(zolpidem tartrate)- is the ingredient in Ambien

[Thomas and Kylie's Mum !]

I was told there was no genaric for Ambien and my friend in NC showed me she was perscribed Zolpidem as the genaric for $8. Does anyone use this instead of high priced Ambien?

Thanks

[Mathieu]

Yes Ambien (zolpidem tartrate) is a generic drug in the United States, Canada, and many other countries.

When a doctor writes a prescription for Ambien a pharmacist will use a generic when it is available. But a doctor can write 'no substitutions,' requiring that brand name Ambien (or any drug) be given. And generally patients can request the brand name product if they are willing to pay the extra money.

However, Ambien CR (zolpidem tartrate extended release) is NOT available as a generic. It is also a waste a money for the vast majority of people (ie only a handful benefit from the extended release and other cheaper long lasting drug are available).

Most generics are as good as brand name drugs. About 2% of people have increased drug sensitivity and do better on brand name products rather than generics. And some specific generics of drugs are often not as effective. Anticonvulsants are well known for having terrible generics and neurologists often require brand name for patients.

But I typically recommend generics. I did have Ambien generic for a couple of weeks. I took Apotex brand. Most Apotex drugs have APO on them. I have also taken brand name Sanofi-Aventis Ambien and Stilnox (the name of Ambien in France) and found Sanofi-Aventis and Apotex to work equally.

And if price is a big issue (generic Ambien is typically more than $8) then other drugs like Restoril (Temazepam) are about $8-14 for 30.


Good luck

[tinmuning]

Let me just correct the above statement: "Yes Ambien (zolpidem tartrate) is a generic drug in the United States, Canada, and many other countries."

Ambien is the brand name like other zolpidem brands such as Adormix, Zoldem, Zolnod and Zolpihexal. Zolpidem is the generic drug.