Ambien User Reviews & Ratings (Page 3)

• Suffe...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 4, 2019

For Insomnia "I've read almost 100 opinions, positive and negative. For those that have lack of results or side effects, you should verify if you are taking the name brand Ambien. The generic Ambien was absolutely terrible. The brand name Ambien, directly from the manufacturer, was excellent. I asked my PCP to specify brand name Ambien, and it made me change my opinion to a positive one overnight. I'm a stage 4 congestive heart failure patient, on CPAP, with a fear of sleep, problems with my CPAP mask, COPD, pain, and insomnia too, but I'm alive. I have not experienced any side effects from name brand Ambien, it's been 2 years now. I tried many other meds, but nothing else worked for me. I take 10 mg Ambien as needed PRN too. It works for me."

• Kayka...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 25, 2013

For Insomnia "Lifetime insomnia. 5 mg Ambien is good for me. One half hour before bedtime, I take 5 mg, turn off the TV, put books aside, computer is off, and I am in bed. Generally wake up 7 hours later thanking the sleep Gods for a good night!"

• Morgan...
• June 7, 2014

For Insomnia "I have GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and bipolar disorder. I've been on Seroquel for three years. I kept having to increase the dosage to help me sleep, as well as to keep away delusions and such. I was at the point where it wouldn't help me sleep at all. I'd take it at 10 and go to bed when the sun was coming up. I tried Ambien 10 mg last night for the first time. I fell asleep in one hour. I was out! I slept a good 10 hours. Amen for Ambien."

• Debbi...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 27, 2014

For Insomnia "Ambien has been a huge help to me. I have horrible hot flashes whenever I try to fall asleep and end up awake all night. When I take half an Ambien, I am able to fall asleep and I do not feel tired or out of it the next day. I am so grateful for this medication. It has helped the quality of my life substantially. I've never experienced the side effects others mention, I simply fall asleep."

• Nessii
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 27, 2019

For Insomnia "I've also been on this medication for about 10 years on and off. It can be highly addictive for some. From experience, I started with 5 mg, which worked great! I was finally able to get 7-8 hours of sleep. After 1 year, I noticed it wasn't working (I was only getting 3-4 hours of sleep), so my doctor prescribed me 10 mg. I went back to getting a good night's sleep, but after 2 years it wasn't working again and I went back to getting less sleep. I decided to take 1½ pills (15 mg) but it still wasn't working. I felt very groggy in the morning and couldn't remember certain things, which worried me. I decided to stop completely and experienced really bad withdrawals. I began to have seizures and ended up in the hospital, now I have to take anti-seizure meds. So my suggestion to you is: don't take this medication for a long time, it's only meant for short-term use, and do not take more than prescribed. Now I take a sleep aid that's not a controlled substance. There are other options other than sedatives/hypnotics that work."

• Sugar...
• March 10, 2019

For Insomnia "I have to say, for me, Ambien was the holy grail of sleep medicines out there; and I've tried quite a few, from OTC to prescription medication. Since about 6 months ago, I had a horrible, horrible case of insomnia. Wide awake at night but crash for a few hours in the day and be right back. Same dreadful cycle all day, every day. Meanwhile, in that time, I had gotten ZzzQuil, Unisom, 10 mg of melatonin pill, tablet, and liquid form. Equate sleeping pills... that's just the tip. I can't remember all the names, but it goes down the line with OTC medicine. Then, when I saw my doctor, he first tried Vistril. NOPE, like taking candy. Then trazodone, still nothing. He tried me on Valium, Xanax, Valium, and Klonopin, and I did not like those from the very beginning. But he still wanted to try. See, I don't like taking controlled substances but wanted to see if it would help. Next, Belsomra-nope, nothing! Ambien is the best sleep aid so far."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 13, 2013

For Insomnia "Have been taking Ambien as needed for about a month. It's worked almost flawlessly and very reliably each time I've taken it, and I've experienced no negative effects. It's a very calm, peaceful transition into sleep. I used to dread bedtime because my thoughts raced constantly, but this drug has provided a very satisfactory solution. All in all, a quite safe and reliable solution to insomnia."

• dondo
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• May 16, 2017

For Insomnia "I'm a 68-year-old male, and I've taken this drug for almost 10 years, and it has helped me enormously. I have had no side effects, yet, my doctor now says he wants me to get off it. I asked why, and he said Ambien is dangerous. After 10 years, now it's dangerous? I now am cutting down to 1/4 of 5 mg, and it is not working. I asked what options do I have, and he said, 'natural sleep is best.' Thanks, doctor."

