Ambien
Ambien is a sedative-hypnotic used for the short-term treatment of insomnia (difficulty falling or staying asleep).
More information
BEFORE USING :
Some medicines or medical conditions may interact with ambien drug. INFORM YOUR DOCTOR OR PHARMACIST of all prescription and over-the-counter medicine that you are taking. DO NOT USE Ambien if you are also taking ritonavir. Inform your doctor of any other medical conditions, allergies, pregnancy, or breast-feeding. Contact your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions or concerns about using this medicine.
DIRECTIONS :
Use Ambien exactly as directed by your doctor. Ambien WORKS VERY QUICKLY; take ambien sleeping pill right before going to bed. Use it only when you will be able to sleep 7 to 8 hours or longer. STORE Ambien at room temperature, away from heat and light.
CAUTIONS :
DO NOT EXCEED THE RECOMMENDED DOSE or take Ambien for longer than prescribed without checking with your doctor. Exceeding the recommended dose or taking this medicine for longer than prescribed may be habit-forming. DO NOT DRIVE, OPERATE MACHINERY, OR DO ANYTHING ELSE THAT COULD BE DANGEROUS until you know how you react to Ambien. Using ambien medication alone, with other medicines, or with alcohol may lessen your ability to drive or to perform other potentially dangerous tasks. CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR if you continue to have trouble sleeping or notice changes in your behavior or thinking. FOR WOMEN: Ambien IS EXCRETED IN BREAST MILK. DO NOT BREAST-FEED while taking this medicine.
DRUG INTERACTIONS :
Drug interactions can result in unwanted side effects or prevent a medicine from doing its job. Use our drug interaction checker to find out if your medicines interact with each other.
IF YOU TAKE TOO MUCH :
If overdose is suspected, contact your local poison control center or emergency room immediately. Symptoms of overdose may include difficulty breathing, clumsiness, slowed heart rate, and deep sleep from which you cannot be awakened.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION :
You may experience trouble sleeping for 1 to 2 nights after you stop taking Ambien. If it continues, contact your doctor. DO NOT SHARE THIS MEDICINE with others for whom it was not prescribed. DO NOT USE Ambien for other health conditions. KEEP Ambien out of the reach of children.
Ambien side effects:
Side effects for Ambien
SIDE EFFECTS, that may go away during treatment, include daytime drowsiness or dizziness. If they continue or are bothersome, check with your doctor. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist.
Ambien success stories:
Success stories for Ambien
I have found Ambien pill to be quite effective. However, after having used Ambien for three or four nights in a row and then stopping, I am plagued by vivid nightmares for at least several nights. They are so vivid that they awaken me. After a few nights, the nightmares cease. So, I try to take Ambien pills no more than several nights in a row at most.
I’ve used Ambien pill for several years (ok, about 8 if you want to know). Ambien doesn’t work quite as effectively as it once did, but I still think I’ve gotten a pretty good run from this med.
Yeah I know you’re not supposed to use sleep medication for more than a few days or so – since they may disrupt the natural sleep mechanism. But with the sleep disruption brought on by my CFS I quickly realized that getting a good night’s sleep was essential to any hopes I have of recovery.
I break a couple of Ambien 5 mg. tablets into thirds and take one or two pieces a half hour before bed. Since Ambien pill only seems to work for 2-4 hours for me I take a couple more pieces once or sometimes even twice in the middle of the night too. 10 mg. total. I’m careful to not let this Ambien amount creep up over time and my doctor seems to think that it is probably ok to use at this Ambien dosage. Weaning myself of it might be tough, and I sometimes wish I had never had a need to take sleep medications like Ambien at all, but of the ones I have tried Ambien is far and away the most side-effect free option.
At one point I was taking a total of 20 mg Ambien. a night and when I mentioned this to my doctor he said a very clever thing. He asked me how quickly I was falling asleep again in the middle of the night after taking another Ambien. “About 15 minutes” I said. He told me that it was unlikely that the medication had been absorbed that quickly (it probably takes closer to 30 minutes to take effect) and that I was really just using the Ambien in the middle of the night more for its placebo effect. When I realized this was true I was able to lower the Ambien amount I was taking back to 10 mg. over a period of a few weeks.
