Tell me about Ambien

[Morganpics]

I took it and still have a prescription for it. It did nothing negative for me at all. It does pretty well knock me out and I sleep ALL NIGHT for a change and wake up in the morning feeling fine. I don't have any hallucinations, bad dreams, etc. I don't take it regularly. If I have 2 or 3 nights in a row of not being able to get to sleep or waking up at 1 or 2 in the morning and laying awake for 2 hours then I take one. I do make sure I will be able to sleep the full 8 hours it recommends. It works for me.

 

[EMom]

I took one pill. Got terrible hallucinations and then did some vomiting worthy of Linda Blair. Threw the rest of the pills out. My mother was given Ambien while in the ICU. She was terribly weak but became so wild and agitated they had to put her in restraints. No more Ambien for her. I'm not a fan. Too many sleepdriving, sleepwalking, sleepeating, sleep-whatevering stories for me.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I have been taking Ambien nightly for a decade. It is a fabulous drug. I have never had a hallucination......because I take it in bed and then close my eyes, and try to relax my mind.I would never take it unless i was in bed.
Oh, and the memory loss is not an adverse effect, it is an expected and perdictable side effect. Again, take it and close your eyes to sleep.....what do you need to remember?
And to further clarify, dependance and addiction are very different. It is no shame if you are dependant on Ambien if you have a chronic sleep disorder.

 

[Brianne]

I've heard there's some differences in the effect between regular Ambien & Ambien CR, but I don't know how true it is.

I've been on Ambien CR for probably a couple years now, on the 12.5 mg dose & at this point I'll be happy to stay on it forever. I used to dread going to bed at night because I knew I'd be tossing & turning, and if I did finally fall asleep, every little noise or movement by DH would wake me up. And then I'd have a hard time falling back asleep again!

It doesn't hit me very fast--once I take it, I know I've got about an hour before I feel it working so I take that time to do my bedtime routine, etc. But I do know that anything that happens after about a half-hour, I'll most likely forget. I've noticed that especially when I've turned my Kindle on the next day, only to find I couldn't remember reading the last 10-15 pages or so. Obviously I still haven't learned my lesson about reading after taking the Ambien!

When I've needed to wake up in the middle of the night, I've done so with no problems; the only difference being, I'm able to fall back asleep again quickly, which is something I'd never been able to do before. I do definitely need at least 8-9 hours of sleep though because I'll be a bit groggy by mid-afternoon otherwise, but that's just been a matter of adjusting when I need to take it & that's worked out fine for me.

I apologize for the novel, but I did want to give a positive post about it. I'd give it a chance but if you do feel any negative effects, do call your doctor.

Good luck.

 

[jamimb]

I don't know why but I am still freaked out about taking it. The whole you are not in complete control of your mind and body thing is creepy to me
It's almost 8 oclock so I need to make a decision soon!

 

[mom of 3G's]

Do you have problems getting to sleep or staying asleep? If you are just having problems getting to sleep, try some Benadryl. While I don't take Ambien every night, I do take Benadryl every night to aid in getting to sleep. It seems like no matter how tired I am, whenever I go to bed my mind just races. The Benadryl helps me get to sleep quicker. Maybe start with that if you are anxious about taking the Ambien.

 

[livie1205]

I have been taking Ambien nightly for a decade. It is a fabulous drug. I have never had a hallucination......because I take it in bed and then close my eyes, and try to relax my mind.I would never take it unless i was in bed.
Oh, and the memory loss is not an adverse effect, it is an expected and perdictable side effect. Again, take it and close your eyes to sleep.....what do you need to remember?
And to further clarify, dependance and addiction are very different. It is no shame if you are dependant on Ambien if you have a chronic sleep disorder.

you explained it better than I did!!

 

[Feralpeg]

I'll be the odd man out on this one. I took Ambien CR for about six months. I did sleep well the first couple of months. After the first two months, it didn't work as well. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and have very vivid nightmares. At that same time, I started having terrible stomach problems. Over that six month period, I lost 30 pounds and I wasn't trying. I was sick. I also had what the doctor first suspected to be a stroke. It turned out it was not a stroke. I spent two days in the hospital undergoing a ton of tests resulting in a bill of $26k. In the end, the doctor believed it was all brought on by a reaction to the Ambien CR. I stopped taking it and all my symptoms cleared up.

 

[Aisling]

Is it safe to say that as long as you take it and lay down right away you will probably not have any adverse effects?

Yes, at least in my case. I know people who take it and proceed to eat, drive, order things on ebay, and don't remember in the morning. That's because they're not following the instructions. Take the pill on an empty stomach (or else it'll take longer to work) and go right to bed. If I have to go to the bathroom during the night, I wake up, go, and get right back into bed where I fall right back to sleep. It's a great medication when used properly.

