There are 1132 ratings for the drug: AMBIEN in the Askapatient database.

Key to ratings for ambien: 5-Very Satisfied: this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal. 4-Satisfied: this medicine helped. 3-Somewhat Satisfied: this medicine helped somewhat. 2-Not Satisfied: this medicine did not work to my satisfaction. 1-Dissatisfied: I would not recommend taking this medicine.

Page: 1  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12    Results are sorted by Gender with males listed first.

Rating	Reason	Side Effects	Comments	Sex	Age	Time Taken and Dosage		Date Added
				F  M
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5	Insomnia	Some "hangover" the next day (drowsiness, etc.)	It has less day-after hangover than any other medicine I've tried, and I've tried the lot.	M	42	2 years		8/13/2001
5	Life long insomnia	It's a miracle drug. Sleep for the 1st time in my life. No adverse side effects.	I'm 48 and have never been able to sleep. Ambien is the only thing that has ever worked. You have no idea what a gift it is to finally be able to sleep at night AND wake up fresh in the morning. It has completely changed my life. I take 1/2, wait about 15 to 30 min, lie down in bed and take the other 1/2. Usually works in about 5-10 min. It doesnt make me sleep in a coma. If there is noise I will wake up, but usually can fall right back to sleep if I need to. If I need to wake up I can with no problem.	M	48	5 years 10 1X D		3/23/2010
5	For insomnia, duh	None besides tiredness!	I LOVE Ambien, I don't know what all you crazies are talking about! My life is hell without it. I cut my pills in fourths--yes fourths--and it is still effective! I've never taken a whole one. You people who are doing crazy shiz while on Ambien either need to take responsibility for your actions or cut down your dose! Don't ruin it for the rest of us, jeez.	M	30	6 years 5mg 1X D		4/26/2010 Email
5	Severe insomnia	Sleep	Ambien is the only thing that has ever worked for me. Changed my life. Regular people have no idea what it's like to go thru your entire life in a sleep deprived state. Ambien is a life saver. I've had none of the neg side effects some have described. It's like we're talking about 2 diff drugs. I would recommend to anyone who has severe insomnia.	M	46	2 years 10 1X D		6/4/2010 Email
5	Not sleeping well	I did not know there were side effects until I visited this website. I am one of the lucky ones. I can break it into quarters and it works like a charm. I am a 240 lb. male who at 48 years old went from the best sleeper I know, to the worst in about six months. Talked to my Dr. and he recommended Ambien, which was ok, but I would wake up after about three hours and was right back to where I started, but now it was 2:00 am and did not dare to take another. The Ambien CR was the trick and it changed my life back to normal.		M	48	12.5 2X W		7/10/2010
5	Insomnia	Have woken up hungry in middle of night a couple of times only.	I did not sleep for more than 2 - 4 hours per night for the last 10 years. I tried all the o.t.c. meds and they only made me more restless-none of them worked at all. I could not fall asleep quickly and I could not stay asleep. I never asked my doctor for anything because I thought nothing would work. Finally I asked my doctor and he prescribed me Ambien 10 m.g. It is The Miracle Pill. Ambien works great. I fall asleep instantly as I only take it just before going to bed. I sleep all night and get a good/great night's sleep. I feel great in the morning with no side effects. I'm sorry to hear about the horrible side effects some people are having because I do not experience any of them. Maybe it's because I'm using the drug properly and as prescribed. I don't know. But it has been a life saver for me. I can finally go to sleep fast and sleep all night. Thank you Ambien!	M	44	8 months 10 MG 1X D		8/6/2010 Email
5	can t fall asleep	NO REAL SIDE EFFECTS IN MY CASE	AMBIEN IS A WONDER DRUG.......I STAY UP TIL MIDNITE, TAKE MY AMBIEN AND SLEEP A SOLID 7 HOURS. I HAVE NOT HAD ANY OF THE STRANGE SIDE EFFCTS MENTIONED BY OTHER USERS..........JUST GREAT SLEEP............	M	56	1 years 10 mg 1X D		8/19/2010 Email
5	Help sleep good.	My wife also takes it and she experiences the side effects, which I would classify as bonuses for me. She was given a prescription for Ambien after having her third child. It helped somewhat when she took 1 to 1 1/2 on an empty stomach. Well one night when she took two, when I got into bed with her, I thought I was with someone else. She was very horny, very nasty, and extremely hot. She did things she normally doesn't care to do. She then began asking about all the people in the room. Well, I thought it was humerous, so I told her they were here to watch, and did she want to give them a show. She said she did, but she wanted other partners also. Trust me--not normal. So we both did some fantasizing, and we had an incredible experience, about which unfortunately, she remembered nothing in the morning.	I still get good sleep with ambien, but we still, about once a month, or more if she's trying to bribe me or reward me, we'll have an "ambien" date. It's different, and we enjoy it. But I can see how this could be used as a date-rape drug. I can do pretty much whatever I want to with her on ambien. And she thoroughly enjoys it as well.	M	43	3 days		12/13/2005
5	insomnia	good		M	16	2 months		3/5/2006
5	Cannot fall asleep	I get very hungry shortly after taking the pill and then start eating everything I can get my hands on and I barely recall doing it. I have very vivid dreams and begun to snore very loudly. I sometimes have conversations and never recall having them.	This pill has worked wonders for me as long as you follow the directions. Get into bed shortly after and take it on an empty stomach. Since I have been on it for over 2 years I think it has lost it's effectiveness. I know longer fall asleep in 15 mins, it now takes over an hour or more.	M	42	2 years		3/4/2006
