Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
491910 tn?1209366193

Ambien?

This might be long as I have a few concerns... Well I'm on day 5 off the Vicodin and I feel really good =) I just have horrid headaches but that was the reason I began taking them in the first place...Now I'm thinking I'm going to address the Ambien issue, I've been on this drug for a little over a year and a half I'd say, for the most part I was able to take as prescribed but verrrry gradually I have begun upping my dosage now I take 40 MGs a night, and I am just terrified of w/ds from that, for one thing I was told that it wasn't addictive (by my psychiatrist), and that it could be used long-term...so every time I went to see him I was there for about 5 minutes, basically just long enough to get my script, he didn't even ask if I still needed it. I haven't tried any other RX sleep aids except Trazodone which I hate because it makes me anxious, I've tried many over the counter meds (not melatonin yet, but am planning on it), and none work. I am not placing blame on anyone cause it's my own fault, but part of me feels like I was duped into thinking it was wonderful when there are all these problems I have just experienced...My current care MD actually things it's a great drug too and that I should keep taking it. In fact guys I'm high right now on it so I may not make any sense...I would just really appreciate some painless ways to get off ambien....thank you so much!!!!
23 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
I think that it should only really be used as a short term aid as you can begin to physicologically rely on its affects. Try not having one on a night where you know the next day will not be demanding or stressful so hopefully your mindset at bedtime isnt worrying about needing sleep.
Helpful - 1
18070169 tn?1463175914
Man - I hear you.  I have been on 10 mg of zolpidem for 5 years.  Have had a few things during that time that I chaulked up misc stuff.  My lower back would hurt.  My intestines would hurt, I would get side pains under my ribcage, but they would come and go and I didn't think anything about it.  Then a month ago, after a hysterectomy, my bladder hurt, then my side (by my kidneys).  I went into the doc and she said I had a UTI and gave me antibiotics, but I made her take a blood test and there showed no infection in any of my organs.  But my side still hurt, so I was wondering if it was my kidney or gall bladder.  I had an ultrasound to see if I had stones - everything looked clear.  Then my eye started hurting.  I went to an eye dr and he said my eye looks great.  It seemed everything that I had dealt with on and off throughout the five years came crashing down and I was a total mess.  I started reading some zolpidem stories and realized most of what I was dealing with was affects of that 'non-addictive' drug.  I quit ct (probably shouldn't have).  The first few day were fine, and then I started having small panic attacks and my anxiety was crazy.  I thought I was going through bad menopause.  Then started doing some more research and realized everything I was dealing with was within reactions to zolpidem.  At this point it has been 1 1/2 weeks and I figured I would continue the ct since I am almost at two weeks.  My bladder is pretty good and so is my eye, but still waiting for the lower back pain to go.  My side (by the gall bladder) is better but still sore.  My panic attacks and my face flushing is gone now, but I do wake up a little nauseated, but that dissipates during the day.  My appetite is not great, but I force myself to eat, even though it feels like I am eating sawdust, because after I feel so much better.  By evening, I am feeling much better and each day is better.  I admit I am taking a otc sleep aid right now, because I don't think I could deal with the day stuff and night stuff, but it is super small dose and at the end of this week going to a more natural sleep aid, Melatonin.  For a drug that is addictive - wow, it has been a crazy drive.  But I see glimpses of my happy self again.  I was never prone to anxiety, but the last year has been full of it and I figured it was tied to my age (50) and menopause, but I really see a difference in myself now and realize it was that cursed drug.  
I hope you do well tapering and finally getting off.  I pray for you.
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
Sorry - it posted twice - didn't mean to
Avatar universal
I have also been taking  2.5, and sometimes go back to taking 5mg when I know I want good sleep, but have been on Zolpium for over a year, taking 10 mg, then went to 5, trying to taper off. sometimes I felt like I WAS MORE TIRED ON THE 5 MG, BUT MAYBE I DIDNT GET AS GOOD OF SLEEP. ANYWAY, I WAS ON 2.5 FOR A WEEK, AND ONE NIGHT TRIED TO TAKE NOTHING, since its hard to cut the 2.5 in half, and thought that I was doing ok on that small amount. I was up all night, thinkin, :wouldn't I just be soooo tired and just fall asleep? I don't know what to do, bcuz I cant go without at least 2.5 mg, and am wanting to be off this all together. If I didn't have to go to work, as a nanny and had time at home to be TIRED then I think I could try that. Any thing else I could try. I just don't want to be stuck always having to take a pill.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Sorry... I'm trying to wean off ambien too.  I never took it during the day.  I am down to 2.5 mg a night and am sleeping better than when I was taking 10mg or the 12.5 mg CR.   I have been at 2.5 for probably a week.  I'm hoping I will be able to jump off soon.  I remember when I first started taking it, it was such a nice feeling to just be so sleepy and fall right to sleep.  
Good luck on your taper.  I would seriously try to avoid taking it during the day, at least until you are home after work.  I had memory losses too if I took it before going to bed.

