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 added. 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 | UNKNOWN | *Warning: I have been an addict for 10 years* DO NOT START THIS MED | M | 35 | 10 years 10-40 1X day | 2/16/2010 | 4 | insominia | nothing very good | F | 47 | 14 days 30mg 1X day | 2/12/2010 | 1 | menopausal sleepless nights | About eight days into taking started having tension headaches; did not relate to Ambien. No matter what I took for headache; nothing worked, still maintained headache. Thirty days into taking decided to quit as headaches became worse especially at back of head and scalp was becoming numb. That is when my hell began. After quitting cold turkey I did not sleep for two days, got the chills, hands & feet freezing, arms felt chilled to the bone in areas around joint, my scalp went numb moving to my forehead, my nose went completely dry, my taste and smell did not seem quite right. After two days of no sleep I finally managed to sleep maybe 6 hours (had weird dreams w/ vivid colors) and then slept the next two days about 10 hours first day and 6 hours next day (cont'd) | I was not out of the woods just yet. After initial two days of no sleep, then two days of sleep, I experienced rebound insomnia for another two days. Dr. prescribed Symbyax (anti-depressant,bipolar) to help me fall asleep and I did take for two days but still did not sleep right away as it took couple hours for me to finally fall asleep, plus the drug did nothing for me but make me very irritable at times. I has been two weeks since I withdrew from Ambien and I am just now starting to feel better and get somewhat normal sleep. My arms are back to normal, no more headaches, no more numbness in scalp or tension headaches, my nose is normal again as is my sense of smell and taste. I was taking this drug every night before going to bed and probably should not have been doing as sometimes I would take 15 mg. cause my sleep was not going as well as it was in the beginning when taking this drug. I believe I am very sensitive to drugs and this one was a nightmare for me. I could not work for awhile because of this drug. | F | 47 | 1 months 10 mg 1X day | 2/8/2010 | 1 | Menopause | I stopped taking Ambien 7 months ago. Stopped cold turkey because of anxiety, depression, blurry vision, light flashes, neck, shoulder and jaw pain, metallic taste, repeated sinus infections, extreme social anxiety, aggressive behavior, loss of joy, no motivation. I feel like I lost 5 yrs. of my life. Most of these symptoms have disappeared. The one thing I'm having difficulty with is thinning, dry hair. I've read that hair loss is a rare side effect of ambien. I am seeing some new growth, but my hair is totally different than it was. Please be careful with this drug and be mindful of any change in your health. My cholesterol was 290 while I was on ambien. It is now 243. I didn't have a clue that Ambien caused elevated cholesterol and blood pressure. | F | 61 | 5 years 5 mg 1X day | 2/6/2010 | 4 | Sleep Issues | Blurred Vision, Double Vision, Lack of Coordination. | I was on it for over a year. It got to the point that I couldnt sleep without it, and after a while it stopped working like it used to. What did work was to take 2 Benedryl an hour before I went to bed and an Ambien at bedtime. When I decided to stop, I would go to sleep at night and if I couldnt sleep for 2 hours, I would take one. Finally I was able to sleep for an hour, and then I woke up. Overall, my first night without, I woke up 5 times and had crazy dreams. The next night, I woke up 3 times, and the dreams calmed down a little. Last night I only woke up once. 3 nights so far without Ambien and it works great. My advice is you are trying to quit and not currently taking an excessive amount is to only take it if you have to, dont go to bed if you are not tired, and if you cant sleep, get out of bed and clean, empty the dishwater, read a book or magazine. The first few nights without it will be rough, but it gets easier each night. It is never fun to be dependent on sleep medication, because if you dont have it, you are in for a bad night. | M | 34 | 1.5 years 10MG 1X day | 2/5/2010 | 1 | Sleep Aid | Well the last thing I remember is walking into the bedroom to go to sleep. The next morning I found out from my husband that we had crazy sex and I had absolutely no recollection of this. Even to this day I have no memory of it. Sounds like I had fun, but that was enough to scare the crap out of me and never take it again. Not so much that I had sex with my husband LOL but more so that I can't even remember doing it. I looked up several accounts online about people having sex on Ambien and not remembering it at all.......with no control of who or how. And after everything else I read I am not willing to take the risk. | Stay away from this drug at all costs!!!! | F | 32 | 1 days 10MG 1X day | 2/5/2010 | 1 | Insomnia | Memory Loss; The memory isn't there. | I debated about this post for sometime. I'm a 45 year old man, married for 21 years. I used Ambien for a few years, with very little side effects. A few brief conversations with my wife and eating ice cream once. That was it. Then one night night my daughter came home from college for the weekend and bruoght her friend her friend. During the night I got up out of my bed and went to the kitchen. Apparently I had a conversation with the friend, at some point we starte kissing. My daughter came in and caught us. I ended up being awakened by my wife upstairs. This has been a complete nightmare with my wife, who has finally realized the truth. This drug unplugs your mind. This is a warning to you! Do not use it!! | M | 45 | 2 years 10mg 1X day | 2/5/2010 | 1 | insomnia | I took this as my doctor had told me along with Avitan, and wellbutrin. I was told to take them all at night when I take my Kidney medicines.I had hada couple of beers as well I sat on the couch,and next thing I knew I woke in the hospital, after a suicide attempt. | I was told I had gotten up, put on a suit, laid on the floor, and swallowed a bottle of blood pressure medicine. I have also been told I hit a female roommate. I must assume it is true, because she moved out, will not speak to me, and has gone to the police. Non of these actions are in my nature, and it scares the heck out of me. My life is forever altered, and all I know is I did what I was told. I have learned alot since, but I have lost a friend, scared my my family, my boss, and everyone I know. I am so happy that my roommate called 911, and I am not dead, But now what? I spent two weeks in the hospital, one of those in the phsyc unit. Each doctor, has told me it was the pills, but It is hard to not think about that day. I am not a person to hurt anyone, and it does not end. I now have to deal with the police, and I only know what people tell me. I just want my life back. | M | 47 | 28 days | 2/3/2010 | 4 | Insomnia | Memory loss, cravings for sweets and wanting to talk to everyone. | After taking 10mg I can remember talking to friends and family on the phone but can't remember what we talked about the next day. No one has ever said that I was being weird or said anything inappropriate... It does work well for helping me fall a sleep fast. But I only take one every now and then. I received a prescription of 30 in Sept 09 and still have some left. So some of the awful unfortunate side effects some have experienced could be from daily use or everyone reacts differently to medication. PLEASE BE CAREFUL and listen to your loved ones if they say you are acting different. | F | 46 | | 2/2/2010 | 2 | Insomnia | At first writing notes to myself that made absolutely no sense and for the past month insomnia has returned whether or not I take the pill. | Was on 10 mg every night for a couple of years with no one ever telling me it should only be taken for a specific period of time and then, when the insomnia came back on the 10 mg pill I was upped to 12.5 mg. Now it still takes me forever to get to sleep and once I do I have a lot of trouble waking up. | F | 52 | 2 years | 2/1/2010 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 |