AMBIEN Reviews (ZOLPIDEM TARTRATE)Average Rating: 3.1 (1450 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare AMBIEN with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
|
Results are sorted by Date from oldest to newest. 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 |
| 5 | insomnia | Getting up in the middle of the night to eat weird things. Some visual halucinations. Acting drunk and silly. | I have been taking 10mg ambien for about 2 years. I have had some pretty weird halucinations I thought my coat rack was mocking me one night one night I thought my carpet was bubbling up and one night I saw little rivers with little canoes in the wood grain on my kitchen counter. I don't remember these the next day but my family tells me about them (they will tease me about it the next day). I also sometimes will get up in the middle of the night to pig out and not remember it. I have found that if you take the ambien while you are already laying down it drasticaly reduces the halucinations and weird behavior. For me the benefits have outweighed the side effects by far!! Before I started taking ambien I was lucky to sleep every other night now I sleep everynight. I have not had any withdrawl symptoms if I don't take it every night. Maybee not a great idea if you live alone because of the potential for dangerous behavior, but for severe insomnia it is a lifesaver. Just make sure you are in bed when you take it. | F | 32 | 2 years | 4/24/2009 | 1 | insomnia | anterograde amnesia, vivid nightmares/dreams, grogginess, not a good night's sleep | i'd avoid this stuff like the plague | F | 26 | 6 days | 4/24/2009 | 4 | insomnia | No physical side effects, but the thought of running out of Ambien terrifies me. It is the only way I can get to sleep before 4 a.m. | My doctor is hesitant to renew my prescription. I know I'm dependent on it, but it hasn't been a problem yet. I do try to take 1/2 of a 10 mg. pill at least 2-3 times per week (and a full one the rest of the time). If I take 1/2, I will wake up more often during the night. | F | 42 | 14 months | 4/27/2009 | 3 | insomnia related to bipolar | dizziness, amnesia, lightheadedness, confusion, loss of balance | it does help me sleep. when i go into a manic phase ican stay awake for 48 hrs or more, and i need to sleep. so this helps. but i feel like i am wading through molasses the rest of the day. i forget things, i am confused, i make no sense when i talk, i am dizzy, i cant walk in a straight line.... i am seeing my psychiatrist tomorrow and asking him to give me something else. before this i was on Ativan and it was worse. but it does help me sleep, i just am not happy witht eh side effects. | F | 31 | 2 weeks | 4/29/2009 | 1 | insomnia | hallucinations, sleep walking, panic attacks | I took this a few years ago and I would never, ever recommend this sleep aid to anyone. While on this, I hallucinated that my backpack was turning into a monster and that my reflection in the mirror had changed into a demon. I also went sleep walking for the first time in my life -- a friend found me wandering the halls of my dorm in my underwear. Absolutely terrifying, and it sure didn't help me sleep. | F | 23 | 2 weeks | 4/30/2009 | 4 | insomnia | Interesting history. It worked very well at first and caused me to have extremely PLEASANT dreams. HOWEVER, I have always had a drink bef. bed - a hangover (pun both intended, and not) of yrs. of insomnia. Of cs., Ambien w/ alcohol is strongly counteradvised, but I persisted: "I'll be ok". This was 11 yrs. back. It worked v. well until 3-4 yrs. ago, then became less effective. Upped the alcohol. A few years ago my MD suggested that I cut back to 5 mg, because of my age (67 yrs.). I did, and things seemed ok. About that time I cut back to 1 can of beer/PM. Still pretty good, but less able to fall asleep at will. Hm. Recently, however, needing to get up earlier, I went back to 10 mg.; then started having two cans of brew. It was only then that my wife noticed that somebody had been doing rather wierd things around the house at night. Who? I'm never able to recall a thing. You can't have something for nothing - you always pay. I know I must kick these habit | It works, but if you abuse it, it will abuse you. | M | 67 | 11 years | 5/3/2009 | 5 | counteract drug induced insomnia | Short-term memory loss beginning about 30 minutes after taking Zolpidem, which is the generic version of Ambien, until I fall asleep. After taking it for 8 months I am beginning to occasionally experience memory loss during the