Ambien User Reviews & Ratings (Page 5)

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 17, 2013

For Insomnia "I have taken this in addition to Benadryl for the last five years and noticed that it seems to work within 20 or 30 minutes as opposed to Benadryl which takes about an hour. The problem is if you take it too early before going to bed you may miss the window period and lie awake in bed restless. I've never had any of the adverse side effects like weird dreams or sleepwalking but it also seems to wake me up eight hours after taking it regardless of the time. It's probably the best as needed medicine for insomnia but would not recommend of an everyday basis."

• Anonymous
• December 11, 2012

For Insomnia "I took my daughter to dinner during which she mentioned our ride to school that morning. I asked what she meant. She told me I had given her a ride to school that morning. I have no recollection of taking her to school, leaving the house or coming home. It was a surreal experience and after reading the reviews here I have decided to stop taking the medication. It does help with sleep but driving in a black out is too scary for me."

• Anony...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 6, 2016

For Insomnia "I've been taking Ambien (10mg) off and on for years. It tends to stop working if I start taking it too often, so I have to take breaks from it periodically. That's the only negative thing I have to say about it. When it works, it works perfectly and I've experienced no side effects."

• Katzpur
• Taken for 10 years or more
• June 25, 2018

For Insomnia "Ambien is a miracle drug, in my opinion. It can become addictive and you can build up a tolerance for it, but that doesn't have to be the case. It happened to me several years ago when I was taking 10mg each and every night over a period of several months. During the past two or three years, I've been taking a maximum of 5mg a couple of times a week. More often than not, I break a 5mg tablet in half, and that does the trick. I have not become addicted to it again. I simply take the pill about 15 minutes before going to bed, and then I drift off peacefully and sleep soundly until morning. When I wake up, I don't feel drugged or still drowsy. I feel refreshed. When used sensibly, Ambien can be a godsend."

• Oh Baby
• October 20, 2009

For Insomnia "My husband loves that I take Ambien. He's never been happier. The amnesia that accompanies Ambien really works in his favor, if I wake up in the morning and he's smiling I know I have forgotten something (something really important :) But for me it's the best night sleep ever. I do have Ambien amnesia so I have to be careful. The Ambien CR has a two hour hole in the middle of the night for me. For two solid hours I'm wide awake. Zolpidiem is the generic form and I have found I have to take a higher dose than the name brand. Insurance demands generic. I have been taking it for 10 yrs."

• Vanise
• August 22, 2015

For Insomnia "I take 5 or 10 mg depending on the day. I love this med. it shuts my mind off so i can sleep. I've tried cutting out caffeine using allergy meds herbal type sleep aides and Tylenol pm....the crap doesn't work. Ambien is only thing that's worked and I've never done anything dangerous or weird on it"

• just...
• June 9, 2008

For Insomnia "I have been taking this drug for a few months now. I had a severe accident at work so I have severe nerve pain and found that taking ambien helps me sleep at night, but it does sometimes like others have said make me forget what I did after I took it but I have lots of energy the next morning."

• Devx
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 20, 2013

For Insomnia "I suffer from both sleep onset and sleep maintenance insomnia. My doctor recommended that I take 5 mg (half a dose) of Ambien prior to bedtime. In terms of overriding sleep onset insomnia, this product is excellent. It also does a good job of keeping me asleep throughout the night; however, I still wake up approximately five to six hours later. (My ideal amount of sleep is seven to eight hours). Still, getting six hours of uninterrupted sleep is preferable to eight hours of fitful sleeping. It's also worth mentioning that Ambien doesn't leave me feeling groggy in the morning. Unlike some of the other reviewers here I haven't experienced any of the more pernicious negative side-effects, e.g. the various somnambulist activities."

• pjryder
• July 16, 2015

For Insomnia "Take it on an empty stomach, or it won't work. I have terrible insomnia and have been on it long-term. It still works after 15 years. It had some initial side effects, but they went away after a few months. It works very well, but I gave it eight stars only because you have to take on an empty stomach. If I eat a late dinner, I can count on it not working. Otherwise, it's the only medication that has helped me sleep. I take 15-20 mg per night."

• Lynda...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• March 20, 2017

For Insomnia "After years of being a zombie I found a psychiatrist who prescribed it for me and I changed into a functioning person. I've never had a bad experience. I only take 5 mg a night, 10 if I wake up in the middle of the night. I never take more and about half the time 5 mg is enough."