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I am trying to wean
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Mizzshypie,

As morbid as this may seem, I'm actually glad that I came across your posting...  Not because of what you're going through, but because I can totally relate...  It's inspirational and let's me know that there is hope, and that I'm not the only one out there, and that several other people have had this same issue and have successfully and safely mitigated it out of their lives.

I've been on ambien since around 2000.  Truth be told, I never started abusing it until the past few years.  Prior to that I would only take it as prescribed and as needed, so I guess this allowed me to maintain that same dosage for that long... I've also come off of this dosage several times with no problem.  I actually remember the very first time I had taken ambien.  I could literally feel it's effects within 15 minutes, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders and I didn't have a care in the world...

I actually work overseas, so my sleep cycle and circadian rhythm are constantly off with all of the traveling I do and the uncertainty of my schedule...  At any rate, I also remember the very first time I had abused ambien and it was completely by accident...  I had awoken especially early one morning, but decided it was too early and took another ambien to get back to sleep.  Shortly there after, my boss told me to gear up and that I had a mission in 30 minutes...  To my surprise, I felt great during my mission, I was able to function at full capacity, while remaining cool, calm, and collective throughout.  By this time I had already begun developing a tolerance, hence waking up in the middle of the night in need of taking another just to get back to sleep, so I came of with the bright idea of "hey!  I can start using this during the day as an anxiolytic, with no potential for dependence, then what the heck.  From there it pretty much spiraled out of control... I wasn't even taking it to sleep anymore, I'd just pop it like candy throughout the day (up to 10 pills/ 100 mg/ day).  The effects weren't profound but they were there, and other people began noticing them as well, which isn't good...  All the while I'm thinking I'm acting perfectly normal.  Meanwhile I have guys on my team that would tell me what a jackass I was being the night before or how messed up I seemed.  I guess I never really though anything of it since no serious incidences ever came of it (By God's Amazing Grace), and I never remembered anything anyway, so I just gaffed it off... This has been going on for probably just under two years now, and I'm finally realizing the err of my ways, and yes this stuff is addictive (physically and psychologically).  Here, I think I'm taking it to calm my nerves and help me let loose and be fun and social.  Meanwhile, my girlfriend began expressing great concern over it, especially with me driving on it.  She could always tell when I had taken some.  She said it made me a completely different person and noticeably adversely affected my driving abilities.  It got so bad that she considered leaving me over this... I acknowledged the problem as a problem and slowly began lowering my dosage and would only take it when I began feeling nervous, tense, on edge, or anxious.  Once I left the states to come back abroad for work, it still hadn't occurred to me that I could have withdrawals.  It wasn't until I was stuck in Dubai that I actually began having signs and symptoms that could be considered withdrawals and attributed to the ambien.  I started becoming diaphoretic (sweating profusely), but I still though nothing of it.  I just chaulked it up as the new climate and all of the hustling and bustling I had just done to check in and get to my gate....  It wasn't until after everyone boarded the plane, was seated, and waiting for the plane to take off that it came out of nowhere... It had hit me like a ton of bricks... I felt this feeling of impending doom wash over me, I felt like I was having trouble breathing...  It was so bad that I had to depalne and have an ambulance come pick me up plane side.  This whole experience was a nightmare to me and I had no idea what was going on with me, but I thought I was dying.  The only diagnosis any of the doctors could come up with was Unifocal Premature Ventricular Contractions due to unknown origin but most likely stress, exhaustion, and sleep deprivation.  Finally prior to discharging me after being in and out of the hospital all day, the Dr gave me xanax to help me relax and to help see to it that I remain comfortable enroute to my final destination.  It worked!  Personally, I've never liked xanax or the way that it made me feel and have never had an affinity towards any other drugs either (Thank God).  One thing was for certain though, it helped me to stop feeling like I was dying and helped me regain my composure enough so, for me to make my next flight and get me to my final destination.  This is when I finally put two and two together and realized that I was probably having withdrawals from ambien (since essentially they affect the same parts of the brain).  I still felt like crap over the course of the next few days, but it was tolerable... It felt more like recovering from the flu.  Keep in mind though that I still had some xanax so I though well maybe I do just have anxiety and should have been on xanax all along... Then I started researching xanax and all of the horror stories associated with it... I hadn't even been on it a month yet and I was scared to come off of it by tapering... Which I successfully managed to do.  However, at this point I had done enough research to realize that you can't just stop either one of these drugs without tapering, so I got back on ambien, which I was scared to do because I didn't trust myself (rightfully so).  So once I came off of the xanax, I started supplementing ambien in place of it again, try to keep accountability of each and everyone.  Only taking one at a time spread our throughout the day.  I also started keeping a diary of how many I'd taken that day.  I was doing pretty well the first few days, for me at least (30 mg spread throughout the  day from the time I woke up, until the time I went to sleep.  Then slowly but surely the daily dosage began going up again... 30mg... 50 mg... all the way up until a major relapse yesterday... 90 mg!  When I looked at my diary today, I felt so defeated and so ashamed of myself.  The 90 mg was the last of it, and today I began starting to feel the same way that I had initially felt when I was hospitalized (profuse sweating... panic, etc.)  That's when I broke down and decided I need to safely taper off of this stuff.  Quitting cold turkey obviously is no longer an option for me... So I went and picked up some more, have taken one since and have begun feeling better already.  This tells me two things... 1)  I need this stuff out of my system 2) I need to have self discipline and control, but do it safely....

