Wellness

[wvumountiefan]

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! 

[DeeDT]

I took Ambein for almost 8 years. The stories I could tell you would make the hair on your neck stand up.  I would get up and talk on phone carry on conversations with my family and no one every knew I was sleeping,  I would eat and make a mess in the kitchen that I would find in the morning and wonder what the kids wer doing during the night.  Lots and lots of these kind of things.  I would sleep walk into my kids room and clean, turn on their tvs and watch it while they are telling me to go to sleep and not remember any of the things I did. After I drove the car to my sons house with a gallon of milk and woke up on his couch, I got off the Ambien.  Really do your homework on this drug before you use it.  I now take Restoril

[KKWA]

I have been taking it for years. My opinion is get the 15 day supply, and if it works for you  it will be worth it for you to pay for it yourself. The generic brand is not that expensive. It is worth it.  

[2blonde]

@DeeDT  OMG!  I've heard similar stories.  Thank heaven you never got hurt during one of those episodes.  It does make me wonder how anyone would be getting "rested" while they were doing all those things during the night.

[blackhole99]

I don't know how old you are, but most of us over 65 get up one or two times to go to the bathroom . I don't take Meds. to sleep, but my 82 year old aunt has been taking Ambien on and off for years. Her issue is, she's afraid she will fall if she is drowsy and gets up tp go to the bathroom. A fall for her at this point would be more of a problem than sleepless nights. I would try the Ambien, just remember not all people respond to meds. the same way.

[151949]

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@blackhole99wrote:

I don't know how old you are, but most of us over 65 get up one or two times to go to the bathroom . I don't take Meds. to sleep, but my 82 year old aunt has been taking Ambien on and off for years. Her issue is, she's afraid she will fall if she is drowsy and gets up tp go to the bathroom. A fall for her at this point would be more of a problem than sleepless nights. I would try the Ambien, just remember not all people respond to meds. the same way.

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Speak for yourself. I'm 69 and I never wake up during the night. I sleep 7 hours every night straight thru. I go to bed around midnight and get up almost always at 7AM.

[RedTop]

My daughter tried this drug about 10 years ago without success.   Ambien had a very heavy effect on her, almost like anesthesia, to where she had a hard time regaining her alertness.   With my help, she had to call in and miss a shift at work because she was too out of it to even stand up, or focus on what I was saying to her.   Every dose of Ambien gave her that heavy hangover effect.  

My advice is to try the 15 pills.  If you see that this drug works for you, write an appeal to your insurance company in an effort to get them to pay for the medication.   In an appeal, you need to mention the length of time involved in trying to find a sleep solution, all the routines and meds you tried without success, any specific issues you had with  the unsuccessful meds, along with the positive effect from this medication.   If your poor sleep habits affect job performance or involve risk in driving to or from work, etc., that needs to be mentioned in your appeal.   

I have helped my daughters successfully appeal medication coverage with their insurance carriers twice.   

[blackhole99]

@151949Well good for you, I should have known I would be called out for generalizing again.

[2blonde]

@blackhole99 Yes, you did say "most" of us over 65, so I think you were correct in that.  Surely we all should understand there are no absolutes with any of us.  I'm 69, and I also get up 1-2 times per night to visit the restroom, but luckily I do fall right back to sleep.  At this point, I think it's become somewhat of a ritual, more than a need!

[Dinaki]

I have been taking Ambien for fifteen years in a row.

I agree that it may make you drowsy but that is just on the beggining. Taking Ambien and watching the television is a no no, that's why people are always talking about those funny side effects of the medicine.

You MUST take the pill about half an hour before you retire. Go to bed, turn off the light, close the eyes and Ambien will take its turn.

You will wake up in the morning fresh and very well rested.