her mother on halcion, a similar sleep aid. She had no recollection of the event. IT IS VERY, VERY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG. | F | | 4/30/2005 | 1 | sleep problems | I took Ambien off and on for five years, mostly on. I developed joint pain, muscle ache, hives, horrible itching in general, some daily grogginess (I didn't feel focused), clumsiness (fell a few times) and then I had two urinary tract infections within three months and hadn't had any in decades. I chalked up a lot of these symptoms to allergies and my age - I'm 63. But, finally I got smart and googled into | In the beginning Ambien allowed me to sleep 8 hrs. - unheard of for me. Then it began to shorten, I would get 5-6 hrs. at the end. I Would never recommend this pill to anyone. | F | 63 | 5 years | 4/26/2005 | 5 | Insomnia | Same as most others, don't remember saying or doing some things if I don't go right to bed. | Should be taken on an empty stomach (something I have never been told or advised)to work porperly. Recommend going straight to bed within 20-30 minutes, or you can be an endless source of family entertainment. If I don't take it, can usually be awake until 2 to 4 am. Never feel groggy in the morning after taking it. As a diabetic, this little pill is a god send, especially if I am feeling foot pain due to my diabetes. If I wake in the middle of the night, I can go right back to sleep, something I couldn't do before. Never felt addicted to it, can go off of it for days and not feel as if I need one. | M | 44 | 1.5 years | 4/25/2005 | 5 | Fibromyalgia, migraines, arthritis, | Ambien works great if you take it as prescribed. Yes you need to take it and go right to bed it is fast acting and if you stay awake you can get hurt it is a halucinagic. I went through a bad time and I would take 4 10mg to start off with then by the next day all 60 would be gone. I would do the weirdest and scariest things, cooking and forgetting the food was burning on the stove, burning holes all in my bed, P.J.'s, and skin. I would imagine crazy things, talk crazy, fight with my Dad and actually clawed him with my nails. My parents said I acted like a drunk in a black-out. After I would take me 2 to 4 and stay awake I would spend the whole day or night being insane and would continue taking the pills till they were all gone. I have even gotten in my car and drove it a couple of times and caused a wreck. I got to like the feeling of not feeling anything that I spent all my money and used all my credit cards to buy the Ambien. I even forged prescriptions and was arrested and was put on probation. It is not a medication to play around with and it is not fun to sit and have a imaginary friend, see things move or in double vision. The high you get might be like WOW at first but in that state you have no idea what you are going to do, like take the whole bottle, burn down the house or get in your car and kill yourself or someone else. So please take it right at the moment you are going to bed, it has worked as fast as 5 minutes so just put your drink by your bed, your 1 or 2 pills and take them right before you turn off your light. If taken right and you get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep you will wake up refreshed with no hangover. Also you don't have withdrawls like you would from Valium. Ambien is short acting, it does not stay in your system long, in fact it was originally made for elderly people and was found to be a wonderful sleeping pill. So you don't get any physical withdrawls the only effect you will have to endure is not being able to sleep. The Ambien has been what is making your brain think go to sleep. but without it your brain will have to adjust and it will take time for your natural chemisty to go back to normal. If you have been on it for a long time and you want off or your doctor wants you off of it ask if you can be tapered down so it is not such a shock to your brain. I am sorry I screwed up so bad and abused it, I do hope that my story will keep people from trying to stay awake on it and see what the high is like. The high is not worth it when you wake up in a cell and have no idea where you are and thought you were home in bed. | Ambien is a wonderful sleep medication for people who suffer from insomnia. It is even great for someone who has stress in their life and every once in awhile they need something to let them relax, sleep and wake up ready for a new day. I no longer abuse Ambien it has been many many years since I did that. I do take Ambien every night, I have had many surgeries and I deal with severe pain on a daily basis so Ambien lets my body and my mind relax, sleep, dream and not have to worry or feel pain. It is the best sleeping medication on the market and it can be used long term if you take it right. Doctors are told that you can only take it for about a week and not long term, but I have been taking 20mg everyday for 9 years now and a lot of the women in my chronic pain group also take Ambien everyday and are doing wonderfully on it. I just wish the doctors could see how much it does for our lives and not make it so hard to get. Anyway good luck to all of you, sweet dreams, and please don't make the same mistakes I made. HUGS to all my insomniacs!! | F | 39 | 9 years | 4/21/2005 | 2 | chronic insomnia | groggy and tired the next day because I didn't get a good nights sleep | Ambien only kept me asleep for 2 hrs. with the 10 mg dose. | F | 44 | 35 days | 4/15/2005 | 5 | Sleeping problems | None that I have noticed. | I wake up alert and feeling rested. I have appreciated having this medication. My internal clock will wake me up every hour, on the hour, and my doctor recommended this-and it has worked extremely well for me! | F | 58 | 24 months | 4/8/2005 | 5 | Choppy sleep irregular sleep | While on Ambien, I sleep like a sack of hammers. If I get at least 6 hours of sleep (unusual for me prior to Ambien) I have no problems getting up or functioning the following day. I feel GREAT and well-rested. It's been a very good experience. NO side effects while ON Ambien. | Go to bed IMMEDIATELY after taking Ambien. It is a MUST. You are incapacitated within 25 minutes. TRUST ME. When I am OFF Ambien, for the first few days, I have WILD | M | 39 | 90 days | 3/24/2005 | 5 | messed up sleep patterns | None while ON the drug. | When I am OFF Ambien, for the first few days, I have WILD | M | 39 | 90 days | 3/24/2005 | 5 | Insomnia | Ambien is excellent for sleep--works pretty quick and let me sleep for 8 hours or more without a tired drugged feeling the next day. I was able to get up in the night and go right back to sleep with no problem. | Highly recommended for a good night's