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Global Patient Feedback for Ambien (Zolpidem) ( Post a comment )
Question/Comment:
Check for drug interactions
55 year old Female
Posted: 2008-03-10 00:00:00
Question/Comment:
it works 99 percent of the time. On occassion, if upset, it will not work
58 year old Female
Posted: 2008-03-10 00:00:00
Question/Comment:
This was the first medicine that did not make me feel sleepy when I woke in the morning. I can plan on being sleepy enough to go to sleep in about a hour after taking it and I stay asleep. I use to wake 3 & 4 times a night. I don't anymore. Thank you Ambien!
46 year old Female
Posted: 2008-03-10 00:00:00
Question/Comment:
start soon and sleep the sleep of angels!
59 year old Male
Posted: 2008-03-10 00:00:00
Question/Comment:
Have alot of sleep time available before you take it.
38 year old Female
Posted: 2008-03-10 00:00:00
Question/Comment:
I would plan on takingn the med about an half hour the first time until you know about what time it would take effect
52 year old Male
Posted: 2008-03-10 00:00:00
Question/Comment:
I have used zolpidem for possibly 5 years, I have been satisfied with the results for just as long. I would question any new warnings re: this drug. Find out if this is a drug that can be used on a permanent basis, if necessary.
62 year old Female
Posted: 2008-03-10 00:00:00
Question/Comment:
Is there a risk taking this with oxycodone?
30 year old Female
Posted: 2008-04-15 07:19:07
Answer/Reply:
In general, the pain that justifies oxycodone frequently leads to sleep loss. Sleep loss is very bad for recovery. Being on Ambien for a short time can hasten your ability to heal by allowing you to rest/sleep. In general, standard Ambien is for falling asleep, Ambien CR is for staying asleep.
IF YOU TAKE EITHER VERSION OF AMBIEN WITH A MEAL YOU MAY NOT GET TO FINISH THE MEAL. It seems to work MUCH faster when taken with dinner.
If your pain is keeping you awake, take the medications as directed by your physician and you should be fine. Be aware of the side effects and be watchful for any signs of problems. Don't do like my mother and decide the Ambien isn't working fast enough so another one...or two...or three...or five must be faster. That was nearly enough to do her in with her heart history. If you need fast, eat when you take it.
You should worry about the combination ONLY if you have unintended side effects or if you find yourself taking them when you no longer need them.
53 year old Male
Posted: 2008-04-21 22:37:49
Question/Comment:
I have been talking ambien cr for about a year. i have been having some of the problems others have wrote about. If i plan on talking it before bed like 1 hour i feel very funny like something is weird. my head bobs divernt ways and my hands feel like there tingly and like there is no blodd at all in my fingers. my eyes are acting weird too there moving all over the place. there not calm like usally. i keep bliking at lot. i close my eyes and my head dances. When i stand up im very wobbly. my heart rate is upp.
I was put on this medicine for anxiety. My anxiety proplems are at night time. 1 doctor told me to go for a walk. yeah right like i'm going walking by my self at 3 in the morning. Be4 when i was taking it a lot i did have weird ass dreams. i try to take theme when i have to. trying not to tak them everynight.
26 year old Female
Posted: 2008-03-31 00:34:46
Answer/Reply:
That sounds pretty scary...I think I would talk to my doctor about those side effects if I were you, if you haven't already.
44 year old Female
Posted: 2008-04-11 04:35:25
Question/Comment:
At what dose are side effects most prevalent?
59 year old Female
Posted: 2008-03-24 07:16:10
iGuard.org Answer/Reply:
can the drug interfere with normal breathingzolpidem zolpidem
Posted: 2008-07-01 01:13:42
iGuard.org Answer/Reply:
70 years old enxiety with planic also have some difficulty breathing and shakiness
Posted: 2008-07-01 01:18:27
Answer/Reply:
Any dose greater than 10-12mg may cause unwanted side effects. Some people can take 1/2 of a 10mg pill (5mg) and that is sufficient to get them to sleep. There have been physicians giving patients the option of taking 1-2mg for anxiety, with very good results. At these low doses, Ambien is not very addicitve at all.
33 year old Male
Posted: 2008-08-04 19:36:51
Question/Comment:
I have been taking Ambien 10 mg for about 3 years now. I take it as directed by my doctor and I have no problem with it. He told me that when I take it, to make sure I was already in bed and not be up waiting a while for it to take affect. This way when the meds start to work, which is very fast within 15-20 minutes you will just go to sleep. It is a hypnotic type drug once you get out of bed your not going to remember doing things. So far I have be fine on it. Could be my body chemistry can handle it where some can't.
