How Many Ambien Patients Get Up At Night And Remember Nothing?

[tree tree]

a friend of mine has just been taking ambien for about a week. he called me a few nights ago making little sense in his message. i called him back and he managed to tell me he's been prescribed ambien instead of what he used to a take for sleep--clonzepam. but, again he was more incoherent than i've ever heard him before, but did say clearly he had taken a higher dose than recommended and was thinking of taking the entire bottle because 'people like him shouldn't exist'. i live far away from him and was so worried that i called the cops. he clearly had no judgment. he slept through their knocking. i worried all night if he would be alive next morning. he called me the next morning more chipper than i've heard him for a while--surprised and kind of amused because i had asked the cops to do a follow-up on this the next morning, and he did answer the door for them, having no clue why they might be there. that's the scary thing--- he has absolutely no memory of how much ambien he took to begin with, and also, no memory of thinking about or telling me that he was tempted to take the rest of the bottle in order to die. really, he sounded so happy in the morning, and he was so sincere that he didn't feel suicidal at all, and that he wasn't going to kill himself. but i am worried that even if he's happy in the day, the ambien zombie will come out at night and bring him to his death. it's horrifying, and i don't know what to do about it. i've warned him and his family about the danger, but no one seems to care. do i talk to his psychiatrist who's prescribing this stuff to him?

[marvin]

to treetree:
go to his house, get all his ambien, flush them down the toilet. tell his family, friends, doctors, etc. keep doing this until he can't get them anymore. this stuff needs to be banned.

[tree tree]

Brian wrote:

It is kind of silly to keep taking this medicine if you are having ill effects from it. There is not any kind of a high or anything else from it. it just puts you to sleep.
Switch medicines and see if they do a better job.
Don't ruin this medicine for the folks that have insomnia and need it.

that's not necessarily true. ambien is used recreationally because it can, for some, induce a psychedelic/euphoric/trippy high especially if taken not for the purpose of sleep...but some people experience a 'high' when they take it before bed as well.

also, people who have addiction problems can get addicted to this drug, being misled by unaware doctors and dishonest makers that it is 'safe' and not habit forming to those that are easily susceptible to addiction... it's not a glass of milk drunk before beddy-time... it is a potent hypnotic drug...

also, some people can use this drug for a while before it becomes a problem. i have another friend who used ambien for a few years as prescribed until one early even he realized the entire day's worth of going to work and socializing had not been registered in his memory--and he had to verify his activities with his friends and co-workers. he's a chronic insomniac w/out sleep aides, but this really freaked him out. now he has quit using ambien altogether...

they really need to work on it further to make it less likey to cause these blackouts of consciousness, and the crazy behavior that can happen during that time. it is creepy. i know 3 people who have used this drug. out of the 3, 2 have experienced memory blackouts on it, with 1 of the 2 openly contemplating suicide while in this out of control state of...that's a bad average.

[Ann0257]

asher hake wrote:

yes, Amb. eating seems to be a common experience. I have cooked while asleep, and I usually eat bad food, like junk food, or butter. Once I stir fried Cheeri-os in butter. I also found marshmallows stuck in the computer. I have no memory of any of this. If you want to stop using, talk to your MD.

OMG your account of finding the marshmallows in the microwave gave me the best laugh I've had all day!!!!!!
I totally understand:)

[Ann0257]

tree tree wrote:

do i talk to his psychiatrist who's prescribing this stuff to him?

Tree - there are HIPPA laws in the U.S. protecting people's privacy. His doctor's office wouldn't be able to discuss this with you.

[tree tree]

i just talked to my friend the other day. he went through something that he thinks has pushed him to stop taking it. he clearly remembers taking one ambien, but woke up the next morning to see that the remaining 3 pills in the bottle had been taken as well..he has a few flashes of memories from the night after he took the ambien, but not much at all, except for the evidence left around his house. he went to brush his teeth next morning, and found a partly empty bottle of whisky where his floss should be. this prompted him to recall vaguely getting in his car in his pajamas the night before, and going to the liquor store, although he remembers feeling 'blind' while driving, he also remembers not really caring about feeling like he couldn't see...he also noted that he must have been up late after driving to the liquor store and returning home becauuse he had rearranged the furniture in his house and had done alot of cleaning, but has no memory of it...just woke up to the evidence of all of this activity the next morning....

[tree tree]

and he also made some phone calls that evening (one being to me), that he can't remember...

[soc789]

where can i get a joint in southern Ca?

[Brooklyn]

Well, I personally think drugs like ambien should be removed from the shelves. Our daughter was scripted it in the fall of 2008 and was also depressed in the late winter of 2009 the PA scripted her Lexapro- she had not stopped the Ambien so taking the 2 was like a lethal cocktail. After some personal problems this spring and improper management by her healthcare provider she took her life by shoting her self in the heart with a pistol. And no one wants to hear how dangerous these dam drugs are.......... you can get them on line with a script. Who are you people kidding. No one other than a licensed doctor or menatl health care provider trained in mind altering medication should script these drugs and FOLLOW ups should be required before refills are given out!
JMO- one of a grieving mother who will never see, touch or hold her daughter again. She was 37, educated, successful and needed help which she did not get by the provider she trusted.
Sound like malpractice- well not in NJ.
AND it was not and overdose that prompted this.

[Wiseguide]

Well you know what! It may work for some of you, but genetically not for others. I just buried my brother-in-law today. He was taking Ambien and woke up early the morning he took his own life. We were all suppose to go on a vacation together the next day, which he was really looking forward to.

