Filter by patients with: All

What is Ambien?

Category: Prescription Drugs

true

Generic name: Zolpidem

Ambien® is a brand name for zolpidem. It is a sedative-hypnotic drug used for short-term treatment of insomnia that presents as difficulty of sleep onset and maintenance of sleep.

See patients taking Ambien

Reported purpose & perceived effectiveness
Purpose Patients Evaluations Perceived Effectiveness
Insomnia 873 435
Sleep problems 353 199
Difficulty sleeping through night 179 73
Insomnia 113 99
Fibromyalgia 93 61
Difficulty falling asleep 51 19

Show all 75 reasons taken

  • Major
  • Moderate
  • Slight
  • None
  • Can't tell
See all 202 patients that have taken Ambien

Side effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Side effects as an overall problem
Severity Evaluations
Severe 68
Moderate 117
Mild 212
None 371

Commonly reported side effects and conditions associated with Ambien

Side effect Patients
Amnesia 32
Grogginess 30
Sleep Walking 28
Groggy in morning 25
Drowsy in a.m. 21
Sleep eating 17

Show all 130 reported side effects

Dosages

Based on patients currently taking Ambien

Dosage Patients
10 mg daily 105
5 mg daily 40
5mg as needed 22
10mg as needed 17
2.5 mg daily 3
15 mg daily 3
12.5 mg daily 2
10 mg weekly 1
20 mg daily 1
100 mg daily 1

See all 15 dosages

Why patients stopped taking Ambien

Multiple reasons could be selected

Reason Patients
Did not seem to work 162
Side effects too severe 139
Doctor's advice 108
Other 100
Course of treatment ended 28
Expense 25
Personal research 19
Change in health plan coverage 13
See all 476 patients who’ve stopped taking Ambien

Duration

Currently taking Ambien

Duration Patients
1 - 6 months 13
6 months - 1 year 22
1 - 2 years 23
2 - 5 years 46
5 - 10 years 52
10 years or more 46

Stopped taking Ambien

Duration Patients
Less than 1 month 74
1 - 6 months 106
6 months - 1 year 86
1 - 2 years 80
2 - 5 years 80
5 - 10 years 35
10 years or more 17
Adherence
Adherence Evaluations
Always 534
Usually 119
Sometimes 88
Never taken as prescribed 27
Burden
Burden Evaluations
Very hard to take 26
Somewhat hard to take 39
A little hard to take 88
Not at all hard to take 615
Cost per month
Cost per month Evaluations
$200+ 5
$100-199 3
$50-99 10
$25-49 51
< $25 439
Not specified 260

What people switch to and from

Patients started taking Ambien after stopping:

Treatment Patients
Trazodone (Desyrel) 24
Eszopiclone (Lunesta) 9
Quetiapine (Seroquel) 6
Amitriptyline (Elavil) 3
Mirtazapine (Remeron) 3

Show all 18 treatments patients report switching from

Patients stopped taking Ambien and switched to:

Treatment Patients
Trazodone (Desyrel) 19
Eszopiclone (Lunesta) 11
Temazepam (Restoril) 8
Quetiapine (Seroquel) 7
Doxepin (Sinequan) 5

Show all 23 treatments patients report switching to

Last updated:

82 patient evaluations for Ambien

581 members have decided to share their profiles only with other members of PatientsLikeMe.

Sort by: Most recent
relayman
4565 thumb
relayman
Sex: M
Data Quality: 3 stars
On
Mouth/throat: mild
Arms: mild
Chest: none
Legs: mild
I am: vg
I have:
Parkinson's

See relayman's full Ambien history

Mar 23, 2017 (Started Dec 15, 2008)

  • Effectiveness
    Major (for Insomnia)
  • Side effects
    Mild (Drugged feeling, Double vision (diplopia))
  • Adherence
    Sometimes
  • Burden
    Not at all hard to take
Cost: < $25 monthly
Side effects: Double vision (diplopia)

Jul 1, 2015 (Started Dec 15, 2008)

  • Effectiveness
    Major (for Insomnia)
  • Side effects
    Mild (Drugged feeling, Double vision (diplopia))
  • Adherence
    Sometimes
  • Burden
    Not at all hard to take
Dosage: As needed
Cost: < $25 monthly
Side effects: Double vision (diplopia)

Feb 9, 2011 (Started Dec 15, 2008)

  • Effectiveness
    Moderate (for Insomnia)
  • Side effects
    None
  • Adherence
    Always
  • Burden
    Not at all hard to take
Dosage: As needed
Cost: < $25 monthly
Side effects: Double vision (diplopia)
  • 0 helpful marks
gingin73
92871 thumb
gingin73
Data Quality: 1 star
  • Gender: F
  • Age: 43
Condition: Chronic Pain Syndrome 28 additional condition(s)
Quality of life:
  • Mental: Moderate
  • Physical: Mild
I am: n
I have:
Chronic Pain Syndrome

See gingin73's full Ambien history

Jan 24, 2017 (Started Jul 01, 2005)

  • Effectiveness
    Major (for Insomnia)
  • Side effects
    Severe (Sleep Walking)
  • Adherence
    Always
  • Burden
    Not at all hard to take
Dosage: 10 mg Daily
  • 0 helpful marks
lazaras
12975 thumb
lazaras
Gender: M
Data Quality: 3 stars
Pain: Some
Fatigue: Most
Sleep: Some
Stiffness: All
function: Some
external_stress: Little
Stickman: most
Description:M53y
FM:10y Dx
CFS:8y Dx
I am: n
I have:
Fibromyalgia

See lazaras's full Ambien history

Jan 8, 2017 (Started Sep 09, 2010)

  • Effectiveness
    Moderate (for Sleep problems)
  • Effectiveness
    Slight (for Restless feeling in legs)
  • Effectiveness
    Moderate (for Insomnia)
  • Effectiveness
    Moderate (for Inability to sleep)
  • Effectiveness
    Can’t tell (for Fibromyalgia)
  • Side effects
    None
  • Adherence
    Always
  • Burden
    Not at all hard to take

Jan 22, 2015 (Started Sep 09, 2010)

  • Effectiveness
    None (for Fibromyalgia)
  • Effectiveness
    Moderate (for Inability to sleep)
  • Effectiveness
    Moderate (for Sleep problems)
  • Effectiveness
    Moderate (for Restless feeling in legs)
  • Effectiveness
    Moderate (for Insomnia)
  • Side effects
    Moderate (Grogginess)
  • Adherence
    Sometimes
  • Burden
    Not at all hard to take
  • 0 helpful marks
Last updated:
Showing 3 of 82 patient evaluations for Ambien