Zolpidem for Insomnia User Reviews (Page 5)

• Texas
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 7, 2023

Ambien (zolpidem) "I recently was switched from Lunesta to Ambien. Lunesta really wasn't helping much. Started Ambien a month or so ago and it's worked great! I try not to eat a big meal close to the time I take it. I also take it when I get into bed and I fall asleep. No staying up and trying to do anything. I take this on average 3 nights a week."

• Jbano
• Taken for 10 years or more
• April 8, 2019

Ambien (zolpidem) "I've been taking 10 mg of Ambien every night for years. There are no withdrawals. I've gone on vacation for 10 days and forgotten them. The worst thing I felt was not being able to fall asleep. But duh. It does not make you high. It makes you tired."

• Sleep...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 30, 2019

Ambien (zolpidem) "Ambien is AWFUL!! This is my first night on it, I was taking Lunesta. It is 3:47am right now and I am so upset - not only does it not help insomnia it makes it sooo much worse. It did not help me fall asleep, I woke up within the first two hours of taking it and have not gone back to sleep since then. Can’t wait for my alarm to go off!"

• Texjoy
• February 9, 2010

Ambien (zolpidem) "Although Ambien did the job to rid me of insomnia, the side effects were too frightening so I had to stop using it. I began sleep walking, sleep cooking--yes, an entire meal at 2 AM-- and I don't remember and finally sleep driving. I was stopped by a state trouper, in my pajamas on I-80 heading west at 11 PM. Don't remember any of it. Never took it again. "

• Liam
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 18, 2018

Ambien (zolpidem) "Been taking these for a few weeks and so far they are effective for making me fall asleep. I have never had any weird side effects like sleep walking, shopping, driving etc. I think if you take the recommended dose and steer clear of alcohol when taking them you should be fine. It seems when people don't heed that advice is when they run into problems. And like other people say you should starve for at least 4 hours before taking this medication as food (especially fatty foods) competes with Ambien."

• Mike
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 16, 2020

Edluar (zolpidem) "I love this formulation of zolpidem because when I used to take the oral pill form it would force me to not eat hours before taking it or it wouldn't be effective, took much longer to kick in, and in general the pill still 10mg, isn't enough to manage my insomnia. I've tried Lunesta, Sonata, Rozerem, Remeron, Seroquel, Zyprexa, Saphris, Restoril, Doral, Halcion and Trazdone. When I asked my psychiatrist about Edluar 10mg SL tablets she was excited to prescribe them and get some feedback from me on how effective it is. Turns out, Edluar 10mg gets me such great sleep compared to Ambien generic it's like I am taking an entirely different medication. Edluar, 10/10 for decreasing time it took to fall asleep 10/10 for keeping me asleep, and 9/10 for how alert I felt when I woke up in the morning. I feel somewhat not there for a few minutes but that goes away quickly. This Edluar stuff is a tough competitor to my Halcion (also super effective)"

• davephx
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 11, 2023

Ambien CR (zolpidem) "I have been on zolpidem ER 12.5 mg for well over 10 years. It is my miracle drug. Am age 76 with no major medical issues. It usually doesn't even make me feel tired or have less concentration. I wait 1 hr and force myself to bed. About as soon as horizontalish I seem to go immediately to sleep. I say "ish" since once was at about a 45-degree slumping pitch on the couch and fell asleep while on the phone with a friend. I have BPH but only have 1 get up to pee at night. I go right back to sleep even though I am beyond the 2.5 hr half-life. When I first started using it, I had slight amnesia on what I did just before going to bed. But that has not occurred for many years. Once while my regular Doc was away had another who "doesn't do for long-term use" I did extensive research and have peer-reviewed medical studies in NIH etc. for 3 and 5-year use showing no negative effects. One study said it improved sleep after longer-term use."

