Ambien addiction

[MandyDL]

I have been treated for depression since 1991 and am on lexapro and just started gabitril.  The problem is that I never sleep well and have become addicted to ambien but do not know how to tell my psych this.  I get the ambien over the internet and sometimes take 100mg or more at a time.  How do I stop on my own? I cannot afford a clinic and I know my psych will make me go to the hospital if I tell her.

[MandyDL]

My dose is 100mg sometimes more.  I know that seems excessive but I guess I have built tolerance to it.  When I was 6 days in hospital for knee replacement (end of Jan), I did not get it and managed to get some sleep--of course, I was getting pain meds then.  I just want to quit cold turkey, but have this fear of going crazy if I do not get to sleep.

[sedativist]

Hi all.  I was taking ambien for several months, of course, not at as high of a dose.  However, when my scrip ran out I just didn't get any more.  I am on celexa, antidepressant, and was also given trazadone, to substitute.  I did not notice any obvious signs of physical withdrawl from ambien, that I am aware of.  I don't think that I ever took more than 2 or 3 pills a night though, but I had other sleep meds.  I supppose I am kindof addicted to the idea of taking something so I can sleep, but I felt that as long as I wasn't physically addicted to something, that it was o.k.  I know that isn't the point, but I was so desperate for sleep I didn't care.  I was addicted to heroin and methadone for 11 years, and we all know what physical addiction is like.  Not sure if this is of any help, but I hope something is relavent.  Peace.

[earlygrayce]

forgive me chezz, just mentioning those who had posted to this thread that's all. i think mandy knows we all sympathize with just about any addiction here. ok, maybe not chocolate chip cookie addiction but who knows, right?

the 100 mgs does seem extreamly high, but the body can handle tremendous things - at least for a while - and that has been proven by many of people's experiences on this board with other drugs. like i said, i don't know if there is a significant withdrawal from high doses of ambien. at lower doses some have been known to not be able to sleep for a while though. sedativist, my experiences seem much like yours. i too have been on celexa and the ambien helped me sleep. once most of the 'post acute withdrawal' symptoms went away i seemed to be able to sleep much better and somewhat tapered, but basically just stopped without any problems. mandy, the reason i flipped at such a high dose of ambein is two fold. one, i have never heard of that high a dosage and due to the fact that they are sleeping pills - tolerence or not - i suspected that might be tremendously dangerous. two, and i have experienced this once, in many people ambien has a side effect of amnesia, especially but not only due to it being mixed with alcohol. for instance you take an ambien to sleep, realize you forgot to do something - take out trash, respond to an email, get something from the store etc... so you go do it. and when you wake up in the morning you find out you don't remember that at all or worse, you did something else while you were up or out that is either harmless or even possibly something you shouldn't have done. i know this both from experience and hearing about other cases from my doctor after i brought mine up to him. one time i took an ambien, stayed up on the computer, and realized two days later when i got the package that i had ordered 90 ultram on line(right now it is not a controlled substance, but probably should be, and can easily be ordered this way) - a former drug of choice for me and i had been clean several months. needless to say it took me a while to figure out what the hell happened and after speaking with my dr. we both agreed that if i do take ambien again, which i have, i should only do so while in bed right before sleep. this is just my experience and i don't want to alarm others because i think ambien's addictive potentil is extreamly low in most cases and at proper dosages and that it is wonderful in helping restore sleeping habits for former addicts who are having real problems getting a good nights sleep due to rls or other symptoms of withdrawal or their former addiction. the reason i mention this too you mandy is i was thinking at such high doses, maybe you have had more of an experience with this. but like i said i take ambien once a month, if that, do not mix it with alcohol, and haven't had a problem since. like most drugs, they can really help if taken correctly in the right situations. it is just as former addicts, many of us - myself included - have had problems doing that at times.

so ALL of us on this board wish you well mandy, and keep posting. take care sedavist, chezz and thomas. stay strong.

[MandyDL]

Can anyone just tell me how I can stop or cut down from 50 -100mg  NIGHT AND do it quickly. Does anyone know professionally what will happen if I just stop cold turkey.  I have never been so desperate   Thanka

[mike237]

i was talking 70 mgs every night at one time so i can see how its possible, im down to 20mgs now but i also take 60mgs of tamazapam and 20 of geodon with it, that puts me to sleep. I think you should try and taper off, take 1 less every 5 days and you should be ok.

[Always A Soldier]

I take 20mg of Ambien everynight along with 2 to 3 mg of Xanax.  My doctor is aware of this (actually instructed me to do this) I have been doing this for the last 2 years.  My situation is:  I am a wounded combat veteran from the (first) Gulf War suffering injuries from a scud missile attack killing 28 of my fellow soldiers and seriously and permently (can't spell worth a darn).  As a result I now have Post Tramatic Stress Disorder.  My doctor placed me on Xanax for panic attacks, and flashbacks and the Ambien because I am scared to sleep at night, I have nightmares from the attack.  I am wondering is this a lifestyle I will have to adapt to and will I get to a tolerence Ambien?  I apprciate  ofany comments or similiar situations.  Thank you.
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