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How to take Intermezzo

Intermezzo is a mint-flavored tablet designed to disintegrate under your tongue. Before you go to bed, place only 1 Intermezzo pouch by your bed in case you need it, and have a clock or watch nearby. Store all other unopened Intermezzo pouches away from your bedside.

If you wake up in the middle of the night, cannot fall back asleep, and have at least 4 hours of sleep left:

• Open the Intermezzo pouch only when you are ready to take it
• Leave the empty pouch next to your bed to help remind you that you already took your Intermezzo dose (just in case you wake up again that night)
• Because Intermezzo works rapidly, only take it when you are already in bed
• While in bed, place the Intermezzo tablet under your tongue and allow it to break apart completely, then swallow
• Do not swallow the tablet whole

• You do not need to take Intermezzo with water
• Do not take Intermezzo with or right after a meal. Intermezzo may help you fall back to sleep faster when you take it on an empty stomach
• Do not take Intermezzo if you have consumed alcohol that day or before bed
• Throw away the empty Intermezzo pouch in the morning

Click here to access tools that can help you find the latest time during the night that you can take Intermezzo. You should also read the Medication Guide, including the Instructions for Use, before you start taking Intermezzo and each time you get a refill.

Important Safety Information

Do not take Intermezzo^® (zolpidem tartrate) if you are allergic to zolpidem or any other ingredients in Intermezzo. Do not take Intermezzo if you have had an allergic reaction to drugs containing zolpidem, such as Ambien^®.

Serious allergic reactions may occur and may be fatal. Symptoms of a serious allergic reaction to Intermezzo can include swelling of your face, lips, and throat that may cause difficulty breathing or swallowing, and nausea and vomiting.

If Intermezzo is taken with other medicines that can make you sleepy, it can add to sleepiness caused by these medicines. Intermezzo should not be taken if you have taken another sleep medicine at bedtime or in the middle of the night. Do not drive or operate machinery until at least 4 hours after taking Intermezzo and until you feel fully awake.

Call your doctor if your insomnia worsens or is not better within 7 to 10 days. This may mean that there is another condition causing your sleep problem.

Driving, eating, or engaging in other activities while not fully awake without remembering the event the next day have been reported. Other abnormal behaviors including being more outgoing or aggressive, as well as confusion, hallucinations, and agitation, may occur. Don’t take Intermezzo if you drank alcohol that day or before bed, as it may increase these behaviors.

In depressed patients, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide may occur.

If you experience any of these behaviors or reactions, contact your healthcare provider immediately.

Intermezzo, like most sleep medicines, has some risk of dependency.

Common side effects are headache, nausea, and fatigue.

For more information, please read the Full Prescribing Information for Intermezzo, including the Medication Guide.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088, or contact Purdue Pharma L.P. at 1-888-726-7535.

Ambien is a registered trademark of Sanofi.