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 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 |
| 1 | insomnia | loss of memory, loss of motor skills, and a number of other horrible side-effects | It has been just over a month since I ditched Ambien and I am here to say it DOES get better. A lot better. It was horrible at first when I quit and there is a definite detox period. Time passes and you can still be existing with Ambien (because it certainly isn't living), or you can shake it and get off the stuff.As I posted before I lost my job, most of my life and finally almost my marriage because of Ambien. Nothing is worth losing what God blessed me with. What bothers me here are people that say the DRUG is great and they have hardly had any bad experiences EXCEPT for a few crazy emails or whatever. If you can have a convesration (or whatever) that you don't remember, then what else could you do and not remember? Why not hurt your child or take a knife out of a drawer to stab somebody? Really, there isn't a difference if you don't remember....Just go to bed immediately? What if you need to get up? What if there is an emergency of some sort with a spouse or child? Are you just MIA? Or will you get up and do God knows what? Save yourself. I am against this horrible drug 110% | M | 46 | 1 years | 12/30/2009 | 5 | Insomnia/ptsd | Sleep | I wish I could find the people who invented Ambien and give them a big hug. Insomnia has plagued my entire life. I've never been able to sleep. I've spent huge chunks of my life in a stupor from lack of sleep, been fired from jobs, could not participate in major events because of no sleep. For the 1st time in my life I can get a full nights sleep and be ready to go in morn. It's changed my life. I work, I do things. I make more $ than ever before because I am productive functioning and happy. I suffer none of the side effects mentioned by others...well don't send emails right after taking, as it relaxes me they tend to get sappy. I can't recommend it enough for those with severe insomnia. Sleep is not a luxury. | M | 47 | 5 years | 1/6/2010 | 1 | Severe Insomnia | Hallucinations, sleepwalking, sleep-talking, incoherence, night-eating, panic attacks, etc... | I took Ambien for about five months. It's addictive properties were immense. It was something I used at a borderline recreational level toward the end of things. Numerous times, parents or girlfriend would comment on something EXTREMELY bizarre that I had done the evening before (like peeing in the garage "so burglars wouldn't come in"). I gained weight from eating meals I didn't remember. Finally, it culminated when, one night, I took an Ambien, woke up (apparently) in the night, not remembering I had previously taken one, and took two more. I ended up in the hospital after assaulting a paramedic and accusing a police officer of having an affair with my girlfriend. I'm a calm, rational, non-violent person with no predisposition to addiction or drug use. This is by far the worst thing you could put into your body. | M | 19 | 5 months | 1/9/2010 | 5 | insomnia | ambien gives striking effect. it eases my sleeping problem. | M | 28 | 2 weeks | 1/15/2010 | 4 | Insomnia | Middle of the night carb and sweets binges. Addictive qualities. | I have been taking Ambien and Ambien CR for years. It allows me to wake rested with no grogginess or other side effects. The only downside is you do build a tolerance up which I have and it becomes less effective. In addition, the night eating has just begun for me. I fight it though. All in all, it has helped my insomnia problem. It is very hard to go off of being that it is very addictive. You also need to take it IN BED when you are ready to sleep. | F | 43 | 3 years | 1/15/2010 | 1 | INSOMNIA | No real side effects. The drug did not help my sleeplessness at all, for me it was worthless | F | 75 | 2 days | 1/15/2010 | 1 | Insomnia | Headaches, anxiety. | I have taken Ambien off and on for five years, but have taken it everynight for the last two years. I have taken Ambien and Ambien CR. When I first started taking Ambien I thought I found heaven. When it kicks in I got this "life is beautiful feeling" and then fell into a happy, peaceful slumber. Waking up the next day, I felt refreshed. However, I discovered this honeymoon period did not last forever. I developed a tolerance and moved on to Ambien CR. In my experience Ambien CR does not produce that "life is beautiful feeling". It takes longer to work. You are supposed to take this on an empty stomach and that is very important - no food 2 hours prior. Taking it after 1 to 1 1/2 hours after eating and it would stay in my system the next day. Then came the worst part. I got a good night sleep, but the next day I experienced extreme headaches, anxiety, depression, aggression, dread eventually panic attacks. Ambien is something that should only be used occcasionally. Unfortunately, for those of us who have lived with insommia for years, once you take it - it is easy to get mentally addicted to. That is the risk you take it with it. I just quit it - because the anxiety and depression is unbearable. | F | 46 | 5 years | 1/15/2010 | 5 | Insomnia/Pain | No side effects that I know of. | Most people can achieve drowsiness and sleep naturally - yahoo for them - I must rely on medication. Also, I have recurring pain due to a medical condition. It's miserable enough not being able to sleep but even more so to lay awake and in pain. While this may not be the right medication for some it certainly seems to work for me every night. | F | 42 | 6 months | 1/16/2010 | 2 | insomnia,pstd | hallucinations,memory loss,cant control bladder,suicidal thoughts,slurred speech | i initially started taking it for sleep. i also was