Has anyone taken Ambien while they were pregnant?

I'm at a point where sleep is becoming impossible.. I'm lucky if I get 4 straight hours of sleep without having to turn over or get up to pee or not being woke up from a leg cramp. Plus I've had a lot of stress since Justin left 3 weeks ago, on top of dealing with all the transitions (and emotions) of him being gone, my little guys dealing with it, and me having to be the only one to take care of them AND be 7.5 months pregnant. :tired So today at my OB checkup my dr precribed me a low dosage (only 10 mg) of Ambien. She said it works for 6 hours instead of 8.

I'm really aprehensive about taking sleeping pills at all, but more so when I'm pregnant. Obviously my dr would not have prescribed it if it wasn't safe to take, so what I'm wondering is if anyone else has taken it while they were pregnant? Did it work? Did you feel groggy in the morning? Did you have any other weird/abnormal side effects?

TIA!! :)

I got prescribed Ambien the day that I went into labor! I went in in the morning, and the said that I wasnt dilated enough to be admitted, but I was having horrible pains. They prescribed me Ambien and to go home and sleep, this was at like 2pm, I slept for like 3 hours and couldn't tolerate the pain even with the sleeping pills, so I went back in and had him at 1122pm. I didn't like the way that the pills made me feel AT ALL! It made me feel Really really groggy and like I was on some kinda tripped out drug. But everyone handles it differently. Sorry for rambling!

The hospital prescribed them to me at the end of my pregnancy, my ob told me that I shouldnt take them though unless absolutely necessary. I dont remember why though...

I got prescribed Ambien the day that I went into labor! I went in in the morning, and the said that I wasnt dilated enough to be admitted, but I was having horrible pains. They prescribed me Ambien and to go home and sleep, this was at like 2pm, I slept for like 3 hours and couldn't tolerate the pain even with the sleeping pills, so I went back in and had him at 1122pm. I didn't like the way that the pills made me feel AT ALL! Sorry for rambling!

How did they make you feel?

I'm not a fan of ambien, either. it never helped me get "uninterrupted" sleep and then i felt like a zombie / groggy afterwards. i got prescribed it at the very end of my pregnancy.

I'm not preg, but took it for a week once because of some stress in my life..We that stuff makes you see things! It's crazy!

It was perscribed very late but I never used it.

:suspect I'm thinking I won't be taking it... too many negative remarks. I really appreciate the honesty, ladies, thank you!

I think I'll deal with the rough nights of sleep for another 6.5 weeks and just start taking naps during the day when my kids do. :yes

I was given it the night before I was induced.... didn't help me a bit.. I hope it works for you!

The only time I have ever taken ambien and not felt horribel after wards with the grogginess was on my fly to Kuwait... but other then that if I just took it to just sleep thorugh the night for like 8 hours it helped me sleep yeah but when I woke up after about 8 hours I still felt the pills in my system and it kinda sucks to work when you feel like that!

Funny that you posted this today because I was complaining to my OB this morning that I'm having issues sleeping also. She suggested trying Tylenol PM. If that didn't work she'd prescribe Ambien. Although, after hearing all the negative responses, I don't think I'll try the Ambien either.

Good Luck!

Maybe try some benadryl? Benadryl is the active ingredient in many of the over the counter sleeping pills. Diphenhydramine

my friend was addicted to ambien.....said it was a horrible horrible time in her life. she has insomnia issues and still has problems

husband loves it. they are prescribed it with other pills for various reasons and said the dosage he gets is amazing. He swears by it.

I wont touch the stuff

My doc always told me to take tylanol pm :shrug worked for me

i took it once before i was prego, and for like the first hour after taking it i felt like i had the shakes, then once i was able to sleep i had CRAZY dreams, but i didnt really feel bad once i woke up.

Maybe try some benadryl? Benadryl is the active ingredient in many of the over the counter sleeping pills. Diphenhydramine


I was going to ask the same thing. That is what the OB gave me when I couldn't sleep.

i was prescribed it while i was pregnant with both girls.. i swear by it during pregnancy, at least once a month i would get a "good" nights sleep.. and both my girls are perfect :) good luck!!

I can't do Benadryl because it has the exact opposite reaction on me than it's supposed to. I've taken it before and I end up laying in bed all night wide awake. That's definitely NOT what I need right now. :lol

I've taken Tylenol PM before and it worked amazingly for me; I didn't know it was safe to take during pregnancy! I'm going to get some and give it a try. :tu

I just couldn't convince myself to take the Ambien after what I have read from you ladies, so I called my dr and told her that I wouldn't be picking up the prescription...

My doc always told me to take tylanol pm :shrug worked for me

:tu
ditto

:tu
ditto


same here.

i used to take 1/2 of ONE or ONE... two made me too groggy

I can't do Benadryl because it has the exact opposite reaction on me than it's supposed to. I've taken it before and I end up laying in bed all night wide awake. That's definitely NOT what I need right now. :lol

I've taken Tylenol PM before and it worked amazingly for me; I didn't know it was safe to take during pregnancy! I'm going to get some and give it a try. :tu

I just couldn't convince myself to take the Ambien after what I have read from you ladies, so I called my dr and told her that I wouldn't be picking up the prescription...

