I finally quit Ambien... and am now sleeping better

[Sushi]

Sushi
thanks so much for that sushi - a couple more to add to my arsenal
I can only try it - if its too hard I'll have to go back to planning a taper.
glad your sleep has normalised - bet you feel really good about that.

I wouldn't go so far as "normalized!" But it is not taking 3 or 4 hours to go to sleep now--maybe an hour. I think the brain wave CD made the difference--I am using Holosync. They do very heavy marketing which is a pain, but it does help.

Sushi

 

[maryb]

I withdraw 'normalised' and substitute 'slightly better'

 

[physicsstudent13]

klonopin seems to help my central sleep apnea it works by allosteric modulation of the alpha GABA receptor and seems better than even the 3rd generation sleep meds.
does anyone know how klonopin helps central apnea and what the mechanism is? I'm on an asv and use modified settings
I don't like Benadryl it just gives fog and grogginess. but while I was taking klonopin I still had these memory problems, fog

 

[Naquis]

Hi everyone,
I've been ambien and ativan free for 9 months and all has gone well for the most part up until now. This past Saturday, (2/1/14), I've been only getting 2-3 hours of sleep per night with much frustration. The month of January was great for me as far as sleep goes. (6 hours per night/5 nights per week give or take). Taking 5 mg of melatonin and practicing good sleep hygiene. I'm looking for feedback especially from @Rich D who started the post: Have you experienced anything like this? How are you sleeping now? Any recommendations to help get me back to where I was in January?

 

[Sushi]

Hi everyone,
I've been ambien and ativan free for 9 months and all has gone well for the most part up until now. This past Saturday, (2/1/14), I've been only getting 2-3 hours of sleep per night with much frustration. The month of January was great for me as far as sleep goes. (6 hours per night/5 nights per week give or take). Taking 5 mg of melatonin and practicing god sleep hygiene. I'm looking for feedback especially from Rich D who started the post: Have you experienced anything like this? How are you sleeping now? Any recommendations to help get me back to where I was in January?

Here is how to tag him: @Rich D

 

[Naquis]

Here is how to tag him: @Rich D

Thanks

 

[Rich D]

Hi Naquis,

I am still very happy I quit the Ambien, it has now been several months. But I have many periods of time where my sleep is still quite poor. I've definitely had a night here and there of just a few hours of good sleep. Those nights are quite frustrating. But overall, I find that about 50% of the time, I can get a pretty good night's sleep, probably 30% of the time it is not so great (maybe 6 hours of solid sleep), and 20% of the time it is kind of bad (up and down all night, with some good sleep in between). I only take 5mg melatonin before bed each night.

From my perspective, you just have to accept the fact that you will not get consistent normal sleep with the disease we have. When I have the bad nights, I do my best to accept it and not get caught up in trying to figure out how to make it stop. It still sucks, but there's no sense in fighting it. Anyway, that's how I deal with it. Hope this helps!

Rich

 

[heapsreal]

Hi Naquis,

I am still very happy I quit the Ambien, it has now been several months. But I have many periods of time where my sleep is still quite poor. I've definitely had a night here and there of just a few hours of good sleep. Those nights are quite frustrating. But overall, I find that about 50% of the time, I can get a pretty good night's sleep, probably 30% of the time it is not so great (maybe 6 hours of solid sleep), and 20% of the time it is kind of bad (up and down all night, with some good sleep in between). I only take 5mg melatonin before bed each night.

From my perspective, you just have to accept the fact that you will not get consistent normal sleep with the disease we have. When I have the bad nights, I do my best to accept it and not get caught up in trying to figure out how to make it stop. It still sucks, but there's no sense in fighting it. Anyway, that's how I deal with it. Hope this helps!

Rich

Do u think your sleep is just as bad now as before u used sleep meds?

