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.

[Thomas03]

wow, Mandy, 100+mg Ambien? That's about 10 times the recommended dose, isn't it? I think we both know what "our" new MD is going to say about this one ...

Tell me, did you gradually ramp up to that dosage? And does the Ambien get you high before you sleep? Do you ever take it when you don't intend to sleep? Just curious. I've tried it a few times, and it always put me out before I knew what hit me.

Ambien is a schedule IV controlled substance, so your doc is bound to do something. Do you really think your doc would hospitalize you for this? Perhaps you could taper down over a few weeks. It seems to me that using a sleep aid over time would deprive you of your natural ability to fall asleep.

Thomas

[earlygrayce]

100mgs of ambien? holy ****. if that wasn't a mistype by you mandy then i am truly suprised you are not dead, or at least still sleeping. i have seen a lot of critisisms of ambien on this board, but it has helped me out incredibly. i was addicted to hydros and oxys for a few years and, like most addicts, had problems sleeping during and after withdrawals. my problem was restless leg and i took ambien every night for about 4 weeks or so and then found i could sleep pretty soundly without it. i took 10mg before bed - my dr.'s recommended dose (and he knew about my addiction) - and now only take it maybe once a month, if that. it didn't get me high (than again i wasn't taking 10 at a time) and i didn't have the urge to take it at other times or more than the amount prescribed. it is addictive to some, but much less than opiates so i am not sure i understand these people who are on and off tremendous amounts of pain meds but are scared to take ambien due to what they have read about it. i agree with Thomas that tapering would be best but if you feel you can't taper by yourself, then i do suggest strongly that you get some help, hospital or otherwise.  and i don't know your relationship you have with your dr. however if you are buying contolled substances through the mail then you might either get caught and get in trouble - where you might detox from jail - or at the very least your source would be cut off and you might be forced to detox cold turkey. i'm not sure what high-dose ambien detox is like but i don't think i'd want that just the same. all of us on this board sympathize with your problem of addiction, but you'll only get clean when you are forced or when you decide you have had enough. whatever you do please be careful. this is just my experience and i certainly maybe wrong on some things but i thought i tell you to hang in there just the same.

[lisabet]

My ob doctor gave me a script of ambien - after hearing about the addictive tendencies on this board, I was afraid to even take it.  I gave a friend of mine 5 about a week ago, and he's already begging me for more; I told him about the addictive warnings, but although he says he's not "jonesing" for it - it really does help him get a restful sleep.  Needless to say, I'm giving him the rest of my script tomorrow, but I'm still worried about him getting dependent on this drug.  Sounds to me like he's already liking it a "little" too much, but you know, who am I to judge?  Peace/Love, Lisabet

[MandyDL]

I appreciate all the comments and I am going to try to get off this drug.  I wish there was a way to do it by myself at home because I do not want anyone to know my dirty little secret.  In all other areas of my life, I function fairly well, even with having depression.  I will try but I know I need prayers. Mandy

[earlygrayce]

i don't think i am out of line by saying lisabet, thomas and myself are all keeping you in our thoughts. stay strong and good luck.

[Chezz2]

Earlygrace,

Don't forget all of the others, and the lurkers that have been wondering and CARE as well.

Mandy,
I was wondering. Is you current intake 100mg? In other words, as Thomas pointed out 10x the normal dose? Nothing to be ashamed of or anything. Just wondering so it is easier for people to see where you are coming from and possible help with a way to detox via a taper.
As you might already know, Ambien isn't "technically" a regular benzo. At least from the literature that I have read. So I not sure if it will have the same titration rate necessary as will something like Zanax or one of the other "real" and extremely hard to detox off of benzodiazapines.

Just wondering. I hope you are doing alright. There are a lot of people here that are caring and will do what we can to help you get through this.
You just have to keep on posting and let us know how you are doing.

Regards,
Chad

[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.
PROUD TO HAVE SERVED!