Tylenol PM is just a mixture of Benadryl and Tylenol. Check the box. It's acetaminophen and diphenhydramine.

i never took it while i was preggo. my doc did say i could take benydrel (sp) though. so i would take that. that stuff makes me sleep. i haven't had good experiences w/ ambien. one night i took it, i had sex w/ my hubby and didn't remember! it was crazy!

DH took Ambien for a while (obviously he didn't take it while he was pregnant lol!) but it made him pretty groggy in the morning and really, Really, REALLY forgetful! It really affected his short-term memory. When he stopped taking it, it took a couple of weeks for it to get out of his system and for him to start remembering things again.

Just curious, saw you are in S.D. Who is your doc. It should not make you feel groggy. If it does, you should let your doc know so they can modify the dose or get you a new script. Worked with all the OB docs at NMCSD, just curious as to who you are seeing. I was prescribed ambien in my last pragnancy for alot of the same reasons. Naps with my kids helped A LOT... but eventually it got better so I never took it... Also, a warm bath and reading a book in bed worked wonders for helping me get in some good rest and relax my mind.

If you're not able to get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep, then I would advise not taking it. You'll definitely feel more fatigued in the morning if not! I'd love to take some too, but Ethan's been waking up in the middle of the night every now and then.

Tylenol PM is just a mixture of Benadryl and Tylenol. Check the box. It's acetaminophen and diphenhydramine.

It must be the combination of the two that work for me then, because I swear Benadryl makes me really awake - not sleepy at all - but I have taken Tylenol PM before and it really helped me sleep. :dunno

Just curious, saw you are in S.D. Who is your doc. It should not make you feel groggy. If it does, you should let your doc know so they can modify the dose or get you a new script. Worked with all the OB docs at NMCSD, just curious as to who you are seeing. I was prescribed ambien in my last pragnancy for alot of the same reasons. Naps with my kids helped A LOT... but eventually it got better so I never took it... Also, a warm bath and reading a book in bed worked wonders for helping me get in some good rest and relax my mind.

I see Dr. Kinsella on the Teal team. She's really great! :tu

I'm going to start napping with my kids during the day and I think that will make a world of difference. I take baths every now and then, and every single night since my husband left I've been reading to help me fall asleep; it really does help!

It was given to me the night before I was enduced and it worked well for me. I never would have slept otherwise.

You can try some lavender. Don't ingest it, but just putting some of the oil or the plants in your pillowcase can help.

You can try some lavender. Don't ingest it, but just putting some of the oil or the plants in your pillowcase can help.

I bet that would help! That's a great idea, thank you!

I have a lavender soap that I use for my boys when they take their baths at night, and they are always out within minutes after laying them down. It's from Johnson & Johnson and it specifically says on the bottle that it's a bedtime bath to help soothe fussy babies. :tu

Oh yay, Dr. Kinsella!! Tell her HM3 Kristen Frey (sounds like Fry) says hi! I love her to death. You are in good hands. She won't steer you wrong! Oh, another thing that helped me sleep while that far along was a little walk after dinner with my son. The fresh air and a full belly was pretty relaxing. Good LUCK!

Oh yay, Dr. Kinsella!! Tell her HM3 Kristen Frey (sounds like Fry) says hi! I love her to death. You are in good hands. She won't steer you wrong! Oh, another thing that helped me sleep while that far along was a little walk after dinner with my son. The fresh air and a full belly was pretty relaxing. Good LUCK!

Thanks! I will tell her you said hi at my appt in 3 weeks! She's the only dr I have seen this entire pregnancy and I would recommend her to anyone!

It must be the combination of the two that work for me then, because I swear Benadryl makes me really awake - not sleepy at all - but I have taken Tylenol PM before and it really helped me sleep. :dunno

well if your doc says it is okay to take the tylenol pm, then if i where you, i would just take that.
ambien, IMO, just has too many side effects.
someone said they had crazy dreams, i did too!
and i know from my past pregnancies, my dreams where weird and crazy enough!!
good luck! i hope you get some sleep!

I would also recommend Dr O'Neill id Dr. Kinsella is ever not available. I saw her for both my babies. She is the doctor that all the staff members see. They are on the same team so it is easy to go back and forth if you need something and Dr. Kinsella isn't in. OHHH!! So happy for you!! You got one of the good ones!! Hehehe....

well if your doc says it is okay to take the tylenol pm, then if i where you, i would just take that.
ambien, IMO, just has too many side effects.
someone said they had crazy dreams, i did too!
and i know from my past pregnancies, my dreams where weird and crazy enough!!
good luck! i hope you get some sleep!

I'm going to call and ask tomorrow, just to be sure.

From all the negative responses on here and all the negative things I found searching online, I really don't want to try the Ambien. I can't afford to be groggy and not able to take care of my kids, my mind is bad enough as it is; I don't need a medicine making it worse! :lol

Thanks! I think I'll start feeling a lot better if I take naps with my kids during the day, just to get that little extra sleep. :)

I never took it during pregnancy, but I did take benedryl if I couldn't sleep. (1 or 2 pills) Usually 1 does it for me. They did give me 2 ambien right after having dd so that I could sleep because I was having panic attacks. Didn't work. I stayed awake for two straight days until I went home.