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	Cant sleep, racing mind, bad dreams	I must take it while in bed or I turn into a zombe. I sleepwalk, cook, talk on the phone, go outside the house and look in the mirrow and talk to myself and eat like a pig. I will cook and eat anything in sight.	I don't even know what I did until the next day when I piece the night before together like a detective. Looking in the sink and the garbage. It scares my wife more than me because we don't know what I'm going to do next. I do like taking it, but I am going to begin to ween off Ambien with her help. You need a despenser that only lets you have proper dosage per night or you might take more that the rec dose without even knowing it. Be careful while traveling also. Lock yourself in your room. Seriously!!!	M	34	3 years		6/15/2006
5	Trouble falling asleep	Memory Loss. Scarily vivid, unusual dreams. Dizzy if not laying down.	The first few nights were freaky. Woke, after crazy dreams, to find things written in my handwriting that I didn't remember writing (was that guy in Momento on Ambien?). Was sure that someone was moving my bookmark forward because I couldn't remeber reading chapters (actaully though the maid in the hotel I was staying at might be messing with me). 10mg completely knocks me out consistantly. Never thought such a small bit of anything could have such an effect on a person.	M	39	10 days		9/8/2006
5	Occasional difficulty sleeping	None that I can think of.	I work nights on a rotating basis, and as you may imagine, it does tend to make a sleeping schedule impossible to follow. I may take ambien once or twice a week to help when switching my sleep schedules. I have had absolutely no problems with this medication, however, I followed the instructions, i.e., used occasionally, made sure that I had 8 hours to sleep, no alcohol, etc.	M	43	6 months		1/4/2006
5	Bipolar 2 / insomnia / hypomania	10 - 15mg of Ambien ( called stilnox in Australia ) gives me no side effects at all. Its only when I also take 100mg of Seroquel as well that I get a little memory loss.	I take 10 - 15 mg of Ambien every night and have for the last 8 months (along with 100mg of seroquel and 2,500mg of epilim to treat bipolar and insomnia) If I only take the Ambien with my Epilim I find that I only get a maximum of 5 hours sleep and then BANG - I am wide awake exactly 5 hours after taking it add seroquel into the mix and I can get up to 9 hours sleep! many of you seem to have had increase effects on your libido, if anything its been the opposite for me.	M	33	8 months		1/5/2006
5	Sleep problems for a few days	No negative side effects, only improvements in my mood, anxiety level.	Ambien is the greatest creation man has come up with. I have been taking it for five years. Yes, five years, which is 250 or so times the recommended time period. I have never had insomnia, but I was having trouble sleeping for a few days and so I told my doctor. He gave me Ambien and I have to say it didn't knock me out, but just made me feel better. When I first started taking it I really enjoyed the euphoric and strange feelings. After taking it for about 1 month the strange feelings went away and the euphoric feelings calmed down to a nice feeling that just put me in a better mood, not severely altering me. I am now taking somewhere around 20 to 30mg a day at multiple times throughout the day, not just at night, sometimes in the morning. It has absolutely no sleepiness effects, just functions like the best antidepressant/anti-anxiety drug that ever existed. Ambien has improved my waking life dramatically, I am not as shy when taking it and I just feel 100 tim	M	32	5 years		1/11/2006
5	sleeplessness/depression/bad dreams	No side effects from this drug IF taken as directed. Get in the bed and THEN take the pill.	I have had depressive episodes that last for years. And, I have terrible dreams when I sleep. Ambien has been a life saver for me. I sleep well and if I dream, I don't remember it. I have one worry, once I'm in ambien sleep, the house could burn down around me and I don't think I'd wake up.	M	46	11 years		1/27/2006
5	Insomia related to Prednisone	The usual, dizziness, loss of balance, double vision, and I wouldn't call them hallucinations like others, but more of a change of perception. I didn't have any side-effects in bad sense, except that I like this drug too much. I guess I'll just have to deal when I run out.	I love to write and stay up at least an hour before I go to bed. Sometimes I would wake up in the morning to find I had written the wildest things, includiding e-mails I normally would never have sent. Not good. I've been taking it over a month now and am pretty acclimated to the drug, but I still like it. Someone said they like to take it in the middle of the day...you have to have some problems to be taking something this powerful for a recreational purpose, at least during daylight. I can't imagine not being able to go to be after the main effects wear off.	M	19	30 days		9/2/2006
5	Insomnia	I have made full meals and eaten them, cleaned the house, done the dishes, and done laundry and not remembered doing it. I think that those are great side effects. On the other hand, I have called friends and family and not remembered doing it. I don't really mind it, but they said that I talk like someone on drugs.	It works.	M	37	2 months		9/21/2006
5	Insomia	none	Knocks ya out! sleepy time!	M	19	7 months		11/30/2006
