What are your experiences with it? I've had trouble sleeping as far back as I can remember, so after people telling me to see a doc for years I finally did. Doc just gave me a few to take only when I know I need a good night's sleep, so I probably won't be taking it for a while; however, I've read some terrible things on the internet, mostly from continuous use though.
Ambien
- Thread starter rustjs1
- Start date
14tokihorn
1,000+ Posts
In reply to:
I've taken Ambien CR before, and as far as I know, I've never done anything crazy -- it just helped me sleep.
I'm not taking anything now, but I still have trouble sleeping, especially when I am away from home. When I'm traveling, I might be awake the entire night. What I've found that helps is an app on my iPhone called Sleepmaker Waves. I set it on "gentle waves into rockpools". It runs for 45 minutes, but I am asleep in just minutes. It even works when I am out of town.
Insomnia is the worst. The quality of your life greatly depends on the quakity and amount of sleep you get, and if you're not sleeping, you're a danger to yourself and everyone else around you.
I'm not taking anything now, but I still have trouble sleeping, especially when I am away from home. When I'm traveling, I might be awake the entire night. What I've found that helps is an app on my iPhone called Sleepmaker Waves. I set it on "gentle waves into rockpools". It runs for 45 minutes, but I am asleep in just minutes. It even works when I am out of town.
Insomnia is the worst. The quality of your life greatly depends on the quakity and amount of sleep you get, and if you're not sleeping, you're a danger to yourself and everyone else around you.
i use ambien.
i was getting dependant on it for awhile, but it just seems out of nowhere i stopped taking it and i sleep great now. unless i'm trying to make sure i get a long night of sleep, i won't use the pills i have. or unless i feel like abusing them for some fun.
my problem wasn't being able to fall asleep, but i'd wake up in the middle of the night and could not fall back asleep. would really start to have some serious anxiety about the upcoming day. a lot of panic and some depression just made **** unbearable.
my side effects:
usually took about an hour to really kick in and lights out.
that half hour prior to night, night is a complete blur. everything was done unconsciously. i'd read some facebook messages i didn't remember writing. some perfect english ramblings and other stuff that looked like a drunk post.
you'd kind of hallucinate. not like on shrooms, but just seeing shadows or silouhettes that aren't there. you feel like you're surrounded by people.
sex is long and fun for the person you're giving it to. you won't remember a damn thing..... UNTIL she brings it up and you start to flashback. i kid you not, it's pretty damn awesome. until she mentions something, you'll never know it happened.
there have been some funny/silly moments too. mostly just mumblings that my girlfriend couldn't explain. i'd put on my Texas football helmet (no robe or wizard hat) and just walk around the apartment like i'm lost.
i was getting dependant on it for awhile, but it just seems out of nowhere i stopped taking it and i sleep great now. unless i'm trying to make sure i get a long night of sleep, i won't use the pills i have. or unless i feel like abusing them for some fun.
my problem wasn't being able to fall asleep, but i'd wake up in the middle of the night and could not fall back asleep. would really start to have some serious anxiety about the upcoming day. a lot of panic and some depression just made **** unbearable.
my side effects:
usually took about an hour to really kick in and lights out.
that half hour prior to night, night is a complete blur. everything was done unconsciously. i'd read some facebook messages i didn't remember writing. some perfect english ramblings and other stuff that looked like a drunk post.
you'd kind of hallucinate. not like on shrooms, but just seeing shadows or silouhettes that aren't there. you feel like you're surrounded by people.
sex is long and fun for the person you're giving it to. you won't remember a damn thing..... UNTIL she brings it up and you start to flashback. i kid you not, it's pretty damn awesome. until she mentions something, you'll never know it happened.
there have been some funny/silly moments too. mostly just mumblings that my girlfriend couldn't explain. i'd put on my Texas football helmet (no robe or wizard hat) and just walk around the apartment like i'm lost.
