Ambien and Addiction: What Users Say

• Kat...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• June 25, 2018

For Insomnia "Ambien is a miracle drug, in my opinion. It can become addictive, and you can build up a tolerance for it, but that doesn't have to be the case. It happened to me several years ago when I was taking 10 mg each and every night over a period of several months. During the past two or three years, I've been taking a maximum of 5 mg a couple of times a week. More often than not, I break a 5 mg tablet in half, and that does the trick. I have not become addicted to it again. I simply take the pill about 15 minutes before going to bed, and then I drift off peacefully and sleep soundly until morning. When I wake up, I don't feel drugged or still drowsy. I feel refreshed. When used sensibly, Ambien can be a godsend."

• JDa...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 26, 2018

For Insomnia "I've been on Ambien for 3 years. I started taking it during lots of international travel to help me sleep on planes. I continue taking it now for help with sleep. I take 10 mg two to three times a week. When I first started taking it, it didn't do much to put me to sleep, but it definitely helped keep me asleep. 3 years later, this stuff knocks me out and keeps me sound asleep for 6-7 hours. Contrary to other posts, I have never felt the slightest dependency or addiction to Ambien. It is a wonderful product."

• Uta...
• September 17, 2015

For Insomnia "I personally have not taken this medication, but my mother has. I am 19, and she started taking it when I was 12. It, for the most part, helped her insomnia, but the side effects were extreme. I would have to stay up until she had fallen asleep, because if I didn't, she would do things and not remember them the next morning. She would take our dog for a walk in the dark at 10 at night by herself. There was one occasion where she woke up on our neighbor's cement front porch with our dog. She had no recollection of how she got there. She would eat strange things like vinegar and ketchup chicken quesadillas, she would fall down the stairs, she would lose things, and she got very addicted. Coming off it was horrible. The night terrors were insane."

• Rz1...
• October 2, 2015

For Insomnia "Not my experience but my wife's, very effective and addictive. After work, the highlight to her day is taking this, it has changed her personality and what's important to her. Tried many different things, and this is where we're at."

• Kno...
• April 14, 2016

For Insomnia "I took Ambien a while back for insomnia. Within 20 minutes, I was out. Woke up refreshed after 6 - 8 hours. Caution: for me, it was addicting, and I could not sleep without it. Also for me, I would not remember activities I may or may not have done the night before. Unplug your phone, you may regret who you call and the conversation you had. I cannot take Ambien for those reasons, but it did work for getting to sleep!"

• Anonymous
• August 2, 2015

For Insomnia "Extremely addicting, and after a while, you need more and more to sleep. Also, in the mornings, I would find cooked meals, TV and lights on, and scary times I found a bicycle out front! Stay away from this and Lanista."

• sir...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 5, 2018

For Insomnia "I took this medicine for only 3 months. At first, I was amazed by its effectiveness, but I only slept for 4 hours and was having some anxiety attacks the day after. I was calling this drug: the chemical lobotomy. Highly addictive because you don't want to stop this magical effect of falling asleep after 10 minutes of taking it. It took me a few attempts to be able to stop it. When it did stop working after 3 months and I was needing 2 pills to fall asleep, I simply stopped and replaced it with Xanax. Too expensive also. Harmful for the gums and teeth. There is a type of sugar in it, and because it melts under the tongue, the sugar residue stays there for the night, your teeth and gums will degrade. Try to find something else. Also, I had to drive my kid to school the morning after, and I was not really straight, I didn't like to drive the morning after. Dangerous."

• Dra...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 18, 2022

For Insomnia "I had lots of anxiety and depression that interfered with my sleep and was worried about losing my job. The doctor put me on Ambien, and I felt like lights out within minutes. It quickly became necessary as I would suffer from rebound insomnia if I tried to quit it, so I kept taking it. I finally found that the 10 mg wouldn't last the night, so I began taking 1 1/2 pills. This was my wake-up call. I started trying to come off it. It took a terrible year of starts and stops, but I've been free of it for 3 years now. I still have occasional problems sleeping, but not like trying to come off this medication. I'm glad that it helps some people, and it is very addictive."

• Mav...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 28, 2017

For Insomnia "I hate the doctors that prescribe Ambien to patients like me. They are putting patients' lives in danger. I know some people taking this pill during the day, too, and they take way too much. It is addictive."