Ambien - Your Experience?

I am taking a trip in a week to Thailand and Malaysia. This involves VERY long flights and I have never been able to sleep on a plane. My brother (who is living in Thailand), used Ambien to help him sleep on planes and get back on the right schedule when he gets back. He suggested I try it as well. I asked my doctor and she totally agreed with trying it and gave me a prescription for 15. She asked if I had taken it before and I said no but I intended to try it before I left to see how it affected me. She totally agreed with that.

My brother and a guy I work with usually take 1/2 instead of one so I tried to cut one in half. It wound up being about 1/3 and 2/3. I took the 1/3 and it had no impact. I felt like I had a hard time getting to sleep (I normally have no problem at all) and I remember waking up several times during the night (more often than I normally do). People normally don't remember waking up at all on Ambien, if they even wake up during the night at all. I tried taking the 2/3 the next night. I took it at 10pm and went to bed. At 11pm I was still awake. Again, I woke up several times during the night. Frankly it didn't seem to do anything at all. I am still planning on taking a whole one but I wondered if others had this kind of experience with Ambien. Most people I have talked to said it worked great and they slept great and woke up fresh.

I travel a lot for my work. And for years, I have relied on Ambien to help solve the jet lag issue.

Usually I fall asleep in abut 15 minutes. And sleep for about 5 hours, which is usually perfect for making the time change adjustment. And I've never felt any bad effects from it afterwards. I'll use it the second nite of a trip as well as the first. Many of my colleagues also do the same.

I rarely take red eye flights, but last year i had to fly over nite across country. I took half a pill as we took off, and never fell into a deep sleep, and I kinda awoke a few times during the nite, but immediately went back into what I'd call "nap" mode. And was able to handle all the mtgs the next day.

I'm short and thin, so perhaps that's why half a pill works fine for me. perhaps your metabolism, or your physical size, or your anxiety about taking the pill make your reaction different. My doctor thinks that cutting it in half is not particularly helpful. Said something about the science of it, but I didn't really want to change a system that's working.

I'm not trying to talk you out of it, or scare you or anything, just relating my experience and that of my son (who was 18 when he tried it).

I take one pill and it doesn't help any. Because of my son's reaction when he took a higher dose (under doctor's okay), I didn't try a higher dose. Low doses of Ativan (anti-anxiety) help me sleep better than sleeping pills do.

My son took one pill and it didn't even make him sleepy. The sleep doc said he could take more than one, so the next night he took two. Starting about a 1/2 hour or so after he took it, he came out of his room and said, "Please come in here with me so I know at least something is real." He was hallucinating, thought the bed was spinning and the closet doors were opening and shutting. I sat in his room with him while he was miserable in the bed for the two hours it took for it to wear off. This is type of reaction some people can have if they take it and still don't go to sleep. Melatonin works pretty well for him, though, when he needs something.

Some people use Ambien with no problems at all. I know you said you were going to try it first, so please do!

Pam

A few years ago I was experiencing some sleep problems and took it for a very short time. When I ended up in the hospital for a short stay the doctor there had a fit. Said it was the worst medicine he had ever seen (his words not mine). Haven't taken it since. I didn't experience any ill effects from it that I can remember.

I do know different people react to different medicines. I can not tolerate Benadryl except for very occassional use and never close to bedtime. It makes me very hyper and sensation of my skin crawling. I do carry on doctors advice due to severe allergies (I take allergy meds but a few times have encountered problems and Benadryl is easier for me to carry than an Epi-Pen). My mom had some of these symptoms when she was given sedatives as well (not a good thing when undergoing surgery) -- hyperactivity, crawly skin, etc.

I had a friend at work that was taking Ambien long term and she did weird stuff. She would get up in the night and cook and eat, do things she didn't remember doing, and once even drove to her dad's house and didn't remember the drive there and when she woke asked her dad what she was doing at his house in the middle of the night.

I am probably going to try taking a whole one tonight. If that doesn't work, I will probably call my doctor's office and see if I can get something else.

My brother did have a reaction to taking a whole one one time. I didn't know what was going on (he was living with me at the time). I thought he had a stroke. He went on an eating binge and was doing completely weird things. He was trying to dip cherries out of a maraschino cherry jar using a large pickle jar lid. It was bizarre. He ate a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich, cherries, chocolate, a cup of yogurt, some almonds, and a bunch of other stuff all with this goofy vacant grin on his face. I actually took video which was a good thing because he had no clue the next morning what had gone on. Unfortunately for YouTube, I promised never to show the video evidence.