day, difficulty concentrating, difficulty staying focused, and a slight overall degradation of mental ability. | This drug is wonderful for counteracting the insomnia caused by other drugs. I am taking Pegasys injections weekly to treat Hepatitis-C (HCV), which for me causes severe insomnia (that is not the case for everyone taking Pegasys). The only way I could remain on HCV treatment was to address what I refer to as drug induced insomnia. HCV treatment has been very successful! I might have liver cancer by now without the Zolpidem/Ambien to permit me to stay on HCV treatment. I will stop taking Zolpidem/Ambien when HCV treatment ends. I recognize that I may experience long-term consequences from taking Zolpidem/Ambien for so long, but I need to solve one problem at a time. I'm very grateful for this drug! | M | 50 | 8 months | 5/4/2009 | 4 | Insomnia | Memory loss, texting people really late, eating late, buying stuff online, seeing things move on the headboard... | I actually googled 20 mg ambien. I was trying to find out if it would be ok to double the dose as I still wake some during the night and didn't with cr. After coming to this site first I will not be trying that. In fact I will go for at least halving my dose every other night...and staying in bed... I take it expecting it to put me to sleep but it doesn't. I would lay in bed reading waiting on it to knock me out and it wouldn't. I would call my sons, i texted my Pastor once at 12:30 am... go get grapes out of the fridge and eat... I would pick up my book the next day and start where the bookmark was then back up a few pages finding nothing i remembered reading till i backed up a couple of chapters...my family also teases me about how I act after taking it like I am acting high on it doing all of these weird things but as some say the being able to sleep outweighs those things when you do not sleep without it. Tho I am concerned now as others have stated here about permanant memory loss... I am 49 and have always suffered with insomnia...herbal stuff breaks my face out... tylenol pm and those things give me nightmares...i have found no other working alternative... I also take 60 mg cymbalta...I don't know what else I can do... | F | 49 | 1 years | 5/4/2009 | 4 | Insomnia--chronic | Possible cause of migraine headaches. Nothing else. I've been taking Ambien CR for about 2 years every day. I think a lot of the problems posted here are from psychotic people who have other very deep seated problems; I don't think it is this drug causing their behavioral issues. | Who takes a sleep medicine and then drives or tries to stay up? Why take it if that is your intent? My worst issue is that I have sress headaches but I am also under a lot of stress from business and family illness issues. It's difficult to know if the Ambien is the cause of my headaches. I don't take any other meds for anything. | M | 56 | 2 years | 5/6/2009 | 1 | Insomnia | I felt a little 'off' within minutes, near vertigo type effects. I read it can hit you suddenly so I lay down... hour of dozing, and wide awake after that, didn't do squat for me. | M | 35 | | 5/6/2009 | 4 | Insomnia | Drunk feeling/memory loss/eating weird foods/masturbating more then usual/texting late at night | Ok so like this drug is great; however, it is so freakin addictive. Does it help me sleep? The answer is yes!! I just don't fancy the idea of having amnesia every night. I will lay in bed the minute I take it. Then BAM! All of a sudden I will feel so good and buzzed that I will get out of bed and do shit for like 2 hrs before I finally crash out. For instance; I would text my friends late at night. (Good thing they stay up too) Eat all kinds of weird food. Masturbate more then normal. Yeah you are probably thinking what's considered normal? Well I did it more then what I would consider normal. At least for a girl. I would try on tons of outfits so I would have new ideas what to wear to work the next day. Hmm what else....oh and if you think that's weird get this. I would blow off going out with my friends sometimes just so I can stay home and take my ambien early. Well that's a great life. (Sarcastic) I need to come off of it but the mere thought of it freaks me out. | F | 26 | 3 months | 5/10/2009 | 4 | inability to fall asleep | ocasional headache after awakening. That may just be a hangover. Memory loss while under the drugs influence. Hope my wife did not use those anal beeds again | I always drink a beer or 2 before taking the drug. 10mg tablet I break in 1/2 and take the 1/2 