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+--- Thread: Ambi3n (z0lpid3m) (/showthread.php?tid=1323)
RE: Ambien (zolpidem) - TVNerd - 02-12-2017
Dent-
I feel you on the whole not wanting to need Ambien anymore thing. I've been taking it since approximately 2001, almost every single night. Fortunately, they know a little bit more about it now.
One of the MAJOR things to remember is that pretty much the biggest side effect of Ambien withdrawal is something called "rebound insomnia". Basically, if your body is used to taking a dose of Ambien with any sort of regularity, your brain starts to expect it, and you no longer become capable of getting the rest you need without it. It can last AGES- literally, months- and you can go days without sleeping a wink. Without knowing how often you take your Ambien, it's impossible to say for sure, but from your post plus my personal experience and research, it sounds very much like you're going through something similar.
I don't know what to tell you to do to go from taking 5 mg to taking nothing- I take between 20 and 30 mg a night, and I know that whenever my doctor and I discuss me coming off of it we reduce the dose by 5mg every 2 weeks until it's gone... so if you're at 5, then I think the next step would be total reduction? Or, if you take it nightly, maybe you could try cutting it down to one night with, one without- realizing that you may not get any sleep the night without- and pressing forward with that routine for a few weeks. Then add an extra med-less night for a few weeks, and another.. until you can comfortably sleep when you need to. (Let me be clear, though: I am NOT a professional sleep specialist, nor am I a practicing physician- and even if I were, I haven't seen your total file and history, so this is NOT a diagnosis or even an official suggestion, just something I'm surmising based on logic. You may, with this method, run the risk of adjusting your circadian rhythm, so BE CAREFUL.)
tl;dr- "rebound insomnia", where you lay wide awake feeling like you don't even need to sleep, is a COMMON side effect after the discontinuation of regular zolpidem. This does not necessarily indicate a permanent need for the drug to sleep, it's just a (sometimes very long and always very uncomfortable) phase to get through. You can do it!
RE: Ambien (zolpidem) - SaSa67 - 02-12-2017
Im currently doing a taper off from Zopiclone and i am finding that i don't sleep at all on the days i lower. Its horrible but I'm sticking with it. I have a plan in place with my GP and I'm at the point of a full one and then a half one alternating. I have given in and had the second half on some of the half tablet nights at 3am, so i already know that the amount i have for the month will not be enough
I guess its all trial and error, just do your best and hope for sleep at some point. I know its hard, thinking of you.
RE: Ambien (zolpidem) - Dentscllyfe - 02-12-2017
TvNerd,
Thanks for the input, and your experience.
RE: Ambien (zolpidem) - Larryjay - 02-17-2017
(02-11-2017, 11:06 PM)Costro77 Wrote: Im also interested in the CR version. The normal 10mg makes me sleep for 4-5hrs and then i unfortunately have to take half or one next pill. The CR could effectively solve this kind of problem.
Hi, I also take ambien and tried CR version. I don't see any difference between 10mg and CR version. I think anyone who is used to the 10mg will not see
any real difference. Of course this is my opinion.
RE: Ambien (zolpidem) - SaSa67 - 02-17-2017
My taper is going horrible. I can sleep on one 7.5mg tablet but when i cut to 3.75 i struggle. Im going to have a lot of sleepless nights getting to my next doctors appointment. I really do want to be off the meds, I'm just not seeing positive signs. Maybe i should just go without. Any peoples personal experiences on how long it takes to regulate if you just stop?
RE: Ambien (zolpidem) - Larryjay - 02-19-2017
(02-17-2017, 11:10 AM)SaSa67 Wrote: My taper is going horrible. I can sleep on one 7.5mg tablet but when i cut to 3.75 i struggle. Im going to have a lot of sleepless nights getting to my next doctors appointment. I really do want to be off the meds, I'm just not seeing positive signs. Maybe i should just go without. Any peoples personal experiences on how long it takes to regulate if you just stop?
