Taking ambien and still can't sleep?

[Biteme]

I've had lifelong problems with insomnia & both anxiety & depression diagnoses. The best thing for sleep for me has been b@cl0fen taken with a GABA supplement--it works as a GABA reuptake inhibitor & is very safe w fewer side effects than benzs. I can take it feel relaxed but no overly tired & wake up feeling rested & not dragging. I also take 5htp, benadryl & trazadone--the 1st helps me stay asleep as it increases REM sleep (works better than melatonin) & I find I can fall back to sleep pretty easily if I just focus on my dreams & not let waking thoughts enter my mind. The latter 2 help me fall asleep but don't do much for staying asleep. Most week nights I don't bother with the bac but only get 6 hours sleep, when I take that I can sleep 8 or 9 hours and do some catching up.

 

[Biteme]

One other thought on sleep. I also did a program of cognitive-behavioral sleep training online. You can talk to your doc & insurance may even pay for it. Research shows it's as effective as medication over the long-term (meds are more effective in the short term but that effect wears off over time). The CBT training is a bit of a pain, since to start you have to make yourself even more sleep-deprived and then you only gradually build the amount of time you're sleeping until you reach a functional level. It does however contradict previous advice here to get the clock out, since you're supposed to get up & do something else if you haven't fallen asleep in 20 minutes and at the beginning at least you also need to keep track of your wake-up times.

 

[Def_Starr]

i am still having the same problem, but now worse waking up 2am-3am-4am and not able to go back to bed, so I got some modalerts  to help for the day when im tired, holiday season stress and no sleep , I feel like quitting and walking out I am so burned out and tired and treated like shit while others lie and cheat at work

 

[blissopifree 2]

i am still having the same problem, but now worse waking up 2am-3am-4am and not able to go back to bed, so I got some modalerts  to help for the day when im tired, holiday season stress and no sleep , I feel like quitting and walking out I am so burned out and tired and treated like shit while others lie and cheat at work

I know the feeling working your assistance off where others are VERY good at doing nothing but looking busy.

Your certainly not on your own there Mr coolguy,what I hate the most is the ones that go so slow and then moan they will have to work overtime to get the job FINISHED . UNBELIEVABLE eh mrcoolguy I often feel like walking out also but as you know you can go a few months where things go ok then get a month where all you wanna do is walk off the job and hit the sack!!!.

Peace

Bliss...

 

[Def_Starr]

morning wood keeps me awake too in the am hours mad annoying after ambiem wears off , i want sleep 

 

[sarlun]

there is a prescription called lunesta, when people cant take ambien they take that...i hear its good....the only thing is u get a weird taste in mouth for a bit..

Maybe switching to that for a short time will bring your tolerance back down..?

I've tried everything. Ambien is the only thing that works for me and it sucks badly when I run out :/

 

[Back2Good]

Don't know if this will help you, but after 4 years or so on (prescribed) Z@lpidem (the 10mg generics), I developed such a tolerance to them that they stopped working for me entirely.  Went back to my Doc and explained, and he switched me to generic Tem@zep@m, 15-30mg / night as needed, and I've been getting a solid 7 hours or so just about every night since.

Note I didn't ask for the Tem@zep@m specifically, just told the Doc the Z@lpidem wasn't working any longer.  Your Doc may choose a different alternative sleeping med, there's a few of them out there, and every Doc has his / her preference.

 

[Nostromo1965]

UGH, I've been taking ambien so long that it doesn't hit me like it used to. I dont want to step up the dose.... what other sleep aids do you use? I'd like to alternate and lower my tolerance. Thoughts? 

I've been on Ambien for 4 years and it still works like a champ.

I do have a few "rules" about maximizing its effectiveness:

1. NO caffeine after 3pm (or just avoid it totally)

2. Since it should be taken on an empty stomach, no food (esp. anything with sugar) within 3 hours of bedtime. For me it's "no calories after 6pm" just to be sure.

3. Before you take the Ambien, prepare a cup of decaf tea (the new Sleepytime flavored teas are awesome), I sweeten mine with Splenda and also add a splash of half and half.

4. Take the Ambien, then drink the tea. I also read in bed, but I usually don't get very far before I'm out.

To hasten the onset of the Ambien, I use a pill crusher (any CVS/Rite Aid, etc. has them), then swallow the powder.

I'm sure this has been mentioned many times on many other topics on this site (I just joined), but any medication is going to affect different people in (sometimes very) different ways. So not everyone who takes Ambien is going to host an orgy in their living room or cook a Thanksgiving meal.

