Anyone take Ambien to sleep?

[Antonia]

My DH worked third shift for 7 years and has now been on 1st shift for a year and a half. But he has been an insomniac ever since. Goes to bed like normal - but wakes up over and over. It is killing us both. So this week the doctor prescribed him some Ambien. The first night he took 10 mg as prescribed and actually slept well. I ran into the doctor and he asked how it worked. I said great! and he said he could try breaking in them in half and only take 5 mg, but when he did that the next night he woke up several times again. So tonight we're going back to 10mg. He's only been on this 2 nights. Anyone else take Ambien and how did it work for you? Do you take 5 or 10?

 

[CLynnJones]

No I don't take Ambien. I also have insomnia very bad and have been taking Benadryl for it for years w/ success. Hopefully this will bump you up so you can get some answers re Ambien. Good luck!! I know how hard it is....

 

[anewvance]

I just take tylenol pm and works well for me. When I was in the hospital for preterm labor, they would give me ambien to help me sleep. And it worked GREAT. But they would keep coming into my room having me go to the potty and having to go onto the monitor and move around all night! So it was basically pointless.

 

[LBAK]

I take Ambiem when my rheumatoid arthritis is really bad and I love it. I get a solid 6-7 hrs of sleep. Then I taper off to 5mg and then I take Tylenol PM after that.

 

[hydster]

I took Ambien for over 2 years. It seemed that after about 2 weeks I wouldn't sleep very good for a few nights so I'd stop taking it for a night or 2 and then start again. I never had good luck splitting them in half either. I finally knew I needed to get off of them and when I did the research they likened it to a heroine addict trying to get clean. It was pure hell. I wouldn't ever go back on something like that again and this is from the worst insomniac ever. I now take melatonin, benadryl and potassium. Most of the time I sleep very well but every now and then I don't sleep very good.

If I had 1 piece of advice it would be for your husband to only take it for maybe a week and then get off it for a week. It is a hypnotic and very addicting if taken long enough. My mother has been on it for at least 3 years every night. Some nights she has to take 2 10 mg and others she can take a 1/2. She has tried several times to get off it and cannot. When I tried and finally succeeded I had the cold sweats, very emotional, sick to my stomach and felt generally like crap for about 4 nights. It finally did get easier but ugh that first week was torture.

 

[aprilgail2]

My mom has been on them for 2-3 years now...she sometimes takes a half and other times a whole, depending on how it worked the night before. She is addicted to them and the Dr says that its better she is addicted to them than having the stress of not sleeping. She has a heart condition and its not good for her not to sleep.

 

[arminnie]

I take Ambien when I travel overseas, and it has been a lifesaver. Before I found out about it, I was traveling to London and Sydney on business a lot. I could NOT adjust my sleep patterns, and I was falling asleep at work the next day.

Because of some other circumstances I took Ambien for six months last year. I had absolutely no problems in stopping it. In fact I didn't even plan to stop I just forgot to take it with me on a trip (same time zone) for 10 days. It took a little longer to go to sleep, but I had no "withdrawal" symptoms or anything like that.

There is a new Ambien out that is time released that should help those who wake up during the night. My trouble was going to sleep - I was wearing a dental mouthpiece that kept me from falling asleep.

 

[Marseeya]

I went on it once and the first night I took it, I had hallucinations! I'll never forget it. I kept seeing this cemetery full of headstones right in front of me, and it was so creepy.

After that, I did okay on it.

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

I take it a couple times a week (for about two years now) ... no problems at all. Withdrawal systoms??? Never heard of that! Scary!

 

[GJM]

My DH had trouble sleeping at night and someone on hear mentioned Melatoin, he has worked great for him. I got it in GNC, he takes the 2 l/2 or 3 mg. and if he does wake up at night he will take the 1 mg.

 

[ilovepcot]

Doctor prescribed Ambien 10 mg. for me and it did nothing! He couldn't believe it...said he'd had rave reviews from other patients. My dad, however, takes 5 mg. and gets a solid 5 hours of sleep...never any more or less. He says he awakens very suddenly and is never able to return to sleep, even though it's still dark outside. Different bodies, different chemistries, different results.

