Ambien guide: Dosage, side-effects, highs and addiction

Last updated: December 5, 2024 • Patrick Mahinge

Ambien is definitely an effective medicine for treating the sleep disorder insomnia and the approval granted by the FDA (Food and Drugs Administration) further accentuates the efficiency of Ambien. There in no room for doubt pertaining to the efficacy of Ambien as a good and effective aid for sleep problems. The following pointers highlight the striking advantages of Ambien as an effective sleep aid:

The principal functioning process of Ambien is to cause specific changes to certain brain chemicals that can result in insomnia when they are unbalanced and as Ambien prohibits the brain cells from being activated, the person achieves a state of relaxation and falls asleep. This mechanism of Ambien is different from the functioning processes of other sleep medications and further this operative procedure of Ambien has placed it among the top-rated medicines available in the pharmaceutical market for treating insomnia or sleeplessness.
According to controlled clinical experiments conducted on Ambien, this medicine decreases sleep latency for around 35 days and this is considered to be one of the primary advantages yielded by Ambien that further makes it apparent that Ambien is better than other medicines used for the treatment of insomnia.
With Ambien, it is possible for a patient suffering from insomnia to have satisfactory sleep throughout the whole night and further Ambien helps you to avoid waking up early from bed.

Practical Benefits Of Using Ambien

Some of the practical advantages of using Ambien are, namely:

The administration of Ambien makes people fall asleep within 15-30 minutes and the effects of the medicine also remain in the system for a longer period, thereby granting 7-8 hours` full and satisfactory sleep to the user.
It is however clinically proven that people administering Ambien to treat insomnia have considerably less waking periods at night when compared to waking up instances of guys taking placebo to get rid of sleeplessness. Therefore, it stands apparent that Ambien is a better sleeping aid to treat insomnia.

To sum up, the use of Ambien in accordance with the instructions of the doctor grant a whole range of benefits to the users and moreover, there are certain additional advantages of Ambien also. And for all these reasons, Ambien is considered to be a good and effective aid for sleep disorders such as insomnia.

Ambien Dosage & Administration

Ambien is available in 5 mg and 10 mg tablets. However, the medicine is available in 6.25 mg dosages also under the brand name Ambien CR.

Ambien 5 mg tablets are pink, film-coated and capsule-shaped tablets.
Ambien 10 mg tablets are white, film-coated and capsule-shaped tablets.
Ambien CR 6.25 mg tablets are round, pink and controlled release tablets.

The safety as well as effectiveness of Ambien dosages has not been evaluated in children.

However, adults are recommended to take 10 mg Ambien dosages before going off to sleep.

An adult should not administer more than 10 mg Ambien dosages on a daily basis and the physician is likely to prescribe a smaller dosage of Ambien if you are in the grip of liver problems or are sensitive to the medicine.

he older men and women are likely to be more sensitive to the effects of Ambien and hence 5 mg Ambien dosage is initially recommended for older men and women.

Ambien Administration

Specific pointers on Ambien administration are detailed below:

Ambien should be taken just before going to sleep only and it is altogether necessary that Ambien should not be opted for until and unless you are able to remain in bed for a full night(for 7-8 hours) before you attain an active state. However, it is also important to note that the Ambien CR tablets are not meant to be chewed, divided or crushed and these tablets are not to be taken along with a meal or instantly after a meal.
It is mandatory to thoroughly read the medication guide that arrives along with the Ambien CR tablets before starting to administer the tablets and also each and every time you opt for a refill of the Ambien tablets.
Ambien is meant for short term use only and hence you should not take the medicine for more than 4/5 weeks without the instructions of the physician.

Ambien & FDA Approval

The branded Ambien® medicine, a product of the pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis, has been granted initial US approval by the FDA (Food and Drugs Administration) in 1992 as an effective treatment for insomnia in adults.

However, the generic name of Ambien® is Zolpidem tartrate and the FDA has also approved Generic 5 and 10 mg Zolpidem Tartrate (Ambien) tablets manufactured by specific pharmaceutical companies. These generic manufacturers are namely,

SYNTHON PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
APOTEX INC.
RANBAXY LABORATORIES LIMITED
DR. REDDY’S LABORATORIES LTD
MYLAN PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
ROXANE LABORATORIES, INC.
WATSON LABORATORIES, INC.
PAR PHARMACEUTICAL, INC.
CARLABAD TECHNOLOGY, INC.
GENPHARM INC
MUTUAL PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY, INC.
CARACO PHARMACEUTICAL LABORATOTRIES, LTD
LEK PHARMACEUTICALS, d.d.
TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS USA

Ambien® has been approved by the FDA after evaluating the effectiveness of this medicine through a whole range of clinical experiments.