My goal for today is a total of 30 mg until I go to bed (it's already 2:30 pm and so far I've only taken 1, 10mg pill).  If I can maintain that for a few days to a week with no problem, then I'll try taking it down 5 -10 mg per week.  This is where water titration comes in handy... once you start getting to the lower doses water titration makes it easier in that you drop your daily dose, of say 10 mg, into a bottle of water, and slowly throughout the day just take sips and titrate to effect.  This way your brain knows that your getting some, but doesn't necessarily know exactly how much, just that this is your allotted dose that you have for the day, so you had better make it last and not over do it.  That's how I got off of the xanax and surprisingly it made the low doses extremely easy.

Well I'm about at my limit of words for the day.

Wish me luck, and let me know if you've made any progress!
Helpful - 0
401095 tn?1351391770
Due to the time differences and people from other countries posting...sometimes u can post late at night or early in the morning as well...exercise is a great idea...5htp, gaba, theanine, melatonin are all things that can help u with sleep when u need it...good luck and keep us posted!
Helpful - 0
491910 tn?1209366193
Yes!! I totally agree, I just feel stupid cause though I should have known better I feel like I just went on the faith that people told me it was not addictive and I just let it overtake me, I'll admit I enjoy the effects (euphoria, hallucinations, etc), which I'm sure is the real reason I took so much of it...I still wish my Dr. would have discussed it with me and how it could effect me! I feel like an idiot, but live and learn I guess!
Helpful - 0
491910 tn?1209366193
Well, I am planning on working out like crazy, people seem to think it will help me with restlessness...my legs are so sore today, and I will be drinking tons of fluid, and just stay up all day and try to take less and less...that's the route i'm thinking right now, and thank you worried, your post made me feel a lot better about your friend who did not have withdrawals, cause that gives me some hope maybe I won't either, but yeah it is looking like I'll be having a rough time sleeping, but I'm hoping I'll be able to form my own natural sleeping habits over the next few weeks or so =)
Helpful - 0
401095 tn?1351391770
Lunesta is also a drug that can be abused unfortunately...ambien nor lunesta are supposed to be addictive but can be abused and hard to quit...both have similarities to benzos but not near as addictive nor as hard to withdraw from...tapering is still recommended with ambien...anything u use to sleep every night can become an issue...i have a frriend who abused ambien but did not have withdrawals getting off of it...just could not sleep...another person i know takes so much benadryl at night it is scary...if u took it away from her she would have trouble sleeping for a while and she is tapering off of it now...good luck and how do u plan to quit the ambien?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
nice...isnt it such a wonder drug. Man sometimes companies just shell sh1t to people with no remorse. I was given only a 10 day a month script thank god and i still think i had issues using it one or twice a week. Cant win.
Helpful - 0
491910 tn?1209366193
Thank you so much for all of the support you've given me!!!! I seriously know this would be much harder if not for you guys and I am so glad I found this forum...I'm dreading coming off the Ambien but I feel like I have a fairly solid plan, I'm gonna be exercising like crazy, and just keep busy!!! lol....I feel pretty sure I can do this, it's just gonna take some time and effort, and then I'll be completely clean!

Last night I took only 3 (30 MGs), and I didn't sleep worth **** but I am staying up all day and hoping to be able to sleep some tonight maybe with the aid of something over the counter.
Helpful - 0
410221 tn?1227631837
Withdrawal From Zolpidem
Zolpidem Tartrate is a widely used prescription medication for insomnia, but it all to often leads to addiction and withdrawal problems and other side effects from long term use. It is easy to become addicted to Zolpidem and physical and mental withdrawal symptoms are the result as the medication wears off. On this page you will learn how to withdraw from Zolpidem after long term use. Using Zolpidem regularly for more than a few weeks often causes addiction with day time withdrawal symptoms and problems discontinuing the drug. The mechanism of action of Zolpidem is similar to that of the benzodiazepines. Zolpidem binds to benzodiazepine receptors but with higher affinity for the receptors responsible for sedation and anticonvulsant effects. Withdrawing too quickly from Zolpidem can be dangerous, as there can be a risk of seizures, psychosis and hallucinations. The withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced are similar to those seen in benzodiazepine withdrawal. Visit the following link for a full list of possible WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS.

