Anybody had success with Ambien??

[grumpygirl]

My PCP gave me a prescription yesterday for Ambien when I mentioned that I had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep even while on Cpap. I am a little hesitant to try it since I am one of those folks who ALWAYS has side effects from every medicine I have ever tried and I am wondering if this will play havoc on my sleep architecture. Any one had any experience with Ambien and any side effects? How did it affect your apnea and did it make you feel "hung over" as most sleep aids make me feel( I usually feel like I would have felt less tired and icky if I had just not slept at all). I have not filled the prescription yet and wonder if I really should even though I have been very tired lately and my overall sense of well-being is shot!! Thanks to all-GG

[Pugsy]

I have taken Ambien without any problems. No hang over, no weird antics during the night. Nothing unpleasant at all. As with any med there are some who have problems. I have the software and no apparent changes there.

I have some chronic pain issues that mess with my sleep. Ambien allows me to sleep just deep enough not to be woke up from pain with every little toss and turn.

You could possibly cut the pill in half or quarters as a starter to see if you have any unpleasant side effects.

[avi123]

avi experience with Zolpidem (generic Ambien)


I have been taking 10 mg of Zolpidem for night sleep decades before starting CPAP 7 months ago. At the beginning of CPAP I took it while putting the mask on. But the dose lasted for only 3 hours of sleep. So I took another 10 mg to continue my sleep for a total of 6 hours, and ended up with a hang- over till noon the next day. To satisfy my sleep Doc and "mavens" in this forum saying no sleep- Rx while on CPAP, I decided to withdraw and followed Tony's approach successfully. Check it here:


viewtopic/t65355/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=63 ... em#p593574

But, surprise, surprise. While reading this informative report I see this:

Excerpt

Due to the heterogeneity of the central sleep apnea syndromes, different medications have been used under different circumstances. No single medication can be considered a drug of choice.[1] Several different medications aimed at improving central sleep apnea include acetazolamide, theophylline, and sedative-hypnotic agents.

•Acetazolamide (Diamox): Acetazolamide is a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor that causes bicarbaturia and metabolic acidosis, which presumably shifts the apneic threshold of PaCO2 to a lower level. It has been shown to be effective therapy in primary central sleep apnea and CSB in patients with heart failure and in the treatment of high-altitude periodic breathing.

•Theophylline: This agent has been studied in patients with heart failure and was found to be effective in attenuating CSB.[34] It may also be effective for high-altitude periodic breathing.

•Sedative hypnotics: These agents have been used successfully in treating nonhypercapnic central sleep apnea. Temazepam and zolpidem have been shown to be effective under these circumstances and are believed to work by consolidating the sleep pattern, thus minimizing the instability in ventilation induced by sleep-wake transitions. A case series showed zolpidem reduced central apneas, and the overall apnea-hypopnea index, without worsening obstructive events.[35]

Link:


http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/304967-medication

[napstress]

I was on Ambien for many months. I would take a very small amount if I woke up in the middle of the night.

But I went through a funk, was crying all the time. I went to the PCP, who told me to go off the Ambien. (She was the one who had prescribed it for me). I was surprised b/c I thought I was depressed b/c I was so tired from insomnia. I went off the Ambien and stopped crying. Much later a friend told me that Ambien can cause depression.

[goldfinch]

I'd give it a chance without preconceptions. Keep in mind that if you are expecting side effects you may unintentionally get side effects. Kind of a reverse placebo effect.

I used it for the first week I had the mask and then could go to sleep without it. I did use it one night since then. No issues.

[deerslayer]

Keep in mind all drugs affect folks differently *
i have no experience but my wife has. ...they knock her out for sure and she did mention hung over affect....not sure what that ment because one drink & Sweetie is woozy ....sounds like others have taken with success Zzzzzzzzzzz

[bayourest]

you do not mention whether it is ambien or ambien cr
I think the sustained release form of ambien "ambien cr" tends to lead to unpleasant side effects more than the the "regular ambien" so that would be one factor to consider.
And of course it's true that different drugs affect people in unique ways. Pre xpap days I tried ambien cr and had a similar response of depression that was described above. It made me want to cry all day even though it helped me sleep through the night. so I stopped using it after I figured out what was happening. I have occasionally used regular ambien and it did not have that effect, but I have never used it on any regular basis. For the most part I sleep through the night now that I am somewhat acclimated to apap settings, mask etc. I still have occasional nights that arent so good but not enough to make me seek out meds. You might only need something for a short time while you are adjusting to xpap etc. if it's still pretty new. I am 7 mos in and although things arent perfect they are so vastly improved.

[robysue]

Back in January, I reluctantly accepted a prescription for Ambien (NOT Ambien CR) at the peak of my battle with CPAP-induced insomnia. I took it on an "as needed" basis---in other words, if I had a really tough night insomnia-wise on a Tuesday night, I'd take it at the beginning of the night on Wednesday night to keep from having two really nasty nights in a row. Or if I was lucky enough to know that TONIGHT was going to be a diaster early enough in the night, I'd take it. I only took it maybe 4 times before being switched to Sonata, also to be taken on an as needed basis.