5	insomnia	none	good drug--it gets me 6-7 hours sleep and sometimes 8 whereas before I got 4-5. It's gentle too.	M	65	6 months		11/23/2006
5	Insomnia	None	This is a great medicine for those who really need it for insomnia. I take 10mg 30 minutes before bedtime and get a good nights sleep and wakeup rested and alert with no drowsiness at all.	M	45	1 years		11/7/2006
5	insomnia	amnesia, loss of inhibitions, crazy things. Three times now I have been at my computer after taking it, and discovered in the morning that I emailed strangers and propositioned them, wrote gibberish or absurd things to friends and family, and someone sent me a text of a online chat I'd had where I said utterly insane things. I never remember any of these things in the morning, and only find the evidence in my email out box, or find out from what people tell me later.	It works really well for sleep. I take it, sleep soundly for 4 hours, then wake up completely refreshed. But if something happens to wake me up during those 4 hours, like my daughter crying or my wife wakes me, then I am confused, disoriented, and likely to discover in the morning that I did/said crazy things.	M	40	2 years		5/25/2006
5	chronic insomnia since childhood	If I take it and don't go straight to bed, I get these odd visual hallucinations that make it hard to judge proportions. Shapes on the PC screen, for instance, begin to move around a bit. My balance is also off. It's not an unpleasurable feeling, as long as you don't have to work or deal wth the kids.	It's changed my life. I worry, though, that I take it when I should really be trying to establish better sleep patterns by more regular bed times and so forth. Beucase it's a pill it's too easy. But it is a great drug, very helpful. I also wonder if it has any effect on 1) sex drive and 2) memory during the day.	M	48	2 years		12/30/2006 Email
5	mistake	walking while asleep, memory loss during the medication	my father in law took ambien by mistake (thinking it was a hay fever pill as my mother in law kept it in the same box), they went out to do some grocery shopping straight afterwards. He stood in the supermarket check out point and fell asleep and had to be waken several times to be ask to get back in the car, he even helped 2 load and unload the groceries and ate a bag of lychee after he got home, my wife said he was acting weird untill we realised what happened, i asked him to go to bed and he did just that. He took 10mg at 12:30pm and woked up at 6pm and wondering why he was left at home by himself lol	M	59	1 days		3/25/2007
5	Insomnia	euphoria, sexual arrousal, when staying awake feeling as if there are other people with you even though you are alone... the next day, a bit of sinus headache..amnesia from events while awake and had taken ambien.	I sincerely believe that if you try to stay awake while taking this drug it brings your conscious and subconsious to the same level making you do things that you would never do consciously, but subconsciously want to do, it makes you primal..and you can hallucinate things (dreaming while awake) because youre mind is put to sleep but your body is not. staying awake on ambien can be very very dangerous if you are not supervised. (and i love it)	M	21	1 years		10/4/2005
5	insomnia & waking up during night	some memory loss	this is a great drug... i normally fall asleep within 30 minutes. however, after being on ambien for the past 4 months, i have had a few nights were it seems to have an opposite effect keeping me awake & very hyper.	M	28	4 months		11/22/2006
5	Sleep Apnea/Trouble Sleeping/	Wow. Hallucinations, trips, memory loss... alot happened. 1. waking up in strange places 2. on nights that i actually can remember, things look like they're moving, when theyre not. 3. TV/video games appear to be 3D... not sure why. but it affects your vision in some way. 4. MANY hallucinations. 5. Feels like your on drugs. more than marijuana, less than mushrooms... somewhere in the middle. 6. you walk like you're drunk. very dizzy. 7. you will do many things that you cant remember. phone calls, whatever... 8. increased appetite. 9. very social feeling. you act like there are alot of people around you, sometimes cracking jokes to yourself. its weird. 10. strange/unrealistic ideas. they vary. All of the above may happen, but its unlikely if you go straight to bed after taking it. but on a weekend, why not experiment, its pretty fun... ******* only take when your inside your house and secure. im not sure what would happen if you went out and drove around, but	if you want to experiment staying awake while on ambien, be prepared... and DONT GO OUTSIDE! you could make some very stupid decisions, and who knows what will happen.	M	15	2 months		2/14/2006
5	Insomnia	What every you do, take this to go to SLEEP ONLY if that was it's prescribed for. DO NOT drive on this stuff. It's more powerful than alcohol. I can't even continue computer work after I take Ambien. I wake up and realize things I've typed or clicked than would NEVER had happened if I had not just taken Ambien. Absolutely DO NOT drive and forget coordinated activities, such as computer work, if you don't want to wonder what in the universe happened while you were doing that, such as being online. The effect is has is for sleeping and NOT for your awake commentary! The hallucination commentary made laugh extremely hard! I never had such effect but the effect of knock out power guarantee of sleep for at least 4 hours at which point it goes away. Taken as prescribed, I have no side effects. It appears people are enjoying this stuff as a recreation or something. I’m Ambros at http://www.myspace.com/carnaldesire	I agree this stuff is GOD send for answer to my long insomnia. This stuff always knocks me out and I've been on it since last summer of 2006 and its 4/2006 now. Extremely power stuff and DO not skip the side effect commentary by myself. Forget about doing anything coordinated on this drug. Sleep only! DO NOT drive or you may kill someone when pass out cold! I’m Ambros at http://www.myspace.com/carnaldesire	M	35	8 months		4/14/2006 Email
