AmbienCR

[XBritX]

Last year, I was a college freshmen and I had been on Trazadone for sleeping since the end of senior year. It started to not help me, especially when I was stressed out. The doctor decided to put me on AmbienCr in like December I think,l while was home visiting over Christmas break. At first it worked fine and I would sleep well. But I only slept if I laid down right after which is the scary part. I used to try to take it like an hour before I wanted to sleep, but then I started feeling the effects of what people are saying they get high with it. I would get blurred vision, I started doing things that I normally wouldn't, I cut my hair one night without knowing it, I was taken advantage of....well, after that happened, I quite taking it. Now I sleep fine. I hated AmbienCr and what it made me do. At first my mom didn't believe me. Then all these reports on it came out and now she does. I thought It was psycologically happening to me. But, I was told by people about what I had done. The thoughts of other peopled getting high from it scares me because I know what its like. It's not safe unless in the hands of the right people.

[Karen]

I'm glad that you got off it right away!!! Honestly though, I took Ambien CR and it didn't do anything at all to me. Not even make me sleep. It doesn't work like regular Ambien (zolpidem). Usually all the nastiness happens due to the side effect of sleep walking (weird phone calls, cooking, eating, driving). People are actually sleeping when they're doing it.
Getting high off it? Hmm. Well, you COULDN'T do THAT with CR. It breaks down differently than regular Ambien.
But, I'm most grateful that you went off before the "crazy train" kicked in!!!!
It's good to hear something good!
Bless your little heart!!!

[Ron]

I work the night shift and have used several sleep aids. I was recently prescribed Ambien CR and my sleep quickly turned into a nightmare. Last Saturday morning I took an Ambien and went to sleep. I awoke several hours later in the hospital with no memory of how I got there or what had occurred while I slept. While I was sound asleep, I called my wife several times and sent a few text messages. At first my communications were normal but after my text messages turned into gibberish my wife grew concerned and came to investigate. My wife found me in the kitchen, naked and drinking scotch. Sometime during this sleep walking episode I had taken a knife and made more than 30 cuts and scratches all over my arms and body. My wife could not communicate with me on any level, it was obvious that something was very wrong. My wife called for an ambulance and I was taken to the emergency room, my blood alcohol content was .17. After my senses returned I was told that if I didn't sign a voluntary 72 hour commitment for observation that I would be committed by the doctors. I spent 4 days in a mental hospital. I am 45 years old, have never used drugs and have been very stable for my entire life. It is my belief that additional warnings should be given to people using this medication and that it should be prescribed with much greater care. I will never use this or any sleep aid again; my personal nightmare is really just beginning.

[Karen]

Ron wrote:

nightmare. Last Saturday morning I took an Ambien and went to sleep. I awoke several hours later in the hospital with no memory of how I got there or what had occurred while I slept. While I was sound asleep, I called my wife several times and sent a few text messages. At first my communications were normal but after my text messages turned into gibberish my wife grew concerned and came to investigate. My wife found me in the kitchen, naked and drinking scotch. Sometime during this sleep walking episode I had taken a knife and made more than 30 cuts and scratches all over my arms and body. My wife could not communicate with me on any level, it was obvious that something was very wrong. My wife called for an ambulance and I was taken to the emergency room, my blood alcohol content was .17. After my senses returned I was told that if I didn't sign a voluntary 72 hour commitment for observation that I would be committed by the doctors. I spent 4 days in a mental hospital.

What a frickin' nightmare. You didn't need any commitment. Problem is that ER nurses and MDs are just too IGNORANT to recognize what the problem is. IGNORANT.

I landed in ER 4 times and my BAC was way high... even though I'd not drank that much. My MD is a good friend of mine so he swiped me out of the hell pit each time before it ever got to where you landed. The BAC is hard to explain but my MD thinks that since the liver is busy trying to process the Zolpidem (Ambien)the alcohol just kinda' cruises around in your bloodstream, hence the high BAC.

I am SOOOOOO SOOOOO sorry to hear that you went through this nightmare. 72 hour evaluation. How stupid can they get? It still baffles me that medical "professionals" don't see the signs of what is OBVIOUSLY to most anyone with braincells and even a mite sized amount of knowledge about Ambien that it is the Ambien causing it.

If I were you, and I'm not advising, just saying, if I were you I'd have that hospital's a** in a sling, the MD who, essentially forced voluntary commitment AND get an attorney (private, not class action) to go after Sanofi too.

Did your wife tell the ER personell that you'd taken Ambien? If so, you have a REAL good leg to stand on... and an even BETTER one if all they did was run a basic tox screen and not for the Ambien. Sounds to me like they ran a basic tox screen as they told you what the BAC was. BTW, on that note, a BAC of even .2 or .3 (way over legal) doesn't make people do stuff like that. Only drugs do.

