Zolpidem

Do not drink alcohol while taking zolpidem

• If you drink alcohol, do not drink alcohol while taking zolpidem because having the two together might make you go into a deep sleep where you find it difficult to wake up.
• If you need to drive a car or ride a bike, or use machines at work, taking alcohol and zolpidem together could be dangerous to yourself and other people.

Do not drive a car or ride a bike just after you start taking zolpidem

• Taking zolpidem may make you feel tired, dizzy or confused, and may give you double vision during the day, when you start taking it.
• These effects are made much worse if you take zolpidem with alcohol.
• This could affect you if you drive a car, ride a bike, or do anything else that needs a lot of focus. It might be best to stop doing these things for the first few days, until you know how it affects you.
• Women tend to be affected more than men.
• Do not worry - most people drive as normal while taking zolpidem.

Try not to start or stop zolpidem just before your exams

• Zolpidem can make you feel tired or confused, and may give you double vision, when you start taking it.
• Stopping zolpidem can give you rebound symptoms of sleeplessness.
• You should talk to your doctor about any future exams if you are starting or stopping zolpidem.
• You might decide together to delay starting or stopping it until you have done them.
• If they are more than a few days away, however, you might find that it is better to start zolpidem to improve your sleep and your motivation to study.
• Do not worry - most people do exams as normal while taking zolpidem.

Zolpidem is not a banned substance in sport

• Zolpidem is not a banned substance in sport.
• Zolpidem has side-effects, however, that might make you less able to take part in sports that need a lot of focus.
• These side-effects include feeling sleepy, dizzy, confused and having double vision.
• Do not worry - many people do sport while taking zolpidem, and the good effects of zolpidem may have a good effect on your sporting performance as you sleep better.

Your weight should not be affected by zolpidem

• There is no information to say that zolpidem affects weight.

Zolpidem can affect your memory, especially if your sleep is interrupted

• Zolpidem can make you lose part of your memory, especially if you do not go to bed just after taking it, or if your sleep gets interrupted.
• Make sure that you can get 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep if you are going to take zolpidem.

Let your family and friends know you are taking zolpidem so they can support you and help you look out for side effects

The side-effects of zolpidem might put a strain on your friendships and relationships, especially in the first few days of taking it:

• You might feel confused, aggressive or irritable, or have a low mood.
• These side-effects should get better after a few days.
• You should then be getting the good effects of zolpidem by sleeping better, and that should improve your relationships in itself.
• It might actually be a great idea to choose a good friend to tell about your medicine when you start taking it. (Or - even better - to take one with you to the doctor before you start taking it!)
• They could look at the medicine leaflet, or at this website.
• They could help you to understand whether the medicine changes your behaviour, or gives you side-effects (sometimes it is hard for us to see it ourselves).

Zolpidem can have side-effects that might affect your sex life

The good effects of zolpidem may have a good effect on your sex life as you get better sleep and you can concentrate on your relationships.

There are some side-effects, however, that include:

• Not feeling like you want to have sex.
• Having a headache or a dry mouth.
• If you get any rashes, you just may not feel as sexy.

These effects should pass after the first couple of weeks. If they do not, and this is a problem for you, go back to the doctor and see what else you could try.

Zolpidem is not thought to affect fertility

• There is no evidence that zolpidem affects the fertility of men or women.
• If you want to get pregnant, however, you should not take zolpidem (please see more information below).

Do not take zolpidem if you are pregnant, as we do not know if it can affect the developing baby

• Women who are pregnant should not take zolpidem.
• We do not know if it can affect the developing baby.
• It can cause symptoms in a newborn baby.
• Sometimes, however, the doctor may decide with you that you should still take zolpidem.

Zolpidem can cause withdrawal symptoms in newborn babies.

If you are taking zolpidem in the last 3 months of pregnancy, you should tell your midwife and doctor so that they can look out for withdrawal symptoms.

• Your baby may have breathing or feeding difficulties for a while.
• They may have low body temperature.
• Their muscles may be floppy.

Zolpidem passes to the baby in breastmilk.

Zolpidem is passed to the baby in breastmilk.

• If you have to take zolpidem, talk to your midwife about your feeding options.

Do not drink caffeine drinks while you are taking zolpidem

• Caffeine has the opposite effect of zolpidem in your body, and stops it working.
• Do not drink caffeine drinks (like coffee, cola or energy drinks) while you are taking zolpidem.
• Caffeine can cause anxiety and sleep loss - stopping these drinks might help to improve your symptoms

You could become more uninhibited while taking zolpidem, and this might cause problems in your relationships

• A side-effect that can happen with zolpidem is called disinhibition.
• It means that someone might forget the normal way we act in society, and become very impulsive.
• You might become less inhibited about sex, and more likely to do it when you do not really want to.
• This happened more with young people than in adults in tests.
• If you have a good friend or family member to talk to, ask them to watch out for this for you.

Reference sources

Stilnoct PIL 2 last updated Aug 2014
https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/PIL.21189.latest.pdf Accessed 13/3/2017

Stilnoct SPC 4.4 last updated 15 Sep 2014
https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/25408 Accessed 16/3/2017

Stilnoct SPC 4.6 last updated 15 Sep 2014
https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/25408 Accessed 16/3/2017

Stilnoct SPC 4.8 last updated 15 Sep 2014
https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/25408 Accessed 16/3/2017

British National Formulary (BNF) 70th Revised edition, 2015: Pharmaceutical Press, p423

Maudsley 12^th ed  p350, p692 &p707