ambien

my best friend is taking the medication ambien.
the problem is, she starts freaking out and it's almost like she's high off of it. she cannot remember anything the next morning after that, even talking on the phone for 3 hours with me. It scares me. she also becomes abusive when she's on them, like she'll punch me, or jump on me for no reason. sometimes she'll punch/kick a wall until she bleeds. and then she will tell me that she's glad i'm here, and to not leave her like this. i don't know what to do, and this medication was prescribed for her depression supposedly. Her doctor told her it would make her normal, but frankly it's doing the exact opposite.

please help me.

ambien is a sleep med, its not suppose to treat anything else. did her doctor explain that to her? she should do some research on the med. i take it but dont have those severe side effects. i do forget some conversations sometimes though.

so, it's not normal then?
that she can't remember large amounts of time?
she laspses like 1/2 a day, sometimes more.
and no, she hasn't done any research on the med, i have though.
i would think the doctor wouldn't give her anything that strong though, she's ony 15.

ambien... for me... causes "sleep walking"... and having conversations I don't remember... and once.. yes once I drove.. and didn't know it... still makes me shudder.... nothing happened.. and it was a short distance... but still...

that was before they documented the side effects well.....

I still take it.. but in combo with another med.. that makes me go into a "deep" sleep... so none of the "sleep walking" stuff...

if she is 15... is she telling her parents... or her doctor....?????

Ambien causes me to "sleep eat". I get up after I've gone to sleep, come downstairs, and eat. If I didn't leave telltale dishes around, I wouldn't remember that I ate, or what I ate. Sigh...

Long story short - yes ambien has a lot of side effects for those that don't tolerate it - such as the loss of memory, sleep walking, sleep eating and sleep driving. One of the Kennedy kids recently was charged with drunk driving but he swore it was the Ambien that was altering his behavior. Other folks take it and sleep like a baby. Lots of sleeping meds out there - sounds like it is time for her to try a different one!!

hi breakdown156, i'm so sorry that you have been suffering from your friend's abuse. even though she is not herself on the medication, she should not be allowed to hurt you or herself. the thing is....she probably shouldn't be taking it because she is having such an extreme reaction to it. have you ever thought about taking her to her parents or an older sibling or even the hospital for help? at least encourage her to talk to her doctor about it asap. you sound like a wonderful friend, but you shouldn't have to deal with her alone. call someone when she is out of hand.

i took ambien as prescribed to me for help with sleep, and i totally had a psychodelic trip on it....i saw furniture change into gobblins and run around...needless to say, it didn't help me sleep, so i stopped taking it. your friend should stop too. good luck!

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freewill said:
and once.. yes once I drove.. and didn't know it...

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CREEPY!!!

I've been taken off ambien because I slept walk, ate, had conversations, drove places and didn't REMEMBER A THING the next morning! Bad news for me. Sounds like it is for your friend too.

It's also addictive, or should I say, one can become dependent on it. When I stopped taking it, I didn't sleep at all for 3 nights.
Take care,
Okie

I know I've told the story before, but I have a friend that would wake up, drive to the corner store and buy beer and drink it after taking ambien. She does not normally drink and had no recollection of the event.

When I've taken it, I forget the end of the TV program or movie that I was watching or any conversations that I'd have with my husband after I took them.

When someone has a reaction as severe as your friends, it is important for her to let her doctor know.