You poor thing!

[Karen4Brit post correct]

In my original reply to you I wrote that I didn't think it would be possible to get a "high" as you referred to it off of CR. I don't think you get a "high" off any Ambien, at least I didn't.
But, I need to correct myself on something. If you have a lot of acid in your stomach or swallow it with orange juice, wine, soda, etc. The composition of the pill could, I think,(I don't know for sure... am speculating) might break down more rapidly and therefore effect one's self as regular Ambien.
It seems logical, at least hypothetically, that this could occur.
I took CR with wine once and with pineapple juice a few time (the bromelain in P.J. is to heal bruises... it's a meat tenderizer and eats bruises... mild hemopheliac here) and it didn't do a darn thing. Didn't make me sleep or anything.
Nothing but Ambien worked. But now, unless an Ambien pill grows to about 7 feet tall and 500 lbs. and barges through my door there will never be another one in here. Period.
I hope my posting wasn't taken in a way it shouldn't have been. I didn't think it through before posting but after Ron posted I started analyzing it more and if my (quite) novice assumptions are correct, then Sanofi needs to put even MORE warnings out.
Thanks for listening and hope you accept my apology if my post came off wrong. It probably did. But it wasn't intentional. It just didn't seem logical that CR would do that.
Take care & hope you're sleeping better and doing well!

[sleepy in nashville]

i have been taking ambien cr for about a month and i am experiencing some blurred vision and headaches (not bad) at the base of my skull. I also feel like I have some short term memory loss. I work in a dr's office and we do not have a perscriptiion drug plan and I had to give up my regular ambien for the samples of the cr available in my office. i am concerned that this medication may be causing more side affects without my knowledge of it. I have not done any weird things in the middle of the night, but i am concerned. i would like to hear more accounts of side affects. i am taking 12.5mg of this drug and i am concerned that the .625mg is not enough. i can't tell that the cr helps me to fall asleep, but it does seem to help with my inability to get a deep sleep (caused by sleep apnea). Please post any side effects you may be getting. Thank you, Lois

[Sharon Johnson]

I work 3rd shift and have trouble staying asleep longer than 3 - 4 hrs. I have taken Ambien occasionally. I fall asleep immediately but don't stay asleep. Today I got a prescription for Ambien CR. I will try it and see if it helps. Sharon

[B Gregory]

I have taken Ambien and find that I will wake up about 4 hours later. I switched to Ambien CR and sleep all night with no problems. I have no bad side effects from Ambien.

[Michelle]

I have been taking Ambien CR for about 2 weeks. It is so horrible. I called my former boss from 3 years ago and told him I would have sex with him if he paid off my credit card bill. I have no recollection of this, and the only reason I believe him (he called the next day, wanting to plan time and place for the tryst)was because I found his number on my "outgoing" call list from my cellphone. Last night, after taking the Ambien (12.5mg), I woke up today 2 hours from my house, at a hotel, absolutely no memory. I was alone when I woke up, the only reason I know I didnt have sex with any strange men (or former employers) is because my tampon was still in tact. I am horrified. My family would never understand that one sleeping pill could make me so uninhibited, reckless and dangerous to myself and others, especially by "sleep driving." As I type this, they are airing the Ambien CR commercial. Maybe they are advertising so heavily lately, so they can make more profit to pay off the class-action lawsuit that they deserve to lose! TERRIBLE, EVIL DRUG. I am not religious, but Ambien is the gateway with which the Devil (if there is such a thing) can do his work.

Karen wrote:

<quoted text>
What a frickin' nightmare. You didn't need any commitment. Problem is that ER nurses and MDs are just too IGNORANT to recognize what the problem is. IGNORANT.
I landed in ER 4 times and my BAC was way high... even though I'd not drank that much. My MD is a good friend of mine so he swiped me out of the hell pit each time before it ever got to where you landed. The BAC is hard to explain but my MD thinks that since the liver is busy trying to process the Zolpidem (Ambien)the alcohol just kinda' cruises around in your bloodstream, hence the high BAC.
I am SOOOOOO SOOOOO sorry to hear that you went through this nightmare. 72 hour evaluation. How stupid can they get? It still baffles me that medical "professionals" don't see the signs of what is OBVIOUSLY to most anyone with braincells and even a mite sized amount of knowledge about Ambien that it is the Ambien causing it.
If I were you, and I'm not advising, just saying, if I were you I'd have that hospital's a** in a sling, the MD who, essentially forced voluntary commitment AND get an attorney (private, not class action) to go after Sanofi too.
Did your wife tell the ER personell that you'd taken Ambien? If so, you have a REAL good leg to stand on... and an even BETTER one if all they did was run a basic tox screen and not for the Ambien. Sounds to me like they ran a basic tox screen as they told you what the BAC was. BTW, on that note, a BAC of even .2 or .3 (way over legal) doesn't make people do stuff like that. Only drugs do.
You poor thing!