On the positive side: It did take the edge off my problems GETTING to sleep. Everytime I took it, I was asleep almost immediately and for the most part the quality of sleep was decent enough. Didn't seem to affect the AHI's as I recall.

On the negative side: The BIGGEST problem I had was the long half-life of 6--8 hours. I was on a sleep restricted schedule as a CBT to the insomnia as well. And because of that half-life, if I WOKE UP and was unable to get back to sleep, I couldn't take the Ambien at that point. I had to make the decision about the Ambien at the very beginning of the night. I also found that Ambien did very little to help keep me asleep. In other words, I had just about the same number of wakes during the night with Ambien as without, although they did start later in the night. I'd get two to three hours of solid sleep at the beginning of the night and then the wakes would start.

I also had real problems with morning grogginess on the days after taking Ambien. It seemed like it took forever to wake up properly. I was only on the 5mg dose, but it was still a problem.

And the very first time I took it, there was evidence that I did some Ambien-influenced behavior that I did not recall the next morning: The Encore viewer report for that night showed a mysterious bit of "mask off time" followed by "put the mask on (very badly) and turn the CPAP back on." I remembered waking up about a half hour AFTER all that happened to a very bad leak that I fixed and went back to sleep.

I would suggest the following for the Ambien:

• Don't take it routinely every night. Rather, take it on the night after you've had a bad night insomnia-wise in order to prevent multiple night strings of bad insomnia nights.
• Work on making sure that your overall sleep hygiene is sufficiently good to encourage your body to learn how to sleep through the night with the CPAP. The sleep medicine will be more effective with good sleep hygiene than with bad sleep hygiene.

For lots more tips on how to cope with insomnia and CPAP, you might also want to read my blog entry Taming the CPAP-Induced Insomnia Monster. Not all of what I have to say will apply to you, but you may find much of that essay useful.

Best of luck in making your stay in the CPAP&Insomnia Club very short.

robysue, the honorary president of the CPAP&Insomnia Club

[archangle]

I'd be reluctant to use it more than a few times a month. I'm afraid of dependance.

[BrianinTN]

Ambien has been the most successful drug for me in treating my insomnia. I started with clonazepam (klonopin), which worked well for a while but has a very real risk of getting you hooked, so I kept my stint there short lived. I've also used Lunesta, which worked for a time until I built up a tolerance. I seem to build up a tolerance to Ambien too, but not as quickly as Lunesta. These days, I cycle back and forth between them (not combining them!) to try to combat that.

[Bright Choice]

I took one Ambien and it resulted in hallucinations and a very short night of sleep. I was on Lunesta for about a month and that was better for me. But, I did not like the way I felt the next morning nor did I feel like I was getting a good restorative sleep. That was pre-cpap. I have been very very lucky in that xpap relieved my "insomnia" almost immediately. Once I started on cpap I was able to get off of Lunesta within 4 days. I think my "insomnia" was probably some apneas at sleep onset that prevented sleep - only guessing. Or maybe it was silent reflux... Or leg jerks... or...??

I was just directed to this information about sleeping pills and gerd. If reflux is a problem for you, this may be good information for you to have:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 082554.htm GERD Negatively Impacts Sleep Quality

Good luck!

[davelikesbeer]

I love Ambien, but I only use it rarely.

For years and years, I could not sleep in moving vehicles. I would arrive totally dead after overseas flights. I tried every kind of over the counter sleep aid and they just made me drowsy without making me sleep. Also, they seem to extend the affects well into the next day. When I first tried Ambien, it was on a plane and I finally arrived in another country well rested.

Since then, I always fly with Ambien and on occasion, I use it to get to bed and it never leaves me in a fog the next day.

I've never used Ambien with a CPAP though.

[TalonNYC]

I use Ambien regularly, as I have initial insomnia most nights. Ambien (not the CR version) is designed to help you fall asleep, but for most folks that effect doesn't last more then 3-4 hours TOPS. If you have maintenance insomnia (you wake up during the night a lot) then you may find it just isn't working well for you over the long haul.

However, it does work exceptionally well for initial insomnia. It usually will not put you to sleep directly, but rather make you feel sleepy and make it a LOT easier to fall asleep. Some folks find it knocks them out the first few times they take it, but after that it just makes it easier to fall asleep.

Take a photo with your camera phone or some other camera of your living area before you go to sleep the first few nights. Compare it to how things look in the AM for the first week. Some folks (about 5% of those who take it) experience sleep activities like eating and walking. If you are in the unlucky minority, it'll show up in the first few days. Otherwise, you're good to go.

[Bright Choice]

Some folks (about 5% of those who take it) experience sleep activities like eating and walking. If you are in the unlucky minority, it'll show up in the first few days. Otherwise, you're good to go.

TalonNYC- I am glad you pointed this out. When I was on Lunesta I got up one night and took an extra dose plus I took some xanax. When I woke up in the morning and realized what I had done I really freaked out. That was way too spooky. I am glad I am off of that stuff!!

If you want some great pointers on getting good sleep, read Dr. Barry Krakow's Sound Sleep Sound Mind. It has some excellent advice on how to get a good night's sleep without meds.