Ambien addict

[3isles]

Ok, I was just prescribed ambien on Thursday, I haven't taken it yet.

Its not because I can't sleep, its because I can't sleep with xpap on. Also I have acute panic reaction to being tied down by the hose. At first it was the mask and the air blowing, but I am ok with the air now and have Aura and IQ mask (I know not many use it but I really like it) to use that are tolerable to wear until I turn off the light, then its like there is a timer to a bomb ticking away inside of me. I am sweating, total fight or flight reactions, and I always finally have to rip off the mask and even then it takes leaving the room and occupying myself with something else to stop the panic. Thats what I need a drug to address.

My sleep doc prescribed ambien because she said it is less compromising to breathing if I sleep without the mask. She said that the drugs for anxiety are more likely to cause more apnea problems if I still can't keep the mask on. She gave me a 30 day supply. The idea is to break the habit of associating xpap with panic.

Now I am afraid to touch the ambien.
what do I do???

[3isles]

oops sorry about the double post, my computer stalled....not quite frozen, but not opening the whole page...and I foolishly hit refresh to get it going again....

[nozzzzzzz]

Unless you know what it is like to go through life without feeling rested, you can't honestly judge people like me. I've read tons of books and brochures on how to get a goodnights rest, but the reality is it doesn't work for a handful of us.

Not one single doctor I've been to has sat down and addressed the issue of not reaching 3/4 sleep. Try to research it, and you will find yourself looking at pages and pages of physic ads.

I do not drink or smoke. Ambien has been my only resource for a couple hours of sleep.

[rock and roll]

IMHO don't be afraid because of one on the list that is against them. Bear in mind that he also smokes, which has more health risks than anything else we can do to abuse ourselves. Ambian is also non addictive, we only get addicted to getting sleep, and as several on the list have attested too, it is easy to break with a few nights of bad sleep. So, you need to decide whether you want to sleep with cpap on and get it's benefits, or don't take and not get any sleep. While many sleep aides are addictive and over a long time bad for us, Ambian is not in this class.

[ozij]

3isles, you have a choice between the side effects of Ambien and those of untreated sleep apnea. Or some kind of cognitive behavioral therapy to help you break out of that vicious cycle....

Ever try falling asleep with the lights on? Who says you have to sleep in the dark? That too might be a way of breaking that vicious cycle you've landed in.

Good luck.
O.

[Janelle]

I was on Ambien for a while, but didn't take it that often. First time I took it was at a motel. My roommate told me she could hardly sleep for the fight going on upstairs. I hadn't heard a thing.

I decided then that if it wasn't doing anything to my stage 3/4 sleep, why should I sleep that deeply, so I cut down to 1/2 caplet which made me drowsy so I could go to sleep and still gave me about 8 hours of restful quiet sleep, but not so knocked out that I didn't know what was going on. If there is a fire alarm going, I want to know.

[christinequilts]

I've been on sleeping meds of some sort for several years- Ambien or Sonata nightly for 3 years or so though I was recently switched to Lunesta. I thought when I was sent to see a sleep doctor 2 years ago he would want me off the sleep meds ASAP but he actually wanted me on them for my original sleep study- he specified I take Ambien that night in particular. Once I was diagnosed with CSA & Alpha Wave Intrusion and was put on BiPAP ST I assumed again that I would be expected to discontinue the Ambien & Sonata so I started taking them only when I was having a hard time falling asleep. The problem was that its not just getting to sleep but staying asleep with 30+ central apneas per hour that BiPAP ST cannot stop and the Alpha Wave Intrusion. My sleep doctor and I talked about it and he explained that I needed to stay on the sleep meds since my sleep is so fragmented by both disorders.