[diane mattingly]

I HAVE BEEN TAKING AMBIEM FOR OVER A YEAR NOW. I ONLY TAKE IT THREE OR FOUR TIMES A MOUNTH. I CALLED THE DR. LAST WEEK TO SEE IF I COULD START TAKING AMBIEN CR SO THAT I COULD STAY ASLEEP LONGER. I TOOK IT FOR TWO NIGHTS THE NEXT NIGHT I DIDN'T TAKE ANY. THE NEXT DAY AFTER LUNCH I STARTED FORGETTING THINGS.SOME OF TNE THINGS MY HUSBAND SAID I HAD SAID I COULDN'T BELIEVE. HE THOUGHT I WAS HAVING A STROKE. HE TOOK ME TO THE HOSPITAL AFTER ABOUT A HALF HOUR . THEY RUN TEST A MRI AND A CAT SCANE AND EVERTHING WAS OK. BUT I STILL COULDN'T REMBER ANYTHING. IT SCARES ME TO THINK WHAT I PUT MY FAMILY THROUGH AND WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED IF I HAD GOTTEN IN THE CAR THAT MORNING AND STARTED TO FORGET. I HOPE THIS LETTER AND ALL OTHER LETTERS CAN HELP SOMEONE BEFORE THEY START TAKING AMBIEN CR.

[Phillip]

I've used Ambien CR 12.5mg on and off since April 2006. The doctor told me to take one at bedtime for the first 7 days..then as needed..well I would have vivid dreams..some nightmares..like I'd never had before..one I was fishing with some friends in the mountains..and a bear charged me and killed me..it was so real I woke up wet from sweating and it was only 68 degrees inside. I usually take Ambien CR 12.5mg twice a week usually..when I need to sleep and can't get to sleep without it. I was talking to some friends on yahoo messenger one night..and didn't realize it till the next day when they asked me what was wrong with me last night..and I didn't remember anything..I guess my spelling was so bad they couldn't make out any of my words..but I was just typing away..and didn't make any sense..I guess I also mass emailed everyone with more jibber jabber chicken scratch..and never remembered it..I know this is true because I sent it to myself..so I seen what I had done..I've never went out for a drive while under the influence though..just in bed..and I guess I talk to my wife more often with my eyes closed..just as if I was awake..I do awaken fresh and feeling energized the next day..I have no real complaints with it..except that I wouldn't take it if I was alone..just in case the house caught on fire or something..someone would be here to help me out.

[K for Phillip]

Your dreams aren't abnormal on that drug. I've had what are called "night terrors", where you cannot wake up. You might at moments know you're in a dream but then think no, I've passed out, I'm in a hospital, get me out of here and start screaming in your sleep.

The e-mails... shoot... I couldn't decipher the ones I sent while on that stuff to save my life. I must have been typing something but don't know what the heck it was. Tried the FBI type of thing of going back a charachter or so and trying to figure if my fingers were in the the wrong place as I KNEW I was doing it in my sleep. But... no such luck.

And, yep, I've left doors unlocked and wide open taking it because I was scared to death the house would burn down, the dog would die, I'd drop dead in my sleep... the whole nine yards. That didn't work out too great as my neighbors saw fit to call the fucking police all the time. Sorry for my terminology... but I've been here 15 years and everyone knows I have some issues but am totally harmless. 6 times in the last year since these MFers moved in I've had cops in my house. Not just cops... but try getting dragged off to the hospital and then calling your BF to have him go over to make sure your dog is ok but only to be told that the house has been ILLEGALLY searched, furniture turned over, drawers dumped out... the whole goddamn nine yards.

That one day my BF came over and put my tiny 4 lb. dog down off the bed which she can't get off of herself and was stuck up there. He called me back in ER and told me the house was ripped to hell. Another friend came to take me home a few hours later and sure enough... ripped to hell.

Take that drug and it does bizarre things and if you have assholes for neighbors your life will be HELL.

Now the house is all locked up tight constantly... except when I'm not home, BF has a key in case of fire so he can get my baby girl out. But it DOES make you paranoid. But rightfully so. I have so many scars on my body from sleepwalking and smashing into things and cooking and burning myself and almost burning the house down it would make your HAIR STAND ON END.

I am NOT KIDDING. I'll tell you what else... to add credibility, DEA is breathing down my neck right now because I started gettting it overseas because that (generic) doesn't have that effect. I did that on my M.D.'s advice. But I can pretty much guarantee they look at evey goddamn thing I type. I just learned this 2 days ago. B4 that, I thought I was someone anonymous posting to help other people with this Ambien problem.