tablet and chase it down with the last drink of beer. Asleep with in 30 minutes and sleep 3 to 4 hours. I always wake up a few hours later. Some times I will drink another beer or 2 and take the other 1/2 and sleep another 3 hours, or sometimes I am just up and ready to go the rest of the day. Am I addicted? YES. I will lay in bed for hours and can not go to sleep without it. The reason I take it is a condition called "HAND ARM VIBRATION SYNDROME" Long term exposure to vibration will screw you up physicaly and permanently and cause you the inability to sleep normally | M | 50 | 5 years | 5/12/2009 | 1 | Bipolar/sleep disorder/mood swings | Sleep eating gained 60 lbs. in l0 years I have been on it, sleep driving, memory loss, amnesia, buying online, overdosed twice with NO intention of doing so, calling people in family all hours of the night, visits from family members and no recollection whatsoever | This drug is FDA approved but I strongly believe it should be taken off the market/perhaps a group effort with the help of a lawyer. I strongly believe it is a deadly drug with many people experiencing the same problems as I have had. People have lost their lives due to things this drug causes them to do if not under the influence of Ambien. You think you are awake, you believe you know what you are doing; but family members tell you otherwise, my husband had to constantly make sure food was not in my mouth nightly; everytime I got up. The list goes on and on. | F | 56 | 10 years | 5/12/2009 | 1 | insomnia | Using this medicine may very well be, the worst decision I've ever made in my life. I used Ambien for about three years with only minor issues. These ranged from falling asleep in the bathtub to sleep eating. I quickly learned not to take a bath after taking it and the sleep eating wasn't too serious. However one night my life dramatically changed and I fear it will never be the same. To keep the story short, I had sex with my neighbor's son. He is an eighteen year old kid, who I had known for several years. The night it happened I had an intense headache, so I got into bed early and had taken my usual 10mg of Ambien along with a glass of wine. Around 10:00 the boy came by to see my son, who had gone with my husband to an auto auction. I have no recollection of what actually happened but when it finally surfaced through one of my son's other friends, I was devastated. | When this first surfaced, I was furious at him for telling such a horrible lie. But I have a very small tattoo approx. 1/2 inch in diameter that I got when I was a freshman in college. Not even my children knew I had it, due to its size and location. So when I discovered that he knew about it, I could think of no other way that he could have known. As distasteful it was, it was still true. I'm so ashamed of what I've done and the heartache it has caused my family. I have even considered suicide, just to put an end to the shame. I'm writing this with tears streaming down my face, so even if you can’t understand my situation, please don't respond to this in a hateful way. I just thought if my sharing this could possibly help someone to not ruin so many lives, as I have unfortunately done, it would be worth it. Please consider the consequences before taking this medicine. | F | 45 | 3 years | 5/13/2009 | 1 | insomnia | It was a great drug to fall asleep and I never noticed any side effects until about 7 years later with daily use and sometimes using more than the prescribed dose, my mouth started burinng, my teeth began to hurt (like nerve pain) and the pain is constant and chronic. I continued taking it unaware it could be the cause of such pain. Today, I am wondering after having been off of ambien for 5 months at one time and saw no change, could it still be in my system causing my oral, facial pain as well as tingling and numbness in my hands and feet. Is there anyone who can answer that question for me?How long does it take to get completely out of the system and undo any potential damage? | There are other safer products found at health food stores that I use like L-tryphtophan and melatonin in combination. I still use ambien but I find that 10mg doesn't work like it used to. I take 1 1/2 -2 sometimes but I don't know how safe it is and if I am causing potential neurological problems. Can anyone answer that one for me? | F | 53 | 7 years | 5/13/2009 | 3 | insomnia/anxiety | dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, loss of memory | It worked good the first few times i took it, after that i was prescribed 