What are the long term side effects for Ambien?

By Teresa31 October 27, 2011 - 10:36am

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I have been taking Ambien for 4 years. I started with 1/2 a pill and now it takes 1 1/2 to 2 pills to sleep. What can this do to me long term other than the addiction?

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Rosa Cabrera RN

Dear Teresa,

Thank you for posting!

Ambien is a short-term treatment for insomnia, so, the longer you take it, the more and more you are going to require of the medication for it to work-- this is why you started off at half a pill and are now taking 1.5-2 pills. Ambien is usually restricted to being taken for no more than 2 weeks since it is a Sedative-Hypnotic. Dependency on this drug is a huge long term effect as well as risks of severe allergic reactions, liver damage since it is metabolized by the liver, and complex sleep-related behaviors, which may include sleep-driving. Sleep driving is defined as driving while not fully awake after ingestion of a sedative-hypnotic product, with no memory of the event.

Please consult your doctor if you have been on Ambien for more than 2 weeks. You may also find this post helpful: https://www.empowher.com/community/share/ambien-and-adverse-side-effects

Best,
Rosa

October 27, 2011 - 12:17pm

Anonymous (reply to Rosa Cabrera RN)

I have been taking 10mg ambien every night for 3 years. nothing weird going on. liver was a tiny bit high. there are some goofy people out there that say dumb things about this wonderful pill. Im glad my doctor doesnt side with the paranoid. he thinks taking it 365 days a year is fine.

December 28, 2012 - 9:27pm