Ambien Vs. Ambien Cr

Is Ambien CR (for long term usage) the same as the generic Ambien for short term use? What is the difference, what's in it? I take the teva 74 but have been on it for some years. I tried the CR at one point but I felt was a lesser dosage and it did not work for me at all.

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Hello, Allie! How are you? I'll be happy to clear this up for you.

They both contain the same active ingredient, Zolpidem, but in the CR, it is time released, so it is supposed to help someone fall asleep and stay asleep.

The possible side effects, as listed by the FDA, are the same, as well and may include nausea, dizziness, sleep actions, memory loss and anxiety.

Is there anything else I can help with?

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I have been using Ambien for the past 10 years....I'm a shift worker and since age 40 my regular sleep patterns are shot. I can tell you I have experience with Ambien Brand, Ambien CR and different generic zolpidem.
There is BIG difference between the Brand Ambien and the generic zolpidem. The brand Ambien either the CR or 10 mg costs about $350 for 30 pills (Thats with insurance btw, I think mine (CVS CAREMARK Insurance, is a cheap insurance but I thats what I have). They both work great. If you wake up after about 4 hours with just the Ambien 10 mg, The CR may be better. The CR delivers immediately about 8 mg to put you to sleep, then delivers the remainder a few mgs per hour for the remaining 7 hours. If the price of the Brand ambien cr is more than the 5 mg or 10 mg, you might want to try this.OR: Have your doctor give you one 10 mg to go to sleep then when you wake up have a 5mg or a second 10 mg, for the rest of the 4 hours. I have done this for a few years and I think it works better. The upper limit that the doctor will give you is 20 mg per night. If you take more than 20mg, then you are taking too much. There is a new 5mg disolve under your tounge, but it tastes lously, so if I wake after 4 hours, taking this will get me more awake, before I go back to sleep. Bottom line is you have to experiment to see what works best for your body, everyone is a little different.

The generics vary a hell of a lot in effectiveness, depending on the brand. There is both generic zolpodium cr and generic 5 mg and 10 mg, Try and experiment which brand works best for you. For me, I can tell you that the BEST generic brand is Mylan. Teva is a 2nd choice. My 3rd choice would be Sandoz. Stay AWAY from the North Star, Forrest, and Dr. Reddys generics., they are absolute junk! I have tried these and they had absolutly NO effect. It is like I took nothing. Well I won't let the isue lie nd take them back to the pharmacy and demand a refund. You will have an argument with the pharmacy about this guaranteed, but take the issue to their corporate level and demand your money back. You will also get accused of abusing sleep meds and that B.S., but, don't let the pharmacy dictate to you, there are different brands and they CAN order what you want. If not take your business to another pharmacy. They like to say generics are the same, but thats simply not true. Do NOT let anyone tell you otherwise!

One thing I do is about every 6 months I will stop the ambien (Zolpodium) and take either Halcion or Restoril for about a month. These work for me, but not necessarily you. Halcion and Restoril are benzos, so unlike ambien there is a little morning hangover, but its nothing compaired to how you feel from Not sleeping.

I have had a sleep study done twice. You go into clinic, they attach 101 wires to your body and then off you go to sleep. (Good luck sleeping by the way with the wires) The sleep doctors are usually neurologists and this study can tell you if there are any other issues.I found out I have sleep apena,so I been using the CPAP breathing machine, so far 6months I can't say I notice much, from its use, but according to DR sleep apena gives you other health issues, so using the cpap machine is well worth it.

If your a guy and at age 40 have your testostorine level checked. Low T will give you insomnia, I know this to be issue as well.

For me it has been years of experimenting. I have also tried other sleep meds. Try the different brands and if you can afford it stick to brand ambien. Please feel free to ask me any questions about slepp meds, like I said I've had to take them 10 years plus, thanks to my rotating shifts.

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