Often Zolpidem users find that their medication over time turns against them with frequent awakenings during the night. This is often caused by rebound or withdrawal effects of the zolpidem. Zolpidem undergoes rapid metabolism in the body and the half life of Zolpidem is about 2 hours which is very short. People can experience withdrawal symptoms within as little as 1 or 2 hours of taking the drug. This often leads to a very disrupted sleep pattern with long term use of this drug (beyond 2 - 4 weeks).

Brand Names
Zolpidem Tartrate is the generic name or chemical name of the drug, but it is marketed under various brand names around the world. The following is a list of the brand names that you may know Zolpidem as:

Adormix, Ambien,
Helpful - 0
437415 tn?1211829556
Ambien does affect the central nervous system like benzos and should be tapered due to the chance of seizures.  My doctor put me on it when I went through rehab but my dose is way lower than 40mgs a night!  This is really high could you talk to your doctor about reducing this dose.  Did you increase the dose all by yourself or did the doctor do it?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Its hypnotic effects are similar to those of the benzodiazepine class of drugs, but it is molecularly distinct from the classical benzodiazepine molecule and is actually classified as an imidazopyridine. Flumazenil, a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, which is used for benzodiazepine overdose, can also reverse zolpidem's sedative/hypnotic effects.

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
actually its nothing like a benzo, its a hypnotic. But it can cause seizures but extremely rare and usually over a 100mg dose for that to occur.
Helpful - 0
410221 tn?1227631837
You will have to tapper the Ambien or you could have a seziure if you go c/t. It is exactly the same as a Benzo like xanax, valium etc. Wow, you are taking a huge amount of Ambien too. I took ambien for 6 months 10 mg every night and it took me several months to be able to sleep normal. Doctors are over prescibing this medication to people that are not abusing it and they are having terrible problems coming off of it.
The ambien website tells you never to use it more than 7-10 days.
You really should be under a doctors care to taper and w/d from the ambien. And I doubt any over the counter sleep aid will help you. You are going to have to make your mind up to get off of it and be strong. I have a website that has lots of info if you want it. Just PM me
Helpful - 0
401095 tn?1351391770
Tapering down is a good idea...take less and less slowly over several weeeks and try to get down to 5 mg for a bit then quit...my friend abused it but i dont think she was physically addicted to it...take it slow and easy...good luck
Helpful - 0
480448 tn?1426948538
Clarification....discussing it with your DOC is a great idea.  Left that out.  Ooops.
Helpful - 0
480448 tn?1426948538
Puranx is right...gradually taper yourself.  Your dose is SUPER hugh!!!  Holy cow!  I never heard of anyone taking such a high dose!  Did your doc KNOW you were taking so much?  You must have slept like a hibernating bear huh?  LOL!  :0)

I think if you go down by 5mg daily for a while, you should be okay.  Be sure to drink TONS of water during the process.

I think the very worst possible thing you will deal with is some sleepless nights.

I also agree that discussing coming off of it is a great idea....

Take care and good luck...
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
taper the ambien down slowly and carefully week to week or longer if needed. get down to 35....then 30...and so on until its 5 then jump off. I have ambien,rozerem scripts myself but stopped the ambien and made it a once a week or less thing because it can be bad news. You might want to see if the Dr will switch you to say lunesta and see if you can use that while getting off ambien or when you tapered low enough to jump and switch.  Good luck.  
Helpful - 0
401786 tn?1309152034
I sent you a PM several minutes ago on the subject.... : )
Helpful - 0
464044 tn?1343702043
Hi. I probably cant tell you anything you havent heard before. I can relate though, my doc told me that ambien and some antidepressants werent addictive either. I didnt realize they were until I quit c/t and went thru wd's. Ambien wasnt really a problem for me, just a lot of sleepness nights. If you're only taking them at night, and not really having a lot of problems with them, you might not need to quit right away. Maybe taper the dose and find some relaxation techniques like reading, writing, or even sleepytime tea. You could eat peanutbutter and milk before bed or things like that. But if you're just getting off vicodin, now might not be the best time to quit.
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Addiction: Substance Abuse Community

Top Addiction Answerers
495284 tn?1333894042
City of Dominatrix, MN
Avatar universal
phoenix, AZ
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Is treating glaucoma with marijuana all hype, or can hemp actually help?
If you think marijuana has no ill effects on your health, this article from Missouri Medicine may make you think again.
Julia Aharonov, DO, reveals the quickest way to beat drug withdrawal.
Tricks to help you quit for good.
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.