When I saw my sleep doctor a month ago he switched me to Lunesta which is working much better for me after I got past the first couple of bumpy nights. He also wants me to try the new med that should be on the market in September- Rozerem. He doesn't expect it to fully replace the Ambien/Sonata/Lunesta type meds for me but hopefully it will help me enough that I don't have to take them every night. Do I like that I have to take these types of meds- no, I honestly wish I didn't have to take any medications at all but with mulitple chronic health problems I don't have a choice. I am on a lot of controversial medications- sleep meds, long acting narcotic pain meds, provigil & ritalin for EDS, and even the meds I take for nausea & vomitting are since one is not FDA approved (order from Canada) and the other, zofran, is so expensive at over $3000 per month. I am very open with all my doctors as to what medications I am taking- I give them a typed list at every appointment so they have a clear picture of not just what they prescribe for me but what my other doctors prescribe also. My doctors and I talk not just about why I need a medication but the pluses & minuses of all my medications and I am active in the decision making process. I refuse to take a medication just 'because a doctor told me to.'

I think that is one of Tomjax's concerns- too many people litterally do take a medication 'because my doctor told me to' without discussing it any further with their doctor. I know as a former case manager that a lot of people are not completely truthful with their doctors- it can be that they simply forget to tell the doctor other meds they are on or they think the doctor doesn't need to know since he its for an unrelated condition- ie: don't tell the podiatrist they are on NSAIDs for headaches even when the podiatrist prescribes another NSAID for foot pain. Doctors are not always as careful either- many times they don't review what meds you are on as carefully as they should or they don't tell the patient clearly enough that the new medication is a replacement for a medication they are already on so the patient ends up taking both medications. Either way the patient can be at risk of being overmedicated or of having adverse medication intereactions. Add in relaxed refill policies at some doctors offices, patients using several pharmacies & several different doctors and its a prescription for trouble.

Everyone needs to be aware of what the meds they are on are for the and what the risk & benefits are. We cannot not blindly trust our doctors and we need to take responsibility for ourselves which is part of the reason we are here- to learn more about apnea & its treatments then our doctors can tell us in a 10 minute visit. We need to discuss the risk & benefits of all aspects of our medical treatment with our doctors, which even the manufacturers of Lunesta state that in their patient information:
"LUNESTA belongs to a group of medicines known as "hypnotics" or, simply, sleep medicines. There are many different sleep medicines available to help people sleep better. Insomnia is often transient and intermittent. It usually requires treatment for only a short time, usually 7 to 10 days up to 2 weeks. If your insomnia does not improve after 7 to 10 days of treatment, see your doctor, because it may be a sign of an underlying condition. Some people have chronic sleep problems that may require more prolonged use of sleep medicine. However, you should not use these medicines for long periods without talking with your doctor about the risks and benefits of prolonged use."

The other problem is people taking more or less of a medication then what is prescribed. Less is usually result of cost or problems with side effects which are both things that the doctor needs to be aware of. More then prescribed happens all too often- we all know people who think that if one pill is good, 2 is better, and 3 must be great. That is part of the reason they are so secretive about how to change xPAP pressure because there will always be someone who thinks just a little more won't hurt. I did a search on Eminem and the most common article mentions he had a 'legal prescription' for Ambien which he became addicted to. A second article from the Detroit Free Press noted that he had been taking "large doses"- when you start taking more then prescribed it doesn't matter if you have a 'legal prescription' or not it will cause problems.

[Guest]

I have been taking ambien for about 4 years because of severe fatigue and not sleeping.

About 4 years ago I had to go on antidepressants which have insomnia as a side effect. After driving in the wrong lane on a winding 2 lane road my doctor tried me on valium (took about 4 pills) which did not work. She tried all kinds of meds. Nothing worked. She tried ambien and that worked! Although for me it only works for about 3 hours and if I am still wide awake I will take another pill.

I am always cautious when starting a new medicine. My family has a history of being sensitive to medicine and I have had some bad reactions so I start off cutting my pill in half or quarters even though it might be a low dose.

After being diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea about a year ago I was glad I had ambien and xanax (anxiety) to help me get used to sleeping with my mask. I could not have done the sleep study without ambien and pain meds.

I will be on antidepressants, cpap, pain meds and sleep meds the rest of my life and I plan on being here a long, long time. So I will try every sleep med that comes out and there are a whole lot coming! Without sleep I would not exist.

So if you use ambien be cautious. Start off cutting the pill in half. My doctor told me to take half of my 10 mg. when I went to bed and then if I woke up during the night I could take another half of my ambien if I could not rest of go to sleep. So far I have not needed that 2nd pill. As long as I don't stare at the walls I won't take another pill. Also be sure you don't eat at least 2 hours before you take ambien, because the effect will take longer to start. Be sure to take take ambien when you are in bed! For me it takes about 30 minutes to feel the effect.