• Seattle...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 13, 2024

"I began using 5mg of Ambien in 2002 after flying to Europe and getting no sleep for 3 days. I began using Ambien 5mg and it put me to sleep within 30 minutes, with 7-8 hours. I graduated to 10mg when I traveled, which was often, and it worked beautifully. I developed severe tinnitus that was gradually getting worse. I switched to generic Ambien (zolpidem tartrate 10mg) in 2004 and have been using it as prescribed for over 20 years. I am now 76 years old, get to sleep right away, but am only getting 4-5 hours of sleep per night. I chalk it up to old age, not to zolpidem. I use it every night at the same time and it works for me. I used to drink moderately in younger days and had no ill effects with zolpidem interaction. I do not drink anymore, have co-morbidities such as high blood pressure, underwent open heart surgery to replace my aortic valve in 2018 and colon cancer surgery in 2020, and have used the same 10mg of zolpidem every night. It works for me and I will use it into my old age."

• Darden
• July 27, 2009

Ambien (zolpidem) "I have trouble staying asleep. I wake every night anywhere from between 12:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. and am up for the rest of the night. This medicine helped me sleep, but also made me very depressed. It made me very angry and upset most of the time. I took this for about 3 months, until I got to the point that there was something very wrong with me and it was the medicine. "

• Baz
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 26, 2020

"Not sure why doctors are so reluctant to prescribe this medication. Yet I'm offered antidepressants that cause dependency. Why? I'm not depressed. I'm just fed up with not sleeping. There's a big difference compared to clinical depression. Just give me Zolpidem for 10 nights a month that is all. It works great with no side effects. Maybe that's why doctors are advised not to prescribe? Because they can't add a few more meds on to it. Less money for big pharma."

• Anonymous
• November 16, 2008

Ambien (zolpidem) "I started taking this medication 10 years ago. My doctor told me it was non-narcotic and non-habit forming. Up to that time I had never had any addictions to drugs or alcohol, but unfortunately I am dependent on this drug for sleep. It does however work very well with few side effects and I wake up feeling refreshed. "

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 23, 2013

Ambien (zolpidem) "Works amazing! I have horrible anxiety and panic attacks which causes me to have insomnia as well. Tried just about everything for sleep. Works better than some benzos to for sleep! I know a lot about benzos. Been prescribed Ativan and Valium and this medication puts me to sleep better than those! Note this medication works similar to benzos. 5mg will work great to. You will sleep fine and wake up feeling great and functioning normal as can be. Overall great sleep medicine."

• psuzieq
• July 2, 2008

Ambien (zolpidem) "I have been taking Zolpidem (Ambiem) for about 6 months now. After I retired I found I could not fall asleep and when I did I woke up after 4-5 hours of sleep feeling tired all the time. This medication has been a miracle for me. I now wake up after 8 hours feeling refreshed with lots of energy."

• Pol...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 1, 2013

Ambien (zolpidem) "I was put on 10mg of Ambien after I was having trouble sleeping during a breakdown. I made the mistake one night of taking it and then answering the phone, I was on the phone for an hour.....Oh man, the cupboard moved all on it own,t hen they were strange people walking up and down the stairs in my house. Strange thing is I thought this was funny. I fell down twice, once breaking a little coffee table. Luckily for me my partner was there to help me up the stairs and put me to bed. I now only take 5mg about an hour before bed and it really relaxes me and makes me forget all problems. I don't have any trouble sleeping anymore as such just the odd night here and there."

• lissa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 31, 2013

Ambien (zolpidem) "I love it. I am a very restless sleeper, wake up almost every single hour then have a hard time falling back to sleep. The only time I could sleep through the night is if I drank a load of alcohol. Well, first I started out with half of a 5mg Ambien just to see how it would affect me, I slept a solid 4 hours, woke up, but it didn't bother me, I didn't get all upset because I woke up, and I easily fell back to sleep. So even 2.5 MG took the edge off for me. It depends on how good I want to sleep as to how much Ambien I take, last night I took 5mg and slept a solid 6 hours, got up went to the bathroom, slept another 3 hours, I don't have all the weird side effects. I feel like a whole new person taking this medication."

• Fred
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 15, 2018

Ambien (zolpidem) "10 mg worked great for about 3 weeks of nightly use but after a while I could not get back to sleep after waking in the middle of the night. This was probably stress for me and worrying about not falling back asleep. It should be noted though that this drug is classed as a short acting sleeping pill with a "duration of action" of 3 hours, so if you wake up early it's not that surprising. The CR version works for about 5-6 hours. The regular version does however do a good job at getting you to sleep. If your problem is both falling and staying asleep the CR version would be better."

