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Ambien....can you still heal?


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Can you heal your brain from Benzo damage if your still taking Ambien 5 mg? Nothing helps insomnia but Ambien. I have tried everything natural and prescription. Some nights I got 2 hours or zero sleep. I mentally couldn’t stand it anymore and gave in to Ambien.
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I'd like to share my experience with you.  I quit Klonopin cold turkey but several months later I started taking Ambien.  The Klonopin withdrawal symptoms were horrific of course and never seemed to abate, even though the Ambien was helping me sleep.  14 months after my cold turkey from Klonopin I quit Ambien cold turkey too and just a few days later, I felt wonderful.  The inner trembling stopped, the dark thoughts stopped, every single symptom that had hung on for 14 months disappeared.

 

The insomnia was bad for a few days, the nightmares were awful but soon after I learned how to sleep again and it was a deep restful sleep.  I would wake up with a deep contentment and still do because I no longer reach for a drug which takes far more from us than it gives.

 

I have no idea when I recovered from my Klonopin cold turkey but I feel I kept myself sick for much longer than I needed to by taking Ambien. 

 

 

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I'd like to share my experience with you.  I quit Klonopin cold turkey but several months later I started taking Ambien.  The Klonopin withdrawal symptoms were horrific of course and never seemed to abate, even though the Ambien was helping me sleep.  14 months after my cold turkey from Klonopin I quit Ambien cold turkey too and just a few days later, I felt wonderful.  The inner trembling stopped, the dark thoughts stopped, every single symptom that had hung on for 14 months disappeared.

 

The insomnia was bad for a few days, the nightmares were awful but soon after I learned how to sleep again and it was a deep restful sleep.  I would wake up with a deep contentment and still do because I no longer reach for a drug which takes far more from us than it gives.

 

I have no idea when I recovered from my Klonopin cold turkey but I feel I kept myself sick for much longer than I needed to by taking Ambien.

How long were you on that dose of klonopin, before you cold turkeyed it? Thanks

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How long were you on that dose of klonopin, before you cold turkeyed it? Thanks

 

I think I started taking Klonopin around 2004 but the really large doses didn't start until early 2007, so I may have been on 6-10 mgs a day for only a few months. 

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Can you heal your brain from Benzo damage if your still taking Ambien 5 mg? Nothing helps insomnia but Ambien. I have tried everything natural and prescription. Some nights I got 2 hours or zero sleep. I mentally couldn’t stand it anymore and gave in to Ambien.

 

I reduced my ambien dose from 10 mg to 5 mg last September or so. First I reduced to 7.5 mg, stayed for a week, then to 5 mg. It went pretty smoothly. I was tapering xanax, but can't remember what dose I was at (it's in my signature). Now I'm at such a low dose of xanax that it's probably not doing anything. 0.05 mg a day? in 4 doses, that's 12.5 MICROgrams per dose. But I was still taking 5 mg ambien every night. My symptoms would rev up around 3 in the afternoon or so. But with a drink after work (yes, I still drink alcohol), the symptoms went away.

 

I just decided it's time to get rid of the ambien. I reduced from 5 mg to 2.5 mg two days ago. So far so good. In fact, I noticed yesterday (saturday), the first day after I went to the reduced dose, that I had no afternoon symptoms. We'll see what today brings.

 

My intent is to reduce to 0 mg on Friday night.

 

I've always had very vivid, colorful, often disturbing dreams. Even if the dream itself wasn't disturbing, I would wake up disturbed. It's what I loved about the ambien so much when I first started taking it 4 years ago: it got rid of the dreams. Now the dreams are back. Just last night I had a dream making me doubt a job I want to apply for, seeking input from co-workers on skype, all the while cleaning my childhood bedroom so my father could vacuum (my father died 15 years ago).

 

Anyways, I was scared to drop the ambien. Would I sleep? Would I ever sleep well again? But I seem to be having no issue.

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How long were you on that dose of klonopin, before you cold turkeyed it? Thanks

 

I think I started taking Klonopin around 2004 but the really large doses didn't start until early 2007, so I may have been on 6-10 mgs a day for only a few months.

Thanks for reply. Helpful to know. Your story, including ambien is inspiring. Congrats on being off.

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I tapered off Ambien before tapering Ativan.  My doctor advised me to stay off of it for awhile.

 

That said, once things open back up again and I start traveling again for work. (Domestic and international) I may consider taking it as it really helps with the jet lag. 

 

For now though I want to develop good sleep habits and so I avoid it.  Most nights I do not take anything and can sleep most of the night.  Otherwise it’s Benadryl, Tylenol PM, or melatonin. 

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