Discussion Has anyone here taken Ambien (zolpidem tartate)?

[nigelhernandez]

I've heard it's a wonder drug when it comes to sleep but also causes strange hallucinations, sleepwalking, and amnesia.

 

[SuiSqueeze92]

I've heard it's a wonder drug when it comes to sleep but also causes strange hallucinations, sleepwalking, and amnesia.

Yeah I used to abuse it and stay up. Very weird drug. My mom was prescribed them for a long time and had all of your symptoms you listed. Now she is off of them and can't sleep anymore. Don't accidentally burn down your house cooking in your sleep!

 

[RainAndSadness]

*raises hand*

I'm using ambien for almost 2 years. I started back in summer 2018 if I remember correctly so I have quite the experience with that drug. Ambien is very trippy, especially if you have no tolerance. It's weird to describe but it can cause hallucinations and as you said, some people sleepwalk. Amnesia is still a very regular experience for me, even after almost 2 years of frequent use. Like, when I wake up the next morning after taking the drug, I have a hard time remembering what I did the evening before. And then I check my chatlogs with other people and well... I can't say I'm coherent all the time. Sometimes I'd literally talk gibberish without noticing it. That's always a surprise for the next morning. It's quite funny chatting with people who just took ambien and trying to decrypt their messages. I could show you some funny screenshots of my nonsense.

Some background:
I have a very difficult relationship with sleep. I take the drugs because I suffer from severe insomnia. I have a prescription and take 10mg every night so this is medically approved in my case. I didn't increase my dosage at all during that time but I know long-term users who take more than that because of tolerance. In my opinion, it's a great drug. It helps me fall asleep quickly, it makes me slightly euphoric and just gives me a good smile before I fall asleep. If I had to rate it, I'd say it's one of the best drugs I took so far. And so helpful for insomnia. I used to lay in my bed awake the whole night due to depression and trauma. I suffered from insomnia my entire life and it started in my childhood, I suspect bullying is one of the many causes for this, considering my sleep is always haunted with nightmares. I couldn't function at all and my grades took a deep dive back in school. It was such a nightmare - not being able to fall asleep.. I was so exhausted and sleepy all the time, even in my adulthood I had a hard time doing anything. Which is why I approached my doctor and started to take this drug back in 2018 after trying out some herbal sleeping meds, which didn't work. I was so fed up with my situation. My life was a complete mess. It still is, ambien didn't really fix anything. It didn't solve the cause for my insomnia but at least it removes the symptoms. My nightmares still haunt me every night and I wake up several times in one single night. But at least I can fall asleep and that's so damn helpful. I guess, this drug is one of the few reasons why I'm even alive at this point. If I had to stop the drug tomorrow, my entire life would completely crumble again. I would lay awake in my bed until 4 or 5am, slowly grinding myself to sleep with dark, depressing thoughts and lose any structure in my day as a result of that. I couldn't go to any apppointments anymore and being social would become inherently more difficult because I'd be awake in the nights and sleep in the daytime again, as it used to be for basically my whole life. I would probably ctb within a few weeks due to desperation. So yeah, it would make leaving a lot easier.
Just be wary of dependance risks, which apparently is in the range of other benzodiapines. It's not recommended to take this drug for more than a few weeks but I'm currently taking it for almost two years, so... I'm fine and I don' plan to stop my medication anytime soon.

I hope my experience and perspective helped you.

 

[WhiteDespair]

I took ambien, took a sleep drive and blew out a tire.

Then, I took ambien, sleep fell out a window and spent the next 2 weeks in a psych ward.

Avoid. Use melatonin to get some sleep.

 

[mathieu]

I get these trippy closed eye visuals and racing thoughts. It doesn't help me sleep.

 

[catmom13]

I never had hallucinations on this drug. I would just fall asleep.

 

[Covidblows]

Hello,
I did once. NEVER again and I would do anything to sleep.
I woke up just as I was falling down and crashed into the coffee table.
Would find things I left all over the house and no memory of being there or what happened .
Like blankets, food, drinks and the scariest.... CAR KEYS!
If you go to bed and then take it the chances decrease as you should just fall asleep.
If you take it while still up and out of bed ... get ready for the rodeo:)
I would use extreme caution if you start this medicine.

 

[FriendofDeath]

I used ambien until it stopped working for me. I did not have any reaction to the drug, but I know my mother did - she did the sleep driving, too. I really liked this med when I started it because I did sleep. I think it was effective for me 1-2 years.

 

[enjolras]

*raises hand*
Amnesia is still a very regular experience for me, even after almost 2 years of frequent use. Like, when I wake up the next morning after taking the drug, I have a hard time remembering what I did the evening before. And then I check my chatlogs with other people and well... I can't say I'm coherent all the time. Sometimes I'd literally talk gibberish without noticing it. That's always a surprise for the next morning. It's quite funny chatting with people who just took ambien and trying to decrypt their messages. I could show you some funny screenshots of my nonsense.

I approve this since I lived it on both sides of the mirror. I hurt the feelings of a good friend who was confiding in me while I was not under control to provide feedback and assistance due to Zolpidem. That night it took me by surprise. I realised only a few days later that I messed up.
I also witnessed others under Zolpidem and they turned out nuts to a point I got concerned like they were mocking me.
I advise that it's good manner to warn the people around that you took it... otherwise it can get creepy following a misunderstanding.

To me, the feeling before and after is not nice. Before, I get a sort of fuzzy headache. If I let pass the peak effect, I feel like shit for a moment. The mornings after I felt like a zombie. But it's efficient to pass the night itself.

 

[derelicct]

Yup, I never got hallucinations from it but I did stuff while on it and not even remembering it. Usually people fall asleep off it but if you fight the urge to sleep you start feeling the effects. Its similar to xanax but IMO worse. Its really bad for recreational use, I would never recommend it. Its very likely you can do something that you regret and not even remember it. Its happened to me. Stay safe.

 

[endex227]

I have taken it. I was on 10mg and later 20mg. The first time I took it, I thought it would make me tired and that I didn't need to get right into bed after taking it (which I believe is how it's supposed to be taken). I was on the computer for about half an hour, eyes glued to the screen, then realized 30 minutes had passed and I wondered why I wasn't tired yet. This was around the holiday season, so when I got up from the computer then turned and saw the artificial Christmas tree, the branches were moving like their ends were hands, passing the ornaments around to each other so the ornaments appeared to be rotating around the tree. Then I realized I was hallucinating, which I had no idea would happen.

I ended up using it entirely recreationally from then on. This was 14 years ago and I'd never used drugs or felt anything strange from other prescriptions. It seemed unhelpful for the 7+ people who had taken it in my group therapy (not recreationally, just to sleep).

Maybe it works for some people. I can only say I would not recommend someone who would potentially use it recreationally to try it, and if there are other options, to try those first.