Ambien addiction symptoms

Hi, Im posting to older folks here who are currently addicted to ambien. Im a 21 yr old who had trouble sleeping, so I decided to go doctor visit. My doctor perscribe me ambien! It help me sleep like a baby every night. However, bad side of it I had no idea it was incredibly addictive! I too took it every night after the first dose which was a 5mg tablet and finished 30 of them in a week. Afterwards
I noticed I was waking up at the same time everynight, and had symtoms like shaking, trembling muscle through out the body, sweating,
tense feeling, and soreness all through out the body. I knew something was wrong as in addiction to it, because it pretty much was the only drug I took. So about a day after I discover I was addicted to it, I realize it could get bad if I don't kick it right away, stop the habbit.
What I did was just go cold turkey on em, I woke up at same time again that night. But I decide not to take one and just lay there for 8 hrs swaeting and feeling sore! It turned out good tho, by morning I wasn't feeling the addiction any longer, as to my body had stop wanting it. This method worked for me but it was hard, you really have to want to stop it, tell yourself mentally its gona work and train your body to stop the addiction. Now this is my suggestion, try as hard as you can to not take it at all, and if you been addicted to it for yrs, I probly would trying best you can to not take it at all, or if you don't and feel really sick, just take it but lower the dose everyday
like cut it in half and take only half. But only take the if you body can't handle the withdraws. Just lower the dose everyday and train your
to forget the ambien by lower dosage and self motivation. Also if withdraws lead to other symtoms that life treatning, seek medical attention right away. As I have read comments on here, there isn't much rehab faciltys to handle this type of addiction, so this is what I went through, what methods I have use to over come it. There is so much more to life than to be knocked out all day and night and hurting for ambien. Think of the sweet things in life you can do and put an end this nasty addiction, and go do what you love in life, school, family, work, events, etc. Pretty much what your love in life would be. Cmon guys think positive, try hard and stop. Im 21 and I stop you guys here can too. Anyways this is what I did, but try to pay attention to your body limits as to trying what I did, seek medical
attention if needed If you do try my tip and it does'nt work for you. Everyone different so it could work for some and not others. So hope this helps guys.

I also was addicted to ambien and could not sleep without it, or for any length of time with it for that matter. I tried many substitutes including melatonin, Valium, xanax, and other sleep aids, nothing worked. If I tried to quit the ambien cold turkey I did not sleep for days and would end up using it again. The way I got off ambien and got my life back as well as my normal sleep pattern was to reduce the amount I took in very small increments. I would only reduce when I could achieve a good nights sleep on the new lower dosage. So for every reduction of a couple milligrams I might stay at that dosage for a week before reducing to the next level. It took 3 and a half months to get completely off of ambien using this method...but it worked. I have not used it in 6 months and would never take it again.

I had initially started taking ambien because I had to take prednisone for asthma. I have since learned to sleep on prednisone and actually have no problem sleeping having learned that using ambien is far worse. In fact my experience with ambien has taught me many things about sleep and I now sleep better than I ever have.

Avoid ambien at all costs it can and may well ruin your life.

Also note that the doctors that were involved (and there were several) were clueless to my condition, I solved the mystery by researching online and I am writing this so that others my find the help they need to rid their system of this awful drug.

Best wishes,

I

I have a hate love relationship with Ambian. It started out 1 mg twice a week after my daughter was murdered.I am now at 2 10mg per night and cannot stop. My doctor told me this drug was not habit forming in any way, well I cannot sleep without it. I love the euphoric feeling of the drug but hate the loss of memory(especially after I drive to the store and have no idea I went there until someone tells me the next day.i need intervention.

