OT: Ambien side effects!!!

when I went off in Jan a year ago I didn't have a lot of insomnia problem until months later - I actually slept fairly well going off this I thought until summer - my sleep problems go back a good 40 years

the receptors have been screwed up - changes in habits, stress, and diet can also affect this

I don't believe a lot of the medical stuff - you can find articles saying ambien will not cause any withdrawal problems or any rebound insomnia - you can find articles saying just the opposite - who are you to really believe?

I was told repeatedly by a med school prof taking this would not be a problem - I found out otherwise hence my skepticism (he also screwed up my OSA treatment delaying CPAP for my severe OSA - AHI 71 btw - no CPAP for 4 years until after I moved and had more heart problems and that cardiologist sent me to someone to get CPAP and there is one more major screw-up I know of in my treatment that could have been deadly - it left damage - I am sure over time I will find more)

Sorry to hear of all your difficulties, Jules.

I know there are many exceptions to general trends, and what is published in the literature; however, I still try to put more weight on medical information than anecdotal information (although I can't honestly say I am not biased by anecdotal reports). I worry that if I pin my symptoms on a medication, that might deter someone who would benefit from the medication from trying it. I take medications because I have symptoms. So it's often hard to separate what symptoms are caused by my "disorders" vs. by the medications vs. some interaction thereof. So I try not to blame any particular medication for symptoms that I have without good evidence it was caused by it. Once some of my issues are nailed down a little better, I would consider Ambien-CR again. I slept very well on it relative to how I sleep now, and I think it could help me tolerate CPAP better. But right now, it is not the best choice for me. I don't hold anything against the drug - it did what it could for me.

I have used Ambien for several years now, off and on. I find it a very effective medication to help me sleep. I only read the first page of posts here and then skipped ahead to this page to post my thoughts and experiences, so forgive me if I retread something that has already been discussed.

For me personally, I never feel groggy when I wake up from a good night's rest with the help of Ambien, provided that it was a full 8 hours (give or take) of good sleep. I think with the original poster, the fact that he tore off and messed with his CPAP probably had more to do with the grogginess because he didn't sleep much, and didn't use the CPAP more than a couple hours.

As for withdrawal, I have gone on and off Ambien over the years and suffered no withdrawal symptoms at all. I definitely do not sleep as well for a couple days to a week, but then I begin to sleep fairly well. Certainly not as well as when I'm on the Ambien, because besides the Apnea issues, I'm also a horrible insomniac. It runs in my family. Mother and grandmother were also insomniacs. I take Ambien daily (nightly) and after a while it starts to not work as well and I go off it cold turkey for a while and then go back on. I admit, I feel a little bit like a guinea pig in that I wonder what sort of things I may experience down the road with this much use. But the benefits in feeling so good from a great, solid night's sleep keeps me using it.

Now, as for side effects: I've had them all. I've made phone calls, written risque emails, devoured large amounts of food, and not remembered a single thing. For the most part, the conversations and emails for which I've had no recall happened when taking an Ambien on an empty stomach with a glass of wine and not going right to bed. That is key. You should go right to bed after taking the pill. (You should also of course not take it with alcohol.) That said, I usually don't follow my own advice. I work evening shift and I get home around 12:45 a.m. I have an empty stomach and am usually very hungry. I take the pill (sometimes I cut it in half as they are not CR) and then make a snack and sit down to watch some TV. I can feel the pill kick in pretty quickly and usually by 2 I am very tired and hit the sack and sleep soundly to 10.

That is my experience. I do not doubt the people who claim to find the medicine addictive and suffer withdrawal. Everyone is different and will have different experiences. But for me personally, I do not find the drug addictive, I do not suffer withdrawal, but I do - or can - have the 'side effects' of this drug. But it does wonderful at what it's supposed to do, and that is allow me to sleep very well. YMMV.

my experience is my experience and probably won't be duplicated by many others

many people don't have problems with this med and don't have problems with their doctors - but we do deal with many here who are having problems with established medical community and looking for ideas

if I can get one person thinking about their use (or a friends or family member's use) of ambien or another z-drug or a benzo and start looking for ideas on what else they can do (and some people have to remain on benzos for life such as when it is the only thing that works for seizures), then what I have posted will be helpful

I am not out to tell everyone to stop taking this but to become more informed of what the long term repercussions are of taking this poison

I read a post a couple years ago here by ozij about the use of these drugs - that ended up making the impact on me

Dori, I had one rough night that occurred 5 days after stopping Ambien-CR, so I don't think it's attributable to it. In short, I had no rebound insomnia or any adverse effects of stopping the Ambien-CR, but I was not on it for very long. How are you doing with it?

DoriC wrote:SU, keep us updated, I'm very interested in how it goes. I was on Ambien 5mg nightly for about 6 months when hubby first started cpap therapy but was able to just stop a year ago, but now I've been on it again for the last month since hubby's surgery with Rx of 10mg but I don't want to get in trouble this time when I stop. I just spoke to my Dr on the phone and since things are doing better on the home front now, we're planning to start weaning myself off by cutting pill in half every night for 2wks, then half every other night for 2wks,then stop completely. He said if I can't sleep, instead of taking the other half, try a Tylenol.

My routine is still a little too hectic to risk any sleepless nights. Our VN comes first thing in the AM and so we have to be up an hour before that to get ready for her. By the time she leaves it feels like I've put in a full day with lots more to do . I have cut the pill in half and it seems to work OK, maybe because I'm so tired. So I'll have to put this on hold for a little while longer. I'm glad to hear that you didn't have problems coming off it and hopefully it will be the same for me.

DoriC wrote:My routine is still a little too hectic to risk any sleepless nights. Our VN comes first thing in the AM and so we have to be up an hour before that to get ready for her. By the time she leaves it feels like I've put in a full day with lots more to do . I have cut the pill in half and it seems to work OK, maybe because I'm so tired. So I'll have to put this on hold for a little while longer. I'm glad to hear that you didn't have problems coming off it and hopefully it will be the same for me.

It does not sound like the ideal time to discontinue it. Honestly, if I weren't having some other issues that I thought Ambien may be causing/contributing to, I would not have gone off it.