Ambien

Ambien is a brand name for the generic drug zolpidem tartrate. It is prescribed in tablets for short-term treatment of insomnia.

Ambien can cause severe adverse reactions including allergic shock, abnormal thinking or behavior, withdrawal effects, memory loss, anxiety, and depression. Other frequent side effects include weakness, lack of energy, confusion, euphoria, lack of coordination, dizziness, hiccups, or vision abnormalities. Reactions which occur infrequently include increased sweating, swelling, pallor, drop in blood pressure, fainting, fever, malaise, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, agitation, difficulty concentrating, hallucinations, leg cramps, migraines, difficulty speaking, slurred speech, numbness or tingling, constipation or diarrhea, flatulence, inflammation of the stomach and intestines, compromised liver function, thirst, high blood sugar, arthritis, yeast infections, bronchitis, coughing, shortness of breath, itchy skin, eye irritation, ringing in the ears, bad taste or distorted taste, urinary incontinence or inflammation of the bladder.

Some side effects are rare, and can include flushing, glaucoma, increased salivating, difficulty producing bowel movements, swelling in the face, hot flashes, restless legs, weight loss, chest pains, heart attack, blood clots, pulmonary embolism, varicose veins, fluid in the lungs, aggression, apathy increased appetite, decreased libido, dementia, difficulty speaking or understanding, loss of muscle tone, nerve pain, panic attacks, nerve disorders, suicide attempts, yawning, symptoms of low calcium absorption, belching, hemorrhoids, rectal bleeding, bowel obstruction, anemia, low white blood cell count, swollen lymph nodes, herpes, ear infections, gout, high fat levels in the blood, muscle weakness, pain of the sciatic nerve, pain or inflammation of the tendons, breast pain, breast fibroids, pneumonia, laryngitis, nosebleed, lack of oxygen, pink eye, kidney failure, excessive night urination, excessive urine production, kidney pain, and inability to urinate. If any of these side effects persist, you should contact your doctor or seek emergency medical help.

Since insomnia is often a symptom of some other disorder, either physiological or psychiatric, your doctor should make sure you are very carefully evaluated before prescribing Ambien. If you’ve been taking Ambien for seven to ten days and still have seen no improvement in your sleep, it may be that there is an underlying medical condition that is not being treated. Some symptoms of an underlying condition include decreased inhibition, bizarre behavior, agitation, hallucinations, unpredictable amnesia, worsening of depression, suicidal thinking, and depersonalization. Your doctor should make sure you are carefully evaluated and observed during your course of treatment with Ambien.

Ambien is in Pregnancy Category C, which means that it is not known to cause any harm to a developing fetus or to be dangerous for a pregnancy. It is not known whether Ambien is passed into breast milk; but studies have shown that the use of Ambien inhibits the production of breat milk, so Ambien is not recommended for nursing mothers. It is not known whether Ambien is safe for use in children under age eighteen, so it is not recommended for pediatric use. If you are over age sixty-five you can expect the same rate of adverse affects that younger adults have, with an increased rate of effectiveness.

Ambien has the following structural formula:

Review published on: 11 February 2008