Ambien Lunesta ? -- For those who ,take it hightly

[ephraimh]

I take 10 mg every night and lately am needing more. How much Ambien or Lunesta do you take? As for Lunesta what amount of it equates to 10 mg Ambien? thanks

[Gasper62]

I only seem to need 5mg. to knock me out. If I am already very tired, I can skip the Ambien (generic) and just use some melatonin instead.

[Sir NoddinOff]

When my sister died last year I took ambien for a month but it let me down. As the weeks went by It took more and more to put me under plus I felt groggy in the morning. Eventually it didn't have any sedative impact at all... I was moderately drowsy but stayed awake. I don't think it's good for more than a month at a time, or at least that's what I gather from several other members who have tried it. A small group of folks report sleep walking, sleep eating, sleep sex etc etc... this included my adult son who sleep phoned his ex-girlfriend and said some embarrassing stuff, for which he subsequently had to apologize. Luckily, I never had those problems. Some CPAPtalk members use it every night but I don't remember any names off the top of my head.

[archangle]

Be very careful about any of these sleeping pills. There are often a lot of side effects, especially long term.

Of course, not sleeping has bad side effects as well. Weigh the risks and benefits, and watch out for the problems.

[49er]

When my sister died last year I took ambien for a month but it let me down. As the weeks went by It took more and more to put me under plus I felt groggy in the morning. Eventually it didn't have any sedative impact at all... I was moderately drowsy but stayed awake. I don't think it's good for more than a month at a time, or at least that's what I gather from several other members who have tried it. A small group of folks report sleep walking, sleep eating, sleep sex etc etc... this included my adult son who sleep phoned his ex-girlfriend and said some embarrassing stuff, for which he subsequently had to apologize. Luckily, I never had those problems. Some CPAPtalk members use it every night but I don't remember any names off the top of my head.

When I have rarely tried ambien to get back to sleep, the most it has provided has been an extra hour of sleep. I have done better eating celery. If I took it before bedtime, the most I have slept is 3 hours which has been pretty worthless in my opinion. Fortunately, I never had any side effects.

49er

[sptrout]

I took Ambien CR,12.5mg, randomly for a few years before my pain management told me to take it every night (to keep from moving around and making my pain issues worse). I then took it for 3 years every night and it gradually became very ineffective so my doctor switched to amitriptyline (Elavil). Low dose Elavil is known to aid in sleep since drowsiness is one of its side effects (in much higher doses (10X) it used to be used as an antidepressant - rarely used for that now). I would highly recommend it over Ambien since it has few, if an side effects, and at the low dosage used for sleep, can be stopped without withdrawals. Another benefit, it is dirt cheap. Many insurance companies cover it at 100% for a 90 day Rx. Even with no insurance it is cheaper than baby aspirin.

I have never seen a direct comparison between Ambien and Lunesta, but it did not work for me, which seems to be the case for the majority of people based on what I have read over the years.

[Pugsy]

I take Ambien prn occasionally. Usually cut a 10 mg pill in half. Never taken anything else to compare it to.
Ambien is mainly to help fall asleep and not necessarily helps all that great in terms of staying asleep...Ambien CR would be more suited along those lines.
Been taking it probably 6 years but only on a very prn occasional basis after initially pretty every night for about 6 months 6 years ago.
I was aware of the negative stuff and simply didn't want to get in the "I need it to sleep" boat.
I preferred to address what was messing with my sleep in the first place and it wasn't the ability to fall asleep but instead was the pain issues that would wake me a gazillion times a night.
So the Ambien was strictly to help me sleep a little "sounder" so that the pain wasn't so much a factor in wake ups.

I still will take the Ambien occasionally (like when I forget to take the other meds which do better for the pain until it's too late) but I don't take it often. 30 pills will last me 6 months or more.
Only once have I had one of those "done something weird" situations and unfortunately it wasn't sex...darn it.

[archangle]

I would highly recommend it over Ambien since it has few, if an side effects,.

Definitely not true that it has few side effects. Read the prescribing information and Google it. It may still be worth the risks, but it's definitely necessary to watch out for side effects.

[sptrout]

I would highly recommend it over Ambien since it has few, if an side effects,.