• Dolly
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 7, 2013

For Insomnia "I have been on a fairly high dose of ambien (20 mgs) for periodic limb movement disorder which a sleep study showed woke me up over 100 times per night. I've been on the same dose for over fifteen years. Before I tried this, I was given over thirty different medications over two years, none of which really worked. This is what works. It works pretty well still, helping me fall and stay asleep, and I haven't noticed any side effects except midnight snacks and very mild memory haziness (I can still remember what happens, it's just muddy, like waking up in the middle of the night). Recently, my doctor told me the FDA had suggested I drop to 5 mg a night. That dose would never work for me, even when I started it. It's safe and still works."

• ErinF
• December 27, 2015

For Insomnia "You can do things and not remember them. You will tell awful stories about squirrels jumping out of glass boxes, and say things to your spouse/significant other you don't mean if you try to TALK while on this drug. So by all means do not take until the very last thing before sleep, i.e. you are in bed, ready for sleep. It kicks in super fast and you won't know what hit you. You only get 5 to 6 hours of sleep on Ambien but you feel rested with no druggie zombie after feeling. Note to single parents taking this drug: you will be worthless in an emergency situation and helpless to assist your children in a fire, a break-in, a trip to the ER at 1 a.m. (never drive on this drug!!!)"

• Achil...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 24, 2019

For Insomnia "I’ve been using Ambien two to three nights a week for 6 months now (due to split shift at work). Have had no side effects like I’ve heard about. Doesn’t make me groggy when I awake, unlike other sleep medications like Unisom. Puts me asleep within 20 minutes, I stay asleep for 8 hours. Few times I woke up after a 3 hours, but that’s rare. Very helpful if you have a hard time sleeping."

• Ambie...
• August 25, 2017

For Insomnia "I work in a hospital with long hours that can vary between days. When I finally got home and needed to sleep, I'd be kept up with adrenaline from the shift. I started Ambien and was pretty happy with it. I would be out like a light for a solid 7-8 hours and wake up 100% refreshed with no hangover side effects like I get with benadryl or melatonin. You might wake up and eat something weird some nights and not remember but I just look at it as entertainment... 10mg/night...stay up for about an hour and get the "high" people say and then put yourself down for some incredible relaxed sleep."

• Chronic...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 27, 2016

For Insomnia "Wow, I guess I'm in the minority because I found that Ambien was completely worthless for me. I tried 5mg, 10mg, & even 15mg & never could fall asleep. Didn't even feel tired. Seriously, it was like a sugar pill. I don't know why so many people like this stuff...I guess my brain is different from everyone else's...story of my life!"

• write...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 16, 2019

For Insomnia "My oncologist (I'm fighting cancer) prescribed Ambien for me, as I'm going through a period of intense insomnia. I used it for two nights. As I fall asleep but wake up at three or four--unable to get back to sleep--I took it upon waking in the middle of the night. Ambien puts you out--you don't know you're falling asleep, and then you wake up. Three hours later! This is a short-action drug. Waking at 7 or so, I was intensely groggy. As I tried to get up and start my day, I felt odd and not in a good way. My nap later in the day was a drugged sleep. Last evening, I was irritable and felt feverish. I've put the Ambien away. It is far too chemical a drug for me, and my body is already dealing with heavy medications."

• Anonymous
• November 5, 2012

For Insomnia "My bipolar disorder triggered severe insomnia and so my doctor gave me Ambien. It worked wonders. First few nights taking it I saw double/blurry and then just knocked out, got AMAZING rest, woke up refreshed. Overtime I had some sleep walking/talking/eating episodes. One time I woke up and ate a batch of cookies and another time I made some midnight hot dogs. I would wake up feeling unusually bloated, haha, that's why. One time I took the Ambien and decided to take a quick 5 minute hot shower afterwards, well, my husband told me he caught me talking to the shampoo bottles. So weird! Listen to the directions, take once you are lying in bed, unlike me. You wont remember a thing. Once I swallow the pill, I don't remember anything after that."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 18, 2012

For Insomnia "Ambien is something I have very mixed feelings about. To be honest I was hooked on it the first time I took it. It took me a year to realize this. It is an extremely subtle dependency that develops, but eventually it will stop working. When it stopped working I started feeling like I didn't get quality sleep at night at all and was dizzy all the time. I think it has a very subtle withdrawal that many people might not understand. Terrible, I will be up for 3 days straight at a time, it's been two months off of Ambien and I sleep worse now then I ever did before I had it. My advice is take it EXACTLY as it's prescribed no long term."

