Ambien and Insomnia

Trigun472 · Jan 20, 2010

The last month or two I've been having issues with insomnia. Usually staying up 36-48 hour days before finally getting any amount of sleep (6-8 hours). At first I didn't mind because I had movies to watch, books to read etc, but there's only so long you can keep yourself entertained before nothing is interesting anymore.

I've been in the hospital since Thursday. 5 days ago I mentioned it to my doctor, and he asked me if I wanted to take Ambien; I accepted. I slept decently the first 3 nights, about 4 hours of pure sleep then 4-5 hours of drifting in and out of consciousness; I woke up totally rested though. Then last night I decided to try and sleep without the Ambien, I had done some medical marijuana and had worked out intensely earlier that day so I was exhausted. It was the most awful night I've ever had, with only about 30 minutes of real 'sleep' after 8 hours of laying there trying. So the Ambien is definitely still necessary.

The problem is that Ambien has a lot of side effects, to the point that my friends and family became worried when I mentioned that it was prescribed to me. Ambien is an easily abusable hallucinatory drug, it is addictive and leads to dependency, plus there's plenty of horror stories of 'ambien comas' in which people do insane things that they don't remember after taking it (I've already had a nurse tell me I tried talking to her while she hooked up my IV, and then try to go back to bed while she was still connecting it). Withdraws coming off of it lead to intense depression and even worse insomnia.

All this, along with an already addictive personality and love of hallucinogens lead me to be wary of it. I have the restraint not to abuse it for now, but I can't say for sure I'd be able to hold back if I've been taking it for a month.

So my question is, is it worth it? Insomnia is pretty distressing, but Ambien is a double edged sword of a cure. Ideally I'd only be taking it for a week or two, long enough to get past whatever is wrong, and no matter what I'd quit in a month. I could also try taking it for 2-3 days and then staying up a day or two so dependency doesn't set in too quickly.

What does everyone else here think? I've already been told to 'talk to my doctor', but there's nothing he can do besides give me the pros and cons that I'm already aware of. That and the fact that he didn't warn me about all this in the first place makes me believe he's not really a reliable source. More opinions = a better choice.

Thanks!

Trigun472 · Jan 20, 2010

The last month or two I've been having issues with insomnia. Usually staying up 36-48 hour days before finally getting any amount of sleep (6-8 hours). At first I didn't mind because I had movies to watch, books to read etc, but there's only so long you can keep yourself entertained before nothing is interesting anymore.

I've been in the hospital since Thursday. 5 days ago I mentioned it to my doctor, and he asked me if I wanted to take Ambien; I accepted. I slept decently the first 3 nights, about 4 hours of pure sleep then 4-5 hours of drifting in and out of consciousness; I woke up totally rested though. Then last night I decided to try and sleep without the Ambien, I had done some medical marijuana and had worked out intensely earlier that day so I was exhausted. It was the most awful night I've ever had, with only about 30 minutes of real 'sleep' after 8 hours of laying there trying. So the Ambien is definitely still necessary.

The problem is that Ambien has a lot of side effects, to the point that my friends and family became worried when I mentioned that it was prescribed to me. Ambien is an easily abusable hallucinatory drug, it is addictive and leads to dependency, plus there's plenty of horror stories of 'ambien comas' in which people do insane things that they don't remember after taking it (I've already had a nurse tell me I tried talking to her while she hooked up my IV, and then try to go back to bed while she was still connecting it). Withdraws coming off of it lead to intense depression and even worse insomnia.

All this, along with an already addictive personality and love of hallucinogens lead me to be wary of it. I have the restraint not to abuse it for now, but I can't say for sure I'd be able to hold back if I've been taking it for a month.

So my question is, is it worth it? Insomnia is pretty distressing, but Ambien is a double edged sword of a cure. Ideally I'd only be taking it for a week or two, long enough to get past whatever is wrong, and no matter what I'd quit in a month. I could also try taking it for 2-3 days and then staying up a day or two so dependency doesn't set in too quickly.

What does everyone else here think? I've already been told to 'talk to my doctor', but there's nothing he can do besides give me the pros and cons that I'm already aware of. That and the fact that he didn't warn me about all this in the first place makes me believe he's not really a reliable source. More opinions = a better choice.