 

[Ronda93]

I use it when traveling. It's not meant to be used for more than seven consecutive days. That said, it knocks me out. 10mg will put me down for a good eight hours. Sometimes I split them - still effective.

I've read about the hallucinations, never had a problem. I would not take it for more than a week. The effect diminishes and you either take more to fall asleep or can't sleep without it.

Depending on your insurance, it can be an expensive habit, too. Cash price for 30 runs $90-120.

Watch your spam.... it gets lumped in the pharmacy spam with Xanax and Viagra. Sure sign of potential abuse.

 

[goofy4tink]

The nector of the gods in my opinion!! I've been on Ambien for over 3 years now. I did start taking a 10mg tablet every other night, but found I could just take 1/2. So, on the nights I don't take it at all, I take a Tylenol PM. I have a huge issue with dh's snoring...he could wake the dead. My doctor feels that the huge lack of sleep I have without the Ambien is worse than any possible addiction I might have. And I have been able to go as long as 5 nights with just the Tylenol PM....but my dh isn't sleeping next to me then...he's traveling someplace. So the addictive qualities don't seem to be an issue for me.

 

[Blondie]

I asked for it at a doctor's appt. last year because I've always had trouble sleeping since I can remember.

Ambien seems to be the sleep-aid of choice and when I asked for it, he flat out told me no, that it was highly addictive and that it's not good to get in the habit of taking sleeping pills to help me fall asleep. So no Ambien for me!

What cracks me up is he has no problem giving me other equally addictive meds in another classification. I guess I shouldn't complain, the DEA has so many doctors running scared to prescribe anything these days that falls under a Schedule II or III.

 

[aprilgail2]

Depending on your insurance, it can be an expensive habit, too. Cash price for 30 runs $90-120.

.

I would pay 81.00 for a 30 day supply at our drug store...but with my moms insurance its only a 10.00 co-payment.

 

[KarenAylwood]

My DH had trouble sleeping at night and someone on hear mentioned Melatoin, he has worked great for him. I got it in GNC, he takes the 2 l/2 or 3 mg. and if he does wake up at night he will take the 1 mg.

I was an insomniac for years, doctor tried everything and I hated all the drugs. They'd make me fall asleep but I'd wake up hungover or I'd get addicted. I tried melatonin (not re: my doctor b/c it's cheap as all heck and doesn't require me going to a doctor to get it ) and it's worked wonderfully. There's 3mg, 3mg timed release (better for those who tend to wake up in the middle of the night, I take regular 3mg b/c I just need to FALL asleep), and 1mg cherry flavored that you put under your tongue and let it dissolve.

I take the 3mg at bedtime and I'll take a 1mg if I am really stressed and wake up in the middle of the night.

It's a natural hormone secreted by your body so it is metabolized naturally and you won't get addicted. It's also incredibly cheap. I buy mine at GNC as well.

 

[WonderfulDreamer2]

Whatever you do, DO NOT take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night No questions please

 

[KarenAylwood]

Whatever you do, DO NOT take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night No questions please

 

[liamsaunt]

My MIL has been taking ambien every night for the past four-five years. My DH and I worry about her. She stays up late because that is my FIL's schedule (retired), and then takes the ambien to fall asleep quickly since she still works. She actually took a week off from work to try and wean herself from it, but she could not.

Her doctor recently switched her over to the time-released ambien and she felt really groggy even during the day. She told us she was going back to the other ambien. I don't know--she is older, so maybe it is worth the trade off--sleep vs. addiction isues. It is expensive also, I think she pays $3/pill on her insurance.

 

[ElizaB39]

I am not an insomniac, but have had trouble falling asleep on occasion. When that happens, I wait until I am sleeping restlessly before I will take anything over the counter. Then when I am ready to "restart" my body for a good night's sleep I take one Simply Sleep (by tylenol?) and read for 1/2 hour then I get a good 7 or so hours in a row. I have done this a few times and it has worked great for me.