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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Why I Am Not Able To Fall Asleep As Soon As I Started New Refill Of Zolpidem?

I have been using the zolpidem (Ambian) for several years. On my last refill of the prescription the pills are not effective with my insomnia. In the past the prescription was effective very quickly, my doctor did switch my prescription one time to the Ambien CR, which did not work at all for me. As I could not fall asleep for hours, after I feel asleep I stayed asleep but with the morning effect of sleepiness and drugged feeling. I then quickly switched me back to Ambian 10mg. I m not sure if the pharmacy that filled my prescription filled it correctly. I think the pill look different with 95 on one side and TEVA on the other. The pill I previously received had were round and had a line indention directly in the center from end to end. Walgreens told me that I should contact you to about this matter. I feel the same as when I was prescribed the CR tablets. My question is why all of sudden am I unable to fall asleep on the day I start my new refill with Zolpidem with the different looking pills?
Mon, 1 Dec 2014
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Neurologist 's  Response
Hello I am sorry about the troubles caused by the switching.
First of all you should check the box or the blister to look for the generic name often in smaller print, if it does not say Zolpidem anywhere then stop taking it, perhaps there's been a mix up at the pharmacy. I am saying this because Teva's zolpidem tablets usually have 74 printed instead of 95, but you have to check for yourself because I don't know how they do the numbering, might differ in different countries.
If it is Zolpidem then check also if it's the 10mg one as there are also 5mg ones.
If indeed it is Zolpidem 10mg than it is a question of manufacturer, not the pharmacy's fault. Ambien is produced by Sanofi, the original manufacturer of Zolpidem in theory it should be as good a Zolpidem as it gets. Teva is a big manufacturer of generic drugs, meaning it didn't hold the original patent. In theory a generic drug should undergo strict control by authorities and be as good as the original one (and Teva is a respected manufacturer), but at times in my daily practice I notice that they are not 100% as effective. That might be your case. That's not the pharmacy's fault though as in theory they should be the same. So you should try to go back to Ambien, though it generally means you should pay more (depending on your insurance, country specific regulation etc), as generics usually are cheaper.
Hope that solves the issue. I wish you good health.
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Why I Am Not Able To Fall Asleep As Soon As I Started New Refill Of Zolpidem?

Hello I am sorry about the troubles caused by the switching. First of all you should check the box or the blister to look for the generic name often in smaller print, if it does not say Zolpidem anywhere then stop taking it, perhaps there s been a mix up at the pharmacy. I am saying this because Teva s zolpidem tablets usually have 74 printed instead of 95, but you have to check for yourself because I don t know how they do the numbering, might differ in different countries. If it is Zolpidem then check also if it s the 10mg one as there are also 5mg ones. If indeed it is Zolpidem 10mg than it is a question of manufacturer, not the pharmacy s fault. Ambien is produced by Sanofi, the original manufacturer of Zolpidem in theory it should be as good a Zolpidem as it gets. Teva is a big manufacturer of generic drugs, meaning it didn t hold the original patent. In theory a generic drug should undergo strict control by authorities and be as good as the original one (and Teva is a respected manufacturer), but at times in my daily practice I notice that they are not 100% as effective. That might be your case. That s not the pharmacy s fault though as in theory they should be the same. So you should try to go back to Ambien, though it generally means you should pay more (depending on your insurance, country specific regulation etc), as generics usually are cheaper. Hope that solves the issue. I wish you good health.