The series of clinical trials undertaken on Ambien have made it evident that soon after the administration of Ambien, the medicine starts functioning on certain chemicals present in the brain that are responsible for causing insomnia and relieves people from the clasp of sleeplessness. Therefore, without any hesitation, you can administer Ambien and obtain relief from the grip of insomnia.

Ambien Safety Measures

To use Ambien safely as well as effectively and to obtain maximum benefits from your Ambien usage, it is important to adopt certain Ambien precautionary measures. Some of the Ambien safety measures are highlighted below:

1. The use of Ambien, the medicine for treating insomnia, may lead to certain allergic reactions. However, when you show off certain signs of Ambien allergic reaction, namely, breathing difficulty, hives, swelling of the lips, tongue face, throat, etc. you need to stop the intake of Ambien at once and seek out appropriate medical assistance.

2. The sleeping pill Ambien may trigger off certain side-effects that can further unleash disastrous impact on your thinking process. However, after taking Ambien and having a good night’s sleep, you may wake up feeling sleepy in the morning. Therefore, until and unless you get to know the side-effects triggered off by Ambien while you were awake, you need to be cautious while performing anything that requires you to stay vigilant and alert such as piloting an airplane, handling machinery, driving etc.

3. Pertaining to the side-effects yielded by Ambien, it is also seen that at times after administering Ambien, people leave bed while they were not awake completely and perform certain tasks without being aware of their actions. However, after getting up next morning, these people are not found to remember anything done by them during the night and altogether it is seen that people drinking alcohol and administering other sleep inducing medicines are more at risk of performing these tasks. Some of the activities that people taking Ambien undertake in their sleepy state are namely, talking over the phone, making and eating food, sleep walking, indulging in sexual intercourse, driving a car (“sleep driving” etc).

However, on finding out that you have undertaken any of the afore-mentioned activities after administering Ambien, inform the physician immediately.

4. Ambien should be taken as prescribed only and it is essential that you do not take larger dosages of Ambien than what is prescribed for you.

5. If the sleep inducing medicine Ambien is prescribed for you only, do not give it to anyone else as Ambien can be addictive and further it is essential that you do not share Ambien with another individual, especially one with a drug abuse or drug addiction history.

6. It is altogether necessary to restrain from alcohol usage while taking Ambien as drinking alcohol alongside taking the sleep medicine Ambien is likely to enhance drowsiness and several other Ambien side-effects.

7. Before you move ahead to administer Ambien, you need to inform the doctor if you

have a history of depression, suicidal thoughts or mental illness
have a history of alcohol/drug abuse or addiction to these substances
are suffering from breathing problems or lung disease
have kidney/liver disorder
are pregnant/planning to achieve pregnancy or breastfeeding
Ambien is not meant for children and should be stored in a safe place to prevent misuse of the medication.

However, there are various other Ambien safety measures also that are to be followed to ensure safe and effective use of Ambien. Most particularly, to gain a full night’s sleep with Ambien without facing any disastrous side-effects, the medication is to be administered in accordance with the instructions of the doctor only.

Ambien Vs Ambien CR

Ambien is a Sanofi-Aventis manufactured sleeping pill that is meant for treating insomnia in people and Ambien CR is the extended release form of Ambien. Ambien CR is also FDA approved and is a product of the same company Sanofi-Aventis but there are specific tidbits related to Ambien as well as Ambien CR that distinguish one from another.

The specific differences between Ambien and Ambien CR are:

Ambien® has gained initial US approval from the FDA (Food and Drugs Administration) in 1992 as an effective prescription-based medicine for the treatment of insomnia while on the other hand; Ambien CR has been approved by the FDA much later and is made available in the US in October 2005 for treating insomnia.
Ambien® is a single layered tablet while Ambien CR is made up of two layers. The first Ambien CR layer dissolves instantly to cause sleep while the second layer is released gradually as well as quickly in the body and helps you to stay asleep.
There are several generic versions of Ambien® but there is no generic form of Ambien CR.
Ambien® is used for the short term treatment of insomnia only while Ambien CR has been approved by the FDA for being used by people suffering from insomnia for a comparatively long period also if recommended by the doctor.
Ambien CR is different from Ambien® as well as other prescription-based sleep medications and it is particularly known for helping an insomnia afflicted individual to fall asleep and also to stay asleep.

Generic Ambien Tablets

There are various generic versions of Ambien® tablets and all generic Ambien tablets are film-coated zolpidem tartrate tablets and are meant for the short term treatment of insomnia distinguished by difficulties related to falling asleep.

