Has anyone had panic attacks the day after taking Ambien or another sleeping pill?

The closest I ever came to a sleeping aid was taking a tylenol sleeping aid. It left me feeling very nervous the next day all day long. Those pills went straight to the garbage. I think some people are more sensitive than others.
I know if I take cold meds that help you to sleep, a full dose can sometimes make me sleepy up to 24 hours. The effect of the cold aid last less than 12 but I will fall into a lot of micro naps all day long.
I usually have to take a childs dose for it not to hit me so hard. Some even make my hands shaky all day.

My wife has sleep apnea. her doctor prescribed Ambien for her. she never complained of panic attacks, but Ambien made her feel funny. she stopped Ambien and is now taking Lanesta. this works for her, giving her 8 hours of restful sleep. make the change to Lanesta.

“I have been taking Ambien on and off for six years or so now and just recently ON again for about 3 months. 10 mg a day.. About a month ago I started having what I can only explain as anxiety during the day. Kind of extreme tenseness in my neck and shoulders and eyes, feeling like I’m going a million miles an hour and can’t slow down and relax. Worry, Cloudiness and worst of all feeling extremely uncomfortable in social situations… All of which I guess equals anxiety.. I stopped taking the ambien for a couple weeks and the symptoms seemed to taper off a little bit but were still there to some degree. ”

“I have, in fact, read about many people on this site who claim to have anxiety after taking Ambien. ”

Talk About Sleep

As for an alternative, I can recommend Calms Forte, available over the counter, herbal. My husband has tried it too and said it helps him sleep. I take it for anxiety so I know it won’t cause that.

I’ve had friends that have.

I tried Ambien for a week and felt nothing at all; no change in my sleep patterns either.

I take chocolate. I don’t sleep any better, but I’m happy about it.

This is taken directly from “Quick Reference for Psychopharmacology” by Elizabeth Rankin. It’s a handbook that alot of therapists keep in order to rule out med side effects.

Ambien (Zolpidem tartrate)
Side Effects: The most common side effects following use for up to 10 nights included drowsiness, dizziness, and diarrhea. The side effects listed n the following are an incidence of 1% or greater. CNS: Headache, drowsiness, dizziness, lethargy, drugged feelng, lightheadedness, depression, abnormal dreams, amnesia, ANXIETY, NERVOUSNESS, sleep disorder, ataxia, confusion, euphori, insomnia, vertigo.

There are other side effects listed…GI Musculoskeletal, Respiratory, Body as a whole, Opthalmologic and miscellaneous as well as symptoms of withdrawal but I listed only the grouping pertaining to your post.

Yup. There’s a reason kids use Ambien to trip when they don’t have shrooms… It can also cause really horrible, horrible sleep and nightmares, which then screws up your day. I’d rather not sleep than take Ambien one more time. It’s very common to have panic attacks on or shortly after taking Ambien.

My partner got prescribed Ambien last year and he was a mess! They knocked him out all right but he’d sleepwalk, mumble weird shite to me with his eyes open and then not remember any of it and yeah, he always felt like crap the next day, all shaky and sweaty.

Another guy I know made a late night trip to Wal Mart a few months back under the influence of Ambien, came home with not one but two $3k plasma tv’s and didn’t recall any of it. He seemed pretty panicky the next day.

Ambien is bad stuff for me! It did cause nervousness for me and evidently I would eat and not remember it. My husband would tell me the next day that at some random hour I was wanting soup or a sandwich, not my typical behavior. I also didn’t stay in bed. He would find me in a different room, trying to do things. Cleaning, one night. without anything to clean with I stopped taking it and do better without and making sure I changed my entire sleeping routine.

Yeah – I’ve read about all those weird side effects but have never had a problem until the last few months. I appreciate the info from all.

I’ve never taken Ambien, but I do take over the counter sleeping pills because I work nights, and sometimes it’s hard to sleep during the day. Sometimes I get a weird restless arm sensation after taking them, and I can’t stop moving it around for a while. I’ve heard of restless leg syndrome, but it’s always my arm that gets restless. It’s very annoying.

I just took some for a few days and I HATE the next day feeling! Yes, call it a panic attack or sudden heart racing but I don’t like the feeling of not being “in time” or focused.