5	anxiety induced insomnia	hmm, mostly good, sleepy, content, mild hallucinogenic properties, lucid dreams, blueish vision (at times).	It's the only med that I can count on, I've been on wellbutrin and klonopin as well, for a long time. It's far more effective than klonopin for sleep. Unlike something like xanax, if you stay up, you have fun but relax, I'd still be awake if not for the ambien, but im still conserving energy and when i go to bed, I'll fall asleep instantly. The price is absurd w/o insurance I've been diagnosed with chronic insomnia for 10 years now, but Ive tried sontata,melatonin,calm easy,beer :( ,and benedryl(which also works, but gives me nightmares, or wake me up)	M	25	3 years		11/25/2006
5	Insomnia	None	I love Ambien! Makes me so horny and chill. Almost like bud without the anxiety or munchies. Ambien is just fine, day or night!	M	21	2 months		6/29/2006
5	anxiety	Sleep fine but made my IBS and gut really burn and act up. I do not suggest this for those with abdominal issues. Makes your symptoms worse the next day. Had to stop because the IBS symptoms became so bad.	Great for sleeping and acting like an idiot if you try to stay awake.	M	35	2 months		7/3/2006
5	insomnia			M	40	3 years		2/28/2006
5	Insomnia	You can all see my first post with the quesuenas@yahoo.com on the right of the screen for further commentary. It should be five comments under this post. Ben sent me an e-mail and thought everyone else should know the detail I’m telling Ben. I’m www.myspace.com/carnaldesire in the first post as well. 5 mg usually does the job. 10 mg is a guaranteed knock of my insomnia and that is something great to be said since you have to consider my insomnia is the type that will keep me up all night long; until Ambien came around. The stuff is a God send unless you take it and drive. You're looking at ending in the grave from falling asleep doing that. While it does guarantee sleep, it’s usually completely out of my system within 4 hrs. After 4 hours, there are no side effects at all. The stuff hits with power and completely disappears out of your system like it was never there. If you've ever taken diphenhydramine, you may have noticed that tiredness and other effec	after you take Ambien because you might go into shock from all the wrong keys you hit in what you were doing. I do NOT know what people are talking about with hallucinations. They must be abusing Ambien. I hear abusers inject the stuff in mega dose. I believe the effects they have by abusing it are true based on the knock out effect it has on me. Problem is, I'm not awake long enough to tell you about the effect. It hits then its lights out without time to contemplate all that stuff that people are talking about. At higher doses, I would be out too fast to anything that wasn’t there or maybe for a minute before waking up without much to remember. Important point with Ambien is that you need to take it on an empty stomach for the knock out effect. Take it with food and you take away a fast route to sleep. It's just like alcohol, Cialus, Viagra in that the effectiveness is ruined or dissipated with food. The Dr. said not to eat before bed anyway, so if you are following	M	35	9 months		5/8/2006 Email
5	Insomnia	None at all.	I take Ambien 1-2 nights a week and it helps me to fall asleep and sleep straight through 4-6 hours which is something I haven't been able to do since childhood. This medication has really helped me.	M	46	2 years		6/1/2006
5				M	30	10 days		6/5/2006
5	Sleep issues	None	Wow	M	18	1 months		11/25/2006
5	Insomnia	Hallucinations, some other crazy stuff.	I love this drug! Makes me sleep like a baby, makes me sexually aroused, gives me awesome hallucinations, and an equally awesome high. Even better when NOT taken at night for sleep. Chills me out. No negative side effects, mild memory loss. Highly recommended for a benzo-effect; that is, taken during the day to relax and hallucinate.	M	22	1 years		7/15/2006
5	Get to sleep fast	Ambien works great. I got bold and stayed up past 20 mins one night. I guess I got on the computer and send my boss an email. I checked my send mail and saw it. The letters were out of place and a lot of extra words not in order. I think my mind was already out cold. I had to explain in morning. The good news was all my clothes were laid out and I can watch the same movie over and over again. The wife not big on the way I get when I take one. Works great!	2 years, 2-3x a week.	M	38			7/13/2006
5	insomnia due to travel	vivid dreams	been very helpful with my frequent travel and time zone changes, if i can sleep on a regular basis I feel better and maintain good health	M	62	2 years		7/24/2006
5	Sleep Loss	Well, the side effect usualy are less potent after a few days of use but I've had some crazy shit happen. After about 25minute if I'm sitting at my computer, say looking at a myspace picture it starts talking to me. And the sad part is, i have a full conversation with it in my head, other voices feel like im in a bar/and or where picture was at. The one nite i thought my monitor was a fishtank and tried feeding it paperclips. However, doenst always make me fall asleep, sometimes im up a few hours before i Fall asleep...but your half asleep with your eyes open. Holding conversations with people that are in your head but your not even talking, its like your really somewhere else but you know your in your bed as well.	I don't sleep well, maybe 90minutes to 2hours a nite for the last 5yrs untill i found ambien then i get about 4 hours	M	27	12 months		7/22/2006 Email
