AMBIEN Reviews (ZOLPIDEM TARTRATE)Average Rating: 3.1 (1450 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare AMBIEN with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Age oldest to youngest. 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 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 |
More on AMBIEN: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR AMBIEN | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 2 | Sleep disturbance due to leg cramps | Stomach problems -- nausea, indigestion, hunger, noisy stomach. Sweating for someone who is always cold. Depressed. Not feeling well. Stuffy head and painful sinuses. | Took 5 mg for 3 days. Stomach symptoms began the first afternoon and got progressively worse everyday. Tums does not help. The first night not taking it, I couldn't sleep. I think there are a lot of symptoms that we are not relating to the Ambien. Leg cramps did subside but not sure I want to use this expensive drug again. I followed directions, took it and went to bed. I feel sorry for these people who are getting uppers on this drug. They need help. | M | 58 | 3 days | 11/20/2006 | 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 | 1 | Lifelong Insomnia | I am going to stop taking this Schedule IV controlled substance which is addictive even when you think it is not. Read my comments. Withdrawal symptoms occur even if you think they are not going to and are similar to all of the regular side effects with more not listed. Friends have reported outrageous withdrawl symptoms to me since they found out I was taking it. 5 mg dose did not put me to sleep as expected even 2 hours later while in bed, no TV, no noise. I am NOT going to increase dose due to side effects. Read them. Next day after taking 5 mg: had Amnesia,Spaciness,Dullness,and Muscle twitches. AND THIS IS WITH ONLY A 5 MG DOSE taken for a few nights. I can't imagine what a 10 mg or higher dose would do to me. READ THE SIDE EFFECTS IN MY COMMENTS. Check out this website: http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/zolpid_ad.htm; Ambien's generic name is Zolpidem tartrate. | Why would anyone take this drug after reading all of the comments made by patients here. BELOW is a list of side effects covering just the CENTRAL & PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM and there are many others for every other part of the body. It's obvious that even though many of these are identified as "infrequent" and "rare", they are much, much more common than doctors tell us, probably because they do not know themselves. FREQUENT: An inability to coordinate muscular movements that is symptomatic of some nervous disorders;confusion; euhoria; insomnia; Sense of spinning or feeling of disequilibrium; INFREQUENT: agitation; decline in ability to think, reason, and remember; detached; difficulty concentrating; difficulty in forming words or speaking; may laugh or cry uncontrollably; hallucination; Partial loss of sensation; illusion; leg cramps; migraine; skin sensation such as burning, prickling, itching, or tingling, with no apparent physical cause; speech disord | F | 58 | 2 weeks | 11/13/2005 | 1 | Inomnia | I have been on 5-10 mg. of Ambien for approximately 2+ years. I have been experiencing a severe painful stinging red dotted rash for months. My doctor has said that several of his patients who are also on Ambien are experiencing unexplained rashes. Would like to know if anyone else has made the association with the drug. | I would also like to know how to stop the usage or where to go for this kind of information. I am definitely dependant on the drug for sleep. | F | 58 | 2 days | 10/22/2005 | 1 | Lifelong Insomnia | CONTINUATION OF EARLIER RESPONSE -- WAS CUT OFF. I WANTED TO BE SURE YOU GOT A CHANCE TO READ ALL. RARE SIDE EFFECTS (MAY NOT BE AS RARE AS YOU MIGHT THINK)-- abnormal gait; abnormal thinking; aggressive reaction; apathy; appetite increased; decreased libido; delusion; dementia; depersonalization (A state in which the normal sense of personal identity and reality is lost); dysphasia (Impairment of speech and verbal comprehension); Abnormally decreased motor function or activity; hypotonic (low muscle tone -- floppy or weak muscles); hysteria; intoxicated feeling; manic reaction (excitement of psychotic nature manifested by mental and physical hyperactivity, disorganization of behavior and extreme elevation of mood); neuralgia (a sharp, shooting pain along a nerve pathway); neuritis (Inflammation of a nerve); neuropathy (symptoms range from a tingling sensation or numbness in the toes and fingers to paralysis); neurosis (mental or psychiatric disorder characterized primarily by | I am already experiencing MANY of the side effects as noted in the previous rating I just submitted. Have been taking 5 mg at night for 2 weeks. Will STOP TAKING this LEVEL IV CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE immediately as in addition to the present side effects, friends of mine are now telling me that they are experiencing horrible withdrawal symptoms. It's easy to believe people are exaggerating until it happens to YOU. | F | 58 | 2 weeks | 11/13/2005 | 1 | longstanding sleep disorder | Took ambien for 4 nights; experienced uncontrollable crying for 3 days, then broke out into a itchy rash; seen for emergency medical treatment. | This is the WORST medication I've ever taken for anything; even though Sonata only works for around 4 hours, I recommend THAT because of no side effects. | F | 58 | 4 days | 7/24/2004 | 1 | insomia caused by