Wellness

[tsavorite]

Years back doctor prescribed Ambien to me....instead of filling it I went home and read about possible side effects....some people actually got in their cars and drove...this man woke up in the police station!  Another....a lady woke up in her neighbors yard....on his patio NAKED!  theres many many more episodes of this stuff online....I never filled it and tossed the script.  He was giving it to me as I was in terrible pain and of course that was making me sleep poorly and he felt it would help.  

I get up most nights to use the bathroom even w/o pain waking me up....I am thinking of asking my regular doctor if I should do a sleep study....going to see him next week.  But my lack of sleep has taken a toll on me over the yrs I haven't slept right since I had my 1st son (he's 27 now!).

I am tempted to ask at times for a sleep aid but after reading about Ambien I am just really frightened of them for many reasons.

[wvumountiefan]

@blackhole99  I’m 45 and get up 1-2 times a night to potty.  So I easily fall into that category. 😊

[wvumountiefan]

Thank you all for your advice and stories. I will be starting on the lowest dose and will cut them in half. My insurance will only pay for 15 pills for any sleep meds like Ambien, Lunesta, etc. Their reason is addiction and they don’t want anyone to become dependent on it. 

I have to do something though. My doc is wonderful and I’m a nurse so I will watch myself. 

Again, thank you gals! 😊

[CANDLEQUEEN]

My sister takes Ambien on occasion, and she is so weird with it. I talked to her right after she took one, and she didn';t even remember talking to me, and she sounded like a zombie. It was so weird.......Her son told me that she took one right when they were leaving Walgreens, and they went through the drive through at Taco Bell, and she ran all up on the device that you talk into. He had to drive home......So no way would I take them........

[sunshine45]

my mom takes zolpidem and has taken it for about 14 years now.

she has had no bad side effects, but i know if she misplaces her pill or loses one she always says she has a very bad sleep.

i occasionally cannot fall asleep (have no problem staying asleep, even when i have to get up and use the bathroom). melatonin 3 mg. works well for me......or a tylenol pm.

[hondagirl]

I started taking Ambien many years ago when my husband left me and I was going through the most horrible times.  Dr. was fine with the fact that I needed to sleep...I still take them everynight or I don't get a good nights sleep... My pills were sent from Express Scripts and they messed me up with my last order.  If the pills needed to be renewed they send them the next day so there was a time last year I finished my last one and the order will be sent in a week.   You can't suddenly stop these meds - withdrawal is nasty - no sleep - etc...Ambien is not for everyone but itl works so wonderful for me...

[chickenbutt]

I was fortunate enough to acquire Ambien10 for a while, several years ago.  I managed to sandbag quite a large supply becaue I was taking them sparingly, so what I had lasted me a couple of years.

Here's the thing - they work GREAT, even for somebody like me who is horribly bad at sleeping.   I'm still haunted by childhood horrors, so my body is always on alert, especially at night, and I tend to sleep mostly for 5-10 minute periods throughout the night.

Well, not so much lately because I have something else that is legal here that helps me sleep.

Anyway, as to the Ambien, you need to make rules for yourself.   The biggest one is to take it and GET IN THE BED NOW!   It acts pretty quickly and you need to just get in the bed for the night and you'll crash out inside of half an hour.

Even as bad as I am at sleeping, I would actually crash for 5-6 hours at a time.  For me, that's just unheard of.   

But don't take it without being in the bed RIGHT NOW, or you'll start doing crazy stuff.   Lay down and go to sleep.

I was just taking them two times a week and, for me, it was comforting just knowing that on Wed and Sun (or whichever days), I could get some sleep and not lose efficacy because I wasn't taking them daily.   I always worry about something like sleep or pain meds losing efficacy from taking them all the time so I'm neurotically conscious of that and act accordingly.

I do miss them.  I wish I had them so I could take one every now and then.

[febe1]

I have been given the generic for Seroquel. My doctor almost insisted, since I was always afraid of addiction. She swore it wasn't, but only gives it very sparingly. It's 25mg, and I cut it in half. She gives me 30 with one refill and expects that to last a year. So, I use it when necessary.

It's not perfect, but it works quickly and gives me sometimes l2 hours of sleep with no wakeups.. The drawback is a slight drowsiness for several hours the next day. It's not that bad that it stops me from doing anything.

I've never had Ambien, but I would recommend mine with very small side effects.  

[BalletBabe]

---

@wvumountiefanwrote:

I would like some advice from anyone taking this. My doc and I have spent almost a year trying non narcotic meds to help me get a full night sleep and I wanted Ambien to be my last resort. Here’s the catch..... My insurance will only pay for 15 pills per month, which really makes me mad. So I’m only suppose to choose 15 nights a month to get rest? My problem is not so much getting to sleep, but staying asleep. Any advice and info is appreciated! 

---

I have been taking Ambien for 17 years.  I tried many things and nothing worked.  I went on Medicare last April, and they said I can have 90 a year???   So my Dr ordered a anti depressant.  I told the Bongo brain that I am not depressed and many years ago , I tried 8 different ones and none of them helped me sleep.  I filed 3 complaints.  After 90 days, I was out with a migraine, which The Ambien had stopped them.  I almost got killed in an intersection and I called Medicare and told the I almost smashed up my car, and if I get hurt because of your rules, someone will be in court.  They called the r and so his nurse calls me with a new rx for sleeping.  300.00 a month.  It is the esame type of drug as Ambien which in generic cost me 5.00 for 90 pills. I went off on them.  I said I do not have a money tree in my back yard.  They said you need a new Dr. he is not doing his job.  So then the guy is looking at my plan and said are you aware that Ambien is being dropped from a tier 4 to a tier 2 as of Jan 1st.  I said so I have to get through the holidays with no sleep?   Bunch of jerks.  I never had side effects from it, not did I have withdrawls when it was stopped.  I could not sleep but that is how I have always been.   Give it a try, I took care of a dying man on it.  It does not effect me that way.  We are all different.   I have heard people say that it don't work for them.  My advice to anone is they will not work if you eat.  You must take on a empty stomach.  Good Luck!

[Lila4Now]

---

@febe1wrote:

---

@Lila4Nowwrote:

---

@wvumountiefanwrote:

I would like some advice from anyone taking this. My doc and I have spent almost a year trying non narcotic meds to help me get a full night sleep and I wanted Ambien to be my last resort. Here’s the catch..... My insurance will only pay for 15 pills per month, which really makes me mad. So I’m only suppose to choose 15 nights a month to get rest? My problem is not so much getting to sleep, but staying asleep. Any advice and info is appreciated! 

---

Have you had a sleep study done?  About 10 years ago I was having problems sleeping.  My doc wanted to know exactly what the problem was, so he would know what exactly would help.  Turns out I had a sever case of Restless Leg Syndrome.  I had no idea.  When we started treatment to help that my sleep issues went away.  A sleep study would show what was is causing you to wake up.

---

Oh, I would love to know what your "treatment" was for RSL. TIA.

---

I don't advise taking suggestions from a public forum for your health.  Nobody is an expert here.  I suggest you visit a neurologist in your area.  They can order the test, and then have the information to recommend a treatment for you.  I'm not trying to be rude, I just feel it's dangerous to take medical advice from a forum.