It depends on how long you have been using it, also if you haven't resolved your original sleeping problem it may take awhile. IMO some seniors may need
some type of medication to keep you asleep all night. IMO tapering off could take up to several months. Have you seen a sleep doctor? They might be able to
pin point the cause and will help you sleep better.
RE: Ambien (zolpidem) - Mystical - 02-19-2017
(02-10-2017, 10:05 PM)Dentscllyfe Wrote: I've been on zolpidem for some time now and was wondering if it would be a good idea to switch to a different Zdrug or alternative route to try to get sleep? I have tried to go without it a couple of times but was not successful in getting ANY sleep. I just do not want my body to get to use to it, although I am sure by now it is. I was on 10mgs not to long ago and the last three months have just been on 5 and it was a little rocky at the beginning but seems to be ok now. It does not "put me out" or anything, and I do not really notice a sleepy or lethargic affect but I can not seem to sleep without it. I am also on prazosin for sleep, which was originally made for high blood pressure but is now used as a treatment for people that have PTSD (primarily helps with nightmares, and it does actually help). I apologize in advance if this is not the right thread to post this. I was going back and forth between whether to post in the insomnia thread or this one, and the insomnia thread did seem to give great advice on different methods of getting to bed, but I wanted info/experience specific to zolpidem. I have also tried (even attended classes) every suggested method in the book for sleep, such as healthy sleep habits, environment, routines, ect, ect. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Honestly, all the Zdrugs are basically Zolpidem with different inactive ingredients. I have PTSD induced insomnia and have been using Zolpidem for close to a decade. I wish there was a way to not have to be a slave to @mbien. Have you done a sleep study where they monitor your brainwaves? That might be a good step to speak to your doctor about and have the study performed to see if there is something neurologically going on. There are also some benzo class drugs that assist with falling asleep. The best suggestion I can give is to not give up hope and pursue doctors that specialize in sleep disturbances and sleep therapy. I'm in the process right now of trying to break the dependence I have to Zolpidem. I wish I would have never been given an Rx for it as I feel it created more problems than it actually solved.
In regard to the other comments about the CR, please be careful. Please be aware of the potential side effects that it can cause. I've ruined relationships because of the "crazy" that the medicine makes me experience. CR gives me a Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type of personality break as the medicine kicks in and I haven't fallen asleep. I will keep all of my fellow insomnia sufferers in my prayers and I hope that we may some day be free of the vicious cycle. Just know that we are all here for each other.
RE: Ambien (zolpidem) - SaSa67 - 02-19-2017
(02-19-2017, 01:31 AM)Larryjay Wrote:(02-17-2017, 11:10 AM)SaSa67 Wrote: My taper is going horrible. I can sleep on one 7.5mg tablet but when i cut to 3.75 i struggle. Im going to have a lot of sleepless nights getting to my next doctors appointment. I really do want to be off the meds, I'm just not seeing positive signs. Maybe i should just go without. Any peoples personal experiences on how long it takes to regulate if you just stop?
It depends on how long you have been using it, also if you haven't resolved your original sleeping problem it may take awhile. IMO some seniors may need
some type of medication to keep you asleep all night. IMO tapering off could take up to several months. Have you seen a sleep doctor? They might be able to
pin point the cause and will help you sleep better.
Thanks for the response. I have been taking some form of sleeping pill for 19 years, i started after a fatal car accident and my nana death. It quickly became away to escape pain, now its just a way to sleep. Ive seen sleep doctors, and therapists, and I'm currently doing CBT alongside the tapering. I think a huge part of it is fear but i also would love to be free of them. I just don't think i ever will be, i know i will find them somehow.
Im coming upto my 40th birthday and had said i would like to be free by then, i think maybe i was expecting too much after such a large part of my life taking them
RE: Ambien (zolpidem) - isthisreallife - 02-21-2017
Ambien is by far the greatest sleeping aid. Makes zopiclone look like diph.
RE: Ambien (zolpidem) - Linville - 01-24-2018
Is it simply the difference between generic and brand ?