5	sleep disorder/PTSD	Groggy in the am. For a couple of weeks I have been waking up at 3:00AM. Prior to that I slept a full 8 hours. May be due to high stress lately? I dunno. Have been experiencing some blurry vision in right eye. Have also been using Wellbutrin XL and am tapering off of that at this time. So hard to say about the vision issue. There are so many relative variables in life.	The only thing I don't like is I stopped using it for two days and I COULD NOT SLEEP AT ALL THOSE 48 hours! Don't know how others have dealth with this issue.	M	50	3 months		1/7/2007 Email
5	unable to sleep	waking during middle of the night and eating .....	i have been taking ambien for many years. it has proved to be a miracle cure for my insomnia. i have tried many times to discontinue but after 17 days of little sleep and feeling like a total wreck during the day i resumed the medication. i take 5-10mg nightly as i get into the bed and fall asleep in approx 15-20 mins. whatever side effects ambien may or may not have i am assured of a good nights sleep. of course it's not a 'one size fits all' med. it has worked well for me for years.	M	61	6 years		3/21/2007
5	to get to sleep	slurred speech, dizziness,clogged throat, periods of slow motion,loss of date and time, im watching the spanish channel and im talking back to it but i don't speak or understand spanish , i feel good, short memory loss, dry throat, you feel creative. Things around you seem to be floating.	i feel like i can jump through a wall right now, oh i took twice what i was suppose to, with alcohol. Im gonna use this the next time i have to write a paper for school or something. Im starting to get tired so i guess its working.	M	23	1 days		10/8/2006 Email
5	insomnia	crazy hallucinations, memory loss	for getting sleep it's not worth very much but the fun i had made up for the lack of sleep. i always seemed to end up naked and delirious in the living room.	M	21	10 times		10/30/2004
5	insomnia	morning fatigue if not long enough sleep. LOUD snoring (says my wife).	love it. best sleep ever.	M	33			10/31/2004
5	Wifes illness	None	Wife is in re-hab after a stroke, both of us are taking Ambien to sleep, both 5 mil. Our daughter (25) took some tonight (her perscription) and had vivid dreems and was disoriented.	M	56	21 days		11/14/2004 Email
5	insomnia	great sleep/		M	42	20 days		8/23/2004
5	paxil caused very shallow sleeping	none	ads say should be only taken 7 - 10 days but doctor figures I will need it for as long as I am on Paxil, insurance pays for it and it does the trick	M	31	4 months		5/11/2004
5	Insomnia due to Wellbutrin	No side effects	It works great. Sometimes I only take half a pill. No grogginess in morning at all. I only use as needed though as I've heard it is habit forming.	M	36	2 months		4/12/2004
5	insomnia	forgetfulness		M	40	90 days		3/3/2004
5	sleep problems	groggy in moring		M	37	3 weeks		10/14/2003
5	Life=long insomnia	Memory problems but I was forgetful for years before taking the drug.	Disadvantages: 1. It is powerfully addictive and difficult to stop taking it. Interestingly, when I ate strictly macrobiotic for a few weeks, I stopped needing it. I had been taking it for years and the drug just fell out of my life. Macrobiotics is a difficult discipline, though, and it is hard to be consistent. When I stopped eating macrobiotically, the sleep disorder returned and I went back on Ambien. 2. Some memory loss. 3. Taking too much gives me an edgy, irritable feeling. Advantages: 1. Wonderful sleep. 2. My life-long depression was greatly reduced. For the first time in years, I felt joy. 3. PMS vanished. 4. I started enjoying life. 5. I am no longer irritable and angry all the time. I have patience and compassion for the first time in my life. I am a nicer person. Yes, I am dependent on it although currently I have not taken it for over 30 days and am taking antihistamines to sleep. Because of a sleep disorder, I could not sleep in the same bed wi	M		5 years		3/24/2007 Email
5	Couldn't get to sleep or stay aslee	none	I use it 3-4 nights a week	M	56	2 years		8/3/2003
5	insomnia			M	49	6 months		9/4/2003
5	cant sleep	a little slugish the next afternoon		M		2 months		4/24/2003
5	To sleep-taking hi-dose steroids	None that I noticed. Quite amazing.	Most effective and problem-free sleeping pill I've ever used.	M	59	7 days		12/2/2002
5	to get to sleep	dizziness	I know of people who have taken this drug and became completely disorrented fell over and injured themselves. I don't take a full 10 mg. I usualy bite off a quarter pill and I fall right to sleep. No drugged feelinging the morning. I am probably addicted to it because I don't sleep as well as without. I have been on and off of it over the last two years. The only time I have ever taken a full 10mg Tab was prescibed after sugery. 1 Quatrter tab works perfectly and leaves me 4 times the medidation prescribed	M	56	2 years		10/1/2003
5	anxiety	lack of coordination, trouble focusing.		M	24	1 days		8/30/2002
5	insomnia	none	I've been taking it for over five years. Only a slight reduction in effeciency over time.	M	59	5 years		11/15/2002
5	Insomnia	Halucinations if I did not head to bed immeadiately.	Ambien has a very short metabolic life. There were no "Hang Over" effects in the morning. No dependency was noticed.	M	25	1.5 years		1/9/2002 Email
5	Insomnia	not whatsoever..put me right to sleep fast	woke up refresh and alert the next morning with no hang over effect..very good medication	M	30	3 months		6/22/2002
