AMBIEN Reviews (ZOLPIDEM TARTRATE)

Average Rating: 3.1 (1450 Ratings)

Filter Results

Compare AMBIEN with similar:
 SEDATIVES HYPNOTICS    DEA Schedule IV   

 Type: Rx Drug

  

AMBIEN  (ZOLPIDEM TARTRATE):  Zolpidem is used to treat a certain sleep problem (insomnia) in adults. If you have trouble falling asleep, it helps you fall asleep faster, so you can get a better night's rest. Zolpidem belongs to a class of drugs called sedative-hypnotics. It acts on your brain to produce a calming effect. This medication is usually limited to short treatment periods of 1 to 2 weeks or less.   FDA Approval Date: 1992-12-16 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)

  

Results are sorted by Age oldest to youngest.

Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.)
5=HIGH (this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal.)

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


RATING  REASONSIDE EFFECTS FOR AMBIENCOMMENTSSEXAGEDURATION/
DOSAGE
DATE ADDED
 
 4  Insomnia Slight drowsiness upon awakening if taken too close to wakeup alarm time This is good medicine if you need to get to sleep on occasion, but I would not recommend it for continued use as it may become a "gotta have it" thing. Also, I have found that after taking it, I can stay awake if without too much effort, but I would not recommend doing anything important (e.g., heavy equipment operation or driving) if one decides to not try to sleep after taking it, or anything that requires deep concentration. Of the few times I have stayed awake, there was only once when I had amnesia later about what I had done (which was to move up a couple of levels in Half Life PC game). Usually I wake up having felt I had a good night's sleep, no "hangover", and if something was had been worrying me to the point of losing sleep, the object of worry was no longer bothering me when I awoke. M 55 5 months
1/21/2007
 4  jet lag induced sleeplessness Some times a bit groggy in the mornings. It seems to work well. I think the controlled-release version might be a better option, but I only took that a couple of time as a physician's sample give-away. I only take the drug occaissionally, as needed, not daily. M 55 2 years
12/24/2006
 4  Insomnia due to anxiety No major side effectes. I am taking Ambien CR. After about 15 minutes I am extremely drowsy. I have no recolection of anything after about 30 minutes. My wife says I am out cold. I have been able to sleep for about 7 hours without getting up. My olny complaint is that at about 7 hours I can't get back to sleep. This is an improvement over awakening several times per night. M 55 10 days
6/18/2006
 4  sleep deprived Tension (not anxiety) tingling, burning in hands, feet, stomach. Not too bad. Had it before when I had Ambien years ago, but didn't make the association. I do not have an increased appetite this time. I think that was caused by Seroquel. I am not sleepwalking or driving, or eating. I am seeming to need more than 10mg to get knocked out. The first night on 10mg just drifted in and out of sleep with lovely dreams. I remember everything. I am a bit slower at work today. Maybe getting adjusted. So happy I am not eating! This drug has it's problems, but now I know the main problem I had before was the addition of Seroquel. It stimulates appetite! F 55
20 1X day
7/25/2010
Email

