• Tell all of your health care providers that you take Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release tablets). This includes your doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and dentists.
• This medicine may be habit-forming with long-term use.
• When sleep drugs are used nightly for more than a few weeks, they may not work as well to help sleep problems. This is known as tolerance. Only use sleep drugs for a short time. If sleep problems last, call the doctor.
• Do not take naps.
• To lower the chance of feeling dizzy or passing out, rise slowly if you have been sitting or lying down. Be careful going up and down stairs.
• Avoid alcohol while taking Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release tablets). Do not take Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release tablets) if you drank alcohol that evening or before bed.
• Talk with your doctor before you use other drugs and natural products that slow your actions.
• This medicine may cause sleepiness or lower alertness. This may lead to falls and injuries that may be very bad. Very bad injuries like broken hips and bleeding in the brain have happened. Talk with the doctor.
• If you are a woman, use Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release tablets) with care. You could have more side effects.
• If you are 60 or older, use Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release tablets) with care. You could have more side effects.
• This medicine is not approved for use in children. The chance of side effects like dizziness and hallucinations may be raised in children. However, your child's doctor may decide the benefits of taking Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release tablets) may outweigh the risks. Talk with the doctor if you have questions about giving Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release tablets) to your child.
• You may not be alert. Do not drive or do other tasks or actions that call for you to be alert on the day after you take Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release tablets).
• Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan on getting pregnant, or are breast-feeding. You will need to talk about the benefits and risks to you and the baby.
• Taking Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release tablets) in the third trimester of pregnancy may lead to some health problems in the newborn. Talk with the doctor.

Use Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release tablets) as ordered by your doctor. Read all information given to you. Follow all instructions closely.

• If you still have trouble sleeping after 7 to 10 days, call your doctor.
• Take Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release tablets) at bedtime.
• Take Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release tablets) only 1 time per night.
• Take on an empty stomach.
• Do not take with or right after a meal.
• Take Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release tablets) right before you get into bed.
• Swallow whole. Do not chew, break, or crush.
• Do not take Ambien CR (zolpidem extended-release tablets) unless you can get a full night's sleep (at least 7 to 8 hours) before you need to be active again.

WARNING/CAUTION: Even though it may be rare, some people may have very bad and sometimes deadly side effects when taking a drug. Tell your doctor or get medical help right away if you have any of the following signs or symptoms that may be related to a very bad side effect:

• Signs of an allergic reaction, like rash; hives; itching; red, swollen, blistered, or peeling skin with or without fever; wheezing; tightness in the chest or throat; trouble breathing, swallowing, or talking; unusual hoarseness; or swelling of the mouth, face, lips, tongue, or throat.
• New or worse behavior or mood changes like depression or thoughts of killing yourself.
• Hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not there).
• Feeling confused.
• Not thinking clearly.
• Trouble breathing, slow breathing, or shallow breathing.
• Change in balance.
• Change in eyesight.
• Memory problems or loss.
• Feeling very tired or weak.