depressed so i eventually started taking it to get high..i would hallucinate and have conversations with the "devil" out loud.he would tell me to take the whole bottle.I kept peeing in bed.I liked the feeling it gave me because i said whatever i wanted to say and didnt care about anyones feelings.But overall i am a single mom and that behavior could not continue.I decided after a week that would not take it again. | F | 21 | 1 weeks | 1/16/2010 | 1 | bi polar insomnia | It does not help me sleep at all so I have been doubling up, temporarly, memory problems , back pain. i am still awake. | Wow, I have been taken a "night med" for over 20 years and what I was taking was designed for deppression but was found to be great on sleeping issues.Trazadone.AWSOME safe cheap.It gives me bad cotton mouth and A FANTASTIC night sleep.I have taken stronger pills when my bi polar was manicy. Horsepills.Still safe side affects. silly sleepy got to go lay down. The hardcore ones took an hour to shake off all the way. but left feeling WELL. I was back on trazadone so I could care for our daughter, 2 now. This drug I can wake up from the sound of just movent. I could get up before she was awake. never miss a beat. go right back to sleep. 4 or 5 times a night and still go back to sleep.I took it too long and it turned on me,adverse reactions sleep waking and eating, not cool. so my doctor put me on Ambien.I am always scared of brand new rx's w/ catchy names. U should not have to run in hide in ur bed in fear of a pill u took. there are lots of good ones. !I have never went through withdrals from mine. not sleeping doesn't count.HA. what if you take your pill and an emergency were to come up. Stay in bed because you fear your behavior will unstable! and might get u arressted! there is always more meds. just in a different catagory. | F | 35 | 3 months | 1/16/2010 | 1 | jet -lag and occasional insomnia | Plethora of next-day side effects including, but not limited to, agitation, aggressiveness, weepiness, depression, extreme anxiousness, not feeling myself, difficulty with vision (focusing problems), lack of confidence, jitteriness, feelings of despondency, shakiness, coordination issues. | First time took this drug and next day I felt terrible emotionally. Very edgy, aggressive, agitated, weepy. Following occasions (about a dozen) I've tempered the 5mg dose with 0.5mg of Ativan. It has helped to reduce the next day side effects but not much. I've had it with this drug. I had to post because so many people seem to have problems with emotional or personality side effects. It does work, but it's not worth it. In the future, I'll just take some Ativan or Temazepam and be done with it. Someone has labeled this Ambien as the 'Devils's Drug'-I would agree with that characterization. | M | 60 | 1 years | 1/16/2010 | 5 | insomnia | nothing but a good nights rest. | if you take ambien the way it was prescribed you wont have any of the bizarre symptoms some of these people are talking about. It cured my insomnia and I can finally go to sleep when I want and wake up in a wonderful mood. | F | 23 | 30 days | 1/18/2010 | 3 | Insomnia due to shift work | SLEEP. Hazziness, memory loss, dependency, anxiety, dry eyes, sweats, stomach disturbances, aggression, drug idealation, headache, jitterness, mania, occassional euphoria, and sleep: walking, eating, emailing, talking. | In the begining it works great putting you to sleep with the prescribed dosages. Soon after though, you'll start taking more and more for less sleep. As the dosages increase, the withdrawal symptoms increase. You can feel your body start to crave the medication like any other addictive drug. I am lucky enough to say that no one has died due to me taking ambien, but I have embarrassed myself and worried my mother. (apparently I call her and obsess over dishwashers). In my opinion, this drug should be used to induce sleep when all other remedies are exhausted. Too many provider automatically turn to this med. All medications have unwanted side effects, and we shouldn't place all the blame pharmacutical companies, but they need to do a better job announcing the downsides. It is their responsibility to inform the consumer and the FDA job to demand it. FYI - when ambien first came out it was prescribed for no more 3-7 days. That was until lunesta came out with clinical trials up to 6 months with no adverse effects. Millions were then spent on advertisement proving ambien safe for long term use but without long term studies. More research has to be done. I've only been on it for a month. I'm in the process of stopping cold turkey and it's going well. I feel sorry for those who's lives were damaged more severly. Good luck | M | 26 | 30 days | 1/18/2010 | 5 | Stay asleep | on Ambien due to bain pain&restless leg syndrom so it helps me stay asleep and fall asleep just fine. because im always tired so i have no problem sleeping but due to my back pain and stressing over pain ambien really helps for me. main side effects,loss of memory of what u did that nite,weight gain due to sleep eating.dont watch a movie because u will forget the ending.lol. if u dont take one because u feel tired and u think u can fall asleep..your body wont let you because of dependency. i wouldnt suggest u being on this for a long time but hey you have to take what makes you feel better..right.. | so funny to see others side effects on here because me and hubby been on them for few years and for both of us..side effects are memory loss of what you may have done that night until reminded of such as sleep EATING,having sex,talking on phone,online and may not remember what u said or done.. my hubbys experiences are same but sees double but we go right to bed within the hr and we both fall