notreally
1,000+ Posts
okay, i'm likely going to sound like a drug addict here..... but owell, i'm totally fine with my experience.
i've tried lots of things for sleep, as i have had problems as long as i can remember. i've tried the following:
OTC: melatonin, benadryl
medium: lunesta, ambien
harder: alprazolam (xanax), tenazapem (restoril)
melatonin - not strong enough.
benadryl - strong enough, but tolerence builds too fast. incidentally the key ingredient in benadryl is the same as most all OTC sleep medications.
lunesta - my second favorite sleeping medication. works pretty good, slight euphoria before falling asleep. however, like ambien, i would need to be in bed and ready to go to sleep. lunesta doesn't make you do weird things, but it doesn't come in generic.... so if that matters, ambien is next.
ambien - works, but i did do a lot of weird stuff. if it hits you before you actually fall asleep it is almost a mild hallucinigenic. i would do weird stuff like wake up and read magazines and cut out articles and stuff and not remember any of it.
restoril - similar to xanax, but i had a doctor that didn't like to prescribe it.... so i go xanax instead.
xanax - so now this is what i take. yes, there are dependency concerns. but i know this, i take my pill around 9, wind down watching tv or showering or whatever, and hop in bed when i'm ready. i don't have to be ready to go to sleep when i take it. i take it, and then i go to sleep when i want. and there is slight euphoria before. there is no risk of me doing the weird kind of stuff ambien does to you if you don't go to sleep. that is a big deal for me. there had been a couple of times when i took my ambien and something happened (death in the family once) after i took it for the night. but i had to get up and function on it..... very difficult.
i'm not saying this is what all people should do, but that is my experience and what has worked best for me. i've had no ill side effects that i know of.
i've tried lots of things for sleep, as i have had problems as long as i can remember. i've tried the following:
OTC: melatonin, benadryl
medium: lunesta, ambien
harder: alprazolam (xanax), tenazapem (restoril)
melatonin - not strong enough.
benadryl - strong enough, but tolerence builds too fast. incidentally the key ingredient in benadryl is the same as most all OTC sleep medications.
lunesta - my second favorite sleeping medication. works pretty good, slight euphoria before falling asleep. however, like ambien, i would need to be in bed and ready to go to sleep. lunesta doesn't make you do weird things, but it doesn't come in generic.... so if that matters, ambien is next.
ambien - works, but i did do a lot of weird stuff. if it hits you before you actually fall asleep it is almost a mild hallucinigenic. i would do weird stuff like wake up and read magazines and cut out articles and stuff and not remember any of it.
restoril - similar to xanax, but i had a doctor that didn't like to prescribe it.... so i go xanax instead.
xanax - so now this is what i take. yes, there are dependency concerns. but i know this, i take my pill around 9, wind down watching tv or showering or whatever, and hop in bed when i'm ready. i don't have to be ready to go to sleep when i take it. i take it, and then i go to sleep when i want. and there is slight euphoria before. there is no risk of me doing the weird kind of stuff ambien does to you if you don't go to sleep. that is a big deal for me. there had been a couple of times when i took my ambien and something happened (death in the family once) after i took it for the night. but i had to get up and function on it..... very difficult.
i'm not saying this is what all people should do, but that is my experience and what has worked best for me. i've had no ill side effects that i know of.
notreally
1,000+ Posts
i agree, and prefer restoril. doctors and their tendencies and philosophies towards narcotics are all over the place. i mean, some doctors will barely give you prescription advil and others will give you hydrocodone like candy. i don't care whether it is xanax, halcion, restoril, whatever.... they are all pretty close to the same and i sleep well at night. all night.
BLESSMEHORNS
250+ Posts
I would recommend not going the Benzo path....If you know anything about a protracted withdrawal, you would know that it is a hell like no other. I took Valium for a few years for sleep. I first became tolerant to it. Then without knowing i just started to withdrawal even though i was still taking them. it took me almost a year to recover from physical symptoms.
