Zolpidem
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Zolpidem
Zolpidem is a prescription medication used for the short-term treatment of insomnia. A sedative, it is also called a hypnotic. Zolpidem (brand name Ambien, among others) helps patients fall asleep and sleep through the night by slowing activity in the brain.
Risk of Dependence
It is unlikely that you will become dependent upon zolpidem. Zolpidem and similar sleep medications are known to be effective and much less likely to be habit-forming than other drugs sometimes prescribed for sleep problems – like benzodiazepines, such as lorazepam (Ativan) or flurazepam (Dalmane).
Zolpidem is meant to be taken for short periods of time only. If you take the medication for two weeks or longer, zolpidem may not be as effective at allowing you to sleep as well as it did when you first began taking it. If you take zolpidem for a long time, you may also develop dependence or addiction, a need to continue taking the medication.
Abuse of the drug is characterized by misuse of it for nonmedical purposes. It is often combined with other psychoactive chemicals when being abused. When zolpidem is abused, it is sometimes crushed and cooked to be injected or snorted.
Zolpidem may cause a severe allergic reaction. Stop taking the drug and seek emergency medical help if there are any of the following signs of an allergic reaction: hives, difficulty breathing, or swelling of face, lips, tongue, or throat.
Side Effects of Taking Zolpidem
Taking zolpidem carries the risk of experiencing varied side effects. Some of these include warnings that taking the medication may make you drowsy during the day, and may increase the risk of falling. You should not drive a car or operate heavy machinery until you know how this medication affects you.
Some people who took zolpidem got out of bed and drover their cars, prepared and ate food, made phone calls, had sex, or were involved in other activities – while partially asleep. When they did wake up, they had no recollection of what they had done.
Since alcohol worsens the side effects of zolpidem, do not drink any alcohol while being treated with zolpidem.
Mental health may change or existing mental illness may get worse while taking zolpidem, although it is not known whether these changes are caused by zolpidem or by the mental illness already in existence or that suddenly develops. Symptoms to be on the lookout for include: aggressiveness, confusion, strange or unusually outgoing behavior, hallucinations, feeling as if you are outside your body, memory problems, difficulty concentrating, slowed movements or speech, depression that is new or gets worse, suicidal thoughts, or any other changes in your usual behavior, mood or thoughts.
Other side effects include weakness, headache, constipation, diarrhea, dizziness, dry mouth or throat, eye redness, gas, heartburn, changes in appetite, heavy menstrual bleeding, and ringing, pain or itching in the ears, among others.
Serious side effects include allergic reaction, hoarseness, shortness of breath, pounding heartbeat, chest pain, blurred vision or other vision problems, and difficulty breathing or swallowing.
Symptoms of Zolpidem Withdrawal
Symptoms of zolpidem withdrawal include the following:
• Unpleasant feelings
• Muscle cramps
• Nausea
• Shakiness
• Stomach cramps
• Sweating
• Seizures (rarely)
• Vomiting
Who Is at Risk for Zolpidem Addiction?
Patients who have been treated for prior drug or alcohol abuse should not be prescribed zolpidem by their physicians. There is sufficient proof that those individuals who have been dependent on other drugs and/or alcohol show an increased tendency to become dependent on zolpidem.
Such abuse may be physical or psychological and, because of that, prescribing zolpidem should be avoided. With the fact that withdrawal symptoms are often severe, the risk of such patients becoming dependent on zolpidem is very high.
Treatment for Zolpidem Addiction
In addition, if you are addicted to zolpidem, especially if you are also addicted to alcohol and/or other drugs, it is unlikely that you will be able to quit on your own. Even though you may want to, as soon as you begin to experience withdrawal symptoms, you’ll very likely resume taking the drug.
Treatment for zolpidem dependence and addiction often requires medically supervised detox followed by residential treatment at a professional drug rehab facility. After completion of residential treatment, continued treatment on an outpatient basis is often recommended in order to provide support and prevent relapse.
--Suzannekane 15:40, 9 July 2011 (MDT)
