Taking an Ambien tonight- What to expect?

[lady raven]

I've heard some weird stuff about Ambien, but I have a repeat sleep study tonight- I barely slept during the first one. I tossed and turned and once I finally nodded off for a bit, I woke up and never got back to sleep, so they are making me repeat it. They gave me an Ambien to take because apparently it won't affect the results of the study.

What can I expect? Should I take it when I leave home (I live a block from the hospital), or is it pretty fast acting? I guess if I do anything weird in my sleep I'll be in the best place (the sleep lab).

Anyone have experience with Ambien that they'd like to share?

Rebecca

[Lil Missy]

1. I'm curious too.

I have an appointment on the 30th and I'm going to ask about it.

My biggest concerns are the stories I hear about people getting up and doing things, like driving or cooking, that they have no memory of doing, and also whether it is addictive.

Good luck.

[Redstone]

2. The "stuff" you heard is true. There have been many, MANY documented cases of

people doing things (up to and including driving) as if they were awake, when they were actually asleep, when they took Ambien.

It has happened to me (though, fortunately, not getting to the point of driving anywhere).

I'll NEVER take Ambien, ever again. I'd rather live with the insomnia.

Redstone

[Lil Missy]

3. That's what REALLY scares the crap outta me.

Nothing like driving while unconscious! :scared:

[Ikonoklast]

4. Mom cooked dinner.

At 3:45 AM.

[Burma Jones]

5. I took Ambien for several months and all I did was sleep more

I took Lunesta for about a year and that also worked well. Now, I just sleep without any help.....

[mitchum]

6. Don't log onto ebay after taking it...

Monday afternoon I discovered that I was the proud owner of yet ANOTHER audio generator
I vaguely remember looking at the auction the night before...

[SPKrazy]

7. take it when you leave home

don't take a chance of taking it and then leaving because you don't know how it will affect you and you sure don't want to be driving under the influence. It takes about 20 min or so to start to work and it is a sedative hypnotic which means that it may fool you into thinking you aren't as sleepy, you may have some partial or even total amnesia, and you may just lay down and fall asleep. It is hard to tell. I have taken it and I have fallen off my bed, emailed people in a state of semi amnesia because I wouldn't remember it until I found sent messages that I didn't remember until I saw them, or got a reply.

I have posted on DU things I didn't remember as well.

Be careful, and please don't take it until you get there.

[lady raven]

8. Thank you so much for the advice, everyone!

I'm not too worried, but just a little nervous about the unknown.

I only have one pill and am only taking it this once for the sleep study. There will be a sleep tech monitoring me all night, via the eeg and an infrared camera, so I'm not too worried about doing anything weird- If I try to get up and leave in my sleep they will know what's going on.

Normally I don't take anything to help me sleep, but we don't want to waste another expensive sleep study, hence the pill.

I'm leaving here in about 15 minutes and I'll take the Ambien when I get to the sleep lab while I'm being wired up.

Thanks again for the advice!

[Lindsey]

9. I've been taking it for a couple of months and it's been an absolute

lifesaver. I haven't had any side effects at all. I get a wonderful nights sleep. I was having horrible insominia and this has truly made a difference in my life. At first I was a litte paranoid (especially about the rumors that some people drive in their sleep)so I put my car keys in a very hard to get to location that would hopefully be such a hassle to get to that I would wake up during the process. Fortunately, none of that has happened. The only thing negative for me has been I get some really weird dreams sometimes. Good luck.

[Connonym]

10. I'm glad you decided not to take it before leaving

I imagine you're already asleep now :) It works pretty fast. I had stopped taking it because of doing scary stuff while on it. I now keep some on hand but I'm very strict about taking it only when I'm actually lying in bed, never, ever ahead of time.

Good luck on the sleep test.

[moriah]

11. Uh, don't take it til you are in bed.

Seriously. If it affects you, it hits VERY quickly.

People have had fatal car wrecks because they decided to take Ambien on the way home, thinking it wouldn't take effect until later.

[Pithlet]

12. Just be careful, and do whatever your doctor says.

I think the general rule for ambien is not to take it till you go to bed. My experience was I would call people up late at night and ramble on and on, and post strange things online. I also did major shopping online, and would have no memory of it the next morning. Fortunately I was able to return it all, because I spent quite a lot. I remember watching TV and seeing double on the screen. It is weird stuff. I didn't take it for very long. Of course, follow any advice your doctor gives you.

[puerco-bellies]

13. I have been taking Ambien for a couple of years.

I don't feel it's effects, in so far as Ambien seems to not telegraph it's presence. I don't remember much. My wife encourages me to take one before we have a "big night" planned. I have long heartfelt talks with her that I don't remember. I ended up telling her I would marry her on Ambien, and barely remember that, thought I do remember me thinking 'why the hell am I telling her this' as it was happening.
Within three or four months I was married for the first time in my life. Don't get me wrong, I love Ali, and would have probably gotten married anyway, but the Ambien is like some kind of emotional truth serum. I have vague memories of answering my wife's questions late at night. She loves the stuff even though she does not take it.

[LiberalHeart]

14. I've been taking 5mg per night for many years -- since early '90s.

I was started off on the 10mg and that was way too much for me. I had those bizarre actions while asleep, no memory afterward episodes. But on the half dose, no problems. Just sleep. The pill works best if you take it right when you're going to bed. Taking it and staying up kinda undoes its effectiveness.

[lady raven]

15. Back from my sleep study!

It went great! I slept for 7 hours and would have slept more if they hadn't had to kick me out, but I feel pretty good. I was a little groggy when I first woke up, but now, 45 minutes later, I'm fine. Nothing weird happened except for a strange but innocuous dream involving my ex husband (bah).

My Ambien was 10 mg. Once left to sleep, it took me 15:42 (The sleep tech told me this this morning) to be fully asleep- Not bad.

Anyway, thanks everyone for helping soothe my nerves!