 

[physicsstudent13]

that's really interesting, I feel much better with klonopin and ambien and the asv, I feel like I need it to get normal sleep maybe because of my seizure like disorder PLMD and central apneas. I haven't been able to sleep normally for about 5 years and can't exhale with asthma. does the desert climate help sleep apnea, asthma? I was thinking of visiting mexico because my sleep apnea is so crippling

 

[maryb]

Supplements definitely affect sleep too. I usually go straight off after taking half a Zopiclone (a Z drug similar to Ambien)
Yesterday I started on a B complex and I couldn't sleep - at 1am after tossing and turning for 2 1/2hrs I finally took an A/histamine and another half a Zop and went off for 6hrs straight.

B vits are well known for causing insomnia - but I wasn't expecting an immediate reaction.

 

[Naquis]

Hi Naquis,

I am still very happy I quit the Ambien, it has now been several months. But I have many periods of time where my sleep is still quite poor. I've definitely had a night here and there of just a few hours of good sleep. Those nights are quite frustrating. But overall, I find that about 50% of the time, I can get a pretty good night's sleep, probably 30% of the time it is not so great (maybe 6 hours of solid sleep), and 20% of the time it is kind of bad (up and down all night, with some good sleep in between). I only take 5mg melatonin before bed each night.

From my perspective, you just have to accept the fact that you will not get consistent normal sleep with the disease we have. When I have the bad nights, I do my best to accept it and not get caught up in trying to figure out how to make it stop. It still sucks, but there's no sense in fighting it. Anyway, that's how I deal with it. Hope this helps!

Rich

HI Rich,

Thanks for replying. I too am still very happy that I've come this far with quitting Ambien. Today is my 9 month mark quitting Ambien and Ativan all together. It's seems to me now that I'm in a "rebound" like situation and have been for a week and a half with last night being the first night I got about 6+ hours of sleep without over the counter meds (Benedryl). Do you think that this is as good as it's going to get for us as far as sleep goes? You think this could be a multiple year recovery? I never had problems sleeping before Ambien. I use to fall asleep with heavy metal on my headphones! I was prescribed it for anxiety keeping me awake during college. Not sure what your sleep situation was like before Ambien. I look forward to hearing what you think or have heard. Also, I see that you take 5mg of melatonin as well. Not sure if that's all your doing but I can share what's working for me with anyone that's interested:

• 5mg of melatonin 20-30 minutes before bed.
• No TV or computer 1 hour before bed. If TV, lower backlight of TV to 0.
• Read until you feel comfortable with trying to sleep
• Meditation MP3 playlist that continues throughout night which I will provide links for
• Not to get too personal but masturbation has really proven quite effective for relaxing right before bed.

http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/I Can Make You Sleep/8109646
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Resolving-Insomnia-Tonight-innervision-Wellness/dp/B002L64HE6
http://www.brainsync.com/sound-sleep.html

 

[Rich D]

In response to heapsreal, that should be easy to answer, but so many things change it's hard to say. I think it's probably not much different than before I tried the sleep meds. So more or less I've come to the conclusion that I just need to do the best I can and not get stressed about it too much. The meds are not a good long term solution, at least for myself.

Naquis, I think for me, the situation is what it is, I don't expect it to get better unless or until there are actual treatments for CFS. And, many normal people have bouts of insomnia, particularly if they have changes going on in their lives, which I frequently do. So a week or two of bad sleep I just consider par for the course without making any conclusions about what it means for the future, or whether it is because of the prior use of Ambien.

 

[Naquis]

In response to heapsreal, that should be easy to answer, but so many things change it's hard to say. I think it's probably not much different than before I tried the sleep meds. So more or less I've come to the conclusion that I just need to do the best I can and not get stressed about it too much. The meds are not a good long term solution, at least for myself.

Naquis, I think for me, the situation is what it is, I don't expect it to get better unless or until there are actual treatments for CFS. And, many normal people have bouts of insomnia, particularly if they have changes going on in their lives, which I frequently do. So a week or two of bad sleep I just consider par for the course without making any conclusions about what it means for the future, or whether it is because of the prior use of Ambien.