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	sleep dis orders	i have found that if you tke (2) #10 ambien that things look really cool. nothing alarming about it. monitor is breathing, seeing double on the keypad, generally riding the high til i pass out. i would like for this to happen most evenings. (also how much is too much ambien	ambien gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!	M	35	4 days		2/3/2005 Email
5	originally for sleep, but now for f	feel real high after taking 2 more #10. everything is stretching and moving(lsd)like. right now i'am flinging vanilla pudding at my friend and it is fun. he is also enjoying it. come on everybody get some pudding and some ambien		M	35	4 days		2/3/2005 Email
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
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	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 Email
5	Insomnia	Seems to not be working as well now as when I first started.		M	61	6 months		5/28/2005
5	insomnia	I get very high. It's a wonderful feeling. Then I drift off to la la land very nicely.		M	29	15 years		6/4/2007
5	insomnia	None under normal conditions. Resisting it's affects once drowsy can cause unusual results (trouble focusing, dizziness etc). However, the drug IS a hallucinogen. Mixing with alcohol is particularly BAD. Absentmindedly did it once and watched my covers crawl off the bed!	For most people, used properly, I think this is a wonderful item. But the potential for abuse is high. I use it only 1-2 days and then wait at lease a few weeks before repeating. BTW: I've used either 5 or 10mg depending on how restless I feel.	M	43	2 days		5/7/2007
5	Insomnia	If I stayed awake, I remember being totally coherent in what I was doing, I knew I was under the effects of the drug, and felt completely fine. Amnesia the next day did not phase me, and I gradually remembered bits and pieces of my night. Granted you are supposed to be IN BED when you take it, do not let negative reviews turn you off. The people who write them either did not go to bed immediately, or just cannot handle sedatives. I have taken up to 30mg in a dose to treat my insomnia, and it works like MAGIC. As I type this, I am 30 minutes into a 20mg dose, and as you can see I am not psychotic or anything.	Ambien is not for everyone, and if you are a whiner or hypochondriac, DO NOT take it. That leads to people who most likely never needed Ambien freaking out becase they experience KNOWN side effects, and scaring those who could benifit from it away. Here's a hint for all of you negative nancys...TURN OFF OR UNPLUG YOUR PHONE, HIDE YOUR KEYS, TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER, AND EAT BEFORE YOU TAKE IT. (It also helps to be IN bed after you take it...dont try and get a "trip" or force yourself to stay awake...	M	20	40 days		4/9/2007
5	Insomnia	The only side effects I had with ambien was when I first started taking it. I would take 1 10mg ambien at night time get in bed and watch TV as soon as the drug kicked in, I felt very funny and I looked up at the ceiling and it looked like a river flowing in one direction, I don't remember much else, but my girlfriend told me I had went in the kitchen because I kept thinking someone was in the house and that I was talking to someone who wasn't there. THe next morning when she told me it didn't make sense, I remeber getting up but I don't remember what I was doing.	THe side effects I had mentioned were ONLY DURING THE FIRST FEW WEEKS I now have no side effects when taking this drug and it helps me get to sleep.	M	27	2 times		4/10/2007
5	Insomnia	None, unless taken after considerable beer consumption, in which case walking in a straight line can be somewhat more challenging than it would without the ambien.	I take it to counteract insomnia side effects of Wellbutrin & Adderall. Take 5 mg most of the time, takes 40-45 minutes to produce drowsiness. Go to bed, sleep great, wake up refreshed. Typically sleep 5-6 hours during week, 8-10 weekends. Can get up and go fine after 5-6 on 5mg. 10mg takes me a full 8 hours to get over and leaves me feeling sluggish for awhile then, so i rarely take 10mg. I generally try to skip taking it at least one night a week. All in all, I agree with another poster that one of its biggest benefits is eliminating the anxiety about whether you will sleep well or not.	M	51	2 years		6/6/2007
5	Couldn't sleep	Could not remember anything I did while I was on it		M		2 years		8/13/2007
5	psychiatrist prescribed	too much forgotten fun?	y'know the thing is...life can become pretty drab...i kinda have to laugh at the experiences i had with ambien...and reading these posts makes me wanna get another prescription...i'm not an abuser, i do have a tough time getting to sleep...i hope nobody finds out about this drug, anytime a drug that's fun for recreation slips in, it's immediately reprimanded by the powers that be...use it how you will, it's one of the few drugs that's actually interesting out there	M	34	2 months		7/31/2007
5	Not sure	None major	**Be warned that you will have problems getting off** If anyone reads this and has gotten off please email me with advice.	M	30	2 years		5/15/2007 Email
5	To Help Me Fall Asleep	Well as the drug was setting in i felt very light headed, still awake and capable of doing something, but almost as if your floating on air, and your full of energy, but your slowly being forced to close your eyes. Do not stand up, i was standing up talking to someone and i was falling asleep. Also as i was falling asleep in my bed i had extremely vivid animated dreams, very entertaining i must say!	I Am a computer programmer, my sleeping patterns over the past few months have been very odd, in essence my night is my day and my day is my night, i can't stand this fact, so i am using this drug to get my sleep cycle back to normal.	M	17	1 days		5/22/2007
