Ambien - an overview
Ambien contains the active ingredient zolpidem tartrate. It is a medication that is prescribed to treat acute insomnia in grownups.
The maker
Sanofi-Aventis is the maker of Ambien.
Uses
Ambien is prescribed to help treat acute insomnia. This condition might be identified by:
- Trouble getting to sleep
- Frequently waking throughout the night
- Waking too early each morning
How it works
Ambien is part of the group of drugs known as hypnotics or sedatives, which are more often called sleep medications.
Based on studies when compared to those that did not take Ambien, those that took this medication were able to:
- Fall asleep more quickly
- Sleep longer
- Experienced better quality sleep
- Woke up less often
Ambien dosage for Sleeplessness
The amount of Ambien that a person should begin taking is 10 mg, given just before going to bed.
For those that are taking other kinds of medications that work in the brain, are older or have liver disease, it is likely that the beginning dosage should be 5 mg of Ambien.
General Information on Dosing
Some things for those that are taking Ambien to consider:
- You should only take this medicine just before bed.
- You should take your daily dosage of Ambien without food.
- Ambien can be fast acting, so be sure that you're ready to sleep before you take it. You should not take this medication if you will be driving or need to concentrate.
- In order for Ambien to be effective, you should take it only as prescribed. This medication will not be effective if you take it other than your doctor has prescribed it to you.
- Generally, Ambien is to be taken only for a couple of days. You should not take this medication for longer than one or two weeks. If you're still struggling to sleep after this, you should talk to your doctor.
- If you're nto sure about anything that has to do with your dosage of Ambien, you should talk to your health care professional. You should not stop taking it without talking to your doctor first.
Common Secondary Effects
There have been many clinical trials with Ambien and its effects have been studied extensively.
According to these studies, the people that were taking this medication had their secondary effects documented and compared with the secondary effects of the group that did not take this medication. This made it possible to find out what secondary effects really happened, how often they happened and how the effects compared to the people that did not take the medication.
Based on the findings of these studies, most of the common secondary effects of Ambien include:
- Dizziness
- Daytime sleepiness
- Problems with coordination
- Lightheadedness
- Diarrhea
Generic forms
At this time, there are both generic and brand-name forms of Ambien medication that have been approved for sale.