I take Ambien CR just about every night. Have used it for about 4 mos. with no ill effects.

Sleepy Boy wrote:I take Ambien CR just about every night. Have used it for about 4 mos. with no ill effects.

I too have used Ambien CR (12.5mg-the most powerful they make) and have never had any problems with it. For me it works.
In fact, since my bout with insomnia that lasted for 4 months last year, I have a new script for Ambien CR filled each year (90 day supply) to have on hand just in case!
Now, I can use the all natural products that are available and they are doing a good job. But ambien CR is standing by!

Jeff

BeanMeScot, This class of drugs is a hypnotic and there have been many reports of people behaving as if they were in a trance. Some rearrange furniture in the night, some even have been stopped driving. I recommend that if you do use it to tell the flight attendant to stop you from taking a walk outside during the flight. Of course they may "suggest" that you do their work for them in your sleep. When we watch the scene in "Under the Tuscan Sun" where the eccentric movie star dances in the fountain, I'm reminded of Ambien.

I couldn't take Ambien because of the hangover the next day - like my brain didn't function until 1PM. I now take Sonata 5mg when needed, but only 1 or 2 nights in a row, then 3 or 4 off. I'm not against Ambien, just make sure you can handle it.

OldLincoln wrote:BeanMeScot, This class of drugs is a hypnotic and there have been many reports of people behaving as if they were in a trance. Some rearrange furniture in the night, some even have been stopped driving. I recommend that if you do use it to tell the flight attendant to stop you from taking a walk outside during the flight. Of course they may "suggest" that you do their work for them in your sleep. When we watch the scene in "Under the Tuscan Sun" where the eccentric movie star dances in the fountain, I'm reminded of Ambien.

I couldn't take Ambien because of the hangover the next day - like my brain didn't function until 1PM. I now take Sonata 5mg when needed, but only 1 or 2 nights in a row, then 3 or 4 off. I'm not against Ambien, just make sure you can handle it.

That's why I am trying it now. I didn't want any surprises when I tried it.

My experience with it was pretty much the same as yours - it's completely useless. Made me feel a bit loopy but not so much sleepy.

I took Ambien for awhile, and it did help me sleep. I never had any of the really weird sleep walking/sleep eating side effects that we've heard of, but if I took it more than three consecutive nights, it made me feel spacey the next day. I stopped using it, just take melatonin now.

Ambien made me wired. I took it for two nights when I was in the hospital. I was up all night--got zero sleep and non-stop diarrhea. During my sleep study, doc put me on Lunesta. I got four hours of sleep with that, and no problems down below. Yes, it's best to do a dry run. I tried the Lunesta before my sleep study just to make sure I wouldn't pay an arm and a leg just to lie awake all night.

I got dependent on it very quickly. Was using it for sleeping on overseas travel. 10mg on an emptish stomach and it would knock me out for 8 hours. I would wake up without feeling the passage of time, but not particularly rested. This was before I was on cpap. So the lack of rest might have been more the OSA than the meds.

when I returned fro overseas and stopped taking Ambein, the withdrawal coupled with the jetlag was torture. I try very hard now to not take it.

My therapy, since starting in Dec 08, has never given me a feeling of being rested in the a.m. This has been a big problem for me. Then, around March 5th I started waking up at 2:00a.m. every morning and things got seriously worse for me.
So bad in fact I started taken a prescribed Ambian on March 19th. For 11 days now I have felt more rested, more alert, and able to put more time into my workout for the first time since July 08.
Ambian for me is wonderful. No feelings of being wired, loopy, or spacy. Have also found that it does not make me sleepy or put me to sleep, it merely helps me to stay asleep. Also, I would think that if I personally were to have a side effect of sleep walking, the effort of removing mask and hearing high mask leak, etc. I would wake up. But who knows?
Have appt with Sleep Dr tomorrow the 31st and will talk further re: Ambian use.
A little nervous hearing about the dreaded withdrawal, Gosh, I hope I don't have to deal with anything like that. But, I like Ambian and am almost afraid to stop taking it because I feel the best I've felt in a wicked long time.

So I took a whole one last night. I took it around 9pm and got ready for bed. By 10pm, I was definately feeling it. It felt very similar to when I was given Morphine after surgery. Everything was a bit "off". I did fall asleep quickly. I think I did wake up for a few minutes after the TV turned itself off but went back to sleep quickly and woke again at 5am. I feel pretty good today. So I guess that was a success.

It does seem to rev up my heart rate. It almost feels like I have drunk caffeine. I think that's what was keeping me awake before.

Has anyone tried it WITH melatonin? I haven't tried melatonin.