I dont see how any addiction treatment center would turn you away for being addicted to ambien. Addiction (ALL) happen in the limbic system of the brain. You would treat it as you would any other addiction. I am a counselor and I have in my program teens who are addicted to everything. We dont seperate an alcoholic from a meth user so why would a center say no just becasue your addicted to sleepers. Obviously people are saying that there is no treatment becasue they have not tried treatment and their addiction is still in charge. A cry for help....fine I'll take that. First you have to understand what this drug does for you and what are the consequences of its use. If there are more cons then you move to understand what your triggers are and address those. Try natural holistic medication to help you sleep for the first 30-90 days such as meletonin, passion flower, valirum root and chamomille tea. Avoid your bedroom until you plan to go to sleep. Do not have a TV in your room. If you wake and can not fall back asleep then move to your front room with a hot cup of chamomille tea. Your brain believes the bedroom is a place to hang out when we watch tv in there and you have to re-train your brain to know that the bedroom = sleep.

8-| i HAVE BEEN TAKING AMBIEN NOW FOR ABOUT A YEAR AND NOW HAVING VERY HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE PROBLEMS. I HAVE BEEN BACK TO THE DR MANY TIMES AND HAVE BEEN PUT ON BLOOD PRESSURE MEDS THAT WILL NOT WORK. THE ONLY THING THAT WILL GET IT IN CONTROL IS CLONIDINE AND IT IS VERY SHORT TERM. I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO, I DO FEEL THAT IT HAS AFFECTED MY PERSONALITY AND I HAVE A HANDS ON TYPE JOB AND IT IS GETTING HARDER AND HARDER FOR ME. I AM AT THE POINT OF THINKING I AM LOOSING IT. HAVE BEEN WAITING ON MY DR TO REFER ME TO A CARDIOLOGIST BUT NOT HAPPENING. WENT TO ANOTHER DR AND HE PUT ME ON LEXAPRO AND TOLD ME NOT TO WORRY WITH MY BLOOD PRESSURE THAT IT WAS ALL IN MY HEAD. ANY WAY ITS NOT IN MY HEAD AND JUST WONDERING IF THE AMBIEN COULD BE CAUSING THE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, HAVE NEVER HAD ANY HEALTH PROBLEMS IN MY LIFE UNTIL NOW AND MY BLOOD PRESSURE WILL RUN AROUND 152/88 TO 162/104 AND ALWAYS STAYS HIGHER WHEN I WORK AND I AM FEELING SAD AND NO ENERGY. PLEASE HELP

I have been on AMBIEN for about five years. I have to say that I really don't hate what the drug does for me. I do, however; realize I am addicted. I originally started taking AMBIEN due to anxiety/panic issues with racing thoughts keeping me awake at night. It worked wonderfully, I didn't have lingering side effects the next morning and seemed to be functioning great... then one night one 10mg pill didn't seem to do the trick. I spoke to my dr and he prescribed me 2 10mg pills nightly... guess what? Worked great for a short while but, unfortunately, like many others have experienced my body was building a tolerance to the drug. At my lowest point I was taking 1-12.5 CR with 2- 10mg with instructions from my dr if I woke up in the night I could take another 10mg pill. Please keep in mind the fact that I have anxiety/panic disorder, insomnia was making my mental health issues compounded. It was a vicious cycle. With a lot of hard work over the past year I have gotten back down to taking 1- 10mg pill EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. This pill is VERY addictive that's why I say people should not take AMBIEN lightly. I don't have any of the side effects of walking/eating/driving after I've taken it, but my husband takes it too and if he doesn't go straight to bed he acts like he's intoxicated, and while at times he can be entertaining, our kids have come to roll their eyes and say "oh, Dad's on his pill". Not really something you want your kids to say about you.

Dr's hand this stuff out so easily. I'm trying light therapy, bedtime rituals to get my mind in a routine that it's time to wind down and sleep, and no TV in bed. It's helping and I hope to eventually be off AMBIEN... but in my heart I really just wish I could go back to the first week I took AMBIEN and those best nights of rest I've ever had. Not to be for me though...NOTICE THE TIME STAMP ON MY POST. :-(

I have a family member that is addicted to Ambien. She takes one and then forgets and takes more. She has taken 24 in one night. I cant believe she has not died. We have tried to get her treatment and have had places that would except her but she also has a bad back and has had surgery. She is on Cronic pain meds and they will not let her continue her meds in treatment. So she will not go. We r lost. And also, if you r going to get off this and hhave been on for a long time. it is not good to stop it cold. You can have severe medical problems and may even die from the withdrawl of it. You have to come off it slowly.......

