Ambien for sleep. uh oh

[really_trying]

It has been onw month today off oxycontin. Tough few weeks but much better now. I did take Ambien to help with the sleep isses. No more than prescibed and the dose was 7.5. I tried to sleep without one last night and was up all night. One month, one pill..how long will insomnia last if I stop. I don't suffer insomnia normally. Only got the ambien to help with the detox... Guess I should of stopped sooner. Any advise

[OpenMind24hours]

....was about to mention, but hit send by mistake: Thursday is quit day - trash the rest. Flush them.

Congrats on your clean time of Oxy!!  Keep up the good work.

[really_trying]

Thanks V. I will try breaking the pill in half for the next few days so it will be 3.25. I have taken Ambien before but never for a month.

[OpenMind24hours]

I was on Ambien for 9 months about 4 years ago. It took me a 4 month taper to slowly get off of it. It wasn't the WD symptoms as much as I knew from reading other peoples stories that my sleeping pattern was a big mess. So I slowly tapered down and ended up on OTC sleep aids like Alteril. I still don't sleep very well.

If you do plan to stay on Ambien for a few more days I suggest greatly reducing the amount rather than taking the whole 7.5 each night. I think you will easily sleep on much less. Especially if you went last night without any at all. That will soften the blow to your GABA receptors and might even help you recover quicker. The lesser the better!

V

[really_trying]

Thanks Lu. I have melatolin at home wich I will start to use

[lulu747]

perfect.  I take 2000 mg of tryptophan and 20 mg of melatonin and I sleep really well unless having a pain crises in the middle of the night.  this is a large dose but I am hard to sedate.  But I remember 30 days into clean time (congrats btw) I was still not sleeping more that 2-4 hours a night and I was taking sleeping pills.  My addiction doc put me on the melatonin said it's great for recovering addicts as it resets your sleep wake schedule.  He told me to take 10 mg in the early evening to calm me down and another 10 mg at bedtime.  It took about a week but I started sleeping 6-8 hours after that and began to taper off the other sleep meds.
Keep it up, you're doing great!
Lu

[really_trying]

Thanks. It was tough. Many days I didn't know if I could do it but I really tried to push through

[Amandag78]

Hello, congratulations on your 1 month clean !!!

[really_trying]

I agree about the sleeping. It knocks you out but I never wake up feeling well rested. I also have a headache everday. It helped during detox for sure for me and now I want off. I have been reading horror stories about it

[really_trying]

I am in Canada as well so I will look out for it. Thanks for the tip

[lulu747]

TRYPTOPHAN!!!
I was on sleeping pills (zoplicone) for nearly 2 decades.  I wanted off because A. It wasn't working anymore and B. I want to get pregnant soon and didn't want to be on any meds whatsoever.
My doc prescribed me 2000 mg of Tryptophan- ya the stuff found in turkey.  It is a natural seratonin booster and mood stabilizer and helps to increase the length and quality of your sleep.  It takes awhile to build in your system because it's natural but I tapered my meds pretty quick (over a week) while using the tryptophan and then just stopped.  I sleep better and longer than I ever have in my life.  Wish I'd discovered this stuff years ago.
Ambien is scary because like zoplicone it's a hypnotic.  It may make you pass out but it will never give you a good sleep.
I'm in Canada so not sure if it's available in the states but ask your doc.
Hope you get some rest soon!
Lu

[really_trying]

Thank you everyone. I only have a few ambien left and my doctor does not like providing them

[marycarmel]

Alteril is all natural and doesn't cause dependence.  I like it better than Ambien.

[selfinduced]

Nope, I'd go ahead and take the ambien as long as you don't keep delaying the end date. I will tell you this drug is not one you want to get dependent on cause the residual anxiety is paralyzing. Having said that one month and a few days should not bring you to dependency . Just make sure you don't have anymore access after Thur. Much luck to you.

[really_trying]

Thank you. I have to work all week and have an interview this week. Would it be a big deal if I waited til Thursday so I could have the "lack" of sleep towards the weekend? Not sure if a few more days is abig deal. It has been aa rough 30 days as I got the true flu during detox wich made it really tough but I did it. No more sources to get piils and working on after care.

[selfinduced]

Not to worry, You will have interrupted sleep for about 4 nights and then things will level out. This has been my experience. The most important thing is to not continue to take it and let your body recover. One month is not that long. Do all the natural things to induce sleep and just ride it out. Hey , many congrats on your 30 days opiate free. Great job!!!