ambien do you take it

[Woodgod]

i have been taking it for abouy 6 months now, the sleep doc upped my dose to 15 mg to try to keep me from getting up. i still get up 2-3 times a night to pee and wonder around. it seems to stay in my stysem for more than 8 hours say more like 10-12 hours, even when i wake up i am still a bit out of it for a few more hours before i can fully wake up. is he dosage too high.

are there other sleep aids that dont have these side effects? if so what are they and have anyone used them with success? this has been a real problem for me. my high blood preasure thing and the high blood preasure meds along with the ambien seems to kind of make me sleep more than i am awake, there has to be a better way. please help

Thanks

[ems]

If you type Ambien in the search bar, you'll see much discussion on Ambien along with other sleep aids.

I'm concerned about what you wrote... 15mg sounds like way too much to be taking for an extended period of time. With the other health issues you mentioned, I can't understand why your doctor upped your dose from 10mg to 15mg!

I agree with you that there has to be a better way. I would start with finding a different sleep doctor. In the meantime, is it possible for you to see your general practitioner? At least that would be a place to start.

[lazer]

I've been taking generic Ambien for about 2 months + now and it replaced my Melatonin supplement which I no longer take.

I've had no side effects and it does seem to help me unwind and get to sleep.

[piglet14]

I took Ambien for a short time. It worked well--until the night I realized I was standing in the kitchen when I was asleep ???? not good-- it happened again -hmm- no more Ambien. Now if I can't sleep, I try 1/2 of a 5 mg old-fashioned Valium. Works like a charm. No whacked out until noon the next day. I only need it occasionally.

I do drink about 4-6 oz. of tart red cherry juice 1-2 hrs. before bed-- take my calcium and magnesium supplements at the same time-- hmm- I think that's when I stopped needing other meds for sleeping. One does have to read the label on the juice bottle. There are some juice makers who HAVE to throw in apple juice, grape juice and/or whatever else they are trying to get rid of to add sugar to the pot. I don't drink those. The pure stuff is supposed to be good for gout and , since I do have peripheral neuropathy, I figured the tart cherry juice might help that, too-- good to have for the ALIEN journey, anyway.

Lynda

[avi123]

i have been taking it for abouy 6 months now, the sleep doc upped my dose to 15 mg to try to keep me from getting up. i still get up 2-3 times a night to pee and wonder around. it seems to stay in my stysem for more than 8 hours say more like 10-12 hours, even when i wake up i am still a bit out of it for a few more hours before i can fully wake up. is he dosage too high.

are there other sleep aids that dont have these side effects? if so what are they and have anyone used them with success? this has been a real problem for me. my high blood preasure thing and the high blood preasure meds along with the ambien seems to kind of make me sleep more than i am awake, there has to be a better way. please help

Thanks

Reply,

I been taking 10 mg Zolpidem (generic Ambien) for sleep long before CPAPing. It also helped me when I started CPAP. A year ago I started to cut the dose to 5 mg by splitting the tablets. Presently, I take the 5 mg only if I can't fall asleep within 30 min. I am not sure that my sleepiness at the a.m. of the day comes from taking this Rx. No way I would take that dose of 15 mg. As to peeing at nights I see no connection between the two. Some nights I don't pee and some I do, up to three times. Nocturia goes with OSA which is not fully treated.

[jencat824]

I take Amitryptiline(may have spelled that wrong) for another problem & this acts as a great sleep aid. It is a very old drug (brand name Elavil) and has worked great for me (neurologist agrees). I was asked to try Ambien once by my primary care dr. I took 1, had a real bad sleepwalking episode & never took another one. The episode may not have been related to the Ambien, but I didn't want to chance it again. Before CPAP I was a really bad sleepwalker & sleepeater, I know this sounds weird, but CPAP cured that for me. I didn't want to take a chance that Ambien might bring it back. My neurologist agreed with me & said next time primary dr felt like messing with my meds, call him.
Jen

[merhaba12]

I started taking Ambien many years ago (1994?). I started at 5mg and worked up to 20mg over time. At 20mg I started sleep walking and doing bizarre things in the middle of the night! My doc took me off of it and put me on Ambien CR. I did very well on it for several years. When it stopped working I switched to Lunesta. It worked great until my doc found out I had severe sleep apnea! (It makes me wonder how many years we didn't know my "insomnia" was due to sleep apnea!). My doc said Lunesta can affect the respiratory system, especially if you have sleep apnea. Now I take Rozerem which is like prescription strength Melatonin. Most nights with the Rozerem and my CPAP I sleep just fine.

It would be interesting to know if Ambien also affects your respiratory system. If it does, then I would advise against it if you have sleep apnea.

[Monterrey8]

I took ambien for a very short time. It helped me sleep but had a horrible side effect. When I was driving my car the next day after taking it, I looked down and noticed that my hands were blood red. After further inspection, I saw that it looked as if the blood in my fingers had come to the surface of my fingers. My fingers were blood red. It was pretty alarming. I thought, yeah, the product helped me sleep, but what is it doing to my circulatory system. I called the company to report the incident but obviously nothing has been done to address this.

[Monterrey8]

I took ambien for a very short time. It helped me sleep but had a horrible side effect. When I was driving my car the next day after taking it, I looked down and noticed that my hands were blood red. After further inspection, I saw that it looked as if the blood in my fingers had come to the surface of my fingers. My fingers were blood red. It was pretty alarming. I thought, yeah, the product helped me sleep, but what is it doing to my circulatory system. I called the company to report the incident but obviously nothing has been done to address this.