Ambien CR and medication

after taking ambien CR for a few months with no real side effects all of a sudden I started doing bizarre things with very little memory of doing them, I walked around the house in the middle of the night in a blackout I cleaned things, ate things, made phone calls to friends and they couldn't understand me because I was slurring my words, My family said I was acting very drunk swaying back and forth and not making any sense. I"ve driven places and don't remember driving and that is enough to make you say o.k. something is wrong with this medication

I have been taking Ambien CR for a few months. At first it worked o.k. but now I am having bad side effects to it. I am walking around the house in a stupor, trying to talk to my family, slurring my words, acting like a drunk,cleaning the house, eating and not remembering any of it until my family tells me about it. They even think I am taking some sort of mind altering drugs because of my bizarre behavior. I don't like talking to someone and not remembering it. I am stopping this medication immediately before I do something to hurt someone while in a blackout!!

I have been taking Ambien CR on and off for two years. I began to get migraine headaches two years ago which my gynecologist told me was as symptom of menopause. I then began to note everything I ate and all medications I took when I got these debilitating headache. The only thing in common was I had taken ambien cr the night before. I had massive headaches that even prescription medication would not cure. They would start near my temple and radiate up the side of my head. I would always get them on the right side. I began to notice that when I did not take any ambien for a while, no headaches. As soon as I had one dose of ambien cr, the next day I would wake up with a horrible headache. I have since discontinued taking it and I would rather be awake than live with that kind of pain again.

Significant hair loss has caused thinning around my face & entire hair line. Within weeks of taking Ambien CR... Woke up daily with headaches, mood changes, depression.....

I am a licensed NYS Cosmetologist. I know what is normal hair loss & what is not. It started with itching on my whole scalp, there was a lot of white greasy almost dandruff substance on my scalp. It didn't flake off like normal dandruff though. Then I noticed my hairline was not what it would normally be. Each time I brushed my hair the brush was filled with more hair daily... I stopped taking the Ambien CR, the itch went away almost immediately & so did the hair loss. I thought I'd give it one more try & took 1 pill one night. The next day the itch came back, so did the white greasy substance on my scalp & my hair started to fall out again.......... Went to my Dr told her what was going on & she didn't even blink, just asked if I wanted something else for sleep. I said no thank you not after this experience. Went back on Advil PM, not sleeping as well as I was, but at least my hair isn't falling out any more. Just keep hoping it will grow back in, has anyone had their hair grow back???

I have been using Ambien CR for about a year now every night. I have noticed weight gain, headaches and most of all I feel unmotivated. I am extremely light headed and dizzy all the time. I have migraine headaches constant. I cannot remember things. I would rather not sleep at night than put up with this!!!! I am going to make the choice to get off of this medication now.

I've been an Ambien (short-acting) user for many years with no real problems unless I drank any alcohol with it and then stayed up for any time at all after taking. (Two major no-no's!!). Besides the oft-reported binge eating and frenzied cleaning, etc., the strangest thing I ever did was what I call "sleep-emailing." I did this twice--I composed bizarre emails on two separate occasions to two different individuals and sent them. The emails didn't just not make sense, but were as if I was typing a dream out loud--I suppose like sleep talking in print. The first time it happened, one of my friends emailed me the next day and said she had received my "cryptic" email. I told her I hadn't emailed her and didn't know what she was talking about. She copied and pasted the content and sent it to me--I told her I didn't know who wrote that, but it wasn't me! She then forwarded the entire email to me and I saw that it had indeed come from me. That was frightening. I had zero recollection of writing it. The second time it happened, once I was made aware of the email I did have a very vague memory of writing it, and incidentally the email itself was not quite as bizarre as the first one was. I've learned that as long as I don't consume alcohol with Ambien and go straight to bed after taking, I have no problems with it whatsoever, and have found it to be very helpful for my insomnia. I have recently begun trying the extended release version, Ambien CR, as I'm having more problems with periodic awakening throughout the night. Thus far the only side effect I seem to be having is the daily onset of a headache on awakening that I can will develop into a migraine without intervention (I've suffered from migraines for many yrs). If it continues it may be enough for me to have to discontinue the medication.

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.

I am so glad to have found this site. I thought I was slowly losing my mind. Did late-night binge eating, house cleaning, paid bills on-line - all with no memory of it the following day. As the medication would start to work, I had a nightly "conversation" with myself about how worthless I was, how I deserved to have all kind of bad things happen, etc. I wouldn't have these kind of thoughts during the day. I haven't taken it for 5 days now after 10 months of continuous use. The first night was as if I had consumed a pot of coffee, tossing and turning, with practically no sleep. But each night it's gotten better. When I weigh the side effects against the benefits, for me it's not difficult to say I'd rather have my sanity back!