? Hi, I am kinda a health nut, I work hard and sleep very well. Pills, to me, are a crutch. But that's me, I realize we are all different and some folks just have a hard time sleeping. Recently i have noticed my girlfriends behavior. very eratic and moody. things have happened to her, or us, and she has little or no recollection of. We have argued (not just at night) and she wouldn't even remember it, or say to me the exact things that I said to her while arguing. She is, at times, clumsy. For instance while cooking dinner she may spill something or make a mess and not even realize it. She is often euphoric, or overly happy, but other times depressed. Sometimes converstion is all over the map. Meaning that I may have one standpoint and she another, but a few minutes later she is saying what I just said and has taken on my point of view, then minutes later, back to where she was originally. Her moods are impossible to keep up with, I am exhausted with the whole thing. I have quit taking her out at night, because alcohol is just fuel on the fire. We always fight after a few drinks, and lately I have totally refrained from drinking, but the misunderstandings persist.
She, years before I met her, worked in a pharmacy, she also recently, lost her job as a medical assistant. She is currently unemployed and depends on me, family and friends to get by. She spends time at her grandmothers (89) and helps her out. But one night on our night stand, I noticed a bottle of Ambien with the Grandmothers name on it. So low and behold, my little darling has been taking her Grandmothers Ambien. And usually with alcohol too. Two to three glasses of wine nightly, perhaps more, that is what I see, 2-3. I am not sure how many or the dosage of the ambien, but I am sure that this is the cause. I love her and want the best for her. She is a gem and has so much potential. Can someone tell me what's going on, please. Or am "I" in denial here. Are these things listed above signs of ambien abuse. I am at the end of my wrope. Thanks

Im 22 and have been addicted to ambien for two years combined with nyquil. I was very successful and my addiction has caused me to lose everything. I've literally lost 4 cars, been to jail, sold everything I owed to buy massive amounts of ambien. I went to a 30 day rehab program and it changed my life. However I relapsed recently and hit harder than ever. Michaels house in California is a rehab for ambien addicts and I highly suggest any addicts to go there. It feels amazing to relate to others with the same addiction. I would love to talk to any ambien addicts it helps me alot. I promise anyone can overcome this if they join a na group and work the 12 stores with other users. God bless

I have used ambien for 10 years. I have some mild side effects, but, sleeping well is the most healthful thing a person can do for themselves.  Without good sleep, a person's health is going to go downhill.  I only had one major incident with sleep walking many years ago when I first started taking it., and I was lucky nothing happened because I did not leave the house.  After that I stopped taking full doses of the drug.. since then, I cut the pills up and take small tiny doses so that I don't sleep walk..  That has worked.  Only recently have I had some very happy days in my life, happy enough to not go to bed and have sleepless thoughts.  so, I have decided to not take the ambien and see how it goes.  I have also, started to use. OTC Estrogen cream...  It is going just fine. I am sleeping just fine without the ambien..  But, if it turns out one night, that I'm all stressed out and thinking too much.. I won't hesitate to get a good nights sleep using the drug.  As far as I can tell, Ambien has the least side effects for the average person than many of the other sleep meds.  I would prefer not to take anything at all to sleep, so, I will try and find these happier days in each and every day.  I had suffered some terrible losses in my life in last 10 years, and the sadness of it all, was taking its toll on me.  So, it seems now, that enough time has gone by, that I am mellowing out about the loss.. Maybe in the long run, ambien has helped me to forget it..  So, if that's the case, it has really helped me get thru a terrible spell of loss and grief.

I am making a living by using my quick wits and timing..  I'm not going into what I do.. But, the ambien never slowed me down. I have always been able to perform and remember what I needed to remember very well.  So, I doubt anyone is hooked on ambien in one year.  What is really going on here, is that person, is suffering in many other mental ways, that they are not talking about or can't talk about because they don't know themselves.  I would think after 10 years of taking ambien and one day, I just stop with no problem... That if the time is right for a person to get good sleep on their own, they will get good sleep on their own.