I really appreciate your feedback. I guess a couple of weeks compared to a couple of months is not something I should really be worrying about yet. I ran a search on "CFS" to see what it was and I'm no doctor and I don't really know what your situation is but have you ever talked to your doctor about taking stimulants? I don't have CFS but I was prescribed Adderall for depression/negative thinking patterns which didn't help my motivation and it worked wonders. If you take it before noon, it'll wear off by the time you have to go to bed. It may even actually get you in a daily routine of being alert during the morning hours and make you want to be active which will make you tired toward the end of the day. When I was sleeping, 10mg of Adderall IR before noon everyday was no problem at night. I think it actually may have helped my routine. Again, I'm no doctor and I don't know what you've tried or what your feelings about stimulants are, but a low dose of something like it in the morning may help get you going.

 

[Sushi]

@Naquis @Rich D

I quite ambien about 7 months ago. I had taken it for many years. I don't think that my sleep now is any worse than before taking ambien. I find that supplements with California poppy help me a lot now.

Sushi

 

[Naquis]

@Sushi

How was your sleep before Ambien? Obviously you were having some kind of issue for being prescribed Ambien but would you have classified yourself as an insomniac beforehand or was it just a period of your life where you were having issues with sleep?

 

[Sushi]

@Sushi

How was your sleep before Ambien? Obviously you were having some kind of issue for being prescribed Ambien but would you have classified yourself as an insomniac beforehand or was it just a period of your life where you were having issues with sleep?

I had been a real insomniac for many years. Ambien really worked for me, so in that way it gave huge relief. But then became concerned with some of the issues of long-term use of ambien. Now I take a ton of herbals and usually manage a decent night's sleep.

Sushi

 

[Rich D]

I really appreciate your feedback. I guess a couple of weeks compared to a couple of months is not something I should really be worrying about yet. I ran a search on "CFS" to see what it was and I'm no doctor and I don't really know what your situation is but have you ever talked to your doctor about taking stimulants? I don't have CFS but I was prescribed Adderall for depression/negative thinking patterns which didn't help my motivation and it worked wonders. If you take it before noon, it'll wear off by the time you have to go to bed. It may even actually get you in a daily routine of being alert during the morning hours and make you want to be active which will make you tired toward the end of the day. When I was sleeping, 10mg of Adderall IR before noon everyday was no problem at night. I think it actually may have helped my routine. Again, I'm no doctor and I don't know what you've tried or what your feelings about stimulants are, but a low dose of something like it in the morning may help get you going.

I did think about taking a stimulant, a couple of my doctors recommended it. But I'm hesitant to do it, I just don't feel like it's right for me. But I will continue to ponder it, thanks for discussing your experience.

 

[Naquis]

I had been a real insomniac for many years. Ambien really worked for me, so in that way it gave huge relief. But then became concerned with some of the issues of long-term use of ambien. Now I take a ton of herbals and usually manage a decent night's sleep.

Sushi

Would you mind posting a list of what you take?

 

[Sushi]

Would you mind posting a list of what you take?

Hi,

I didn't list them before because many products are just available in one country. I am in the US, so these are mostly US formulas: Deep Sleep, Kavinace, then some generics--melatonin, GABA, 5 HTP, extra California Poppy if necessary (it is in Deep Sleep). I dose as needed but I need to be hit over the head with a hammer full of herbals to get to sleep!

Sushi

 

[heapsreal]

I did think about taking a stimulant, a couple of my doctors recommended it. But I'm hesitant to do it, I just don't feel like it's right for me. But I will continue to ponder it, thanks for discussing your experience.

for what its worth, i have found low doses of modafinil very effective, not hyping me up like one would think but just turning my brain on and helping with cognitive things etc.

I take 12.5mg, the normal dose is 100-200mg. I have 200mg pills which i cut into 1/4 and then crush them and try to seperate in half evenly so now they are an 1/8th of a pill which is 12.5mg and i recap them. When i used the higher doses they just kept me awake all night. Info on modafinil states it doesnt affect sleep, well it does lol. but using the very low dose i have found it doesnt affect sleep but does give me enough of a cognitive lift to help me function. Also there are plenty of places on line that sell this stuff too.

cheers!!