Addicted to ambien

For the past 2 and a half years i've been having extreme chronic insomnia and have been taking Ambien.  My doctor has put me on several medications for sleep, but none of them have worked but Ambien. I have been addicted to Ambien ever since he prescribed it to me. I cant sleep without it. I have been taking more than prescribed and run out early. When i run out of my pills i cant get any sleep at all until i get more Ambien. Sometimes im able to get more from my friend. Ambien is the only way i can get sleep. I feel like a zombie during the day because of having Ambien still in my system and not getting enough sleep. Lately, it has not been working at all so ive been taking 3 or 4 pills of Ambien a night. I only sleep 4 hours a night and i wake up constantly and cant get back to sleep in the morning. Ive noticed a difference in my mood since i have been taking more Ambien. Im always having hallucinations and never paying attention to things. I need to take them every night or else i cant sleep at all. My biggest fear in life is not being able to sleep again without Ambien. Im so addicted and i need help i read that i can cause permanent  brain damage if i keep taking it.  I am so scared that i will never get the ability to sleep on my own again naturally. Please someone help me. I really need to get off these pills and learn to sleep on my own again. I have run out of Ambien pills and cant refill them for a week. This is my second night without taking Ambien and i have not slept at all and am very worried.

Hello wildyamster,

 

Welcome to BenzoBuddies.  You'll find plenty of support and information here, and most of our members are glad to share their experiences.  We have a number of members who have experience with ambien.  In the meantime, here's a link to our Other Medications Board.

 

The Ashton Manual is an authoritative source on what to expect in withdrawal and recovery.  Dr. Ashton is an expert in the field.  She describes and explains withdrawal symptoms, and there is also a section with withdrawal/taper schedules.

 

Members discuss their symptoms on The Withdrawal and Recovery Support Board.

 

Please take the time to Create a Signature.  This will allow others to see where you are in the process so they can better support you.

 

Again, welcome!

 

Hello wildyamster,

 

Welcome to the forum from me to 

 

I'm so sorry to hear you are suffering. Could you not get a refill from your local ER for the Ambien, a week is a long time to be waiting for a prescription.

 

It sounds like you've developed tolerance to the dosage, this is a very common scenario when benzodiazepines or Z drugs are taken longterm and increasing the dosage usually only gives very temporary relief.

 

Ambien is a Z drug which works via benzo receptors in the same way as benzos do and it should be tapered in the same manner with cuts of no more than 10% every 10 to 14 days. There are many members here who have successfully tapered from ambien and some who are in the throes of tapering now so do feel free to post on The Other Medications board asking for assistance if need be.

 

Perhaps you'd like to have a read of The Insomnia board here, they are some excellent tips and recommendations to assist with sleep problems, here is a link to it :

 

 

http://www.benzobuddies.org/forum/index.php?board=83.0

 

 

I feel sure that with a slow, gradual taper you can be free of the ambien dependence and normal sleep will reassert itself with time.

 

I'm glad you found us and I wish you success with the taper.

 

Debbie

 

Hello, wildyamster,

IT is good you are being honest about your situation. Facing up to things isnt easy but its the best and only way to start to fix the problems.

The best advice I can give you is to see your doctor, be as honest with him/her and ask for help in getting off. Ambien is not a benzo but is extremely similar and has a wicked withdrawal if stopped cold turkey. It should be tapered, tho perhaps not as slowly as a true benzo.

I completely understand your worries and fears. Not being able to sleep is terribly frustrating, and causes anxiety which further prevents us from sleeping. Insomnia was the sole reason I ever started taking benzos and other drugs...to put me to sleep. I deeply regret that I did not do what you are doing...try to stop much sooner.

Let us know what happens and let us help you get through a difficult situation.

eastcoast

Thanks so much for those of you that replied. should i just not pick up my script next week and never take ambien again? Because im worried if i start taking it again i will never be able to taper off of it.

I wouldn't recommend stopping a z drug suddenly. I am tappering off one and it is so difficult but when I tried to stop it too quickly I just didnt sleep AT ALL.

 

Tappering is not easy but it is possible. There are lots of options on this forum to investigate rather than cold turkeying from it.

 

 

good luck

 

xx JJ

I started tapering my Ambien dose. I feel horrible. Im having a lot of withdrawal symptoms. I feel depressed. Im only getting 1-3 hours of sleep a night. when will this end?

It will end when your brain heals enough - sorry, but theres no time line for this. Wish there was!

What you describe is withdrawal.

Your sleep will come back in time. I know its awful but you wont die from lack of good sleep. Just take care of yourself, try not to worry....and continue your taper. The withdrawal from this class of drug is (supposedly) no way as bad as benzo withdrawal for most.

east

Wildyamster, has there been any attempt to determine what caused your insomnia in the first place? The ambien may have successfully masked the original problem, but I don't see how natural sleep can return if it wasn't there in the first place. A lot of people on this board are complaining of sleep problems, especially those coming off of benzos or Z drugs. Usually it is blamed on "withdrawal". But I suspect in many cases it is just the original problem manifesting itself. People stop sleeping for a reason.

Wildly hamster, I don't really agree with Fogpills. There is probably no underlining medical reason why you have had problems with sleep in the past. Some people are better sleepers than others as simple as that. Sure you can improve things to a certain extent with good sleep hygiene but unfortunately, it is very easy to get in to a vicious circle with not sleeping - of worrying and fretting that you are not going to sleep and resorting to all sorts of 'solutions' to your problem.

 

What's certain is that your taking Ambien long- term has not helped your problem. You now have a dependency on it  and to eventually sleep naturally without it you will have to withdraw slowly from it. There are 2 solutions - either very, very slowly decreasing your dosage of Ambien over many months ( not sure if it comes in liquid from or by titrating it) or and this is what I did from  a similar sleeping pill, transferring to Diazepam and gradually reducing that. In my case, I transferred directly but because you have been on it longer  you should probably do a gradual crossover.  Inform yourself as much as possible by reading the Ashton Manual at www.benzo.org.uk or the TRAP ( Tranquillizer Awareness  Recovery Place) website. There is lots of support and comfort to be found here.

Not everyone's withdrawal is difficult, I have almost finished mine. I am at 0.8 mg of Diazepam and it has not been that difficult. I think I would have found it much more difficult if I had been tapering directly from Zopiclone because of its short half-life and the difficulty of breaking up the pills into small enough pieces.

And since transferring onto the Diazepam my sleep has steadily improved!  I hope to be completely free within the next few weeks.

 

The important thing is not to panic - it is do- able!!!

 

By the way, sorry I got your name wrong, Wildyamster!!!