Thanks!

Trigun472 · Jan 20, 2010

The last month or two I've been having issues with insomnia. Usually staying up 36-48 hour days before finally getting any amount of sleep (6-8 hours). At first I didn't mind because I had movies to watch, books to read etc, but there's only so long you can keep yourself entertained before nothing is interesting anymore.

I've been in the hospital since Thursday. 5 days ago I mentioned it to my doctor, and he asked me if I wanted to take Ambien; I accepted. I slept decently the first 3 nights, about 4 hours of pure sleep then 4-5 hours of drifting in and out of consciousness; I woke up totally rested though. Then last night I decided to try and sleep without the Ambien, I had done some medical marijuana and had worked out intensely earlier that day so I was exhausted. It was the most awful night I've ever had, with only about 30 minutes of real 'sleep' after 8 hours of laying there trying. So the Ambien is definitely still necessary.

The problem is that Ambien has a lot of side effects, to the point that my friends and family became worried when I mentioned that it was prescribed to me. Ambien is an easily abusable hallucinatory drug, it is addictive and leads to dependency, plus there's plenty of horror stories of 'ambien comas' in which people do insane things that they don't remember after taking it (I've already had a nurse tell me I tried talking to her while she hooked up my IV, and then try to go back to bed while she was still connecting it). Withdraws coming off of it lead to intense depression and even worse insomnia.

All this, along with an already addictive personality and love of hallucinogens lead me to be wary of it. I have the restraint not to abuse it for now, but I can't say for sure I'd be able to hold back if I've been taking it for a month.

So my question is, is it worth it? Insomnia is pretty distressing, but Ambien is a double edged sword of a cure. Ideally I'd only be taking it for a week or two, long enough to get past whatever is wrong, and no matter what I'd quit in a month. I could also try taking it for 2-3 days and then staying up a day or two so dependency doesn't set in too quickly.

What does everyone else here think? I've already been told to 'talk to my doctor', but there's nothing he can do besides give me the pros and cons that I'm already aware of. That and the fact that he didn't warn me about all this in the first place makes me believe he's not really a reliable source. More opinions = a better choice.

Thanks!

Trigun472 · Jan 20, 2010

The last month or two I've been having issues with insomnia. Usually staying up 36-48 hour days before finally getting any amount of sleep (6-8 hours). At first I didn't mind because I had movies to watch, books to read etc, but there's only so long you can keep yourself entertained before nothing is interesting anymore.

I've been in the hospital since Thursday. 5 days ago I mentioned it to my doctor, and he asked me if I wanted to take Ambien; I accepted. I slept decently the first 3 nights, about 4 hours of pure sleep then 4-5 hours of drifting in and out of consciousness; I woke up totally rested though. Then last night I decided to try and sleep without the Ambien, I had done some medical marijuana and had worked out intensely earlier that day so I was exhausted. It was the most awful night I've ever had, with only about 30 minutes of real 'sleep' after 8 hours of laying there trying. So the Ambien is definitely still necessary.

The problem is that Ambien has a lot of side effects, to the point that my friends and family became worried when I mentioned that it was prescribed to me. Ambien is an easily abusable hallucinatory drug, it is addictive and leads to dependency, plus there's plenty of horror stories of 'ambien comas' in which people do insane things that they don't remember after taking it (I've already had a nurse tell me I tried talking to her while she hooked up my IV, and then try to go back to bed while she was still connecting it). Withdraws coming off of it lead to intense depression and even worse insomnia.

All this, along with an already addictive personality and love of hallucinogens lead me to be wary of it. I have the restraint not to abuse it for now, but I can't say for sure I'd be able to hold back if I've been taking it for a month.

So my question is, is it worth it? Insomnia is pretty distressing, but Ambien is a double edged sword of a cure. Ideally I'd only be taking it for a week or two, long enough to get past whatever is wrong, and no matter what I'd quit in a month. I could also try taking it for 2-3 days and then staying up a day or two so dependency doesn't set in too quickly.

What does everyone else here think? I've already been told to 'talk to my doctor', but there's nothing he can do besides give me the pros and cons that I'm already aware of. That and the fact that he didn't warn me about all this in the first place makes me believe he's not really a reliable source. More opinions = a better choice.