asleep fine..wether we have sex,eat we may forget but we sleep well : ) | F | 35 | 3 years | 1/19/2010 | 4 | Back and neck injuries-pain | I have been taking the generic of Ambien for probably two years now. I have not experienced any side effects yet, other than if I don't take it, it seems I cannot sleep. I did note that the generics vary. The oval shaped pill by one manufacturer works better for me than the round pill. It is hard to get the pharmacy to have the right one in, but is worth calling ahead to ask. | I would recommend it, at least to try it and see if it works for you. I have not had other sleeping aids, but found that I wake up just fine with this medication. I have taken Lyrica for supposed fibromyalgia and woke up so groggy, it took hours to wear off. I believe the dose is low, 5mg. I don't have it with me, so I cannot check. | F | 52 | 2 years | 1/21/2010 | 3 | insomnia due to painful breakup | memory loss, possible deteriorating eyesight | I have taken ambien and it's generic (zolpidem) off and on for almost three years now. I take only half the dosage. At first I was taking it every night, occasionally with alcohol. (Yes I know. At the time I didn't care.) I have not had any symptoms of addiction, but I can see where it could become addictive. When you take it, it turns off your mind, which is a truly wonderful thing if you are in pain. Sure beats an extreme alternative, anyway. However, I'm now having disturbing and irritating short term memory loss (can't remember what I said 15 min ago, can't spell anymore, can't find the word I want). I don't know if it's Ambien related, but I wish someone would look into it. I must add that I agree with those that say lay down when you take it. Your brain is asleep, but you may not realize it. Don't take it for a nap! That is not long enough to process the drug. Once you take it, stay home and stay in bed for the night! | F | 36 | 2.5 years | 1/21/2010 | 3 | insomnia | Constipation, aggressiveness, lots of digestive problems | I think this generic ZOLPIDEM, helps with insomnia in the short term. Logn term is terrible and now I am coming off of it. I have not taken it for th epast four nights and sleep is returning however totally laced with weird dreams. I will never use this drug again. | M | 64 | 9 months | 1/22/2010 | 2 | Insomnia [recently diag. bipolar1] | High addiction factor; walking amnesia; general anger and non-congruent mood | It might work for a select few, but the reports are mounting high and this drug will likely be pulled sooner or later. It brought on mixed state [bipolar] episodes and ultimately resulted in hospitalization for sucide/psychosis. Many other [including personal accounts] of people having walking amnesia--- blacked out, but doing stuff [one person went driving]. Note: my time on the drug was on and off due to ill side effects. | M | 20 | 2 years | 1/26/2010 | 1 | sleep aide | As others have posted...at first, thought it was the answer to my prayers. first weird side effect was rambling in my sleep. I had conversations that I didn't remember until days later and then it felt like I was remembering a dream that I had. I noticed my shower drain would be clogged with hair on a bi-weekly basis. Memory loss and lack of concentration to be the "norm" in the middle of the day. I had moments of blurred vision and I thought I had "seen" something--sometimes in the middle of the day. I'm an admitted big sissy so even the ocassional out-of-the-corner of my eye sighting didn't really set off any flags...I just thought it was me being typical sissy--weird I know. This drug is so subtle that you don't realize that it's affecting your mental state even during the daytime. I hallucinated so badly one evening when I awoke I thought my husband looked like the devil! The next day I barely remembered the incident--fully believing it was just a dream | My big toe also went numb(thought this was unrelated until today--my toe is finally not numb). at least since Halloween. I've had panic attacks and headaches--none of which I had ever had before. We ended a vacation early b/c I wanted to come home and couldn't explain being anxious and nervous. About a week ago I had the most depressed day in my life. suicidal thoughts beyond words. After confiding to my sister, she mentioned it could be the Amien. It's the only medication I take (except my daily low-dose aspirin) so it kinda sounded silly at first but as depressed as I felt, I was willing to try anything. This is day 4 and I am shocked at how much better I feel. It was affecting me so gradually that I hadn't noticed what was happening to me. It's as if I was on "auto-pilot". I have memory and conscienceness of day-to-day activities but it's almost like I've been half asleep the last few months even during the daytime. Thank God I didn't follow thru on my suicidal thoughts and I confided in someone and realized what was happening to me. I won't be taking anymore Ambien ever again; it's just not worth the risks. The weird part is that even though I've stopped taking it, I haven't had any problems sleeping thru the night and I haven't had any withdraw issues as noted by other posters, thankfully. This drug numbs your mental processing on such a subtle level that I never thought to question anything about it--until it was nearly too late. | F | 44 | 1 years | 1/26/2010 | 3 | Hi. I am a television reporter at the ABC affiliate in Washington, DC. I am reporting a story about Ambien and sex and was wondering if anyone who lives in the DC metro area would be willing to talk about their experiences, either on or off-the-record.(If you decide to go on camera, we would disguise your face and voice, if you preferred.) Please email [email protected]. Thanks! | F | 33 | | 1/27/2010 |