• Cants...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 19, 2019

For Insomnia "This Ambien doesn’t work for me at all. I took 1 pill (10 mg) on an empty stomach and waited an hour, and nothing happened at all. So then I took another pill (10 mg), and still could not sleep. Only thing that happened was I felt a little foggy."

• Fetus
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 25, 2019

For Insomnia "Never worked for me... took up to 30 mg on an empty stomach... did nothing. I even went to another pharmacy to try a different brand to see if that made any kind of difference. Never even yawned. Strange as this works very well for many people. Lunesta and temazepam both worked great for me, though."

• Dano
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 1, 2018

For Insomnia "I suffer from high anxiety and insomnia. I have tried many sleep aids, both OTC and by prescription. Nothing has helped. Ambien is the only sleep aid that helps calm me down so that I may sleep soundly. It works very fast. I have been prescribed the 5 mg and 10 mg. The 10 mg I usually break in half. The prescription is only for 14 days. Belsomra and Trazodone did nothing to help me. Ambien has been a lifesaver."

• John...
• May 19, 2015

For Insomnia "I love this stuff! It's improved my quality of life immensely. I used to wake up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep. I now take 5 mg at bedtime, and I still wake up after about 4 hours, but then take another 5 mg (I cut the pill in half) and fall right back asleep for another 3 to 4 hours. I've been taking it for 2 years now, and it still works as well today as the first day I took it!!"

• Misty...
• January 10, 2014

For Insomnia "I've been taking Ambien for about 8 years now due to chronic insomnia. Multiple medical issues have caused most of the problem with not sleeping. I already have 3 fusions in my neck (one of which is falling apart and causing a compressed spinal cord that my NS is trying to avoid further surgery on so that I don't have to have rods in addition to the screws and plates that are already in there), plus I have laminectomy from L2 to S1 with bulging discs, fibromyalgia, bone-on-bone arthritis in both knees, and I also need both hips replaced. Oh, there are also a couple of bulging discs and bone spurs in my cervical spine in addition to the problems already mentioned. I have never had any side effects or trouble with the Ambien at all."

• Miche...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 25, 2019

For Insomnia "I’ve had horrible, horrible insomnia for years. I’ve always just laid in bed with my mind racing for hours. It took a big toll on me mentally and physically. I’ve been on Ambien for over 2 years, and it’s a true lifesaver. I take it every night. If I try to go to sleep without it just to test it, I can’t sleep. No side effects with this medicine. I wake up just fine in the mornings."

• ona...
• November 17, 2013

For Insomnia "This medicine works to get me to sleep and stay asleep. However, I quickly become dependent on it and can't get to sleep without it, so I can't take it as needed. Also, I noticed that I seem to need larger doses rapidly. My insomnia issues are generally manageable if I avoid caffeine and don't eat too close to bedtime."

• sleepy...
• April 3, 2008

For Insomnia "I've taken this medication three different nights now and honestly, I haven't slept this deeply in ages! However, from the time I take the medication to the time I get to sleep - I have no memories of this time period the next day. Also, if I am sleeping and someone wakes me up after I've taken the Ambien, I won't remember anything the next day from being awake at the time. Really upsetting to my boyfriend the next day..."

• Bubsie
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 8, 2014

For Insomnia "It helped me sleep, but I did the most bizarre things while I should have been sleeping and had no memory of them the next day. I initiated sex with my husband twice and had no memory of doing so, called and ordered things that I had no use for from some shopping networks, and even gave out my credit card numbers to open an account. This stuff scares me, and I quit taking it. Worried about what I could do next!"

• Kevbo
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 9, 2019

For Insomnia "Have been having insomnia for about 45 days related to some family stress. Used trazodone with some success. Then it decreased in effectiveness, and I was getting maybe 3 hours. Went to Ativan, and it worked some days and some days nothing. Back to trazodone, hoping for 3-5 hours of sleep. My NP suggested Ambien. First night last night. I was a little nervous. Took it and slept 7 hours 50 minutes without interruption. Night 1 would give it more stars if I could. The question is how long it lasts."