If I were having the problems on it that others are stating, I would try the AMbien CR first then if that is not working I would surely talk to my Dr. about something else. I would worry about not being safe in my home at night and worry where I would end up in the morning. Sounds really scary to me.
Good luck finding the right med for you.
51 yr female
from Georgia
53 year old Female
Posted: 2008-03-21 08:01:33
Answer/Reply:
It sound like you need to try another medication for sleeping. Perhaps neurontin, or lyrica both which are being prescribed off label as sleep aids. They are not addictive and have very minimal side effects. If not that, try a lower dose of Ambien, maybe 1/2 tablet, or even 1/4 tablet. Other options would be low doses of Valium.
33 year old Male
Posted: 2008-08-04 19:40:22
Question/Comment:
I've been taking it for about 6 months I couldn't stop thinking at night. it works great for me unless I fight it then I start seeing things, almost like on acid or something. but hey sometimes that can be fun.
31 year old Female
Posted: 2008-03-20 03:36:17
Question/Comment:
Has anyone taken this with Xanax. I am afraid to take both due to the fact that they can have adictive habits
48 year old Female
Posted: 2008-03-05 21:22:54
Answer/Reply:
I have,it knocks you right out.. atleast it did for me especially since Xanax is a strong medicine. I used to take it when I would have panic attacks. I haven't taken it in years so I don't know how it would react to Zolpidem since it's what I take now instead of actual Ambien.
27 year old Female
Posted: 2008-09-14 18:58:02
Question/Comment:
I have been taking Ambien for years now and have the WORST nightmares all night long ! My doctor keeps assuring me that the length of time i have been taking it is harmless, but i don't know. I have become completely dependent on it for sleep as i suffer from insomnia terribly.
Unfortunately I have experienced the amnesia more often than not, whereas i will only remember something that i said or did at night the next day only if reminded. There have been a few times when i have woken with dirt all over me, only to have my neighbor ask why i was out weeding at 3am, so i am careful to take it only when heading for the bed. I also seem to raid the fridge at night without remembering and have gained weight ! Am going to have to wean off soon, tired of being so dependent. Good luck to others and sweet dreams !
44 year old Female
Posted: 2008-02-06 16:49:07
Answer/Reply:
My daughter took Ambim for about 3 yrs. befor her death, (asperiation in her sleep). She woke up one morning with the police knocking on her car window. Her car was in some schrubs in from of a bank. She had no memory of getting up or in the car. She was given a ticket for intoxdication by durgs or booze. It took her months to get that ticket off her record and not pay a fine of $300.00. Her drs ( she had three) wrote letters and she even had drug testing done. But she finally got rid of that mess.
She would giver her keys to her daughter, so she couldn't drive at night or any time without her. Ambim is dangerous, maybe you should try Ambim CR, it is much better.
62 year old Female
Posted: 2008-02-20 13:34:15
Answer/Reply:
Hi,
I was having the same problem with my Ambien i have been on it over a yr. My Dr. told me to take it 1 hour before going to bed.You could try cutting dose in half..If all else fails just lock thr door and put chains on fridg...lol sorry guess thats not much help
43 year old Female
Posted: 2008-02-24 23:35:32
Answer/Reply:
I've taken Ambien for at least 10 years & not for sleep. It was at 1st, but I soon found out, by accident, that it actually helps me during the day, to stay alert, focused, evened out. Basically, it works for me like Prozac works for other people. I have fibromyalgia, chronic mayofascial pain, chronic fatigue, bad anxiety, cluster phobia, social phobia, OCD really bad & lots of other stuff. I don't have any problems with the phobias or the OCD anymore. It just puts me where I need to be, day or night. I take Trazodone for sleep tho. The problem is, Ambien has a very fast on-set, that's why if you're taking it for sleep, you should take it when you're in bed, it only takes 10-20 minutes to kick in. I have to take 5mg every 3 or 4 hours. No more than 8 doses in 24 hours. I get thle 10mg & break them in 1/2. Thank God they finally make it in a generic form cuz it was costing me over $500 a month! My insurance covered it for like 4 years, then out of nowhere, they just up & decided not to cover it anymore! They cover 30 of them a month now w/a $50 co-pay so between that & the remainder of them, it's around $150 a month now. It does so much for me that I don't mind paying for it. I've seen several Dr.s in all different areas of specialty, they've all agreed that it does me so much good that I need to stay on it. I also saw on GMA that there's a guy in FL or something like that, where he's pretty much a vegetable but he makes a lot of noises at night, so the Dr. gave him Ambien & he literally started coming out of it! He talks & makes sense. It's crazy but for some of us 'weirdos', it does remarkable things. It's not easily tollerated by all tho, some people such as my own 22 year old daughter, can NOT take it at all. It can cause nightmares, getting up in the middle of the night, amnesia, etc. I've never had that but I'm rather backwards, obviously! Lol. I'd say to anyone, go with your gut & if you're worried about ANY of it, see your Dr...