Thanks!

Trigun472 · Jan 20, 2010

The last month or two I've been having issues with insomnia. Usually staying up 36-48 hour days before finally getting any amount of sleep (6-8 hours). At first I didn't mind because I had movies to watch, books to read etc, but there's only so long you can keep yourself entertained before nothing is interesting anymore.
 
 I've been in the hospital since Thursday. 5 days ago I mentioned it to my doctor, and he asked me if I wanted to take Ambien; I accepted. I slept decently the first 3 nights, about 4 hours of pure sleep then 4-5 hours of drifting in and out of consciousness; I woke up totally rested though. Then last night I decided to try and sleep without the Ambien, I had done some medical marijuana and had worked out intensely earlier that day so I was exhausted. It was the most awful night I've ever had, with only about 30 minutes of real 'sleep' after 8 hours of laying there trying. So the Ambien is definitely still necessary.
 
 The problem is that Ambien has a lot of side effects, to the point that my friends and family became worried when I mentioned that it was prescribed to me. Ambien is an easily abusable hallucinatory drug, it is addictive and leads to dependency, plus there's plenty of horror stories of 'ambien comas' in which people do insane things that they don't remember after taking it (I've already had a nurse tell me I tried talking to her while she hooked up my IV, and then try to go back to bed while she was still connecting it). Withdraws coming off of it lead to intense depression and even worse insomnia.
 
 All this, along with an already addictive personality and love of hallucinogens lead me to be wary of it. I have the restraint not to abuse it for now, but I can't say for sure I'd be able to hold back if I've been taking it for a month.
 
 So my question is, is it worth it? Insomnia is pretty distressing, but Ambien is a double edged sword of a cure. Ideally I'd only be taking it for a week or two, long enough to get past whatever is wrong, and no matter what I'd quit in a month. I could also try taking it for 2-3 days and then staying up a day or two so dependency doesn't set in too quickly.
 
 What does everyone else here think? I've already been told to 'talk to my doctor', but there's nothing he can do besides give me the pros and cons that I'm already aware of. That and the fact that he didn't warn me about all this in the first place makes me believe he's not really a reliable source. More opinions = a better choice.
 
 Thanks!

missT · Jan 20, 2010

Hey there, just finished reading your post. Ok, there is one answer for you....lunesta. I have the same problems with insomnia (not quite as bad as you). I have tried everything...I have had this for many, many, years. Both ambien and tylenol PM give me body twitches and I am in a disturbed sleep (in and out) with lots of nitemares. I have taken both Ambian and Ambien CR (controlled release). Lunesta does not have side effects to my knowledge but I wouldn't rely on the drug everyday. I take it when I ABSOLUTLY have to. It works like a charm. What you really need to figure out is what is causing your insomnia. For me it was anxiety...work, life, etc. Also when I drink heavily I wake up 2 or 3 hrs into my sleep. I guarantee you will become addicted to the drug (any sleeping aid) if you are on it for a month. Good luck my friend!

missT · Jan 20, 2010

Hey there, just finished reading your post. Ok, there is one answer for you....lunesta. I have the same problems with insomnia (not quite as bad as you). I have tried everything...I have had this for many, many, years. Both ambien and tylenol PM give me body twitches and I am in a disturbed sleep (in and out) with lots of nitemares. I have taken both Ambian and Ambien CR (controlled release). Lunesta does not have side effects to my knowledge but I wouldn't rely on the drug everyday. I take it when I ABSOLUTLY have to. It works like a charm. What you really need to figure out is what is causing your insomnia. For me it was anxiety...work, life, etc. Also when I drink heavily I wake up 2 or 3 hrs into my sleep. I guarantee you will become addicted to the drug (any sleeping aid) if you are on it for a month. Good luck my friend!