Started taking Ambien CR about 2 1/2 months ago- started at 6.25 mg, then increase to 12.5 (double the dose). I have always had thick luxurious hair and within the past 3 weeks have noticed significant hair loss, almost as if I was on Chemo. The first day I noticed I was in the shower washing my hair and I heard someone screaming, only to realize that the screams were coming from me. My hair was falling out in pelts! Thick plugs of hair were all over my tub, so much so you could have made a wig from it. Now my hair has thinned so much and continues to fill my bathroom waste basket and brushes, that I have been looking into wigs! I am a 45 yr old female and have never had this happen. My MD says it could be stress related, I told him it must be now because there isn't a morning that goes by that this isn't stressing me out and is putting me in tears constantly. Has anyone ever had this side effect before?
DRC

My experience with Ambien CR is from a family member point of view. My father-in-law has only been taking it for 2 weeks and I was unaware of any side effects, until last night. My husband & I live directly across the street from my father-in-law - so at about 9:30 pm we received a call from his dad saying he had fell (he is not an elderly man either - 44 yrs. old) walking to his door & needed help up. He told my husband he had taken 2 - 5mg of Ambien about 40 minutes ago so he was tired & going to bed- so my husband walked him into the house. Everything seemed okay so he came home. An hour later I went out on our porch and noticed his dad was lying at the end of the drive way face up not moving. I yelled for my husband and he went over and woke his dad up - my husband & brother-in-law helped him in the house. He got undressed and got into bed.
About 20 minutes later (I was still on the porch at this point) I saw him walk out of the house AGAIN and get a beer out of the cooler and start walking down the street in his underwear. I again yelled for my husband and when he caught up to him he was talking to the shrubs and telling my husband our neighbors cat was out (which it wasn't) and he was trying to catch it. Again we put him in his room and told him to lay down - which he did. We went home and were watching a movie in the living room and all of sudden we hear his dad's truck start up! My husband ran out the door - thankfully in time to catch him. His dad proceeded to tell him he needed to go get ice for the cooler (which BTW - was full of ice) and he is still just in his underwear. We convince him to come inside and lay down (at this point very argumentative). This time my husband stays there for a long time. An hour later he came out again ate half a gallon of ice cream and went to bed. This morning he got up went to work and has no memory of anything that I just described.
This medication seems horrible. My husband caught him the other night eating a pack of 20 cupcakes and didn't realize he was sleepwalking/eating. The more I read about this medication it seems like our trouble is just beginning. I just fear that one night we won't be home and something will happen to him or someone else. Please consider all the risks before taking it - it not only effects you, it puts your family at risk also.

Hey. Just a disclaimer, before I list my experience. Keep in mind that everybody is going to react to a new drug differently. All drugs, especially drugs like Ambien CR, come with warnings in bold print and all caps saying that if you experience ANYTHING...ANYTHING abnormal after you start a new medication, to immediately call your doctor or pharmacist. Don't let it get to the point where your loved ones are driving. If you notice things have happened and you have no recollection...CALL YOUR DOCTOR! It takes maybe ten minutes to call your doctor or pharmacist. This ten minutes could potentially save your life and others. This goes for ALL medications, even ones like Tylenol PM.

Okay. Here is my observations of my mother (55 yrs. old) while on Ambien CR.

Ever since she’s been on the medication, I’ve encountered strange behavior on her part. These are the most common:

1. Phone calls, with no particular purpose or intent. She sounds like she is very lonely and just wants to chat, but her speech is slurred and her thoughts impaired. Most of what she says is not in coherent sentences, just mixed up phrases. Sometimes she starts off sounding somewhat normal and then fades into the slurred speech. I usually terminate the conversation once she starts repeating herself, asking questions she had either asked earlier that day or even just minutes before in the same conversation.

2. Eccentric “projects.” She recently said, “I’ve found that after I take my medicine, I get very creative.” This particular comment was after I found her in the kitchen putting Hot Tamales (the candy) in her ice water, after she had taken her medicine. Another time, she was standing on a trunk, trying to put up shades in her window.

3. Binge Eating. Just the other night she baked an entire batch of cookies...and ate them ALL within 30 minutes of them coming out of the oven. This is just one of the many times I've seen her eat like this after taking her medicine.

Overall, she seemingly "stays up" until she either crashes from exhaustion or only after repeated commands to turn off everything and go to sleep. I recently, after researching further, have found out that she actually is asleep, but medications such as Ambien CR can induce a complex form of sleep-walking and talking, as well as sleep-driving (though my mother has never done this.) It looks, to an observer, like the person is aware of their surroundings because they can carry on complex conversations, or complete a complex task, even though, they are really asleep.

The most concerning thing to me is that she walks up and down the stairs (or gets up on things, like the trunk in her bedroom) even though she is consciously aware that she gets dizzy and has little control over her balance. Most of the time she is living alone, so if she happened to trip and fall, it could turn into a very dangerous situation very quickly.

Another note: She only seems to remember her strange actions once she is reminded of them. Sometimes she will remember them accurately, and sometimes she has a distorted memory of the events, but almost always must be reminded of her actions before she has any memory of doing it.

Since me and our family have taken time to talk to my mother about this, she (an RN for over 30 years) is calling her doctor tomorrow to talk about alternative solutions to her insomnia.