Do you two mean wasted when you wake up in the morning? I work in healthcare, and many patients have had positive things to say about Ambien. Please share.
If I stay awake a little too long after taking mine, it makes me feel drunk. I can't walk straight and don't remember anything in the morning (including creating this post lol)
I have found that I need 2 Instead of 1 now too
I have found that I need 2 Instead of 1 now too
Works great for some people, but lotsa problems for others. I had a co-worker for whom it worked great for a month, and then she got hooked (aka dependent) and had to stop taking it.
Per DD#2, they're really popular among the prescription drug abuse crowd too, those in their mid-20's or so.
(OP, absolutely not saying this about you. But it's pretty obvious that there's some abuse potential with this stuff.)
It is definitely addicting which is why I tried to stop taking it. I have high anxiety/insomnia.
I try to take ambien twice a week and Tylenol pm on the other nights. I hate relying on a prescription but I loathe seeing the minutes tick by on the clock when I have to get up for work
I try to take ambien twice a week and Tylenol pm on the other nights. I hate relying on a prescription but I loathe seeing the minutes tick by on the clock when I have to get up for work
@casmith1980 wrote:
It is definitely addicting which is why I tried to stop taking it. I have high anxiety/insomnia.
I try to take ambien twice a week and Tylenol pm on the other nights. I hate relying on a prescription but I loathe seeing the minutes tick by on the clock when I have to get up for work
It's a miserable feeling, isn't it?
I don't mean to get too personal here, but have you considered trying therapy? Not a psychiatrist (many of whom unfortunately are script-writers these days, as in writing prescriptions), but someone who actually does therapy, like a clinical psychologist or a licensed clinical social worker.
I have found that when I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling, I have Stuff inside my head that needs to get dragged out and examined. I'm lucky (and I frankly admit it): these nights don't happen very often, and I'm usually able to resolve them the next day.
I know from what you've posted that you're a survivor of a less-than-wonderful childhood. Sometimes the tapes running over and over inside our heads can take over our current lives, even when we know intellectually that they're not rational. Anxiety and insomnia can be a sign of pressures that haven't gotten resolved. A good therapist can really help untangle all that shame and rage and hurt and despair. (There are a lot of jerks out there too, so you might need to make several initial visits to find someone who matches you.)
Anyway, good luck to you, and thumbs up for realizing all the pitfalls out there in modern medicine.
I've gone to a therapist for other issues that arose this summer, but it hasn't helped much with the sleeping problem. I find myself thinking about stuff I need to do the next day, what did I forget to do, etc
I tried posting a question on a different forum regarding the issue this past summer and realized I like this crowd a lot more people can be really mean/insensitive and I suppose there's skeptical people out there that assume what you write is a lie.
I personally have nothing to lie about and quite frankly, if airing the dirty laundry results in help working through something, I'm down to try it.
I tried posting a question on a different forum regarding the issue this past summer and realized I like this crowd a lot more
people can be really mean/insensitive and I suppose there's skeptical people out there that assume what you write is a lie.I personally have nothing to lie about and quite frankly, if airing the dirty laundry results in help working through something, I'm down to try it.
I have had adverse reactions to Ambien. There have been published reports of erratic behavior by persons taking Ambien. About 5 or 6 years ago there were some well-publicized reports of sleep-driving, and the FDA issued a warning about this phenomenon and other unusual behavior.
In one case, I took a 10mg dose while vacationing on Maui in 2003. In order to wake up early enough to drive to the top of Haleakala to watch the sunrise (overrated, in my opinion 
), I had to fall asleep around 6:00pm - not easy to do when the sun is still shining brightly and you can hear toddlers running about. According to my wife, I was reading a book before falling asleep. I was reading a passage out loud to her, and I started to speak with a drawl. She told me to put down the book, and I said something like, "before we get to Copenhagen, we have to stop by Oslo." I said some other bizarre things, got out of bed a few times for no apparent reason, got something to eat in the kitchen, then abruptly fell asleep. I have absolutely no recollection of any of this.
A similar incident happened a few months later. That time I took only a 5mg dose, but again I was doing and saying some weird things. My wife almost took me to the hospital. Again, complete amnesia of any of this. That was the last time I took Ambien.
Even though Ambien and some of the newer sleep aids aren't supposed to affect sleep patterns as much as other medications, like Valium, there's some evidence that it does affect the amount of time spent in REM sleep, and perhaps increases the amount of time in deeper sleep stages (stages 3 and 4). Though these deep stages of sleep are more restful, it's also when abnormal behavior (parasomnias) are more likely to occur. And if wake up out of one of these deep stages, as opposed to lighter sleep, you're more likely to have that groggy and unrested feeling, which I've also experienced.
Clearly, there are tens of thousands of people out there who are taking Ambien without problems, and the odds of something really weird happening are very low. But boy, when it happens to you, it's pretty freaky - moreso to the people around you!
@casmith1980 wrote:
I've gone to a therapist for other issues that arose this summer, but it hasn't helped much with the sleeping problem. I find myself thinking about stuff I need to do the next day, what did I forget to do, etc
I tried posting a question on a different forum regarding the issue this past summer and realized I like this crowd a lot more
I personally have nothing to lie about and quite frankly, if airing the dirty laundry results in help working through something, I'm down to try it.
Well, think about keeping going with the therapy. I'm not talking about a Woody-Allen-esque 20 or 30 year therapy, but something focused on what you're dealing with, with an agreement that you'll meet for 10 sessions or so, and then evaluate where you are and if there has been any change, and then decide to keep going.
One thing that a lot of people find is that they don't see improvement, and maybe they might even see regression, after the first few sessions. From what I understand, that's because the protective part of you is starting to feel a bit safer, and it's letting out more stomped-down emotions. So it might seem worse than ever initially, but if you're stubborn and determined, AND you have a good therapist, you can push through this and start moving forward.
Anyway, again, good luck, and thumbs up to you. It's a really hard process, and many people don't have the courage to do this, and it can seem a lot simpler to just stuff it all down and try to keep on going, until one day, everything just melts down. Props to you for gritting your teeth and getting into it.