Can Ambien cause amnesia?

Hi to everyone-

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I have been prescribed Ambien for insomnia for well over a year now, and believe me, all of the stuff that everyone on this post is talking about does not surprise me one bit. Ambien is in the sedative/hypnotic class of drugs, so it is similar to benzos, but is also very different in some ways. Ambien WILL cause severe memory loss. Some mornings, my family has told me crazy tales of things I did and said all night, while I thought I had been asleep the whole time. And it wasn't like a fog like a morning after drinking when you can remember bits and pieces, and then someone says, oh, and you did this, and you're like, oh yeah! No, ambien causes TOTAL memory loss. When I was told that I fixed food, played with my dog, played the piano, talked to my family, made some more food... it was like I was being told a story. You remember nothing. It's very scary. If you are ever with someone who has taken Ambien, please don't leave them alone if they are still awake. This drug throws out rational thinking all together, and also does cause hallucinations, visual disturbances, or whatever you would like to call them. Logic doesn't exist, and there also have been times where I and others I know who have taken ambien feel like other people are with them when they are alone. I can tell you tons of crazy stories that my best friend and I have from taking this substance. Anyway, if you have any questions, please write back. I know I'm not a pharmacist/doctor/expert on drugs, but this one I am pretty experienced with. One way to get rid of the memory loss is to go to bed right after you take it. It is very fast acting, within 10 to 15 minutes, and if you're up doing something, you will FORGET to go to bed, and then you'll stay up and do crazy sh!t all night that you don't remember. Also, please, PLEASE, make sure that if you or someone you know is going to take it and stay up, have a sober person there with you. Happy sleeping!

I had a similar experience last night (01/25/2010). Apparently, if you use Ambien, you are particularly vulnerable to amnesia if you are awoken within an hour of taking the drug. Last night, about an hour after I took a 10mg dose, I sneezed in my sleep. My wife, who was still awake, said 'God bless you' and when I did not respond, she looked at me and my eyes were open but I was unresponsive. She thought that I was 'stroking-out' and called 911. Five minutes later there were 10 emts, police and fire types in my bedroom asking me if I knew who I was, what year it was, what year was I born and who the woman in the room was. They took my blood pressure and listened to my heart and deterimined that I was fine. They left after 20 minutes. I have absolutely no recall of this event, not a hint, glimmer, nothing.

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I know it happened because all my neighbors rang my doorbell this morining to see what was going on late last night! I have been taking Ambien for over a year and this is the first experience I have had like this. I am VERY concerned about using it again...

Yes you are not alone. I actually just googled "Ambien Amnesia" in order to provide (or prove) information to someone else. You see last week I had a date over, we had been drinking just a little and had settled in to watch a movie. I accidently took an ambien instead of a muscle relaxer that I've been taking since a surgery (stupidly yes they were in the same bottle). This man and I are relatively new to dating each other so having sex was on the DO NOT DO list. I found out in the morning that not only did we have sex... I was indeed the initiator. What he told me sounded so unreal though I saw no reason that he would be lying to me about this. It took me hours of dismay and tears until I figured out the mix up.

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Though this was the first time sex was involved, there were other times in the past that I would get up and do things like bake among other things. In the morning I would have no memory, just the mess from the night before left in the kitchen and being that I lived alone... there was no one else who could have made it.
I know that the drug lowers inhibitions so your husband is likely seeing a very wild side of you. But on the upside... he is your husband and someone you can trust and not be utterly embarrassed with as he knows the true you.

I would suggest talking to your doctor to taper off of the Ambien. From my past experience when I was taking it regularly for pain and need of sleep, I was not able to simply stop cold turkey. In addition to advice on how to taper down inquire with you doctor as to other options that do not have the amnesia side effect as well as being highly addictive. Other natural options such as melatonin might be an option once you have tapered off.

Also encourage your doctor to report this as an Adverse Event to the pharmaceutical company. I will be advising my PC the next time I am in as though my situation was embarrassing and put an end to a new relationship. It could be much much worse for someone else.

Pharmaceutical companies need to be alerted as they are then required to add the information to the Prescibing Inserts as possible or common side effects.

Last night I had some hallucinations. When I open my eyes, I see things deformed and moving at me. My room is in different patterns and when I try to touch it, it would sneak away from me. Apparently I came to my mother's bed and told her that I wanted to sleep with her. After I lost my water bottle and persisted to tell her that it was full. I remember dreaming about something and talking out loud. When my mom woke me up, I told her "sorry" and went back to sleep.

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All I know is that when you take Ambien, you must be in bed, with your lights off, trying to fall asleep. I have a bad habit of watching TV after I take it, and I'm sure that's why I get this way. MANY have experienced the same issues- hallucinations, sleep walking, sleep talking, etc... it's just a matter of not relaxing when we're suppose to. In fact, it says to make sure you sleep 7-8 hours otherwise you may have memory problems. It simply slows down your brain. For those who are suffering from complete memory lapse, I think you guys might want to change your medication. This medicine is a hypnotic... it's suppose to completely slow down your brain. Just like some get active when taking Benadryl, they do the same with other sleeping medications. When I give my kid Benadryl, he gets super hyper. When I take it, I'm down for a few hours.
Good luck you guys!