sleep, some short term memory loss if you take it and try and stay up but no serious effect. No side effects when discontinued. | F | 26 | 2 years | 3/18/2005 | 4 | insomnia | Difficulty waking, grogginess the next day. | Boy this stuff really knocks you out! It's great, but not good for taking after tossing and turning for hours because it takes so long to wear off. Begins to lose effect if you take it more than several days in a row. | F | 33 | 1 years | 3/18/2005 | 4 | couldn't sleep | Because I was worried that I would get addicted to Ambien, I decided I would only take ambien 2 days in a row once every month. It used to work like a miracle but now I see some strange side effects. I am afraid to speak to anyone after I take it because I cannot trust myself to say coherent or normal things. I have freaked many of people out with delusional conversation and woken up to find out from people that live with me all the strange and alarming things I said the night before. I also get angry and irritated really easily when I take this and don't go to bed right away and continue to talk to people. It sometimes makes me nauseous too if stay awake and don't go to bed right away. all in all, it works well to get me to sleep but the journey to get there is sometimes frightening | F | 25 | 3 years | 3/14/2005 | 1 | insomnia | 10mg doesn't do anything, 20mg and it feels like I've taken a benedryl tab. | You really have to have an empty stomach for this medicine to have any effect. | M | 18 | 4 days | 3/13/2005 | 5 | chronic pain-insomnia | Sleep was great! But..don't remember everything I did after taking it. I also found that I would get hungry about 10-20mins after. The munchies are strong, and you don't remember ever eating any thing in the morning. | I have been on this medicine for 5 years. It still helps me. Just go to bed after right after taking it. I did have to go up on my dose to 20mg now. But this medicine really helps people like myself how are having difficulty getting and staying asleep. | F | 32 | 5 years | 3/11/2005 | 4 | sleeplessess due to recoverying fro | slept beautifilly on 20mg p/n | short term memory loss | F | 39 | 30 days | 2/26/2005 | 5 | travel/jet lag | dependency (not sure if the dependency is physical or psychological) | Awesome sleep...8+ hours, feeling refreshed in the morning. I was taking it as a flight attendant to combat jetlag. It's really a weird drug. If you lie down, you will fall asleep immediately. If you stay up, you get really high and it is actually an aphrodesiac. You want to get your groove on!!!! | F | 29 | 3 years | 2/23/2005 | 5 | Insomnia - Post Migraine | None | Highly effective, I almost feel as if I'm pushed down into bed, when I lay down. I have been using 5-10mg 2-3 times a week for 4-5 years. Superior to Sonata & Halcion. Doesn't seem to lose effectiveness. | M | 20 | 5 years | 2/23/2005 | 3 | insomina | none | I have tried many and ambien is the most powerful for getting me to sleep. Each time I have taken it, whether it has been 11pm or 2AM, I fall asleep very quickly and sleep solidly for 5.5 hours, then I awake feeling pretty aroused but still feeling like I need more sleep. I wish it would make me stay asleep for 8 hours, but it is definitely better than any other option for really bad nights! I usually take it only once, have taken it never more than 3 times in a row, and always as a last resort. | F | 30 | | 2/19/2005 | 1 | insomnia | I don't take this med , my mother does and has for several years. She now has severe confusion, severe memory loss, freaks out over the littliest things, repeats herself often, tells the same stories or gossip often even after you tell her over and over that she has already told you that, either angered or cries all the time, bitter and resentful attitude, and an altered personality. | Although this med does gives her a good nights sleep, she has totally changed. Before the med she was a self sufficient person, very fun loving and giving person. She was very sharp minded at anything she set her mind to do. Now it is a nightmare to be around her for any lenght of time. At one time she had gotten off the med because of lack of funds to buy it for about 2 weeks and in the second week she had become her old self again. As soon as she had the $ to buy her script again and started taking it she was back to being a different person and gets worse month by month. She comes up with stuff that never happened and never was said and she swears it did, so by the comments I have read she must have vivid dreams and believes them. Those of you who are taking this med and believe you are having no effect from it during your daily waking hours may ought to take the consideration of examining yourself or talking with someone close to you to see if you have changed personality wise or memory lapses and such. I have told my mom these things that have become different about her and she denies them and says she don't care if it is true she would never stop taking Ambien. Doctors need to read this column and take into consideration of the thing you guys are saying. I smell a major national lawsuit against this drug in the future. It maybe good for sleep disorders but it is a dangerous mind altering drug. My advise is to never take the drug. | F | 70 | | 2/18/2005 | 5 | Insomnia | Groggy in the morning if I don't get at least 8 hours of sleep. | Almost every post has warned about going to bed immediately after taking this medication and they are all correct. After about a half hour I'm knocked out, and if someone wakes me I feel like gravity stems from my bed. I often feel as if I'm on a boat and when I move to change positions I grab tightly to the edge of the bed thinking the boat is going to tip. I haven't had any amnesia (at least I don't think so) and do not worry about walking around the house or going outside, etc. I only take it on weekends because I'm too afraid of being late for work. | F | 26 | 1 years | 2/14/2005 | 5 | Insomnia from Chronic Pain | No major side-effects noted. Sometimes may have slight amnesia. Works great and is effective. | Take when relaxed and ready to go to sleep; otherwise, may not be as effective. | F | 43 | 4 years | 2/11/2005 | 5 | insomnia | Very dizzy, half-dream-like state, kinda fun actually. | Works like a charm, but I have been very careful to not overmedicate. | F | 22 | 2 years | 2/10/2005 | 4 | insomnia | amnesia if I don't go right to bed after I take it. Anything I do or say after taking this medicine is completely lost. | It usually works very well with helping me get a reasonably normal nights sleep. I am thankful for this medication, and have not noticed any other side effects. | F | 41 | 2 years | 2/8/2005 |