[theGolden1]

Dear Friend ... I have been taking 20mg's of ambien for 2 1/2 years and it is a good sleeping med. It was perscribed for fibromyalgia and to encourage a deep sleep. I wouldn't worry about ambien. You are on a low dose. After all you have been through,  you deserve a good night's sleep. My brother served in the 101st Airborne in Vietnam,  and saw alot of action. He was on Valium for the same condition. Unfortunately he developed complications from agent orange and passed away in 1990. Take the meds and get as much therapy as you can stand. You have a right to live a normal life. It will get better with time .... all my best you .. Goldie

[Always A Soldier]

Goldie,
     Thank you for your comment and your suport.  My heart goes out to you and your family for what your brother went throuh, he is a hero in my eyes and heart.
PROUND TO HAVE SERVED!
Sierra

[peaz]

That would be: Klonopin.

[bsills]

My guess is you could wean with Konopin for this.

[bsills]

****** up keyboard.  But thanks for the attempt at invalidation.

[bsills]

If you never heard that ULTIMATELY people can have better tolerance to pain after withdrawing from narcotics than I am now certain that you have no brain cells left (See, I can do that **** too).  Who the **** told you that you are going to be in pain the rest of your life?

Scholars passed by a dead dog. The disciples said: "How awful its smell!" Their master said, "How white its teeth!"

[bsills]

One is definitely playing with fire when they switch to another closely related drug.  But that is also, paradoxically, the absolute key to tapering successfully.  Good Luck.

[dancinginthedark]

And if someone who follows your formula eventually becomes addicted to "the helper drug", than, what, be damned?

To urge addicts to use other addictive drugs to get off their DOC is nothing short of that which you know all too well. Insanity.

Why do you insist on staying at a party where you are clearly not wanted?

Dancing

Have I been there?  Oh, yes.  BIG time.  I just switched from opiates, to valium & finally F3 (plain now only) & each time, I was convinced by addiction docs as well as my own & follow their recommendations.

In some circles, it's known as "switching poisons".

P.P.S.  Why don't you send all these heinous posts to medhelp?  We can too, to demonstrate the context.  And I'm certain I did call you a know-it-all a few times but I switched fast as I thought know-it-nothing was far more apropos.

[bsills]

This is the first time I have seen you even attempt to deal with the content of my posts, instead of getting all bent out of shape.  See., I have even reached you, and thank you for disagreeing with the content of what I had to say.

Yeah, I have switched meds numerous times and their is a lot of danger.  It's hard to continue to taper anyway.  The best "long term' results, i.e., fewer relapses, come from those who voluntarily go through WDs cold turkey.  But some can't do it that way, and some can't due a voluntary detox without other strong meds.  Of course you can get addicted to the other MEds, like Benzos (even Clonodine), and that is why you don't want to take them for too long.

And the reason that the secondary phase after "acute" withdrawals can seem so bad sometimes is because of the fact that the person who tapers never really feels that first acute stage, so psychologically the next 30-40 days seem harder than for someone who went to cold turkey hell.

[theGolden1]

If your heart was in the right place when you posted then don't worry. Obviously, people use drugs to get off drugs and although it can work on a physical level (if done correctly) we need another approach to arrest the obsession. This forum is open to all members and is not a private place. Right or wrong, we should all be treated with kindness and respect.

[hippy]

is that a anthony demello quote.

we have to share our experence, not say it with arrogance,
for we all know that arrogance is a mask for low self esteem.
also every person is different , thus each person reacts
different , to each method of getting clean.

some people are going to be in a lot of pain for life,
as we get clean , we all find out if that is the case.
one thing for sure is as we get older , the issue of pain
becomes more of a reality.
when i was younger and got clean at 24  i went cold turkey,
pain was not an issue.
now that i am 43  pain is now part of the equation,
during the past few years , wether im clean or taking pain meds.
i have hobbled around, and suffered a lot because of pain,
it is truely a difficult thing to deal with.
it has left me very frustrated,
peace hippy

[gbjade]

Dear Mandy & others