Patient History
 4  sleep problems i dont know if the brain zaps split second with a rushing sound that ive been getting when i start to fall asleep are related. they usually occur when i am really tired and have stayed up past my usual bedtime. if i miss that circadian rhythm thing it takes another few hours to feel sleepy, which is different than feeling tired. i took one pill the first night, couldnt walk to the bathroom. i take it 1-3 times a week, usually at 3 am when i cant get back to sleep (longstanding frustrating horrible problem) and i bite off a quarter of a pill chew it up and drink half a cup of water. i dont read, and dont watch tv i just wait for it to stop the chatter in my head. i can go a ten days or more with no pill. i take a generic. F 55 1 years
Rx 10 mg 1X day
5/20/2011
 3  couldnt fall asleep Some times woozy the next day till noon, then maybe somedays i get a headache. 5 mg, gives me exactly 4-5 hours of sleep. Have taken it for a week and stopped one day and couldnt sleep at all. Kind of scary, would like to work around it so i dont take it every night. Anybody have any suggestions? M 55 9 days
2/20/2007
 3  Insomnia--waking up at night Initially, dizziness next morning. That went away. Lately (2 yrs now) I am getting severe headaches and blurred vision in left eye and on left side of head near my temples & ear lobe. Had an MRI and 2 opthamologists check me and they do not find anything other than dry eye as a possible cause. I wonder if the Ambien CR is causing them. I have not experienced the other effects some people claim (killing your cat, wild sex, nightwalking) and think these people must have serious psychologically repressed issues that are unrelated. I learned you do NOT mix Ambien with alcohol unless you want to wind up dead, like several people I knew. Taking 10 MG per night. M 55 2 years
8/27/2008
 3  insomnia I get up and eat candy, chips, ect. Sometimes make phonecalls and ramble on and on. Seem to feel depressed after taking it for more than a week at a time. That is the main thing that I do not like. I was not depressed before. Some nights it works and other nights I am up 3-4 times. I have marked forgetfulness since taking this. Wake up feeling kind of paniced not refreshed. I am presently trying to get off of it. I feel like it probably is addictive. I never take more than my 12.5 CR, but I feel like I have to have it. Last night was my first night off and it did not go very well. Hoping that tonight and each day will get better. F 55 2 years
6/7/2008
 2  Insomnia Severe back aches/pain!!! After taking VERY small amount of Ambien for a couple of months, developed SEVERE BACK ACHES & PAIN!!! NEVER had back pain like this! While MRI showed some degenerative arthritis in my back, I have NEVER had ANY back pain until started taking Ambien & stopped having it once stopped taking that drug. Couldn't bend over without severe pain & could barely crawl out of bed in the morning. Felt like my back was going to break. Went to Orthopedic specialist who recommended physical theraphy - made it worse! Dr. was going to recommend injections for pain & then I stopped taking Ambien to see if they were related at all. In a short time, my back pain stopped!!!!! Think this drug "locks up" your body & back while you sleep & that causes the back pain. Heard about 2-3 percent of people taking Ambien have this problem - I was one of the unlucky ones but lucky I made the connection between the two. Only medication that I was taking. F 55 2 months
3/23/2009
 2  insomnia Horrible nightmares when discontiuing medication Nightmares seem to be worse the longer the medication is used - Ambien CR, by far the most effective sleep inducing agent I have ever used for insomnia clearly produces the worst nightmares - This is a definite side effect as it has happened every time I have used the medication for more than one hoght M 55
4/25/2006
 2  Lack of sleep. Irritability,slurred speach,no knowledge of the night past. I ran a night time newspaper delivery route for many yrs.And had got so used to staying up nights that I needed help sleeping.Hence the Ambian was prescribed for me. From the very beginning it was a nightmare.A friend called to check on me one day,claiming I had called her the night before from my truck.And she told me that in the course of our conversation,started shouting that there was a monkey on the hood of my truck reaching in and trying to grab a hat off of my dash.She said I was fighting him.And that the small stuffed turtle decorations sitting on my dash were yelling for me to kick the monkeys butt!! A few days later a friend called checking in saying I had text her some very sexual things a day earlier. This was a older christian lady.I highly respected. If not for the fact that the text were still on my phone,I would never have believed her.The last straw was when my wife said I was lying in bed beside her screaming that I was falling and to catch me before I fell out of the bed. And was hanging on to her leg for dear life.I have since changed to restoril. No more bad experences,only a restful nights sleep. M 55 5 months
10 1X day
7/30/2010
 2  severe insomnia due to anxiety I built up a tolerance and dependence quickly (over a period of 2-3 months). Hence, I need at least 20 mg to fall asleep plus this only works on a completely empty stomach... I have to skip dinner and not eat anything within ~ 6 hours of taking zolpidem or it does not work (or I require even higher doses, either way a bad situation). After many months, I've become very lethargic. This drug is addictive and over time I've built up a dangerously high tolerance. F 55 6 years