Hope this helps!

 

[Jellopanda]

Amb1en does nothing for me other than giving me a slight high for about 30 minutes, but when i go to bed i still can't sleep and when i get out of bed after an hour or two of not sleeping i feel worse than if i hadn't taken anything at all. Z@piclone is my wonderdrug tho. i take 15 mg, wait 45 minutes (during which i have this really nice, relaxed, mellow feeling. that feeling is actually something i look forward to during the day) and when i go to bed i fall asleep almost instantly. Another plus is that i've had no side effects whatsoever from zop. I have rarely woken up after about 4 hours of sleep tho, but i can live with that.

I wouldn't recommend using it with alcohol since it makes you do crazy stuff like instead of going to bed it seems like the best idea in the world to hit the town high out of your mind to consume obscene amounts of tequlia Last time that happened to me i ended up in this sort of rundown industrial area where i had a long argument with a cab driver who was supposed to pick me up. I insisted i knew exactly where i was and angry that he could find me. When he asked me to describe my surroundings it turned out i was about 15 miles away from the place i thought i was :/ Fortunately i still had the modicum of sense to be really embarrassed, apologize profusely and give him a big tip for his troubles.

Many people complain about the taste, but i love it. That may be because i've begun associating that taste with the really good feeling zop gives me.

What kinda meds work seem to differ a lot from person to person tho. for those who feel amb1en works for them a few people mentioned that they sometimes wake up after only 3-4 hours sleep. I've read about a drug called amb1en CR that has two components, one fast-dissolving one that helps you fall asleep and another slow-dissolving one that helps you stay asleep, tho apparently it could make you a little more groggy in the morning.

Other than that there are other things that might help tho you may have tried the all ofc.

One thing that helped a lot for me was stop drinking coffee around six hours before i went to sleep.

Melatonin seems really interesting to me, haven't tried it, but it's natural and not addictive which is a huge plus in my book.

Many mention exercise. that really hasn't worked for me tho, even those years i was when i worked out like 10 hours a week, but seems to be working for a lot of people

 

[dotcomkot]

UGH, I've been taking ambien so long that it doesn't hit me like it used to. I dont want to step up the dose.... what other sleep aids do you use? I'd like to alternate and lower my tolerance. Thoughts? 

id say nitraz or temaz maybe but that rules out u wanting to not really have a tolerance and tbh they dont put me to sleep now but i know many that do (wife inc) k'od infact lol! and when i first started to be prescribed sleep aids it was this route, many years ago. i then went onto the z's where u currently are to drop tolerance an see if they where for me. i tried many of them. have used the american version ambien (zolpadan) in all honestly they dont work for me either, i now would use them during the day if doing a taper as they make me slightly drowsy an it helps with the withdrawls, just takes the edge off. but would be a rarity, they say the z's u need to take it then get in bed, shut everything off as its such a short burst, i cant remember how many mins off hand, that are the most effective. the next step is tiring yourself out. are u doing enough during the day (if able to at least), do u take any stimulants. even to much caffiene, choc sugar etc. pills arnt always the answer. usually lol but not always, maybe if u combined a few of these things as in dropping tolerance but doing more activities that may help. not much help my comment i know sorry

regards

dot

 

[sarlun]

I've tried every other sleep med and Ambien, even though it doesn't work as strong or feel the euphoria has been my #1. I feel it's in your head. When I go to bed, everything off, take the med then I go right to sleep. Though the strange feeling that was enjoyable is gone, it still does help. 

Hope you find your own great sleeping medication!

 

[Linx]

any of the "Z drugs" benzo similar sleep aids aren't meant for more than 10 days consecutive use but more designed for spastic use. 

 

[Cbeas]

Melatonin gives me bad nightmares. Need the amb. It's the only thing that works for me 

 

[Calliope]

low dose se®0quel can be a highly effective sleep med coming from someone who stays awake with 50mg amB

 

[sarlun]

@Cbeas 

Melatonin gives me bad nightmares. Need the amb. It's the only thing that works for me 

Same here. I just feel all tingly. Sleepy, but can’t. It sucks. 

 

[Def_Starr]

whenever i took Ambiem i would normally get 5-6 hrs sleep but i would feel rested or if u wait to go to bed before taking them than somehow u just fill like your tripping than it kinda wears off and u dont really get sleep, i notice flexeril (muscle relaxor) and valium from time to time helps get me the GOOD SLEEP