• Anonymous
• July 18, 2016

Ambien (zolpidem) "People, be careful with Ambien. I was put on Ambien 10 mg back in late 2014, I recently stopped the medication told turkey. It's been a week since I quit, I have been having severe withdrawal. Nightmares, night sweats, and frequent urination are the most occurring symptoms I have been dealing with. Doctors seldom tell patients about drug withdrawals, which is why I am suffering from these problems. So, be careful before you take a new prescribed medication."

• Quaal...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 9, 2015

Ambien (zolpidem) "Works splendidly when first prescribed but over time loses it's effectiveness and one develops a tolerance to it's effectiveness. Due to it's short half-life in the body, it peters out quite quickly ( /- 2 hours). Would not recommend long-term treatment with this medicine (>6 months)."

• altur...
• January 2, 2008

Ambien (zolpidem) "I've taken ambien for years. I can honestly say I can't sleep most nights without it. It really works, but im codependent on it now. The generic for it, zolpedum, in my opinion doesn't work as well. I have chronic pain and can't sleep at night, this is why it was perscribed in the first place. I have also had amnesia."

• Melse...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 10, 2017

Ambien (zolpidem) "I absolutely love Ambien. Love it. However, building up a tolerance sucks, the drug testing sucks, having to have a doctors appointment monthly to get a prescription sucks, and knowing I'm taking something I know I could become dependent on sucks. No groggy mornings, if taken within a half hour of going to bed I can fall asleep easily, and a few funny text conversations to wake up to. I have tried SO many things and this is so far the only one that has even helped."

• Klblu...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 11, 2018

Ambien (zolpidem) "After having gastric bypass in 08, I ended up in hospital for a month. It took one of the night nurses to notice I never slept. He talked to other nurses and they noticed too but never said anything. They called dr that night n gave me an Ambien. I was in heaven. I've always had problems with insomnia. It kept getting worse, so I took 2 a night. I'm lucky if that works every 2 or 3 days n that only works for 4-5 hours. We tried the extended release, and if u can believe this, is worse. Maybe 2 1/2 hours. I've tried every sleep medicine, done so many sleep studies and no one has any ideas on how to help me at all. 7 days was the longest without sleep n ended up in hospital for the same amount of days. No sleep is the most horrible mind screwing thing ever. It's horrible, horrible, horrible and don't wish it on anyone!!!!"

• Karl
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 2, 2020

"I agree with other people who have taken this drug in that there is definitely differences between manufacturers. I'm in the UK & brand name Zolpidem is called Stilnoct made by Sanofi. I believe this is exactly the same pill that is called Ambien in North America & made in the same factory in France before being shipped around the world. This works great for me but I've also tried one made by Teva which whilst put me to sleep did not keep me asleep beyond 2 or 3 hours & this was a consistent thing. I've tried one made by Mylan & this worked better. So without a doubt there's differences in strengths. Some drug companies make Zolpidem better than others."

• LouLa...
• January 13, 2015

Ambien (zolpidem) "Ditto on rebound sleepless when discontinued. I have done very strange things with no memory including taking additional Ambien. It has helped me sleep when under extreme stress but watch out. Now I am trying to learn how to sleep naturally."

• Amabi...
• July 4, 2017

Ambien (zolpidem) "I love ambien! It is the only thing that works for me. A few yrs ago when I started becoming a worse insomniac nothing would work. I remember trying tylonal pm and at first one worked.. then had to bump up to two.. then so on and so on.. until one day I had taken way too many and a Valium and I still wouldn't pass out. I would be all drunk off the meds but it was like the light switch in my head wouldn't turn off. I slept maybe a nap here and there for about a week and was thinking of checking my self into a nutty house because I would drive somewhere without remembering all from lack of sleep. Very long story short ambien is the only thing to me that I take and feels like a natural lay my head down and go to sleep"

• Beth...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 30, 2016

Ambien (zolpidem) "Without Ambien I'm up literally all night. But if you don't take it on am empty stomach it doesn't work at all. I take it at midnight and can't eat after 5 or 6PM or else it won't work. If you try and stay up after it starts to work you may do things you wouldn't normally do - like shop online, which I've done and many people I know. Luckily everything I've bought is stuff I've wanted, but still..."