• Liz
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 20, 2013

For Insomnia "After a car accident where I suffered a head injury, I had horrible insomnia worsened by pre-existing fibromyalgia. Nothing over the counter was working at all to help me sleep. My doctor put me on this. When it works, it's awesome. I cannot have any food on my stomach if I want this to work, though. I don't take it until I've washed my face, brushed my teeth, and am actually in bed for the night. That's the trick! I hate that the FDA cut the dosage by half for women - the lower dose doesn't work for me because I'm big and tall. Weight makes a difference in this medication's case. Not everyone sleep-drives or sleepwalks on this."

• Jkano
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• September 9, 2019

For Insomnia "I've been taking Ambien on and off for about 9 years, and it almost completely doesn't work for me anymore. Does someone know of something that I can add to it to renew its ability to work for me again? I really liked it when I first started taking it. Really bummed that it's like eating Tic Tacs now."

• Anonymous
• June 23, 2015

For Insomnia "Be aware, take this medication and immediately lay down! The first night I took this medication, I was up apparently, I don't remember! So I was told, serving myself a shot, eating, requesting weird sexual favors, and having conversations and answering myself, and had no memory of all these fun festivities the next day. Lol, thanks Ambien, lesson learned. My boyfriend had a blast, though!"

• llcmal
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• October 5, 2013

For Insomnia "I have many incurable diseases that are very painful. One of those is called fibromyalgia. When you have fibromyalgia, you rarely, if ever, go to stage 4 sleep. Without Ambien, I can be awake for 2-3 days. In pain, exhausted, crying, and not able to sleep. I have been on all OTC medications for sleep. I have also tried Ambien CR (which for some reason doesn't work at all for me), Lunesta, Sonata, and chloral hydrate. (For those who don't know, chloral hydrate is VERY strong). None of those worked. Ambien does!"

• Barb
• Taken for 10 years or more
• April 30, 2019

For Insomnia "I have taken 2.5 mg of Ambien off and on for 20 years. It has saved me as I have insomnia and cannot sleep more than 3 or 4 hours a night. I take Ambien in the middle of the night and feel rested with no side effects in the morning. I am 81 years old and feel tired if I have only 3 hours of sleep. I take Ambien several nights a week so I am not exhausted during the day."

• Chuckie...
• December 9, 2016

For Insomnia "I was prescribed Ambien for insomnia. It later became a problem as I continued to build a tolerance for it. I am no longer taking and have been off the medicine this week. Following are reasons that I stopped taking it. I lost my job, got arrested, picked up a felony charge for prescription fraud, among other consequences due to my dependency on the drug. In short, DO NOT TAKE ANY FORM of Z -PILLS. I lost a very good job with the government and can no longer return to the job due to Ambien and Lunesta. I have a master's degree and still cannot find work due to the felony charge. Please take it from me, this drug will progressively ruin your life. It should be taken off of the market."

• Dont...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 14, 2016

For Insomnia "On the business class sleeper seat plane to NY, the last conscious thing I remember after taking Ambien was my head resting on the pillow about an hour after the meal service and then waking up in bed in the apartment. How did I collect my coat and things, aware to pack the airline amenity kit and water bottle into the knapsack that was in the overhead bin, deplane and walk far to passport control, use the passport kiosk that requires me to type in on the touchscreen, Thailand, and collect the customs printout and then go to a carousel and collect my bag among all the other bags revolving around, hand my printout to the customs agent and find where to catch the Newark airport bus in the winter cold. How long did I wait for the bus? Did I open my suitcase inside the terminal to take out my sweater, scarf, and wool knit hat to wear-all which were packed in the suitcase? Upon waking up in the apartment, the sweater was on the couch, the scarf on a chair, and the knit hat in my knapsack. Once on the bus, I had to have reached in my pocket for my wallet that had my return bus ticket. The ticket wasn't in my wallet in the apartment. Once off the bus at Port Authority, how did I hail a taxi, put the stuff in the trunk, and tell him where to go? My credit card statement indicates I swiped the card to pay for the taxi home. Once outside my apartment, I had to reach into my knapsack for my keys attached to a clip and open the door. The keys were found on the coffee table when I woke up in bed. My coat and jacket were on the bathroom floor indicating that once inside the apartment I rushed to the bathroom. I obviously opened my suitcase as it was found wide open and a box of anti-congestion and a bottle of allergy pills that I remember packing in the suitcase in Bangkok were now found on the kitchen counter. From remembering my head on the airplane pillow to waking up in my bed, everything is a blank, hours blank."