A warning, so I'm posting this here as well

I think my pharmacist jinxed me. Over the years I've had a problem sleeping due to fibromyalgia and recently my doc gave me a prescription last week for ambien. When the pharmacist handed me the prescription he said to be careful as there have been some reports of side effects such as...sleepwalking, sleep driving, sleep eating and having sex, all with having no recollection of doing it.There had been an ongoing class action lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company but they recently dropped it because the company agreed to modify their label with a more precise side effect warning. Well, I was on ambien about 2 years ago for a short while and I didn't have a problem with it, so I didn't think anything of it. A few nights ago i went to bed with my pajamas on but woke up in the morning completely naked and wondering how I got that way. From the evidence left behind and from what my 12 year old daughter saw when she got up for a drink, this is what I've pieced together..... After i went to sleep I got up and went into the kitchen, I poured milk and lucky charms cereal into a big mixing bowl and ate that with a plastic spoon on the couch, then i went back into the kitchen and ate 2 reeses peanut butter cups and one whole snack sized strawberry fig newtons.Then I took a regular sized bowl, filled it with popcorn, some milk and some sugar and ate that too. I have no recollection of any of it and here's the dangerous part...I dump if I eat more than 10 grams of sugar at a time and i've calculated that i had to have consumed at least 50 grams of sugar that night. I have no memory of dumping but I know that I must have. I'm lucky though because with eating that amount of food and sugar at one time I could've easily vomited and choked on it since I was asleep. So where does the naked part come in? Well when i woke up and realized I was naked I started looking for my pajamas. My pajama top was in the kitchen sink next to the big mixing bowl with a few lucky charms left in it and my pajama bottoms were sitting on top of the washing maching, wet and covered with mushy lucky charms cereal. Apparently while i was eating the cereal on the couch I spilled it all over me, stripped and just climbed back into bed. What's scary too is that the next day i asked my daughter if we had a conversation when she had gotten up. She said that we did and so I said "Didn't you think it was weird that i would be up eating lucky charms cereal out of a big mixing bowl at 1 a.m.? She said that she did think it was kinda strange but that we had a normal conversation, that I was talking normally and that i appeared to be awake and fine. So she was shocked when i told her that i had been sleep walking. I'm just glad that I didn't have a taste for taco bell or i would've been down the road in my car, possibly naked . My husband and I did laugh a little about this but this side effect of ambien could be really dangerous. Especially so for people who have gastric bypass surgery because like i said what if I had vomited and aspirated while asleep? Now
i am 4 years out from rny but what if someone who's only a few weeks out from surgery has this side effect and eats that quantity of food when they are only able to eat teaspoonfuls at a time? they could rupture their staple line, get an obstruction or worse. So no more ambien for me and if you are taking it, please be careful!

I had read about these side effects.  It must be scary to realize you can do all these things and not even know it.  Is there something else your doctor can give you now that you know it has this effect? Good luck, Sally

I take Wellbutrin every now and then and I've not had any problems

OH MY GOSH!  I'm so glad I am not the only one who's reacted in a strange way to this drug!  I had an episode where I vaguely remember parts of an evening of binging.. and then had sex.  (TMI?)  I found the vodka bottle out and some in my tea beside my bed?  I must have only taken a sip because the glass was rather full, but apparently with the two things in my system, I went nuts.  My husband said I was acting normal and talking, etc...  He didn't think anything strange about the evening.  But, when I woke up the next morning, I was in my pj's and didn't remember getting undressed and dressed and just had a strange feeling.  I gradually throughout the day started remembering bits and pieces of the evening.   I flushed the rest of the pills that day!  NEVER again will I take it!  SO SCARY!

I have a prescription for Ambien CR..and holy cow!!! When I take it, it feels like everything just goes black and I don't dream, I don't remember a thing. I hope I haven't done anything like drive a car or something. I have heard of several people eating, driving and other things and they don't remember doing it. How scary!! I'm glad you stayed safe though!!

Why Ambien CR?  That is the time released correct?  I thought RNY people couldn't take time released meds, at least it was pointless to do so.  Not sure if it's dangerous or not.  I'd check it out, it's been a big topic of discussion at our support group meetings.   Oh geesh... not trying to scare you or sound like a know-it-all!  LOL  I hate those kind of people.  LOL HUGS!

timed release doesn't hurt us we just don't get the full effect of it.

i've taken ambien for years. but my problem was more shopping. on line, or catalgue, only a few times food.

I have an alarm system in my house and it will scream if it "sees" movement at the end of the hallway. But if you do not have that protein, i would strongly suggest putting some pillows between bedroom and kitchen or some other obstacle that would cause you to wake up more fully. One of my rules is: DO NOT GET OUT OF BED. Everything sounds like a good idea on ambien. Don't do it. DO NOT GET OUT OF BED!

I think it's more dangerous for me to stay IN the bed!  LOL  *wink* Thanks for clearing up the time released stuff.  I was curious.   ;-)

well, all righty then! But put a blanket in front of your doorway so you can't get into the kitchen or get your car keys!

This is comical - you couldn't make this stuff up!  I know you mean it as a warning, but I'm getting a good laugh at the same time!