Just wanted to share that~Good luck to everyone :)
41 year old Female
Posted: 2008-02-27 18:53:35
Question/Comment:
I've been taking Ambien CR for about 6 months now. For the first couple of months, I slept like a baby. Since then I usually get about 6 hours of solid sleep, then on and off until I wake. I only take it during the week to ensure that I get enough sleep for work. I do not take them on the weekend, kind of a personal thing I guess. Odd thing is, on the first night I don't take them I have trouble sleeping and wake many times through the night with tons of odd dreams. The second night I just have trouble sleeping all night but do not dream.
38 year old Male
Posted: 2008-01-31 20:11:37
Question/Comment:
Been taking ambien for several months and also have the wierd dreams but not disturbing just kinda vivid and funnish wierdness. ALSO has some amnesia of programs i had watched on tv just before bed.
No amnesia as of late but the dreams have become disturbing nightmarish probably due to a ton of stress or interaction with other meds that have been prescribed.
50 year old Male
Posted: 2008-01-24 11:14:21
Answer/Reply:
i do to get the amnesia from the ambien too. one night me and my husband was getting ready to whatch a movie. I took the ambien. Started whatching the movie and got really tired and layed down on the couch to whatch some of it. I donk know how much of the movie i did really what of the movie. The next day my husband was talking about the movie we had watch. And i couldn remember what movie we were whatching and i couldnt remember anything else i had done that day too.
26 year old Female
Posted: 2008-03-31 00:17:06
iGuard.org Answer/Reply:
I've also lost memory of shows I watched the night before. I take 10mg Ambien but I may break them in half if I know it may be a fairly good night (not as much trouble sleeping). If I take a whole pill I will forget most of what happened the night before. Even a fun night with my husband, won't remember it or will think it was just a dream. Little scary! As for the dream, I too have very vivid dreams...very weird and vivid.
Posted: 2008-10-08 16:46:37
Question/Comment:
I started taking Ambien after my second baby was born. Insomnia, something I have suffered from most of my life, becames worse during my second pregnancy. But recently I have noticed if I try to skip a night with a pill, I can't sleep all night until finally in the early morning when I'm so exhausted my body gives up. And I will experience very strange disturbing dreams about my life.
32 year old Female
Posted: 2008-01-20 14:26:00
Question/Comment:
I experience loss of words when speaking, loss of short term memory and very tired when I awake in the morning for work. Also, I have wierd dreams sometime not all the time. It does help my insomnia but so does benedryl. I just started taking zolpidem generic for ambien 2 months ago. I think I will ask my doc to switch me back to benedryl.
44 year old Female
Posted: 2008-01-19 15:53:01
Question/Comment:
I use Ambien because I am taking Chantix, non-smoking drug. One of the side effects of this drug is insomnia. I have no problem sleeping, my problem is I wake every hour. The Ambien helps me to wake less often (once or twice). My job requires that I get up at 5:15 a.m. and I need at least 6-7 hours sleep. I take Ambien 30 minutes before bedtime. I cut a 10 mg pill in half, taking only 5 mg, because I noticed that taking the 10 mg caused me to feel dizzy and I'd stagger by the time I would go to bed. I felt that was to much, and have had great results helping me sleep with just the 5 mg. The Chantix program is for 12 weeks, when I have completed those pills, I plan to also stop taking the Ambien. I have NEVER expierenced doing things I do not remember while using this drug. But I will be on the look out for any significant side effects.
59 year old Female
Posted: 2008-01-14 18:07:07
Answer/Reply:
"I have NEVER expierenced doing things I do not remember while using this drug."
How do you know? If you don't remember them.......You COULD be doing things and just not remember it.
40 year old Female
Posted: 2008-04-19 16:11:31
Answer/Reply:
lol...if you are married or living with ANYONE...they will tell you hilarious (and sometimes scary) stories about what you did that can't be remembered. I've been known to make some really ridiculous dishes that otherwise I wouldn't touch (bananas with mustard for example).
32 year old Female
Posted: 2009-01-13 03:33:43
Question/Comment:
I am careful to use this drug only when there is someone in the home that knows I am taking it and I get into bed as soon as I take it. I have done things that I do not remember doing if I stay up after taking it.
71 year old Female
Posted: 2008-01-01 16:39:10
Answer/Reply:
I also make sure I take ambien and go to bed, tend to do odd things if I stay up. Found out that i can take 1/2 pill also and it works as good as a whole pill.
48 year old Female
Posted: 2008-02-14 00:02:27
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