5/24/2009
 1  Sleep Severe involuntary movements,i.e.leg thrashing, tossing, turning, and told that it looked liked I was having seizures during my sleep. (I have no h/o seizures). Also woke up a couple of hours after falling asleep. I never would take it again. Scarey stuff for me. F 55 5 days
11/6/2009
 1  my wife was prescribed this 10mg life is not good anymore thinks she (wife)has to take this to deal with life. uh dont take this wrong we love each other very much. she has changed but doesnt think so. if she doesnt take one we talk and drift off to sleep. but she says she is getting off the ambien but counting the pills doesnt correspond. yes we have problems with one of our kids she says this helps but a bomb could go off and she wouldnt here it. my wife is 50 and i really wouldnt recommend this for anyone that loves oneanother the way we do. it effects everyone not just the user.her thinking is not as sharp as it was,memory loss,all the side effects u read about are their. i was upset and took one myself and like i said a bomb could go off and u wouldnt know it. if a fire was to happen at night taking this drug it would not be good! never again M 55 3 months
10 1X day
7/31/2010
Email
 1  sleep/ shift work weight gain, dry mouth, Rantings and Ravings, can't think during the work day, "short circuit" of the brain. My boyfriend suggested I try this sleeping pill since my shift changes every 4 months. I am totally hooked on it now. I take 10mg on the weekend and 5 mg week days, for a year. I have started experiencing a short circuit so to speak, of my brain, maybe 100 times a day I feel like I'm getting a split second of electricity. This started about 4 months ago. Yep. I procrastinate. Going to dr. tomorrow, actually to find out if it has done permanent damage. This is a horrible drug to get hooked on. What a shame it is so easily dispensed. F 55 1 years
10 and 5 m 1X day
10/19/2010
Email
 1  sleep problems after surgery had 3rd surgery on ankle to fuse it (have a bone disorder). was on bed rest and crutches with hope for healing - third surgery had gone well and I had been in bed 6 weeks with hope of getting walking cast in less than two weeks. I had taken regular ambien without incident. Then I took Ambien CR - got out of bed, walked without crutches down flight of stairs and all around first floor of house seeking alcohol at 1-3 a.m.. I have potentially ruined 3rd surgery after 6 careful weeks of recovery (years of agony) and family spending much time caring for me. endangered myself and my family. broke glass near dog - dog would have snarfed up glass and died if my signif other hadnt heard glass and found me, when confronted I blamed it on my 10 year old who was upstairs in bed, I was belligerent and nasty, swearing and mean, would not get back in bed despite two hours of demands to do so from my significant other. I dont remember anything other than wanting ice cream. do NOT take this stuff F 55 1 days
30 mg 1X day
3/23/2010
 1  After surgery Nightmares of not being able to breath, I think it was a nightmare. Terrible anxiety, couldn't concentrate, dizzy, forgetful, feeling drugged, shaky. This is the worst drug that I have ever taken in my life. I became so overwhelmed with anxiety I thought being dead would be a relief. It should be taken off the market. A friend of mine sleepwalked when she took it. Taking this drug was worse than the surgery. I would rather have a few sleepless nights than take this drug. It didn't help much anyway as I would wake up after my nightmares. TAKE IT OFF THE MARKET F 55 4 days
1X day
5/11/2010
Email
 1  my dad- suicide He only took randomly. As needed. Very against medication, but bad back and stress he couldnt sleep good. Happily married, happy family. Merry Christmas. Don't take ambien. I think it had a LOT to do with it. Bc my dad was not depressed or suisidal and if he was he would NOT have done it the way he did it. The meds had his brain workin funny. M 55 1 days
not sure
1/5/2013
 1  severe multiple sleep disorders Visual hallucinations that went on for hours and were so engrossing that it was impossible to fall asleep. For example, after I took Ambien, my pink telephone would come to life. It would start breathing and scuttling back and forth on my desk like a crab. My husband finally got fed up because not only were these nightly visions keeping me awake, but my Howard Cosell-esque reporting of them kept him awake too. I don't recall exactly how long I took Ambien, but it seemed like at least two or three months. F 55
12/25/2008
 1  insomnia anger, confusion, loss of memory, very emotional, it changed my personality and it is highly addictive. It took me over 5 months to sleep normally after stopping the drug. Very very very very dangerous to take if you have to care for others in the middle of the night, such as children, or a sick spouse, or parent. This drug puts you in a coma so a person is INCAPACITATED and UNABLE to care for others for several hours after taking this dreadful medication. If you care for your loved ones, and you are needed in the middle of the night, do not take this dreadful medication. F 55 2 years
2/10/2008

Previous Page       Next Page

BACK TO TOP