October 2th
2008
1:31 AM
I took Ambien CR for about 2 years and have experienced not only memory loss of the time while on the medication, but also longer term memory loss as well. Even now I find it hard to remember significant things from years ago that I would normally be able to remember easily, and I am only 24. No reason for memory loss and it all started with the Ambien CR. I have done the drive and not remember thing, the cleaning with no recollection of it the next day, the wondering who ate all the food, etc. At one point I actually called my employer at 3AM to explain what I was still doing awake. I worked day shift and had off the next day anyway! I woke up to a voice mail from the supervisor and found out I was fired. I had zero memory of the incident and thought I was being set up by someone until I checked my cell phone records and found it to be true. Friends have also questioned me about late night calls and visits, some I somewhat remember after being "reminded," some I did not. When I was first prescribed this medication I was having these crazy nightmares before I actually fell asleep and would act them out or run from them. One was a young girl playing ball in the road and my boyfriend said I actually ran out in the street at to save her and fought him when he tried to bring me back inside. Obviously no one was actually playing in the road. Even towards the end of using the drug at times I will go through the first few hours of the day with the same forgetful effect that I would have had the night before. I have also gained 20 pounds, not sure if it's from the excessive night eating or the sluggish feeling I got the next day. Once the pill kicked in for me at night I would feel a sudden urge to finish up household chores, or get what some people call "the creative phase" of Ambien CR. I would write poetry (illegibly), cook (usually starting small fires), draw (not well), redecorate, and talk philosophically, none of which I remember. The pill works wonderfully as long as you go straight to bed. After using it awhile you may recognize the energized feeling as actually being the reverse, the pill taking effect, and I could go to bed and fall right to sleep. But I had quite a few dangerous situations and I wouldn’t be able to take it when I was home alone, just in case I missed that "deadline." I agree it is a very risky drug, but then again most drugs are. I do not suggest taking this if you are alone at least until you experience the way you react to it. If these symptoms are an issue for you as well you can always try Lunesta. That worked quite well for me, with none of these weird side effects. The worst I got was a weird taste in the morning, which subsided with breakfast.
-- By hisgirl | Reply | Private Message me
June 17th
2009
3:46 PM
I'm 15 years old and i've been taking prednisone for a few months, and from what i've read i'm on a really high dose. i was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and another autoimmune disorder concerning my muscles at the same time. my doctor told me prednisone was my only choice; it was either that or i would lose the ability to walk. he told me there'd be side effects, but i had no idea it'd turn out like this or i would have fought harder for another course of action. i started out on 30mg twice a day, and since then was weaned down to 20mg twice a day and now i'm down to 30mg once a day. i've been looking up a bunch of information trying to figure out if there's a way to lessen the side effects or any hope at all that they will get better. apparently there isn't much. after reading a bunch of these stories i gotta say i'm not feeling great about this. i totally understand everything everyone is going through. i'm sure you can imagine what it's like being smack in the middle of high school with a huge puffy face, acne so bad on my face, chest, back, neck, and shoulders that wearing a bra could put me in tears, and mood swings so bad i've lost friends over it. everyone knows how brutal high school can be, where appearance and attitude are everything. and i try to tell my doctor about it and he literally looks at me like i'm a whiny teenager and says "you're just going to have to deal with it." and people like my mom and my closest friends don't get it either. nobody understands how beyond frustrating it is. i'll get into the worst moods and not have a reason for it, but i'll stay angry for hours or burst into tears over someone looking at me the wrong way. it'll get to the point where i have to isolate myself from other people because the abrubt mood changes get so bad. as bad as i hate to admit it, the pain from the arthritis is gone now and supposedly my muscles are doing better too. developing arthritis caused me to have to quit cheerleading, something i've loved doing for 6 years, because the pain got to the point where i couldn't get my arms above my head or bend my knees. however, i'd almost rather deal with the horrible joint pain than deal with the side effects of prednisone. if your doctor gives you and alternative method, take it. i've always been confident in the way i look and really outgoing and happy and now i sometimes catch myself thinking about suicide. that's shocking to me because i've got so much going for me, but this medicine makes me miserable. and when i complain about it, anyone i'm talking to just looks at me like i'm being a cry baby. my mom does too, she'll say things like "you just have to do this. i know it's not what you want but to be honest i'm sick of hearing you bitch about it."
i feel a little better knowing other people feel the same way - like nobody gets whats going on with them. the prednisone does give me days of really great euphoria and days when i feel like i could run a marathon, but waking up in the morning to the acne and huge face puts me to tears every day. i have to pee all the time, usually getting up at 2 or 3 am. i don't sleep well anymore and i do sweat all the time. which also sucks being a teenage girl. i'm always hungry, and when i eat i never feel full so i don't know when to stop. my neck and face have put on so much weight that when people see me in the halls or out and about they ask me what happened. mind you these are people i don't talk to, just ones i know from classes or whatever. and it's pretty bad when teenage boys i've never really talked to ask what happened to your face. kind of a blow to the ego, or whatever is left of it at this point.
i'd like to know if, as my dosage gets lowered, the side effects will diminish and when i'm off the prednisone completely if they will disappear altogether. any help there?
or if there is any way to help the acne or puffy face
my doctor just put me on something called methotrexate or something like that to help wean me off the prednisone, and does anyone know what those side effects will do? or if they'll affect the prednisone side effects?
-- By db1993 | Reply | (12) replies | Private Message mei'm constantly obsessing over gaining weight and what my skin looks like and what i eat and how heavy my face feels and the occasional pressure in my eyes to the point where i just want to be put out of my misery.
and after reading other people's stories i really don't understand why this drug is still given out as freely as it is. but maybe all doctors are like mine, they just don't get it.
best of luck to anyone who's on prednisone, my heart goes out to you; i'm right there with you
sorry this became like a book it wasn't meant to be this long