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After being on Ambien 12.5 mg for just over 2 years, I am finally off it. Looking back to when I started it, my doctor who is a partial CFS specialist had me convinced that sleep was a problem. I think I was extra stressed at the time, and added onto that, the talk of how sleep was so important and how it needed to be treated added to that stress and made my sleep even worse. I know this message isn't for everyone, but I had to ask myself was my lack of sleep really a problem? I kind of thought no at the time, but my doctor said yes, so I went on Ambien.
It is a powerful drug. There were times when I had trouble sleeping despite the Ambien, and I would be awake, with double vision, feeling drugged, and often doing strange things that I didn't remember (my wife would tell me later, or in one case, video'd me!). After going through a period of a couple of weeks where I was feeling charged full of energy at night, wide awake and drugged on Ambien, I decided to quit.
I took two weeks and was able to work from home for that time (I know, not everyone can do this) and I decided that I would not get bent out of shape no matter what my sleep pattern was like. I spent the first two weeks sleeping 4 or 5 hours a night, but it was not much of a problem, in large part because I did not make it into a problem. I just stayed up, watched TV, ate snacks, etc. Being at home helped a lot because I wasn't stressed about getting up to go to work the next morning. The hardest part was dealing with the mental aspect, thinking I was not going to sleep because I was not taking the drug. That self-talk made falling asleep more difficult, and it took some time and patience to allow for that thought pattern to dissipate.
By the third week, I was beginning to fall asleep at a more normal time. I took 5 mg melatonin and 100 mg 5-HTP each night, which helped. I am now back to a more normal sleep pattern after 4 weeks of being Ambien free. I am sleeping even better than when I was on Ambien, about 5 hours uninterrupted sleep, followed by 3-4 hours of very interrupted sleep. But it works, I feel much better in the morning, though still usually somewhat tired. But not nearly as tired as I was in the mornings after taking Ambien.
I just wanted to share my experience in case it is helpful to others. I know Ambien can be a godsend, and I am not suggesting any course of action for people, just wanted to share and discuss if anyone is interested.
Rich D
It is a powerful drug. There were times when I had trouble sleeping despite the Ambien, and I would be awake, with double vision, feeling drugged, and often doing strange things that I didn't remember (my wife would tell me later, or in one case, video'd me!). After going through a period of a couple of weeks where I was feeling charged full of energy at night, wide awake and drugged on Ambien, I decided to quit.
I took two weeks and was able to work from home for that time (I know, not everyone can do this) and I decided that I would not get bent out of shape no matter what my sleep pattern was like. I spent the first two weeks sleeping 4 or 5 hours a night, but it was not much of a problem, in large part because I did not make it into a problem. I just stayed up, watched TV, ate snacks, etc. Being at home helped a lot because I wasn't stressed about getting up to go to work the next morning. The hardest part was dealing with the mental aspect, thinking I was not going to sleep because I was not taking the drug. That self-talk made falling asleep more difficult, and it took some time and patience to allow for that thought pattern to dissipate.
By the third week, I was beginning to fall asleep at a more normal time. I took 5 mg melatonin and 100 mg 5-HTP each night, which helped. I am now back to a more normal sleep pattern after 4 weeks of being Ambien free. I am sleeping even better than when I was on Ambien, about 5 hours uninterrupted sleep, followed by 3-4 hours of very interrupted sleep. But it works, I feel much better in the morning, though still usually somewhat tired. But not nearly as tired as I was in the mornings after taking Ambien.
I just wanted to share my experience in case it is helpful to others. I know Ambien can be a godsend, and I am not suggesting any course of action for people, just wanted to share and discuss if anyone is interested.
Rich D