[anon]

I've been taking it for a week and eat things that I would never eat or buy. I am a thin girl but I but I've gained 10lbs since Ambien. I finished a WHOLE box of Little Debbie cakes (2 in a pack) in 1/2 day.
If I don't lay down and go right to sleep, I will eat and eat and eat.
However, I also do this during the day, so I think it is the Seroquel I just started taking for depression. Being 5'7'', I could stand to gain some weight but it will just be undistributed belly fat and that's gross,

[polarbear]

anon, be careful of the Seroquel!!!!! It was the only one that worked for my depression, but I also gained 40lbs over a year and a half. That is not doing anything to help my self esteem or depression.

[jack]

The important thing to consider about Ambien is that it works wonders for some, encourages strange reactions in others. Forums, such as these, naturally are disproportionately represented by the folks for whom the drug has these dramatic side effects. I would'nt like to see people refrain from a medication that could prove helpful to them, simply because most of the comments on a forum such as this are negative. I have used Ambien for about five years with none of these side effects.

[Mallory Virant]

carol wrote:

I have been feeling really sick for about four months now, heart palpitations, and pain throughout my body. I've been trying to figure out why and just realized the only medication i have been taking regularly is Ambien. I'm wondering if that isn't the reason.

I have had the same situations. I started taking Ambien because I could fall asleep but found myself waking up in the night. I know wake up feeling terrible and have sweating/palpitations and weird pain/tingling. I am going to start decreasing to half a pill then try to go off it and see what happens. Let me know if you try the same and have any luck!

[Dog Cage]

Well I am not going to take AMBIEN CR again I took some the other night and woke up with a cut up face from what my wife say I fell all over my dogs dog cage I guess trying to get in it and then to top it off she said I was having a good time partying with all my friends when nobody was in the house but me and my wife I have never experianced nothing like this in my life and i only took the prescribed amount one. I dont remember a thing and when I woke up and saw my face all gashed up I was like what the hell. All I can say I wont take this again

[Malia]

I am currently using ambien and have been on and off for about 2 years. I began to use it after I broke my arm on my dirtbike so I was in constant pain...chose to use less vicoden and felt the ambien helped knock me out to avoid feeling the pain at night. The pain alone kept me up but, the vicoden did nothing for sleep. I knew it wasn't a good idea to combine meds. I chose ambien. My daughter has shared with me many following mornings of my behavior the night before and I did not believe her much less, did not remember a thing. I was truly out of character. What was worse was she video taped me and showed me to understand what she was witnessing. I was shocked! Nothing to be ashamed or scared of...it was more a sitcom. I was singing and dancing down the corridors of my home, stared at an ostrich feather duster for about 20 minutes and swore I saw animals in it, sitting on my bed trying to catch one lousy popcorn toss to the mouth for a good half hour...the list goes on. After that, I pretty much cut my dose in half then stopped taking it for about a month straight. Went back on it once the insomnia kicked in again (thanks to hub's snoring)and this time did something I regret. I realize I have abused the meds most recently and like MEL, I 'use'...to bring down the stress level that have heightened in my life the last several months. I would rather feel happy and not fight with my hub over miniscule things. I will keep you all in my prayers! BTW, I have taken ambien right before I get in bed but, it seems to work opposite for me...I end up getting out of bed. I refuse to take more than 10mg, could it be that my system may have become adapted? Has anyone gone through a similar experience?

[miller]

[url=http://www.apple.com] apple [/url]

[Monica]

im with you on this on. i have been on ambien for a couple of months and over the time i suddenly starting acting weird and my family would tell me about the things i would say and do and i could not remember! Well last week i dont know what happened but i accidentally overdosed. i remember taking my prescribed 20 milgrams then after that i cannot remember much all i know is i woke up the next day to an empty bottle. i had a week of hell to pay. the doctor in the ER was very upset and was gonna report it to the makers of ambien. i got off it and will never take it again. it worked well at first but not anymore. i have insomnia really bad but what can i do. oh well. becareful all of you who are on this medication please.

CONSWELLA wrote:

<quoted text>DO NOT CONSUME WHEN I TOOK MED I WAS HAVING SEX WITHOUT REMEMBERING-SCARY!!

[Tonya]

Monica,

This is a problem on such a large scale, and sanofi-aventis has been burying their multi billion dollar heads in the sand for decades, along with the physicians who continue to write prescriptions. The "when taken as prescribed" nonsense is just that. Nonsense. Of course people dont set out to drive on ambien with no memory of the event. They dont set out or intend to take another and another, this is all done after the fact and unknowingly. It has killed people. It has made the news a LOT and all the stories are similar and from those of us with experience, we can predict what a person is going to tell. All the reports also say the same thing, "so many people have shared their experiences" there are so many arrests, there are so many videos of people online in an ambien state etc etc, yet all that sanofi-aventis can come up with in their defense is "these side effects are only a handful of cases" (according to their own independent studies" Well I guess that is why Australia is fighting for the drug to be reclassified from a schedule 4 to a class 8. I guess that is why other Countries are trying to address this issue in an almost crisis manner. Just because of a "handful" of cases.

[sleep deprived]

Sidney wrote:

It's "good" to hear that others have had this sleepwalking response to ambien. I don't remember doing anything, but I found the freezer emptied on the counter one morning, and, on another, my daughter woke to pizza burning in the oven. But the night she caught me moving furniture was the end. I just thought "What if I decided to drive?", and haven't used it since.

I do the late night binges...evidence of food in my bed, on night stand and floor. My daughter begs me not to take it if she isnt going to be home for a night. She tells me of things I do and I have no memory of it. I have a fx foot right now and wake up(after only an hour or two of sleep) with it throbbing. I am sure it is because I have been up on it without knowing.