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Q. What do you know about the sleeping pill Ambien?A friend of mine has been taking it occasionally for years. The other night she took one and when she awoke the next morning, she saw signs that she had done things during the night but had no recollection of doing them. She was so alarmed that she crushed her pills and threw them out.
A. We have heard from many others who report unusual behavior after taking Ambien. One woman wrote that her husband began sleepwalking after taking this sleep aid:
“He woke me saying there was something terribly wrong with the computer. I got up and found coffee spilled all over the desk and the cords to the keyboard and mouse cut with scissors. He did not remember doing this.
“On another occasion, he thought that someone had kidnapped his brother and put him in the trunk of a neighbor’s car. He’d gone out in his pajamas and jumped up and down on the car, screaming for someone to let his brother out. He had smeared chocolate pudding on his face like a commando. The neighbors called the police and we had to pay the damages, nearly $1,500.”
Many people use Ambien safely, but others don’t tolerate it. Anyone who would like to know more about this sleeping pill and other sleep aids, including non-drug approaches, may want our new Guide to Getting a Good Night’s Sleep.
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About 10 yrs ago, while hospitalized with an extreme stomach virus, I was given Ambien the first night. I dont remember anything, but my wife stayed all night in the room with me.
About 30 minutes after taking Ambien I was ready to go to sleep. But, I talked all night and after getting out of bed and urinating on the wall air conditioner and my wife and a nurse helping change my wet gown, the nurse put an alarm on my bed. I set the alarm off every 30 minutes all night. After 8 hours I sat up in bed, wide awake and didnt remember a thing I had said or done.
My husband battles chronic insomnia and regularly used Ambien. At first, he had no problems, but then he began to do odd things that he couldn't remember later.
After awhile, he started having suicidal thoughts. He went off the Ambien for a couple of weeks and all problems went away. Then, he tried Ambien again, and the suicidal thoughts returned, so now he no longer takes it. He uses Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and has found that to be much better.
The CBT for insomnia program at http://www.myselfhelp.com/ has really helped him to get a good nights sleep without any medication.
I was given Ambien after surgery to help with the insomnia. It gave me horrible nightmares and hallucinations. Once everything I looked at was out lined in hot pink glowing tubing. And I mean everything, eyes, mouth every hair. And I was awake. Horrible horrible stuff. I was told by my dr that it reacts like that at times. And that it CAN not be given to a person with mental/neuriogical problems of any type.
I have fibromyalgia and was prescribed Ambien. It is typical for prescribing doctors to prescribe an antipressant for fibromyalgia in order to get REM sleep and I opted not to take the antidepressant because I am not depressed.
I have been on Ambien for ten years. Suddenly I am having unexplained neurological symptoms. Has anyone seen any relationship to Ambien ? I actually weaned my self off of the Ambien but had to go back because of the neurological pain. Beware! Ambien has a psychological drug dependance factor because you WANT to sleep.
I began taking Ambien 3 weeks ago and was relieved to get a good nights sleep. However, I am now haunted by suicidal thoughts and will quit taking it. How long until the thoughts go away?
My husband is very agitated and aggressive while taking Ambien, even during the day. He has been taking Ambien for 3 years now. He takes ambien and it takes him an hour to fall asleep. In the mean time he does rude things and says things that he doesn't remember. He sleeps for 10 hours a night and still takes naps on the weekend. I have asked the doctor to take him off this so-called "temporary sleep drug" for years now. Still waiting. He has since developed IBS.
I had taken Ambien for years. Then I switched to Lunesta. A week or so ago, I was having trouble going to sleep on Lunesta so took one of my husband's generic Ambien (don't know the name). A few days later, I noticed a red circle around a wart on my leg. I was terribly bothered by the wart but the "freeze-it" stuff (OTC) I used once did nothing to it. Day before yesterday I noticed an irregular red circle around the wart. It looked as if that "freeze" stuff had been used on it. I don't remember using it but do remember something about having a dream about it. Then I looked in the drawer and the stuff was out of its box!! Now the wart has come off so I must have used it in my sleep. This is horrible!! What will I do next??? I will STOP that drug immediately!!
My fiance tried to kill me while taking Ambien. He began taking Ambien in which he had full thirty day supply and does not remember taking but one when he went to bed. He had gotten up several times during the night but I thought he was just using the restroom. I then woke up to him on top of me with a knife and telling me he was going to kill me because I had not mowed the grass(we live in a apartment building.) I called the police and they arrested him after a big struggle in our home. He does not have any memory of this event, and only remembers waking up in jail.
Why is this drug even available to give out to anyone who is not in a locked facility with someone watching them for a medical experiment?
My husband was on revolving shifts at his job and took Ambien every night and day to help him sleep and now he is gone by suicide. I can't help but wonder if it was the Ambien because he was asked a few times what he was thinking and he said you don't want to know.
I have been on Ambien 20 months with many eating and phone conversations before or after falling asleep I do not remember. I also have suffered from depression for 10 years. The ambien definitely increased the depression and suicidal thoughts come in episodes the day after taking it. My doctor has taken me off the ambien. We'll see if the suicidal episodes go away. (I am currently in touch with my doctor on a daily basis.)
I am so sorry to hear about your husband. I have a friend who had been taking ambien because she was under an intense amount of stress... her daughter had been ill and recently had an organ transplant, dealing with a job while caring for an ill child, and her husband recently lost his job. Although she was under a tremendous amount of stress in her life, she was normally a positive, upbeat person. She had lately become forgetful, forgetting to do things she normally did and she often commented on how tired and stressed she was.
On Oct. 31, she committed suicide. While there was a tremendous amount of stress, no one could have imagined she would do this. We too wonder if the suicide was related to this medication.
A dear friend of mine took his own life last week. No one had any inkling of this coming. He seemed happy and was even making plans with friends the very day he died. I learned he had been prescribed Ambien only three weeks ago and cannot help but believe that is what killed him. That is why I searched the web today and found this site.
I just came from the funeral of a great man, a great father, grandfather, and business associate. In the room were 200 sobbing people including a wife of 34 years. I listened to stories of his life and times and felt the love for someone who was truly regarded as someone very special, someone with everything to live for, someone who lived life fully and savored every day. He took his own life at 64. This act was so unlike the man remembered it does not seem possible. He was taking Ambien. Does the warning on the bottle even make up for a single life needlessly lost?