I remember as a kid hearing how older people don't sleep so much.. 

Well, life takes it toll on the mind..  And sleep does get harder..  but, if your partner is fretting over your sleep too, that's all wrong.  Get another bed and sleep in it.  Sleep alone... That could just be the answer for alot of people.

 

Thanks for reading.  Good luck.. and, I say, getting a good night's sleep is the most important thing a person can do.. Your body's immune system tidies itself up in the night, so sleep is crucial to long life, no matter how happy or sad you are feeling during the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just ran out of it and am just not going to get anymore. I cant tell my wife because she thinks I quit already.i crunched the numbers and I took on average of 15 a day, during work, playing with kids even at church. its just time to quit.

I have taken ambien for 6 years and have been addicted to it for about 5 years. There is a lot of good advice in these postings.   The worst advice is the advice that masquerades as accepted medical judgment. For example, the advice that if you are addicted to ambien, you should just quit and in 4 or 5 nights you will begin to sleep properly because the body cannot go longer than that without sleep.  There is no study to support this advice. I have gone as long as 15 days with no sleep.  I am sure others in this posting have gone just as long or longer with no sleep.  If this “fact” were true, ambien addiction could not possibly have become as widespread and as serious a problem as it is.  This garbage medical advice, masquerading as a “fact”, stops so many doctors from recognizing ambien addiction for what is – a very serious addiction.  Why worry about an ‘addiction’ if it can be completely cured by 4-5 nights of no sleep?

 

Before I took ambien, I would watch TV or read before going to sleep. Unless I did that, or found something else to take my mind off my daily problems, I would toss and turn for hours before falling asleep.  THERE IS NO MEDICAL STUDY THAT SAYS IF YOU READ OR WATCH TV YOU CANNOT GO TO SLEEP. Just as important, or even more so -- THERE IS NO MEDICAL STUDY THAT SAYS IF YOU DON’T READ OR WATCH TV BEFORE GOING TO BED, YOU WILL FALL ASLEEP. This accepted medical ‘dogma’ is pure malarkey and has no good study to support it.  It sounds like good common sense, and it is, but it won’t cure true insomnia.  Again, this “dogma” blinds Doctors to the serious problem that is posed by chronic insomnia. They view it as a problem caused by bad sleep habits, and nothing more.

 

I had undiagnosed sleep apnea for years.  Doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and – yes—so-called ‘sleep specialists’, kept telling me that the problem was psychological, caused by bad sleep habits, the result of reading before going to bed, etc.  When Doctors finally found out what sleep apnea was, they were able to diagnose me.  The “medical advice” that Doctors gave to me before my apnea was diagnosed, is exactly the same advice they give now when someone complains about insomnia – namely, don’t read in bed, don’t watch TV, develop better sleep habits, etc.  All this "common sense" advice highlights the simple fact that the medical community has, by and large, no good idea of what CAUSES insomnia, much less what will cure it.

 

My apnea was cured 3 years ago by surgery.  By then, I was addicted to ambien.  I have gone off ambien more times than I can recall. I have never been able to stay off for the simple reason that my body simply won’t fall asleep any more. I have tried so many other drugs that I have lost count. My first try at getting off ambien was just to quit.  I went 14 nights with no sleep. It didn’t solve my ambien addiction. The first night I took ambien again, I slept soundly. I have tried approximately 7 more times to “just quit” and it has never worked.

 

I could go on for hours writing this posting.  The best advice I can give anyone is   DON’T TAKE AMBIEN AT ALL.  View ambien the same way you would view heroin or cocaine, namely, a drug you should never take.  If it is prescribed by a Doctor for your insomnia, then, regardless of what he says, don’t take it for more than one or two nights.  IF YOU STILL HAVE INSOMNIA, TRY ANOTHER CURE.