5mg- 4xday for anxiety because i found out i was pregnant and was taken off of lorazepam. It didn't affect me at all as far as making me drowsy after the first week, it definately helped with my anxiety. I did notice that about 20 minutes after i took it, i wouldn't remember anything i did after that. I'd eat, make phone calls, go out places, and i wouldnt remember anything until i awoke the next day. It was a very scary thing. It makes you feel good and helps, but it's definately not worth the side effects. | F | 24 | 4 weeks | 5/14/2009 | 5 | Insomnia | Slept like a baby. No weird effects while on it. Vivid,weird dreams/nightmares upon weaning. | Ambien has been wonderful for me in the sleeping department for the first few months. I than started taking 1 and 1/2 10 mg to get to sleep at night,sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't. Like right now its 2:30am and I took a 10 mg about an hour ago. I have no sleep walking, no sleep eating, no driving, or weird halucinations. I don't feel groggy in the morning, feel fine during the day, and love the feeling of a good nights sleep. Upon trying to quit I have had the most odd, vivid dreams, like 10 different ones throughout the night because I wake up, then fall back asleep (repeat X 10). I cant say too many bad things about this drug because it REALLY helped me when I needed it most, but I do sometimes get anxious if I dont have a months worth in reserve, just in case. I do work in a pharmacy and I have only heard 1 complaint of sleepwalking (taking out the trash at 3am)other than that the only complaints I hear, and its not many, is that it just doesn't work for some. | F | 32 | 1 years | 5/15/2009 | 5 | Difficulty sleeping | First time, the stuff donkey-punched me. I took it while surfing the net. Woke up in the chair, still dressed. Slept great! Another time, began to type silly stuff on the computer. Remembered while typing, the computer keys would rise up to meet my fingers. I could see behind the letters on the screen. The Earth is angry because oil is her blood and we are draining her. Thats why we have earthquakes, hurricanes, etc. She's very angry. Made sense at the time.... When I take it now, I make sure that I'm in bed. | Worked very well putting me to sleep and awakening refreshed. I'm not a recreational drug user so these side effects were very strange for me. I don't take it unless I really need it. | M | 40 | | 5/16/2009 | 4 | Insomnia since childhood | Auditory and visual hallucinations mainly. Hallucinations only occur if I do not go to sleep after taking the medication (which occured if something came up... ie-a big deadline, family member came over, etc.). Funny taste in mouth and throat. About the hallucinations, for anyone interested... I have been taking sleep meds for 15 years. I went to a sleep study at 8 that showed I woke up some 25-32 times a night and never entered REM sleep. I have taken all types of sleeping meds and started AMBIEN within the past year. It works great for sleep with little weight gain, memory loss, or drowsiness the next day. I have had very convincing hallucinations, however. So convincing, I called the police on one occasion. , | Concerning the hallucinations, I live in an appartment and can hear my neighbors moving around... which is normal in a multi-family complex. For some reason, when taking AMBIEN, I have had experiences where I interperet these noises to be malicious and think people are in my home. I have even thought, and seen, in fact, people moving in my home. These hallucinations have only happened twice within the year, but were so vivid and convincing I called the police. To the woman who said everyone with a side-effect must have something wrong with them; trust me, I do not. Besides insomnia, I am very stable as an individual. I have a bachelors degree and work in a very competitive industry as an executive. I have been at sleep medication since I was 8. I am 23 now. I have documented insomnia. Ambien has a very strange side effect... no other medication or circumstance has caused hallucinations to me, on any level. I still take ambien, it is the only drug that works well for me. This is just a 'buyer beware.' This drug can do some funny stuff to your mind! | F | 23 | 365 days | 5/19/2009 | 4 | Insomnia | Funny twitching like sensation the next day. Usually in the evening. Only if I took 10 mg or more the night before. I few eating binches. | I take 5 mg a night to fall a sleep regularly. Once I fall a sleep I am fine. | M | 37 | 3 years | 5/21/2009 |