Definitely not true that it has few side effects. Read the prescribing information and Google it. It may still be worth the risks, but it's definitely necessary to watch out for side effects.

Yes, that is true, but mainly at levels used to treat depression. The dose as a sleep aid is typically 10-25mg, where for depression the dosage is 100 to 150mg. At 10-25mg the side effects are very hard to find, and a person can stop it the next day without any issues. I know, I have been there done that.

[Sir NoddinOff]

and a person can stop it the next day without any issues. I know, I have been there done that.

I seriously don't advise anybody do what sptrout recommends... taper off as per what your doctor recommends. Could be weeks or a month, however in all cases IMO, it's better safe than sorry. Everybody is different in their reactions to psyche drugs.

[sptrout]

and a person can stop it the next day without any issues. I know, I have been there done that.

I seriously don't advise anybody do what sptrout recommends... taper off as per what your doctor recommends. Could be weeks or a month, however in all cases IMO, it's better safe than sorry. Everybody is different in their reactions to psyche drugs.

I did taper off per my doctor's instructions: "just stop". At the dosage level for sleep, and/or nerve pain reduction, is so low there is really nothing to taper down to, or any need. I agree that at high levels of this drug and many others, tapering is required. I have been down that road with heavy duty pain medications. This drug has gotten me off of Ambien and Dilaudid, which in case readers are not familiar with this drug either, is 5 to 8 times stronger mg per mg than morphine and is one of the strongest, if not the strongest by mouth pain drug available. Oddly, Dilaudid was invented in Germany in 1921. Seems like pain control has not advanced much in nearly 100 years.

[archangle]

I would highly recommend it over Ambien since it has few, if an side effects,.

Definitely not true that it has few side effects. Read the prescribing information and Google it. It may still be worth the risks, but it's definitely necessary to watch out for side effects.

Yes, that is true, but mainly at levels used to treat depression. The dose as a sleep aid is typically 10-25mg, where for depression the dosage is 100 to 150mg. At 10-25mg the side effects are very hard to find, and a person can stop it the next day without any issues. I know, I have been there done that.

Google it. Quite a few people have had problems at "sleep aid" dosages. Once again, doesn't mean don't use it, just to realize there can be side effects.

[Julie]

Dilaudid is a child of laudanum... a very strong opiate, almost the only analgesic available for hundreds of years. Many people died as a result of taking it (eventually) but it had a place in medicine, as it was in the past. It is strong, but is usually only prescribed now as a very short term drug... percocet and oxycontin (and morphine) have taken over now, though it's still prescribed of course. Just thought you might be interested.

[49er]

and a person can stop it the next day without any issues. I know, I have been there done that.

I seriously don't advise anybody do what sptrout recommends... taper off as per what your doctor recommends. Could be weeks or a month, however in all cases IMO, it's better safe than sorry. Everybody is different in their reactions to psyche drugs.

I did taper off per my doctor's instructions: "just stop". At the dosage level for sleep, and/or nerve pain reduction, is so low there is really nothing to taper down to, or any need. I agree that at high levels of this drug and many others, tapering is required. I have been down that road with heavy duty pain medications. This drug has gotten me off of Ambien and Dilaudid, which in case readers are not familiar with this drug either, is 5 to 8 times stronger mg per mg than morphine and is one of the strongest, if not the strongest by mouth pain drug available. Oddly, Dilaudid was invented in Germany in 1921. Seems like pain control has not advanced much in nearly 100 years.

Have to disagree sptrout. Many people on the AD withdrawal board have had serious withdrawal issues from cold turkeying an alleged low dose of a med. This won't happen of course to everyone but in my opinion, it is better to be safe than sorry and taper the med even at the sleep dosage.

And by the way, many doctors sadly lack knowledge of withdrawal issues even though their intentions are good.

[coolbranch]

I took 10 mg Ambien for a while, off and on. It usually took a little while for it to take effect. I woke up in the morning groggy. Weird dreams too. Then I found 5mg Melatonin - 120count at Wally World for $4.98. Place one nice flavored dissolving 5mg tab under the tongue and as least for me, 10 minutes and time to go hook up the mask. No hangover. I have 80-90 Ambien I will probably never take again.