menopause | dizzines, amnesia, hunger late at night | Just recently I took my regular 10 mg anmbien pill at 9:30pm. I went to bed at 10:00pm and woke up at 7:00 am. I figure I had at least 7 hours sleep. I got up, took a shower, got ready for work just fine. I drove aproximately 14 miles just fine and then I must have blacked out. Next thing I remember I was parked near an office building and a young man said he "pulled me over" because I almost caused several accidents on the freeway and one car that swerved to get out my way had little children in it. He said I hit a divider also. He asked me if I was drunk and I said no. He made me promise that I wouldn't drive and advised me to call a family member or cab. I am not sure if this was caused by ambien or stress.I have been under alot of stress at work and at home. I take ambien to sleep at night and zoloft for anxiety/depression. After reading the side effects on this site I stopped using ambien. I am experiencing flashbacks of weaving in traffic and nearly hitting several car | F | 58 | 3 years | 9/29/2006 | 1 | My fiancee took it for insomnia. | She had serious memory lapses, episodes of hallucination, heard conversations that didn't take place, sent weird emails and made weird phone calls, got easily confused, and she seemed to have no attention span. We would agree on doing something and an hour later she would seemingly have no recollection of the conversation. She accused me (repeatedly) of leaving the house at night after she was asleep, having an affair with another woman (the specific woman differed), then returning and getting back in bed with her before she woke up. These episodes took place only on nights she took ambien. This led to her phoning total strangers and accusing them of being involved with me (as well as several professional acquaintances--to my embarrassment). Occasionally she would get violent for no apparent reason, to the point of breaking things she valued. These antics became worse over time. | At the time, it never occurred to me that her use of ambien may have been the culprit. I figured she was coming down with Altzheimer's and I broke off the relationship because of her crazy behavior. Only recently did my sister suggest that there may have been a pharmacological explanation for her outlandish behavior. Now it's quite possible that ambien wasn't the culprit. But in retrospect, she did take it quite frequently--more evenings than not--, and usually after a glass or two of wine (and she was a little lady, 116 lb). Anyway, I wish I'd considered a possible connection earlier, so as to at least try to rule it out. My advice: if you have a loved one using this product, and he or she begins to act weirdly, check out the possibility that it's the drug that is responsible. | F | 58 | 10 years | 2/5/2008 | 1 | Sleeplessness | I took this drug last night and when I woke up this morning my husband told me I was reciting a "dissertation" and talking "out of my head". I do NOT remember any of this. When I went to make the bed this morning there was a candy bar in the bed where I was sleeping, still unopened. I have no idea how it got there. Went to the refrigerator and there was evidence that I had been in the drawer when the candy bars are kept and had left it ajar. I am compulsive about closing the drawer back tightly. So I do not remember ANY of this. I find that scarey! | I only had about 5 pills left of this medication (10 mg). I threw them away this morning. Although they work and I did get right to sleep, I do not like the feeling that I don't remember what happened. To me that is very frightening. Please proceed cautiously with this medication. Take care...please! | F | 58 | 1 days | 10/11/2007 | 1 | Insomnia | The worst side effect I experienced while taking Ambien was terrible body odor. For four years, I took 2-4 showers each day and spent thousands of dollars purchasing body cleansing products at drug and health food stores. At almost the same time I was going to quit my job (because of body odor), I found a post on the Internet about body odor possibly being a side effect of Ambien. I immediately stopped taking Ambien and within two weeks the body odor was gone. Just to be certain that it was Ambien causing the odor, I took it again (the next month)for seven days. The body odor returned! I stopped taking it and haven't had any more problems. I am glad to be rid of it (both Ambien and body odor). | F | 58 | 4 years | 6/7/2008 | 1 | Trouble falling asleep | Sleep walking, talking in sleep, weird & vivid dreams, online shopping that I did not remember, texting I did not remember. | Stopped taking when it became dangerous. | M | 58 | 3 years 1X day | 5/31/2018 | 1 | insomnia | Horrible dreams, trouble waking up, heart palpitations | Saw a different doctor who prescribed another medication because "Ambien is addicting and has terrible side effects". New medical is so much better, no side effects | F | 58 | 90 days 1 1X day | 5/30/2018 | 5 | Chronic Insomnia | No side effects as long as you get to bed quick after taking it. Very vivid dreaming - but nice dreams. | Works very well for me - usually sound asleep within 10 minutes versus 2-3 hours staring at the ceiling. Try different Generics, I had experienced many quality issues and finally found an excellent Generic after a bit of web research. | M | 57 | 6 months 10 mg 1X day | 3/30/2015 | 5 | Insomnia fibromialgia | Ambien is great for helping me get 6 hours of sleep. Without it, I hardly sleep, am in pain all night and feel exhausted in the