The efficacy of zolpidem tartrate tablets is clinically established with several clinical experiments proving that zolpidem tartrate tablets reduce sleep latency for a period of around 35 days. Therefore, they can be opted for the treatment of insomnia without any doubt over their efficacy.

It is essential to get hold of a prescription from the doctor before using generic Ambien tablets or zolpidem tartrate tablets as they are prescription-based medicines and moreover they should be taken as per the instructions of the doctor only.

Generic Ambien Tablets: Mechanism Of Action

Zolpidem tartrate tablets make people fall sleep by affecting the brain. However, when they induce effects on certain chemicals present in the brain that are chiefly responsible for making the brain imbalanced, the patient obtains significant relief from the grip of insomnia.

Generic Ambien Tablets: Dosage and Administration

Zolpidem tartrate tablets are available in dose strengths of 5mg and 10 mg. Physicians generally recommend Zolpidem 5 mg tablets to the elderly and the physically weak people and the 10 mg zolpidem dose is recommended to the adults. However, all zolpidem dosages are to be administered instantly before bedtime.

The proper way of administering zolpidem is to slowly consume it along with your meal or immediately after it.

Generic Ambien Tablets: Side-effects

Zolpidem tartrate tablets can yield some of the common side-effects such as diarrhea, dizziness, drugged feelings; drowsiness et al. Altogether, an individual using zolpidem tartrate tablets may feel sleepy the next day after taking zolpidem.

Further, people afflicted with insomnia may fall prey to certain serious side-effects after taking zolpidem. These are namely,

Anxiety
Memory loss
Abnormal behavior and thoughts such as hallucination, agitation, confusion, suicidal thoughts or actions and serious depression.
Leaving bed without getting awake completely and performing an activity that a person is not aware of.
Serious allergic reactions such as difficulty in breathing, tongue as well as throat swelling, vomiting and nausea.

Generic Ambien Tablets: Precautionary Measures

For safe and effective usage of zolpidem tartrate tablets, it is essential to follow certain precautionary measures. Some of these safety measures are mentioned below:

In the first place, you should not take zolpidem tartrate tablets with medications that are capable of making you sleepy. You should also avoid taking zolpidem with any other medication as medicines can interact with one another and yield disastrous side-effects. Therefore, before taking zolpidem, it is essential to inform the physician of all the medicines you are administering, including vitamins, herbal supplements as well as prescription-based medicines.
Before administering zolpidem, it is also essential to inform the doctor of your health conditions, particularly, if you are suffering from kidney or liver disease or if you have a history of alcohol or drug addiction.
Before opting for zolpidem to treat your insomnia, you should also let the doctor know if you are pregnant, have plans to become pregnant or if you are breastfeeding. Altogether, before taking zolpidem, you should inform the physician if you have a history of depression, mental illness or suicidal thoughts.

The afore-mentioned generic Ambien safety measures and other safety instructions recommended by the doctor are to be followed properly to ensure safety and efficacy of zolpidem tartrate tablets and to obtain maximum results from the use of generic ambien tablets.

Side effects of ambien

Ambien is likely to relieve you from the grip of insomnia if the medication is used in accordance with the instructions of the doctor but likewise all chemically synthesized medicines, Ambien also triggers off certain side-effects on an occasional basis.

Some of the common side-effects facilitated by Ambien are namely,

Sleepiness
A persistent feeling of being drugged
Dizziness
Diarrhea(a specific condition of having frequent loose or liquid bowel movements)
nausea
dry mouth
headache
A feeling of irritation in the nose or throat
Lethargy

Ambien is also responsible for certain serious side-effects in users. Some of the serious Ambien side-effects are included below:

Loss of memory
Anxiety
Agitation, confusion, thoughts about committing suicide, delusion, symptoms of violent behavior et al
Getting out of bed without being completely awake and undertaking an activity without having the knowledge of it.
Symptoms of strong allergic reactions, namely, difficulty in breathing, vomiting, nausea and abnormal enlargement of the throat or tongue.
Confusion and changes in behavior
Chest pain
Hallucinations
Irregular and fast heartbeat
Fainting
Changes in vision

However, you are likely to feel drowsy the next day after taking Ambien. Therefore, it is essential for you not to drive or undertake other hazardous tasks the next day after taking Ambien until and unless you feel completely awake.

All individuals taking Ambien to get rid of insomnia do not necessarily fall prey to Ambien side-effects and further Ambien side-effects are generally temporary. Therefore, there is no need to be scared of the side-effects yielded by Ambien. But as soon as you fall prey to the common as well as serious side-effects of Ambien, it is necessary to consult the doctor.

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