Ambien

Description

Ambien belongs to a class of drugs that are known as imidazopyridine. It is a GABA A agonist and is mainly made up of zolpidem tartrate. Ambien can be consumed in strengths of 5mg and 10mg.

How It Works

The purpose of neurotransmitters in the brain is to send messages from one nerve cell to another. One of these neurotransmitters is GABA and is considered to act as a calming agent. It works to minimize anxiety, relax the muscles, and encourage sleep. Ambien acts on the GABA A receptors in the brain. When it does so, it causes the release of the GABA neurotransmitter. This causes a person to fall asleep faster, wake up fewer times during the night, and overall sleep for a longer period of time.

Uses

Ambien can be used to treat sleeping difficulties, in particular those associated with insomnia. It can overcome difficulties in falling asleep, maintaining sleep, or the inability to sleep for stretches at a time. Ambien is only used for short-term treatment purposes.

Dosage

A physician will have to first examine your sleeping patterns as well as your health in order to decide whether you can take Ambien. Since sleepiness and drowsiness is a result of taking Ambien, it is important that you do not take any more of the drug than your prescription dictates. You should also avoid making any modifications to the quantity that you are taking. Any changes must be approved by a health practitioner.

Patients are always given the least amount of Ambien first to determine the ideal quantity.

For women, the quantity of Ambien that is initially recommended is 5mg.

For men, this could be either 5mg or 10mg. If the 10mg proves to be too potent, the amount may be reduced to 5mg.

Ambien should be taken once a day, at night, right before bedtime. It is important to ensure that there at least seven or eight hours until you need to be awake.

Side Effects

During the period of Ambien treatment, you may find that there may be certain unexpected manifestations. Some of these may include:

 Increased drowsiness
 A lack of physical coordination
 Disorientation
 Depression
 Pain in the abdominal region
 Changes in appetite
 A reduced touch perception
 Unusual awareness of movement
 Bladder discomfort
 Hazy urine
 Presence of blood in urine
 Distortion in vision

Some of these problems may be milder while some could prove to be quite disorienting. If you feel particularly uncomfortable, it is best to seek medical attention immediately.

Precautions

Women and elderly individuals may be more effected by the sedation caused by Ambien.

Ambien can impair thinking and function. If you are either driving or doing something that requires coordination, you should first make sure that you are capable of doing so.

Some individuals have reported carrying out a variety of tasks while under the influence of Ambien with no recollection of the events later. It is important that you immediately inform your health practitioner of this.

Tell your health practitioner if these are related to you:

 Issues with your kidneys, lungs, or liver
 Dependence on drugs or alcohol
 Depression or other mental disorders
 Sleep apnea
 Myasthenia gravis

When taken over a long period of time, Ambien may become habit forming.

Self-Care

If you are either pregnant or are breastfeeding, you should see a specialist before taking Ambien.
Ambien is not meant for those under the age of 18.