Ambien Side Effects: Symptoms I Experienced

I was prescribed Ambien (Zolpidem) for my persistent bouts with insomnia. I recall my mom had taken it but claimed that it didn't work. However, for me, it not only "worked", but it also brought on a slew of unexpected side effects.

First of all, you have to make sure to take it on an empty stomach. I've taken it after I had eaten (even if the meal was two hours prior to taking it), and the onset was delayed and the side effects were significantly minimized. One day, I took it on an empty stomach (I had not eaten for at least six hours), and within fifteen minutes, I felt this strange slow warmth (kind of like a buzz) creep over me. My mouth felt weird, tickly even, and my visual perception immediately changed. I recall going to the bathroom, and to my surprise, my face looked completely different, as if it were two-dimensional (of course, this was due to the change in my perception; my face itself did not actually change shape). This was the beginning to my brief experimentation with it, though I would never recommend doing so. In fact, I shall declare some of the negative side effects first, such as swollen, even darkened eyes after long-term usage, as well as memory problems. As for the memory problems, these were short-term but still disturbing. I would usually forget a large part of the night. (This is called anterograde amnesia, and I know this only because of a few psychology courses that I've taken). I remember one night, I had taken it for "fun", and fought off the sleepiness by hanging out with my friends and drinking red bull. Apparently, as we were going over the events of the night, I had painted a picture that I didn't even remember doing the following day! This is very unlike me; my memory is sharp as that of a hawk's. Therefore, I was intrigued, if not a bit troubled by this occurrence.