NickDanger
2,500+ Posts
I just got back from the sleep specialist (like 10 minutes ago just got back). The Dr. spent almost 2 hours in conference with me. He feels Ambien has its place, but that WAY too many Dr.'s hear "sleep problems" and just write a scrip for Ambien when it is not appropriate for each and every individual. This isn't just a complaint about all Dr.'s, but even those whose act like they specialize in sleep disorders.
He thinks my 40 years of insomnia and new restless leg syndrome symptoms are intertwined and, pending renal function tests, has prescribed Mirapex as his first choice for me, for right now. It's actually a Parkinson's med that is given in VERY low dose for Restless Leg. Requip is prescribed more often for RLS, but Requip is metabolized by the liver and Mirapwx the kidneys. Since I have liver issues, he decided on Mirapex if my Hepatologist approves.
FWIW, my mother is an abuser of Ambien and is often quite insane from Ambien hangovers, but she takes 20mg/night (without medical approval). I have taken Ambien a few times and now know why she has fallen dozens and dozens of times when getting up to pee in the night.
He thinks my 40 years of insomnia and new restless leg syndrome symptoms are intertwined and, pending renal function tests, has prescribed Mirapex as his first choice for me, for right now. It's actually a Parkinson's med that is given in VERY low dose for Restless Leg. Requip is prescribed more often for RLS, but Requip is metabolized by the liver and Mirapwx the kidneys. Since I have liver issues, he decided on Mirapex if my Hepatologist approves.
FWIW, my mother is an abuser of Ambien and is often quite insane from Ambien hangovers, but she takes 20mg/night (without medical approval). I have taken Ambien a few times and now know why she has fallen dozens and dozens of times when getting up to pee in the night.
I have restless legs, too, and sometimes it's almost impossible to get to sleep. I haven't taken anything for RLS in a long time; these days I just take a warm bath when I feel RLS coming on and that usually helps. The last med I took for RLS was Klonopin (which is what Stevie Nicks became addicted to). Prior to that, I took Quinamm, which is the proverbial bitter pill to swallow -- quinine is very, very bitter, and you can taste it on your fingers after just holding the tablet for a few moments. It worked well, but at about $5 a tablet, it wasn't financially feasible, and this was years and years ago. I don't even know if it's available anymore.
When I went through a bout of depression about 25 years ago, I used a sleep inducer called Halcyon, and it literally saved my life. But people abused it and they found that it caused murderous rages in some of the people who abused it, and it took a real beating in the press. It's still available, but my doctor will not even consider prescribing it for me, even though I told him I had had good success with it.
When I went through a bout of depression about 25 years ago, I used a sleep inducer called Halcyon, and it literally saved my life. But people abused it and they found that it caused murderous rages in some of the people who abused it, and it took a real beating in the press. It's still available, but my doctor will not even consider prescribing it for me, even though I told him I had had good success with it.
LongLiveBevo
250+ Posts
I've taken ambien every night for the last few years. Got too used to the regular and would wake up after 4 hours. Love the ambien CR. I love the hallucinogenic part that happens if I stay up for too long. People love me in online chat on ambien. Very much like drunk posting. I love dizzy sex, as I call it. Takes longer to kick in than the regular so it can kinda sneak up on you, not kicking your *** suddenly but more like you don't realize you're tired right away. Never had a problem getting up for anything like peeing but that woman is taking WAY too much. I've noticed that start to get tired before I take it now but my problem has always been more of staying asleep all night. After the holidays I'm going to experiment with not taking it on a day when I don't have to go anywhere the next day. I have epilepsy so a night without sleep can wreak havoc the next day. I need to try this on a night when I can rest all day if I don't sleep well. Incidentally, ambien is safer for a pregnancy than my epilepsy meds and even my insulin. Who wouldve thought it?
Recent Threads
-
Thoughts on Fidium Fiber?
- Started by Dionysus
- Replies: 10
- Horn Depot
Prediction Results Threads
