How do you taper Ambien if I've taken it for three weeks?

[michelle54991]

Hello,

I have been on Ambien, generic , Zolpiderm 10 mg. a night  for about three to four  weeks due to severe insomnia and would like how to know how to taper the sleep aid without suffering insomnia rebound.
If anyone knows and has any suggestions, I would appreciate it .

Thanks.

[michelle54991]

Hi ,

No, I do not know what to take to smooth out the rebound. I  am currently taking Klonopin for anxiety, it does not make feel sleepy or anything at .50 mg at 1.00 mg. it keeps me wide awake, quite the opposite for everyone else.
I am going to see a new psychiatrist this coming week but he was not very helpful during my firs visit, so this is my second visit I want to ask him to show me ease out the insomnia rebound. It is so hard as I do not have a lot of faith in him as he did not even give me an emergency phone no. ,which I will have to ask him when I see him.
Do you have any suggestion on how to smooth out the rebound?

Thanks for your response.

[MrGreen]

Trust me 3 weeks is nothing. Lot of other users would tell you that. Most have been on medication for a decade or more. Long term users. That is when it would be a lot hard to wean off things. But you should do fine. If you just take it slowly. Can I ask are you going to replace it with something else? If you still get panic attacks that is.

[michelle54991]

Hi,
Thanks for your comment  . I am very nervous as I get panic attack when I have insomnia and it usually jerks me out just when I fall asleep by myself when I get off sleep aid . In the past I only used Ambien for only a few days not this long a period.  

[MrGreen]

Not a very long time to be honest with you. But you could break it down bit by bit if you feel the need to do so. Into quarters. Take 3/4 instead of the full 10mg and let your body adapt to the new levels. If you feel fine with that, break it down some more. Each time until you feel fine with it. Just keep breaking it down. For as long as you feel the need to do so.