 

[Brianne]

Yes, at least in my case. I know people who take it and proceed to eat, drive, order things on ebay, and don't remember in the morning. That's because they're not following the instructions. Take the pill on an empty stomach (or else it'll take longer to work) and go right to bed. If I have to go to the bathroom during the night, I wake up, go, and get right back into bed where I fall right back to sleep. It's a great medication when used properly.

The bolded part is a key thing for sure. I find it takes longer to work if I've eaten too recently or had a heavy meal, so I try to make sure I don't eat anything at least 3 hours before I plan to take the Ambien.

 

[teacups]

Do you know they call it a rape drug now?
Seriously without embarassing myself or my husband... lets just say I agree. It could easily be called something like that! You know how they say "Never say never"...? Well I NEVER thought you could sleep through certain things. Um... you can.

I refuse to take it now . Seriously, I am afraid of two things... being left in the house if it catches on fire... and, well, that other thing.

I dont like being that out of it.
I agree with the pp who said Benedryl. But the caps do nothing for me, I have to use the childrens liquid. Weird. I know.

 

[aprilgail2]

From my archives:



I took it for a week and, whilst it initially worked, it quickly became less and less effective.

One for the short term.



Rich::

My mom has been using ambien for I guess its close to 10 years now- she is still on the same dosage that she started with and it is still effective for her. We tried to switch to ambein CR just to change it up but that made her SO sick she couldn't even function the next day. So regular Ambein is what she will stay on for life.
She has never had weird dreams, sleep eating, driving etc. She takes a pill and off she goes. If there was a house fire I would be able to get her up since I have had to get her up other times and it was not an issue.

 

[Green Tea]

And to further clarify, dependance and addiction are very different. It is no shame if you are dependant on Ambien if you have a chronic sleep disorder.

Correct! An addiction is a physical craving for more of the drug. Ambien does not do that.

I would say I am psychologically addicted to the medicine. I am afraid I can't go to sleep without it. But I know that isn't true, because I can sure nap like nobody's business.

 

[livie1205]

Correct! An addiction is a physical craving for more of the drug. Ambien does not do that.

I would say I am psychologically addicted to the medicine. I am afraid I can't go to sleep without it. But I know that isn't true, because I can sure nap like nobody's business.

I can not even nap...

 

[Judy from Boise]

me either, unless I am ill. My mind will not turn off to allow me to sleep without the Ambien.

 

[Feralpeg]

When I see how many people just on this thread that must rely on Ambien to sleep, it makes me sad. Think of how many people there must be in this same situation just in this country. IMHO, it is a sad reflection on our society that people can't sleep anymore without the help of a drug. I'm not knocking the people in this position. I also have sleep issues. I'm just wondering how we got to this point.

 

[PrincessKitty1]

Okay now Im really freaked out and dont know if I will take it. Anybody take it and not see weird things?

I take it but I literally take a chip off the pill (like maybe 1 mg). It's very powerful! DH takes an even smaller chip than I do. We found out that DH's sister and brother-in-law also just take a tiny chip of it.

I know lots of people who use it and I do indeed know somebody who would eat, drink, and talk on the phone, and engage in relations with her boyfriend in her sleep. But most of the people I know who take it do just fine with it.

I am incredibly thankful for Ambien. I've had sleep problems intermittently my entire life, primarily when I'm under a lot of stress. I usually only take it once or twice a week, but I know it's there to help me sleep if I need it, and that alone is a huge stress relief!

 

[LBAK]

I guess people get to this point from a variety different reasons. I have been on it for several years (at the same dosage) due to physical pain from rheumatoid arthritis. I can't take muscle relaxers because I'm groggy the next day and I teach. I don't think that would go over great with the parents if I looked drunk when I greeted their 4 year olds. I'm sure there are thousands who need it for stress, some for hormonal reasons. While I get frustrated that I can't just sleep on my own I am greatful for sleep even if it's from Ambien. One day I hope to be sleeping peacefully on my own.

 

[gm]

I wanted to ask what do you all tell the doctors who prescribe sleep medicines. I have tried telling 3 different doctors that I cannot sleep at night. I actually fall asleep at 4 am in the morning most nights no matter how hard I try. They are reluctant to give me sleeping pills. Only one did with no refills and it was for zolpiden a generic which I finished a long time ago. The all tell me the same thing, diet and exerice. Yes. I have gained weight but still I want so badly to get a good night sleep.

PS. I have tried every over the counter medicine and nothing works for me. Zolpiden did a bit but did not knock me out which is what I really need to get a good night sleep. OH How I crave for it.

 

[LBAK]

My rheumatologist feels it's more important for my body to get a good night's sleep then the dependence of sleep medication. He prescribe's 10 mg. and I get 5 refills. I get a check up and my bloods checked every 6 weeks for my other meds so I am under careful supervision. I also use the generic and it does fine for me.