Success Rate of Ambien

In ratings registered by users of Ambien, 201 out of 311 users, or 65 percent, said that Ambien

was successful at getting them to sleep. A total of 78 users, or 25 percent, thought that Ambien

was average at the job, while 32 users, or 10 percent, felt it did not help them sleep. All users

said that there were side effects associated with using Ambien and that some of the side effects

involved odd behavior done when the user had no memory of engaging in these actions (See

Ambien Side Effects, below). Addiction is another side effect mentioned by users of Ambien.

Ambien works well at helping patients suffering from transient insomnia, or a lack of getting to

sleep due to a stressful event or time period, to fall asleep the first night after taking the drug. In

two controlled studies on patients suffering from chronic insomnia, or the stubborn inability to

fall asleep, taking Ambien worked well at helping them sleep.

Common Ambien Dosage

The smallest doses of Ambien should be taken when this drug is first taken by a patient. Up

until 2013, an initial dosage was five milligrams for women and either five or 10 milligrams for

men. Now the initial dosage for women is 2.5 milligrams. It should be taken immediately prior

to going to sleep. There should be at least seven to eight hours set aside for sleep prior to taking

Ambien. It should not be taken if alcohol was consumed that evening (see Ambien Overdose

Symptoms, below). Ambien should not be taken with a meal, or immediately after eating.

When initial doses of Ambien aren’t effective at initiating sleep, then the dose can be increased,

but this increase in dosage must be weighed against the potential for too much of the effective

medication in the patient’s blood stream the following morning. When Ambien levels haven’t

left the blood stream at the start of the day, sleepiness can be detrimental, or even deadly, when

driving a vehicle to work. So, when full attentiveness is necessary, a smaller dose of Ambien is

wise.

Since the elderly, those people who are over 70 years old, seems to be more affected by Ambien,

the dose for elderly patients should stay at smaller amounts.

Those who suffer from liver failure should be given smaller doses of Ambien, since the effects

of the drug last longer with patients who don’t have full capacity of their liver. There seems to

be no effect for anyone suffering from impairment of their kidneys, so Ambien doses don’t need

adjustment for these types of patients.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on January 10, 2013 that it is forcing

the pharmaceutical company that manufactures Ambien to lower the recommended dose to

women by 50 percent. This requirement is based upon lab studies that indicate levels of Ambien

are left in women’s blood streams in the morning after sleeping through the night, more than

that of men, thereby making them too sleepy to drive and possibly contributing to accidents.

The FDA also stated that recommended doses be cut for men taking Ambien. These new dosage

changes were approved by the FDA in May 2013.