• Ldywe...
• August 20, 2008

For Insomnia "I am a poster child for Ambien and have been taking it for 2 months now and it has been a life saver. Without it I would average at the most 3 hours sleep and that was after fighting sleep for about 6 hours."

• Donna...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 9, 2016

For Insomnia "I have severe insomnia. My therapist prescribed me 10 mg Ambien as a short term solution. I was so amazed and excited to SLEEP! Within 20 minutes, I just fell asleep and it was so wonderful. She had warned me of sleepwalking. But I told her "that was impossible because I had never done that in my 65 years of live"! In my 5th week of taking Ambient, I woke up with the taste of blood in my mouth, a loose tooth, a skinned knee, and bruised shoulder. Yes, I had walked in my sleep, sat in a chair and fell out of it face first. Luckily, one of my granddaughter's was spending the night and witnessed the incident. So, if you are naive like me and think it cannot happen to you, please think about it. Good luck "

• RanOu...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 26, 2015

For Insomnia "I was in a horrible car crash Sept. 7th 2014, I was air cared to UC, I was in ICU for 9 days and remained hospitalized 3 months. I never used to have trouble going to sleep but since my accident I will lay in bed hours, on really bad nights sometimes its all night, with my eyes closed trying to fall asleep but I just can't. I believe being on a dilaudid drip for so long during my hospital stay then morphine and oxycodone for a while plays a big role in my sudden insomnia, also I was diagnosed with GAD 6 years ago which I'm sure sometimes adds to my trouble sleeping. ZzzQuil or Benadryl helped some at first but now neither help at all. Finally was given Zolpidem 10mg and I LOVE it, I fall asleep and sleep all night. Definitely recommend it!"

• nigel...
• January 19, 2009

For Insomnia "I have taken Ambien, on and off, for several years. I have bipolar disorder, resulting in a chronic sleep problem. 10 mg/day works well for a few months, then I become habituated. I have tried increasing to 20 mg/day, but I eventually become habituated to that dose as well, and neither I nor my doctor will go to a higher dose. Nothing else works as well, so I usually struggle along for a couple of months, then go back to 10 mg/day of Ambien. The other problem I've seen is that I CANNOT mix it with alcohol. I learned the hard way. I had "waking blackouts" after I'd had a couple of drinks. People told me of things I'd done, of which I had no memory of. "

• danic...
• July 15, 2018

For Insomnia "Ambien saved my life. I’ve suffered from severe panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and Phobias since I was 5 and 6. I was also diagnosed with ADHD when I was 11. The anxiety has come and gone and I have been on 25 MGs. Of Zoloft for years. Well, I’m 21 now and thought that I could get off my anxiety meds about a year ago and boy was I wrong. It was fine for about a year but in December something snapped and I was in a full fledged panic mode. I couldn’t eat or sleep or even function. I felt like I was dying. Anyways, my dad used to take ambien for travel and he happened to have some left. I was in a fit and was bawling cause of sleep deprivation and he’s like here, take half of one of these. I took my first 5mgs of ambien and I could sleep! I cried when I woke up cause I started to feel better. I then got my own prescription and eventually I didn’t need them and I went back to normal. I have some in case of emergencies, but I don’t need to take it every night."

• Rando...
• May 2, 2010

For Insomnia "I love this medicine. I have delayed sleep-phase disorder and I've been using Ambien for the last five years. I learned pretty quick that I have to take it and go lie down; the first time I took some I thought "Well, I'll go have a quick bath before I go to bed." My husband says I wandered in an hour later talking about how the bathtub faucet changed into a raven's head and we (the faucet and I, that is) had a very long and profound conversation about the Harry Potter novels and the social implications thereof."

• Antho...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• April 19, 2017

For Insomnia "I've had chronic insomnia most of my life, I took ambien 10mgs for 6 yrs it helped me so much to lead productive life, sleeping at night waking up in the morning with really no bad side effects, I don't live in the US anymore and ambien isn't available I think due the bad rap it gets by complainer"s, while people like myself who have benefitted from it aren't as likely to review a drug, they haven't had a problem with - just human nature. I've tried a whole host of anti-depresents & other sedatives 7-8 none are as effective and have more side effects than ambien"