![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by don_bristol on August 30, 2003, at 17:49:47
My girlfriend usually takes 7.5 mg Zopiclone (US: Imovane, UK: Zimovane) to sleep but she forget to bring her meds when she was staying with me so I gave her 10 mg Zolpidem (US: Ambien, UK: Stilnoct.
Wow. After about 15 to 30 minutes she was hallucinating. She saw many things in the room had started moving and very strongly that there was someone watching. Really weird. She fell asleep and that was it. On other nights when she re-tired Zolpidem it happened again.
I got no side effect so it wasn't a bad batch causing this.
How common is this? I know that the official side-effects do mention hallucination but I thought it was one of those utterly rare side effects which might not even be caused by the med but more likely to be a co-incidence which occurred in the clinical trial. You know the sort of thing I mean.
On anothe rnight she tried a third med from the same class of drugs. This one was Zaleplon 10 mg (US: ?, UK: Sonata). The hallucinations were less pronounced but were starting to occur when she fell asleep.
How many other people here have heard of this or have experienced it?
Posted by Ame Sans Vie on August 31, 2003, at 0:07:09
In reply to How common is hallucinating on Ambien?, posted by don_bristol on August 30, 2003, at 17:49:47
Hallucinations are extremely common with Ambien and Sonata -- that's the reason that they're so widely abused. If you don't just go right to sleep about 10-15 minutes after taking it like you're supposed to, you'll basically "trip". Solution: Don't stay awake -- let the drug do its job. :-)
Posted by don_bristol on August 31, 2003, at 7:17:44
In reply to Re: How common is hallucinating on Ambien? » don_bristol, posted by Ame Sans Vie on August 31, 2003, at 0:07:09
> Hallucinations are extremely common with Ambien
> and Sonata -- that's the reason that they're so
> widely abused. If you don't just go right to
> sleep about 10-15 minutes after taking it like
> you're supposed to, you'll basically "trip".
> Solution: Don't stay awake -- let the drug do
> its job. :-)I didn't realise that people abused Ambien and Sonata. I am still surprised to hear that they do abuse them because if one were to take several capsules or tablets then it is all the more likely that one would just fall asleep!
Posted by Ame Sans Vie on August 31, 2003, at 8:31:55
In reply to Re: How common is hallucinating on Ambien?, posted by don_bristol on August 31, 2003, at 7:17:44
You'd be surprised how many people will pop 50 or 60mg of Ambien and just force themselves to stay awake and watch the show, lol. It's sort of a cheap buzz, because the hallucinations only last for about an hour and there's nothing psychedelic involved. But I suppose Ambien just doesn't work as a sleeping pill for some people -- my doctor's had me try up to 80mg in a single night once because it just wasn't working for me; didn't fall asleep, had some wicked hallucinations though, lol. I have a very large benzo tolerance, and though I realize zolpidem isn't a benzo, it acts similarly enough to one that it just won't work for me. I have the same problem with Halcion -- recommended dose is 0.25-0.5mg... I once took 12mg to no avail. :-\
Posted by Panic_attack on August 31, 2003, at 14:01:19
In reply to Re: How common is hallucinating on Ambien? » don_bristol, posted by Ame Sans Vie on August 31, 2003, at 8:31:55
When I was hospitalized, they gave me .5 mg of Ambien and I freaked out. I layed in bed with my eyes shut, trying to sleep and I just started hallucinating like crazy. I felt like I was tripping on acid. But it finally knocked me out! Really weird experience. Never took it again.
Posted by don_bristol on August 31, 2003, at 15:20:48
In reply to Re: How common is hallucinating on Ambien? » don_bristol, posted by Ame Sans Vie on August 31, 2003, at 8:31:55
> You'd be surprised how many people will pop 50 or 60mg of
> Ambien and just force themselves to stay awake and watch
> the show, lol. It's sort of a cheap buzz, because the
> hallucinations only last for about an hour and there's
> nothing psychedelic involved.
>Yes that's pretty much how my friend seemed to describe them. She saw immobile thing moving and undulating. She felt people were around. But there were no sounds turning into colors or that sort of thing.
> But I suppose Ambien just doesn't work as a sleeping pill
> for some people -- my doctor's had me try up to 80mg in
> a single night once because it just wasn't working for me;
> didn't fall asleep, had some wicked hallucinations though,Well at least you seem to answer my question about how much can be taken! Although I must be careful becuase maybe you are a fast metabolizer and break it down very quickly so the same may not apply to someone else. But I guess doubling the recommended dose is going to be ok.
> I have a very large benzo tolerance, and though I realize
> zolpidem isn't a benzo, it acts similarly enough to one
> that it just won't work for me. I have the same problem
> with Halcion -- recommended dose is 0.25-0.5mg... I once
> took 12mg to no avail. :-\Is it that you have some metabolic reistance? Or are you so anzious and "wired" that nothig short of a sledgehammer would do the trick? I would be interested to know your thoughts as my friend can go right through the night (when she gets hyper and obsessional) even after taking Ambien.
Did you find some other med which made you sleep? A sedative tricyclic, one of the sedative BP meds, a sedating antihistamine, a barbiturate?
Posted by Ame Sans Vie on August 31, 2003, at 17:32:27
In reply to Re: How common is hallucinating on Ambien?, posted by don_bristol on August 31, 2003, at 15:20:48
> Is it that you have some metabolic reistance? Or are you so anzious and "wired" that nothig short of a sledgehammer would do the trick? I would be interested to know your thoughts as my friend can go right through the night (when she gets hyper and obsessional) even after taking Ambien.
I'm definitely not "wired"; I don't have generalized anxiety disorder. I honestly have no idea why it takes such high amounts of any sedative to affect me. I do have avoidant personality disorder though, and I read once that those with AvPD tend to have a weak response to anxiolytics.
> Did you find some other med which made you sleep? A sedative tricyclic, one of the sedative BP meds, a sedating antihistamine, a barbiturate?
Elavil, trazodone, and Remeron worked for a week; Benadryl, Dramamine, promethazine, doxylamine, clonidine, and tryptophan never helped at all. Amobarbital, secobarbital and pentobarbital all work if the dose is pushed to many, many times the recommended amount. Phenobarbital works for me at around 3,000mg. So other than narcotics, general anesthetics, and borderline-toxic doses of barbiturates, I've found that Xyrem works well (but is far too expensive), as does a tincture of valerian root and California poppy.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.