worried and cant sleep, addicted to ambien

[Alley49]

I have been worried for six months and have been abusin ambien.  I am off of it now and cant sleep.  Can a person never sleep on their own again.  I havent taken a nap or slept on my own in 6 months.  I am scared to death.  Antidepressents dont help me.  I am worried about breast cancer since I have atypical hyperplasia.  Can ambien cause breast cancer?  I have an ultrasound to do this week because of abnormal mammo.  Could the ambien be the cause of a new breast problem?  

[Suri123]

Hi Alley49, how are you? Hope you are slowly feeling better and able to get some sleep? Hi KatEyes, I do agree with your thought and thanks for your post. As you were used to Ambien for sleep since many months or more, now you are finding it difficult to get sleep without it and I appreciated your determination to try sleep without it. Yes, human body has tremendous capacity to get back to normalcy and you can sleep on own but it is better to get examined and undergo the sleep study and its assessment to chalk out a proper care for you. Do get the Ultrasound done and update on the results. Follow healthy sleep habits and take care.

[KatEyes]

Along with prior post, I encourage you to let a sleep doctor handle your care (if not already). They can figure out if there's an underlying cause for the insomnia. Communicate closely with them - if something's not working for you let them know. Sleep is too important to keep suffering.

I had so many years of minimal fitful sleep that it seemed my brain had "forgotten" how to sleep. Even after diagnosing and treating sleep disorders, it wasn't happening. Time and improved sleep hygiene eventually did help me break down the barriers, I was able to sleep soundly once again.

It can happen.

[Suri123]

Hi Alley49, how are you? I do agree how difficult it is to carry on the daily activities of living with insomnia for months. Ambien is intended to help in short term only. How many days it is since you have taken last Ambien? It is better not to stop it abruptly on own as withdrawal symptoms might worsen further. I suggest you to consult a sleep specialist and a surgeon and get examined. Although not much has been documented on the breast cancer, I hope this link may be useful regarding the side effects of the drug: http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/zolpid_ad.htm
Take care and update on the progress.