Zolpidem is a prescription medicine (a sedative) used to help patients suffering from insomnia to fall asleep and avoid waking up at night. It will make you sleep for 7-8 hours, so make sure you don’t take it when you do not intend to sleep or in case you need just a couple of hours of sleep and will have to get up anyway. If you take zolpidem for a week or even longer and your symptoms do not get better make sure your health care provider knows about it. You are not supposed to take zolpidem for longer than prescribed – usually the period of treatment lasts for up to a month.
If you decide to stop this medicine – don’t do it before notifying your doctor, as you may experience some of the withdrawal symptoms. In most cases the patients are therefore advised to decrease their dose gradually. Some of the zolpidem side effects include headache, sore throat, stuffy nose, lack of balance and coordination, forgetfulness, blurred vision, constipation, nausea, muscle pain, drowsiness and dizziness. Report more serious side effects immediately to your health care provider: depression, suicidal thoughts, hallucinations, confusion, anxiety, aggressiveness, restlessness, and agitation.
