Anxiety/memory loss

[Andreea0306]

I am experiencing severe anxiety, especially early in the day, and memory loss. I have been taking Ambien CR 6.25 every night for the past year. Could that be contributing to the memory loss? I am 44.

[STEM_Dad]

Memory loss is a reported side effect of Ambien.

For any questions or concerns, talk to your doctor &/or pharmacist.

My wife was prescribed Ambien when we got married. It helped her get to sleep, but after about an hour she would get up and start sleep walking for as long as 2-3 hours until I could coax her back to bed. Once, I remember her getting her car keys and sleep driving! That really scared me, so I started removing her keys from the hook by the door. She was already weaning herself off the Ambien, with her doctor's agreement to doing so, starting just before we got married.

I realize that this is an extreme, rare occurrence. Most people who take Ambien don't seem to have any issues like she had.

The memory loss issue alone may not be bad, but it would concern me if it happened to me. So, again, I recommend calling your doctor &/or pharmacist about your concerns. There are other sleep medications which may work for you without concerning side effects.

[Smexxysteffy in reply to STEM_Dad]

I’ve had similar things happen to me but I notice I am a wreck without the ambien except I take 10mg, do you notice a difference between the CR? Was thinking about possibly switching

[STEM_Dad in reply to Smexxysteffy]

It was so long ago that she took Ambien (20 years ago) that CR wasn't available then. She didn't feel rested at all when taking it, so she hasn't considered trying it again.