missT · Jan 20, 2010

Hey there, just finished reading your post. Ok, there is one answer for you....lunesta. I have the same problems with insomnia (not quite as bad as you). I have tried everything...I have had this for many, many, years. Both ambien and tylenol PM give me body twitches and I am in a disturbed sleep (in and out) with lots of nitemares. I have taken both Ambian and Ambien CR (controlled release). Lunesta does not have side effects to my knowledge but I wouldn't rely on the drug everyday. I take it when I ABSOLUTLY have to. It works like a charm. What you really need to figure out is what is causing your insomnia. For me it was anxiety...work, life, etc. Also when I drink heavily I wake up 2 or 3 hrs into my sleep. I guarantee you will become addicted to the drug (any sleeping aid) if you are on it for a month. Good luck my friend!

missT · Jan 20, 2010

Hey there, just finished reading your post. Ok, there is one answer for you....lunesta. I have the same problems with insomnia (not quite as bad as you). I have tried everything...I have had this for many, many, years. Both ambien and tylenol PM give me body twitches and I am in a disturbed sleep (in and out) with lots of nitemares. I have taken both Ambian and Ambien CR (controlled release). Lunesta does not have side effects to my knowledge but I wouldn't rely on the drug everyday. I take it when I ABSOLUTLY have to. It works like a charm. What you really need to figure out is what is causing your insomnia. For me it was anxiety...work, life, etc. Also when I drink heavily I wake up 2 or 3 hrs into my sleep. I guarantee you will become addicted to the drug (any sleeping aid) if you are on it for a month. Good luck my friend!

missT · Jan 20, 2010

Hey there, just finished reading your post. Ok, there is one answer for you....lunesta. I have the same problems with insomnia (not quite as bad as you). I have tried everything...I have had this for many, many, years. Both ambien and tylenol PM give me body twitches and I am in a disturbed sleep (in and out) with lots of nitemares. I have taken both Ambian and Ambien CR (controlled release). Lunesta does not have side effects to my knowledge but I wouldn't rely on the drug everyday. I take it when I ABSOLUTLY have to. It works like a charm. What you really need to figure out is what is causing your insomnia. For me it was anxiety...work, life, etc. Also when I drink heavily I wake up 2 or 3 hrs into my sleep. I guarantee you will become addicted to the drug (any sleeping aid) if you are on it for a month. Good luck my friend!

ladybug · Jan 20, 2010

hello,

i have had lots of life changes in the past several months and have taken ambien CR (the smallest dose) nearly every single night since april. it is still working for me and though it does cause the walls to move if i don't go directly to sleep, i haven't had any other side effects. other sleep aids make me extremely groggy and this is the only one that hasn't.

i know everyone is different though and you have a very valid concern with regard to your hesitation with ambien.

i do think it is VERY important to be followed by an actual psychiatrist for this versus your regular CF doc alone. my psychiatrist is very educated on ambien and other sleep aids and also trained to know if i'm abusing it or needing more and more. i see him regularly. somehow, even with taking it every night, it still works for me at a very small dose. my psychiatrist (and doc) has said that sleep is so very very important for us (made increasingly important because we have a chronic illness and our body needs rest) that i should be on something all the time if i have trouble sleeping. we will likely ween off it once things have settled in my life, but for now it does help me get great sleep. they are monitoring me closely though.

have you been in touch with a psychiatrist who can follow your sleep aid/insomnia needs? another option would be to get with a sleep clinic (probably associated with the hospital) and see if they can do a sleep study and/or monitor your sleep habits. they will likely try more natural paths to get your insomnia under control.

best of luck. i know insomnia is awful!!!

ladybug · Jan 20, 2010

hello,

i have had lots of life changes in the past several months and have taken ambien CR (the smallest dose) nearly every single night since april. it is still working for me and though it does cause the walls to move if i don't go directly to sleep, i haven't had any other side effects. other sleep aids make me extremely groggy and this is the only one that hasn't.

i know everyone is different though and you have a very valid concern with regard to your hesitation with ambien.

i do think it is VERY important to be followed by an actual psychiatrist for this versus your regular CF doc alone. my psychiatrist is very educated on ambien and other sleep aids and also trained to know if i'm abusing it or needing more and more. i see him regularly. somehow, even with taking it every night, it still works for me at a very small dose. my psychiatrist (and doc) has said that sleep is so very very important for us (made increasingly important because we have a chronic illness and our body needs rest) that i should be on something all the time if i have trouble sleeping. we will likely ween off it once things have settled in my life, but for now it does help me get great sleep. they are monitoring me closely though.