morning. Tylenol pm used to work for me unitl the pain in my legs and knees got so severe I couldn't stand going to bed. I take it most nights now and feel very dependant on it. I am not sure it is from the Ambien, but I am agitated and mildly depressed off and on. | I know I am dependent on it and would like to quit it to see if the agitation goes away. I hate being pissed off all the time. Maybe I am just a bitch :) But a rested bitch. Maybe I don't really want to know. | M | 57 | 2 years | 9/16/2009 | 5 | Insomnia | Not remembering anything before going to bed. | I was on Ambien for 8 years. When I first started taking Ambien, I would fall asleep sitting at my computer. After awhile, this went away. I was able to go to bed, sleep and get up with no drowsy feeling. The Doctor took me off the Ambien and put me on Rozerem. Haven't had a good nights sleep since. | F | 57 | 8 years | 12/28/2008 | 5 | lengthy and frequent travel | Not many. If awakened before med has worn off, will be groggy until big cup of coffee gets my head cleared. Have to use the right dose usually half or one third tab. | Ambien has been a lifesaver for me as I take frequent (twice monthly) trips from USA to Asia and must perform clearly on arrival after these 19 hour marathons across 12 time zones. With Ambien, I can control my sleep so that I get reliably 6-7 solid hours during the trips. And for frequent flyers, you now what a godsend that is. However, I try carefully to use the least dose possible and some days, force myself to not use it, otherwise, I'd never get of the ambien treadmill. It has improved my health by ensuring I get adequate sleep under these conditions. No doubt. | M | 57 | 2 years | 1/21/2005 | 5 | Couldn't fall asleep | None | Works great if I take it on an empty stomach, and get right into bed. If you take it and try to keep yourself awake, you can override the pill and be up all night. | F | 57 | 1 years | 7/4/2007 | 4 | Insomnia since childhood | I've had conversations with my husband, sent emails, ordered things online and by phone, and eaten a whole box of crackers - all without any memory of it in the morning. If I don't go to bed and close my eyes shortly after taking it, I get mild hallucinations like the walls moving in waves. The amnesia effect is the most alarming, as I recently ordered a $500 set of self-help tapes by phone yet have no memory of it whatsoever. When the package arrived at my home I thought it was a prank. Had to explain to the company and send them back. I even made them play back the recording of the phone call where I ordered it. The call lasted 15 minutes, was definitely me - sounding wide awake - and I don't remember ever having said a word of it. That's scary stuff. | This is the only effective sleeping aid I've ever taken. Totally dependable, unlike several other popular prescription sleep aids which did not work at all for me. I get no "hangover" or tiredness the next day. In an emergency, it is possible for me to override the sleeping effect and stay totally awake all night, which I've had to do a couple of times, once when my cat was seriously injured and had to be taken to emergency, and once when my mom was taken to emergency, both of these incidents occurring just after I took Ambien. In those cases, there was no amnesia effect whatsoever because I was so intent on concentrating on what was going on, and I had to remain alert to provide information, so with deliberate effort it is possible to stay awake and alert after taking it. I would have given Ambien a 5 rating for being so effective, but I'm deducting one point due to the problem of occasionally doing things you don't remember and had no intention of doing. In my case, it's be | F | 57 | 4 years | 7/10/2007 | 3 | insomnia | It worked great to get me to sleep fast. 10mg was perfect. That was 3 years ago. Then I started experiencing memory loss and sleep walking at night. Mostly eating. | I made some changed to avoid these effects and they rarely happen now, but what I am experiencing now is a more permanent kind of memory loss. Being forgetful, difficulty focusing, concentrating and retention. I'm not sure if it may be the long term effects of this drug or not, but I don't take any other drugs and was always very sharp mentally until about one year ago and now it seem that I've been loosing my memory at a rapid rate. This is the first time I associated my memory loss to this drug. I am 57 years old and assumed that it must just be older age finally catching up to me. But the rate of decline is becoming marked. I'm going to have to quit this stuff. | F | 57 | 3 days | 4/11/2009 | 3 | anxiety related insomnia | None. This stuff is the bomb. Knocks you out like a ball bat and you wake up fresh and chipper like a squirrel. | I gave it a 3 because while Zolpidem is a great sleep drug, it has a nasty hook if you don't watch. At least for me, it did, despite the fact that I was trying to be pretty careful with it, only taking it 4 nights a week and only taking 5mg (as opposed to 10) at least part of the time. It isn't a benzo, but acts on the same receptors and has a short half life. When I tried to go to 5 mg every other night, I started getting tight chest anxiety and shortness of breath. So, now my psych is tapering me over time. My opinion is that it is very good stuff for very short term insomnia, but you have to be careful with it. Real careful. It has withdrawals (at least for me) that were like the shorter half life benzos and that's nasty stuff. | M | 57 | 7 months | 11/17/2009 |