Misc Tripping/Hallucinating From Ambien

[thejourney]

I have read up on the issue of 'recreational ambien,' or hallucinations off of ambien. I read over and over again people saying that there is no 'drug-like' effect from ambien, it just makes you tired. Well, it may be true that it only makes some people hallucinate, but it without a doubt has that potential. I first got prescribed ambien a number of years ago. And, one time after taking it I decided I wanted to stay awake. I noticed I felt kind of drunk, and was curious what would happen if I took more. And, yea, I hallucinated. Pretty intensely. I took it a number of times, and it without fail would make me trip. And I mean, legitimate open-eye hallucinations. They didn't seem particularly meaningful, but they were real. I perceived a hot tub I was in as the most massive olympic style pool you can imagine, and I was swimming laps. I saw santa flying with his reindeer out my window. All sorts of things.

So yes, ambien can definitely make you hallucinate. But, I've read enough online to know that it doesn't work for everyone. When I was originally doing it, I did it with friends a few times, and they also tripped, or at least they claimed to, and acted like it. I got off the prescription, but eventually got it re-prescribed. Now it was zolpidem, generic, because apparently after releasing this generic version ambien decided to hike their prices absurdly. When I took this, it did not make me trip to the same degree. It had definite psycho-active effects, and had some certain visual effects, but far less than what I used to get. One thing that was still there with the generic, that almost seems like the most guaranteed aspect of an 'ambien trip' for me, is the perception of having...others around you. You just feel like there are others around you, observing you, and you can kind of interact with. I used to actually see them, but with the generic I just have a sense of it. When I took the generic zolpidem before, it gave me kind of an uncomfortable feeling as well, that I don't believe I got with the name-brand ambien. I just got re-prescribed it, and am thinking about trying it again. Just 15 mg, but will smoke some weed as well. Hopefully that helps. And hopefully I can get the legit effects here with this zolpidem, despite not being name brand.

 

[lazylazyjoe]

And your question is?

 

[thejourney]

Not so much a question as an attempt to start a dialog on the effects which occur when you take ambien. I put forth the nature of kine. Explained the seemingly lesser effects from generic zolpidem... Just hoping to spark conversation on the topic...

It is coming up on me...will soon be smoking weed.

 

[Mstmil]

the only time i took it, i was wondering around cooking in the middle of the night. I dont remember doing it but apparently i was!

 

[Jabberwocky]

One thing that was still there with the generic, that almost seems like the most guaranteed aspect of an 'ambien trip' for me, is the perception of having...others around you. You just feel like there are others around you, observing you, and you can kind of interact with

This is the most interesting aspect of Zolpidem tripping if you ask me.
I only have one experience with Zolpidem for recreactional reasons as I use it to get to sleep too so I have to keep my tolerance in check. That experience was 30 mg and I was tripping very hard. Kind of what I would expect a mixture of benzos, alcohol and Ketamine to feel like, I really liked it a lot actually, though the amnesia and delirious effects are of some concern to me.
I got the exact same thing, constantly having a feeling of someone/something being there to watch over me in a nice way. I did know that I was the only one in the apartment though but I just got with the flow and really enjoyed myself.
I have experience with quite a few different psychedelics and dissociatives and I have never experienced anything similar to this.

 

[dollypantry]

I most definitely have experienced hallucinations with Zolpidem / Ambien. If I take 10mg a night for more than 2 or 3 nights, then when I withdraw (I like to stay in control by having days off), I frequently get spiders - so real on the wall, when I open my eyes or huge mono moths - which I can't blink away. They're moving and kind of not scary at a distance away but definitely a little disturbing. They only last for a minute or so. Yesterday, I awoke after a rare nod-off in the day, to the sound of my cat pouncing on something - I looked over and it was a long, rapidly moving red liquorice string snake! It quite quickly wriggled it's way into the cushions and disappeared. Have also had 'THAT PRESENCE' next to me when I have taken the Z earlier and have a ghostly silent friend to my right! That's about it. Bit unsettling. I am more a boring older person who takes them for sleep but with a bit of abuse - i.e. taking them an hour before bedtime for the tranquil effect but that's about it. Googled the hallucinations to see if it was common. So, anyway, join the club. I'll put the bug spray away. Oh yes, while I think about it, I sometimes get the screen kind of undulating as I type and the keys feel a bit soft and rubbery.
If I take one before bed, I forget what I have read when I get to my kindle the next night and have to repeat the exercise. It's like groundhog day. Finally, when I was taking them more seriously, it affected me very very badly. Terrible loss of memory, of confidence, depression, anxiety and got to a really low point. It wasn't until I went on holiday and left them at home that I went 14 days Z free and felt like a real human again. I think they are an innocent looking little tablet but very insidious and seductive. Give them up and they will call you back. There is an excellent video on youtube by a guy who gave them up a year ago and is doing fantastically. I am in the 'cutting down' stage but know how close this is to the thin end of the wedge. They really have done nasty things to me after presenting as my warm friend who solved so many problems. Beware!

 

[SixBuckets]

I used to see people walking around my room, sitting on the end of my bed, sometimes trying to talk to me. It stopped happening after I'd been taking it for a while.

Now my only weird behaviour is getting up in the middle of the night and drinking all the milk!