5	Chronic Insomnia	Pleasant strange euphoria within 45 minutes of taking Ambien CR. Happy, goofy feeling while waiting to fall asleep. Also an incredible increase in libido and a mellow sexual "wildness" with my girlfriend, which she does not appreciate because #1 She knows its from the Ambien CR, and #2 I fall asleep immediately following our time together.	I find Ambien CR to be an absolutely wonderful medication. I do not use any type of drugs or alcohol whatsoever, but I have suffered from chronic insomnia and mild depression for over 20 years. My line of work requires that I wake at 3 am, therefore I need to go to bed around 6:30 pm on weekdays.	M	39	8 months		8/15/2007 Email
5	Insomnia	none	I've been taking ambien for over 10 years. the instructions were to take it only for 7 days, but my doc said that it was ok for me to take it on a continual basis. when i first started taking it i did not need it for getting to sleep, i could do that on my own. i would take small peices of it after waking in the middle of the night to get back to sleep. about 5 years ago i suffered a cronic illness that made it difficult for me to even get to sleep. so i started taking ambien on a regular basis, every night. it has worked consistently all of these years. unlike others' experiences, it takes at least a half hour, sometimes an hour for it to work on me. i find almost no difference between ambien and ambien cr. if anything, the old time ambien, now available as a generic, works a bit better. a friend who's been on ambien was told by her doctor that it was found to be harmful and for her to stop using it. my doc says its fine for continual use. i do hear alot of negatives about its long te	M	68	10 years		11/10/2007 Email
5	insomnia/ anxiety	None. Only is a little addictive	Ambien is a Godsend pill who has helped me with terrible insomnia (I work at nights) and the best of all it calm my anxiety. Sometimes I use it recreationally when Im bored in front of the computer. The only bad thing about ambien (zolipdem) is that it create dependence, and with longer use, create tolerance. 10mg now doesnt work on me and I have some times to take 15mg (1 pill and a half) or even 20 mg to get sleep. FDA should consider release a 20mg pill of Zolpdem (Ambien)	M	29	4 years		11/13/2007 Email
5	insomnia	none	Best sleep drug on the market. Ihave tried them all and this is by far the best. I take 12.5 cr and it puts me to sleep fast and I wake fine in the morning.I have also experienced the memory loss;sleep walking and the munchies with no memory of eating in bed and the late night phone calls that i dont remember. But so what!!! Im in the privacy of my own home and if you consider what i described as a side effect bad; than you know nothing about drugs. And if you really want a kick have a couple of drinks first. It intensifies it like 5x.I dont advocate that but it has happened to me a couple of times. Bottom line is the drug works great; I wouldn"t use anything else.	M	50	3 years		11/16/2007 Email
5	Insomnia	At first, euphoria. It didn't put me to sleep unless I took two or three. When I wanted to experience a buzz, I took one. The sour note is Ambien no longer gives me euphoria or buzzes, no matter how many or few pills I take. It just puts me to sleep. So I guess it does what it suppose to.	Euphoria and party-feelings eventually end. So enjoy them while they last. Either that or they changed the formula and took out a molecule that caused the buzzes, something the heck happened.	M	21	7 months		11/27/2007
5	Insomnia	Hallucinations, mild memory loss (completely forgot debit card PIN number)	Worked like a champ. I was only on it for about a month, but it was what I needed to get a regulated sleep schedule back. However, the negative side effect was the memory loss. Nothing drastic though. I completely forgot the PIN number for my debit card. Everything else was fine. Just made me a little spacey. The hallucinations were actually very interesting. Lots of flowing colors, etc... I was sound enough of mind while on it to understand it was the ambien making it happen. Otherwise, I slept GREAT, and it didn't cause any bad dreams (don't remember any dreams on ambien for that matter). I always woke up feeling refreshed, and I never needed an alarm clock to wake me up. I always slept for a solid 7.5 hours.	M	29	30 days		12/26/2007
5	insomnia	none	Works great most of the time. I used to get 0 to 4 hours sleep per night, with Ambien I get 6 to 8. Only problem is after several years it has lost some of its effectiveness and I sometimes wake early unable to go back to sleep. My memory doesn't seem quite as sharp as when I started, but maybe that's from being 10 years older.	M	46	10 years		1/19/2008
5	sleep	none		M	32	1 years		11/21/2008
5	Insomnia	Not recollecting some events shortly after taking medication. It is a medication to be taken once you are in bed and not with the idea of finishing everyday things you would normally do awake. To engage in such behaviors and expect anything other than an increased probability of a bad consequence is showing an irresponsibility that should negate ever taking similar medications.	It has been a great help.	M	41	1 years		12/21/2008