Good luck!

[4Katie]

I did a search on Eminem and the most common article mentions he had a 'legal prescription' for Ambien which he became addicted to. A second article from the Detroit Free Press noted that he had been taking "large doses"- when you start taking more then prescribed it doesn't matter if you have a 'legal prescription' or not it will cause problems.

Even that can be relatively innocent. If you're seriously sleep-deprived, I can see taking a bit more Ambien to help. From there it can easily escalate.

Wow - Wait til my son hears I'm sticking up for Eminem!

[Yoga]

We used to use Ambien but only for a few days at a time as after more than a few days it did not work.

We now use melatonin and feel better upon awakening than we did with Ambien. We take one long acting (3 mg) tablet and the balance in 1 mg fast release sublingual tablets available from GNC.

Dr. William Reggelson or Reggleson wrote a book on melatonin. He provides a table as to how much to take depending on one's age.

The book may be available in your local library. I do not own a copy of the book.

[gracie97]

Now I am afraid to touch the ambien.
what do I do???

Seems like the great majority of people don't have a problem with it, but there's always that risk. If you haven't have substance abuse problems in the past, it seems like a pretty good deal.

Ambien can be quite a knock-out drug for those who are new to it: I was instructed to be in bed before I took it.

But perhaps there are other non-drug strategies that might work as well or even better (Ambien tends to wear off in the night). Have you considered gradually getting used to the mask by wearing it for 10 or 15 minutes/day when you're not trying to go to sleep for a couple of weeks, then trying to sleep in it again? (Caution: Don't wear the mask long than that without the CPAP running -- you could experience C02 build-up.)

How about doing some relaxation exercises (progressive relaxation, autogenics) while wearing the mask (and even with CPAP on) while not trying to sleep?

I think often doctors are too quick to prescribe meds for anxiety problems: It's easy for them. But my experience is that things I do (relaxation exercises) have worked better over the long run for anxiety and fear type problems than things I've taken.

Part of anxiety and fear is feeling helpless, and learning skills that you can use anytime you want without having to depend on drugs directly combats fear/anxiety by empowering you, giving you the tools to control your fear that you can use anytime, any place.

Grace

[tomjax]

silly time:

I remember someone once saying that Insomnia was not all that serious and a person should not lose sleep over it.

This from another list.

You mention some medical and genetic links to diarrhea.
This is already well known. Researchers discovered a long time ago that diarrhea is often found in a person's jeans.

[rested gal]

LOL, tomjax!!

[gracie97]

Thats what I need a drug to address.

I'm sorry for preaching at you a bit, but I've had a lot of problems with intense anxiety and even panic attacks and know what a trap it can be to rely on drugs to deal with them. It can make the problems worse rather than better over the long run because using drugs for anxiety is taking a passive, helpless stance rather than an active, 'I can be in control' stance.

The idea, "...I need a drug to address (that)" is part of the problem: When you write, think or say that, you are telling yourself that you are helpless to control this reaction without a drug.

I'm really not opposed to the use of anxiety-lowering medications: They have some good uses, but they are best used for temporary and occasional situations (e.g. fear of flying in someone who doesn't fly often).

For an situation that is going to be frequent and ongoing (using CPAP mask), I believe you'll be better off using a combination of gradual desensitization and relaxation techniques.

How about moving your CPAP to a room where you have an easy chair and using it there while doing some relaxation work with the lights on. After a week or so, perhaps you'll even doze off and nap a bit. And then try dimming the lights and so forth, gradually working towards sleeping in bed with it.

Don't keep going to bed and trying to get past the intense anxiety reaction: Each time you do that, it is reinforced. Make sure next time you wear that mask in bed, with the lights out, to sleep, you're desensitized and prepared.

It is very common for people to remove their masks during sleep: Perhaps that would be reassuring for you to contemplate as it demonstrates that we're not really helpless during sleep so that if something is bothering us or hindering our breathing, we can actually deal with it (albeit in crude ways) without even waking up.

Grace

[ozij]

Great posts Grace.
O.