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Is anyone still having problems with Ambien?

Hello, I can't find a recent posts on ambien addiction/withdrawal.  I haven't had one in 16 days and would like to read current posts from anyone who has struggled with this drug.  have done all the online shopping, and sleep eating that I care to.  so it is back to not sleeping and really missing the ambien.  think I am over the withdrawal for the most part.  the headaches have stopped.  But really MISS this drug!!  it did the trick for me and I loved that sleep!  But it got to where all I thought about was when do I get to take my ambien and go to bed?  6PM was not out of the question...
Is anyone out there struggling with this kind of thing?
Best Answer
Avatar universal
Hi!  I struggled with an ambien addiction for a few years.  I have been off of them now since 2007.  I finally took so many that I got in my car and drove, had a wreck and didn't remember any of it.  I was taking about 30 a day at my worst.  I got to the point where I thought I couldn't be awake at all.  I had to sleep around the clock except for going to the doctor or pharmacy to get more.  The awful thing is the insomnia that you have to endure after you stop them.  It goes on and on.  You have to have a lot of patience.  It took me a few months to get to where I could sleep a couple of hours a night!  I hated it so bad when I couldn't sleep, because that had become my crutch....just sleep thru life!  

It does get better, but it takes a while!  Sleep when you can for a while, and try to be happy with what you can get!!! : )  I know it's hard!  

Good luck!
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Avatar universal
Thank you for all the current posts.  So incredibly helpful.  tramhater, I felt (feel) the same way about xanax.  rich, day 17 under my belt.  Also withdrawing from nicorette (quit smoking 14yrs ago....) and antidepressants.   Anxiety and insomnia lead to all these addictions...so I'm just trying to take deep breaths and figure out life without them.  feeling very infantile!  Thanks everyone.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Yes, beargizmo, I took THAT many!  I had a horrible problem with them.  There are literally years that I don't remember very much of!  I would not take another one of them if someone had a gun to my head......LITERALLY!  I don't want to be a drama queen, but they are devil-pills!
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1349329 tn?1276985202
I have it, but it doesn't seem to help me for sleep at all, so I don't bother with it.

Good luck though on your journey to come off.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Continue by not touching it on day 17,  day 18,  day 19 and never look back.    This drug introduced somewhere around 1990 or so was declared to be non-addictive by its maker.     Never believe these statements ever again from pharmaceutical companies or the doctors who get frequent visits from their sales reps.    
So you're over the worst of it and your brain chemistry will once again kick in on its own and provide you with enough sleep.
Helpful - 0
176495 tn?1301280412
30/day??? OMG...heck, I used to take one and the next morning not remember conversations I had on the phone or with my son who lived with me at the time... got myself in trouble with my not yet then wife on one phone call..that I don't remember..
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Avatar universal
Have  you tried other things for sleep?  I take Ambien and have been on it for about 10 years.  But I don't take it all the time as I'm afraid of being addicted to it.  (It was given to me as part of a pain management plan for fibromyalgia.)  Now, if I do take something, it's usually melatonin.  I usually take two and that works.  Other times, I'll drink warm milk, which also works for me. And I do relaxation techniques.  I probably end up using the Ambien once or twice a month.  Even after using it for 10 years, I have never experienced withdrawals from it but from what I've read, it's common.

I know there are other OTC supplements for sleep as well, though I'm not personally familiar with them.  Good luck.  Not sleeping *****.
Helpful - 0
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