5	poor sleep	After approximatley 5 years I started getting tinitis [ ringing in the ears] burning and stinging sensation in the mouth and tongue, some memory lose, but i,ve never had a great memory and i am 62. also a metalic tast in my mouth.	I took 10 mg. every nite for eight years, did some strange things like eating 2 bowls of cereal before bed,walking the dog at 2 in the morning. It takes a couple of hours to take effect now and sometimes take 15-20 mg but for the most part I love the way it makes me sleep. i've quit taking it now to see if my mouth and ears clear up, its been a week, if it does i'll probably stay off, if not i'll enjoy the sleep. p.s. have't slept much since.	M	61	8 years		1/12/2009
5	Travel, time zone changes	On the following afternoon I sometimes yawn more than usual and feel a bit tired, but nothing too noticable. But, I've seen others who've tried staying up after taking it (why?) and they basically act drunk and don't remember anything about it the next day. I strongly suggest getting into bed right after taking the pill!	This drug works very well for me. I fall asleep within 15 minutes of taking it and sleep a straight 5.5 to 6 hours before waking up, and then I'm wide awake. Lately I've been biting the pill in half and I sleep about the same but don't seem to have the occasional tiredness the following day.	M	49	6 months		4/30/2008
5	Insomnia due to depression	Blacking out, Hallucinations, Great sleep, Greater Sex, Double-Vision, Really Happy Mood, Addiction........Fun	I started taking ambien that was prescribed by my doctor due to lack of sleep i was getting and he felt it was due to depression, whatever the case, i started taking it two at a time from the beginning because one did nothing for me.....so it was good sleep and eventually i realized if i stayed awake, which was surprisingly easy, i could get a crzy high.....i would be happy as ever laughing at everything and loving everyone......i would forget hours at a time only remembering a lil bit here and there......it was great.....it became my thing to do.....to have fun....like getting drunk.......the bad thing is u can become easily addicted to this drug....it is a narcotic....i would take 3 or 4 and not remember taking another 4 or 5 until i realizec that they were gone the next morning.....people told me i was getting bad with it and i simply ignored them.....i would have sex on ambien and go for hours and hours on end.......it was a great time......however i am not going to recommend anyon	M	20	2 months		6/7/2008
5	insomnia	horney as hell	i tried to pork everything. my neighbor (she was hot though), my coworkers, my brothers wife, my sister-in-law, my poor sister, my poor dog . . . it was just unbelievable. . . and the best part is that i could not remember all of it . . . just the good parts	M	20	1 years		9/17/2008
5	Sleep and Anxiety	Grogginess in the morninging if I didn't get atleast 8 hours of sleep.		M	21	3 weeks		9/11/2008
5	Chronic Insomnia	Severe amnesia. This medication will make you forget what happened during the duration that it was in your system. Hallucinations. Increased appetite. Decreased breathing. Euphoria.	Ambien is a good sleep medication, but if you abuse it then you will certianly pay the price for it. It has caused me to have 3 wrecks all being my fault, but in which I have got out of alive and not hurt and off the hook with the law....Luckily. Take it as prescribed please.	M	23	2 years		8/28/2008
5	insomnia	As anyone, amnesia if taking out of bed. Tolerrance to this medicine build quickly. Expensive without insurance.	Good sleep aid. Actually I have some sleep disorders like "sleep paralyisis" and these as helped me a lot. Bad thing, tolerance. Company should make 20mg tab. I take 20 mg and lay on a bed watching a movie and a get a good sleep.	M	30	5 years		9/4/2008 Email
5	Chronic Insomnia	As long as I go to sleep right after taking it, there are no side effects. If I stay awake, as everyone else has mentioned, I experience anterograde amnesia, behavioural changes, vivid visual hallucinations, etc. Upon withdrawal there are unusual dreams.	Ambien is one of the most amazing medications I've ever taken. The side effects only manifest if I stay awake after taking the pill. I take 10mg a night, which usually gets me around 4-6 hours of sleep, which is impressive to me. My insurance doesn't cover the CR version, but I have taken a few of them, and they gave me a full night's rest in time and energy.	M	20	4 years		4/11/2009
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
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
5	insomnia	sometimes, if i take it and don't go right to bed, i get dizzy and floaty. The computer screen moves in interesting ways and the keys look way funky. I've had a few embarassing and regretable TM conversations that I barely remembered the next day. also, it makes me hungry!	I heart this medication. It has restored my sleep patterns and has saved my life.	M		3 months		7/20/2009
5	Severe Insomnia	Mostly, I fell asleep and woke refreshed. No amnesia, no hallucinations, none of that crazy stuff you hear about. My psych. doc. told me those crazy things you hear happening while on Ambien happens with people who are psychotic to begin with.	Tried sleep restriction, Lithium, SSRI's, Trazodone, Elavil, Seroquel, Remeron, you name it... none worked. Ambien is the only med. that works. My psych. doc. put me on 20 mg/night. Been on it almost three years. No tolerance.	M	36	3 years		8/1/2009

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Average rating for drug: 3.2. This page is printer-friendly; use landscape print with background color turned on.

Key to ratings: 5-Very Satisfied: this medicine cured me or helped me a great deal. 4-Satisfied: this medicine helped. 3-Somewhat Satisfied: this medicine helped somewhat. 2-Not Satisfied: this medicine did not work to my satisfaction. 1-Dissatisfied: I would not recommend taking this medicine.

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