BUT NOOOOOO. Our government wants us to spend $190 for 30 frickin pills that will make us nuts instead of allowing us to get what our M.D.'s say we should have even though it's not available in our country.

I am sorry... but I've been through hell with this. I've finally dug out but it was hell to do so. I will help you if you post your e-mail address. I can't post mine for obvious reasons. But if you post yours I WILL respond.

[K for Phillip]

Forgot one thing... you said that you talked to your wife with your eyes closed, that was dreaming, not sleepwalking. People have seen me sleepwalk and said I act and look like I'm wide awake except I ignore them unless they approach me then I will get, well, not violent, but scared, and push them and so forth.

I don't remember a SINGLE time I've done it been know it's been over a hundred.

[K for Diane]

Not unusual either. ER people just are NOT educated on the drug. I would, honestly, if you don't have full insurance or even IF you do, write the hospital and tell them what the problem was.

CAT Scans and all that crap they do to find out if you have a tumor or something that's making you act off the wall.

If you noticed, after about 3 or 4 hours you're normal again and the nurses ask "how come you were acting so nutty and now you're completely coherent" and they probably would (if they are competent and that's an IF) it's because Ambien has a very short active half life. Active meaning the time it affects you, not the time it's in your blood stream which is more like about 8 or 10 hours. They are too stupid (sorry... but that's the only term I can use for so called medical professionals that don't recognize something that is SOOOOO widespread now that they don't check before performing $5,000 worth of shit that is easy to determine with a blood test).

I've been THERE done THAT too. I don't have insurance and my credit is fucked because of it... even though I KNEW what the issue was and no one would listen to me. Just forced the tests on me... of course with negative results... it was the Ambien. I'd be up hopping around in no time and there was only ONE nurse I remember who seemed to figure it out.

I still refuse to acknowledge the bills. My credit is f-ed but I refuse adimantly to pay for REFUSED tests. I knew what was up.

[lou ann]

ambien cr is a terrible drug lots of side affects such as no sleep headaches nauesa stomach aches and weird thinking very dangerous give us back the original ambiem make it in stronger doses come on this is not rocket scientist stuff stop takeing away meds that work this med actualy cause insomia i expereience this every night.

[Lisa Beth1005]

My gosh, to all your stories, it's a nightmare. I take Ambien and HAVE to to sleep, even if it is just for 4 hours. How do we ween off?

[Cliff]

Wonder drug. Lunesta didn't do anything at all. The antihystamines left me tired all the time. Ambian worked for 2-3 hours.

The CR is really just great.(I did have one weird experience where I talked to my kids and ate an entire loaf of cheese bread and then asked them what happened to it the next day).

Take it and go to bed.

[Dee Tulsa OK]

I have been taking Ambien CR for a couple years. I have such acute insmoni that the dr gave it to me and told me to take it every night! Honestly if I don't take it I don't sleep at all. Yes somethimes I do strange things-the wierdest is clean my kids rooms and talk alot or say silly things. You definately need to take it and go to bed. And I don't drink alcohol butplease people don't drink! My problem now is my dr prescribed it to me and told me to take it everyday but my insurance won't pay for it anymore! Now I don't know what to do? All the over the counter stuff makes me wide awake!! If anyone has any ideas let me know!

[mary mcdonnell]

see, i find that it helps actually. my husband and i have had a less than exemplary sex life. my husband has had trouble sleeping and his doctor prescribed ambien. also he has occasional bouts of ED so he has a prescription for viagra too. he took some of the viagra one night but nothing happened and so he got ready for bed and took the ambien. needless to say in the middle of the night he got really really frishky and had an amazing erection. boy, did i get taken advantage of and boy oh boy did i love it. and he 'slept' thru the whole thing. a bit more forceful than i ever had from him, but he stayed erect for at least an hour!! and the next morning he had no recollection of it at all. but he wore me out and i was the tired one! and i didnt need any ambien to get some sleep after that. i even snuck him some viagra in his evening meal and an ambien even before his normal bedtime and it happened a few more times. thank god for pharmecuticals!

XBritX wrote:

The doctor decided to put me on AmbienCr. At first it worked fine and I would sleep well. But I only slept if I laid down right after. I used to try to take it like an hour before I wanted to sleep, but then I started feeling the effects of what people are saying they get high with it. I was taken advantage of.

[kathy]

I have taken Ambien for 3 months now I have a pain issue and it really helpd me sleep. I have had no side effects I just hope it keeps working long term. Has anyone taken it long term and if so did they have to up the dose.
Take care all.
Kathy S.- California