have you been in touch with a psychiatrist who can follow your sleep aid/insomnia needs? another option would be to get with a sleep clinic (probably associated with the hospital) and see if they can do a sleep study and/or monitor your sleep habits. they will likely try more natural paths to get your insomnia under control.

best of luck. i know insomnia is awful!!!

ladybug · Jan 20, 2010

hello,

i have had lots of life changes in the past several months and have taken ambien CR (the smallest dose) nearly every single night since april. it is still working for me and though it does cause the walls to move if i don't go directly to sleep, i haven't had any other side effects. other sleep aids make me extremely groggy and this is the only one that hasn't.

i know everyone is different though and you have a very valid concern with regard to your hesitation with ambien.

i do think it is VERY important to be followed by an actual psychiatrist for this versus your regular CF doc alone. my psychiatrist is very educated on ambien and other sleep aids and also trained to know if i'm abusing it or needing more and more. i see him regularly. somehow, even with taking it every night, it still works for me at a very small dose. my psychiatrist (and doc) has said that sleep is so very very important for us (made increasingly important because we have a chronic illness and our body needs rest) that i should be on something all the time if i have trouble sleeping. we will likely ween off it once things have settled in my life, but for now it does help me get great sleep. they are monitoring me closely though.

have you been in touch with a psychiatrist who can follow your sleep aid/insomnia needs? another option would be to get with a sleep clinic (probably associated with the hospital) and see if they can do a sleep study and/or monitor your sleep habits. they will likely try more natural paths to get your insomnia under control.

best of luck. i know insomnia is awful!!!

ladybug · Jan 20, 2010

hello,

i have had lots of life changes in the past several months and have taken ambien CR (the smallest dose) nearly every single night since april. it is still working for me and though it does cause the walls to move if i don't go directly to sleep, i haven't had any other side effects. other sleep aids make me extremely groggy and this is the only one that hasn't.

i know everyone is different though and you have a very valid concern with regard to your hesitation with ambien.

i do think it is VERY important to be followed by an actual psychiatrist for this versus your regular CF doc alone. my psychiatrist is very educated on ambien and other sleep aids and also trained to know if i'm abusing it or needing more and more. i see him regularly. somehow, even with taking it every night, it still works for me at a very small dose. my psychiatrist (and doc) has said that sleep is so very very important for us (made increasingly important because we have a chronic illness and our body needs rest) that i should be on something all the time if i have trouble sleeping. we will likely ween off it once things have settled in my life, but for now it does help me get great sleep. they are monitoring me closely though.

have you been in touch with a psychiatrist who can follow your sleep aid/insomnia needs? another option would be to get with a sleep clinic (probably associated with the hospital) and see if they can do a sleep study and/or monitor your sleep habits. they will likely try more natural paths to get your insomnia under control.

best of luck. i know insomnia is awful!!!

ladybug · Jan 20, 2010

hello,
 
 i have had lots of life changes in the past several months and have taken ambien CR (the smallest dose) nearly every single night since april. it is still working for me and though it does cause the walls to move if i don't go directly to sleep, i haven't had any other side effects. other sleep aids make me extremely groggy and this is the only one that hasn't.
 
 i know everyone is different though and you have a very valid concern with regard to your hesitation with ambien.
 
 i do think it is VERY important to be followed by an actual psychiatrist for this versus your regular CF doc alone. my psychiatrist is very educated on ambien and other sleep aids and also trained to know if i'm abusing it or needing more and more. i see him regularly. somehow, even with taking it every night, it still works for me at a very small dose. my psychiatrist (and doc) has said that sleep is so very very important for us (made increasingly important because we have a chronic illness and our body needs rest) that i should be on something all the time if i have trouble sleeping. we will likely ween off it once things have settled in my life, but for now it does help me get great sleep. they are monitoring me closely though.
 
 have you been in touch with a psychiatrist who can follow your sleep aid/insomnia needs? another option would be to get with a sleep clinic (probably associated with the hospital) and see if they can do a sleep study and/or monitor your sleep habits. they will likely try more natural paths to get your insomnia under control.
 
 best of luck. i know insomnia is awful!!!

jdubbs · Jan 20, 2010