Patient/caregiver was educated on precautions to be exercised while taking Ambien as follows:
- Take this medication as ordered by your physician. Do not change the dose and frequency on this medication without consulting your physician.
- Ambien is usually prescribed for a short-term. Individuals develop tolerance and can experience diminished therapeutic response to the dose of Ambien, after continued use beyond 2 weeks. Report to your physician regarding any symptoms of blunted therapeutic response and compromised ability of Ambien to induce sleep, such as, worsening anxiety episodes, sleeplessness, nervousness, irritability, muscle cramps, and seizures. Your physician could consider a change in the plan of care to provide the desired therapeutic relief. Do not change the dose of Ambien without your physician recommendation, in order to derive the desired therapeutic benefit.
- Ambien can take some time to fairly adjust to your body, to produce an optimum response of sleep induction. Your physician could change the dose of Ambien, based on the relief obtained or side-effects developed. So, maintain compliance with follow-up physician appointments, to update on the relief from symptoms. Be accommodative to the plan of dose changes, if need be, until you show an optimum response. Notify your doctor of any continuing or worsening insomnia, interrupted sleep, and/or short sleep duration with awakening in the mid of the night, so that, your dosage on the medication could be appropriately revised.
