BlackCat
Old Hand
Reged: 09/22/03
Posts: 410
Loc: Highway to Heaven
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I have insomnia and take Sonata (10-20mgs) a few nights a week when it is really bad.
I was just wondering if anyone has enough knowledge and/or experience to compare the effects of AMBIEN to SONATA since I was thinking of switching to Ambien to see if it is any stronger or works any better than Sonata. Also, if I do switch between the two, what are the equivalent doses?
I believe both drugs are "hypnotic" class sleep aids and are promoted as "hangover-free" sleep aids since they pass through you so fast. Are they so similar that it isn't worth it for me to switch from one to the other?
Thanks in advance for any help!
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Fiver
Member
Reged: 10/02/03
Posts: 104
Loc: Michigan
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I've used both and I prefer Ambien. Sonata has a very short half-life, two hours compared to six for Ambien, so you're less likely to wake up in the middle of the night and stare at the ceiling until the alarm goes off. I forget what dose Sonata comes in but there's only one available, whereas Ambien comes in 5 and 10mgs. 10mgs Ambien is equivalent to one Sonata. Both are very expensive, too, unless you have insurance.
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mdve
Stranger
Reged: 02/05/03
Posts: 19
Loc: TX
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I've struggled with insomnia all my life.
Ambien is the ONLY thing I've ever found that will give me a full night's sleep with no "druggy" hangover the next day.
Yes, it is expensive, but you get what you pay for.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
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zeuzjuz
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/16/01
Posts: 1155
Loc: the milky way
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I haven't tried Sonata - but Ambien is very frustrating to me.... I have only had it prescribed once - almost a year ago - and still have some of the same prescription. I don't use it on a regular basis by any means, but I have extreme insomnia. One of the reasons I don't use it on a regular basis is because it only seems to work 10% of the times I take it , with me - and the other is that I also take daily benzodiazepines so I don't really like to mix them at night - although I know it's not really contra-indicated, I don't wanna over-do anything if not necessary....
I do know about the 'rules' of using Ambien - don't take within an hour before or after a meal or it will be mostly wasted (I think it is very fragile in the absorbtion department, but I could be guessing here) - Also I know to take it only right before bed - maximum 30mins-1 hour before hitting the sack or it will also be mostly wasted. Anyway - it's weird - I also take Klonopin during the day for panic disorder/anxiety - but I was not able to use the Klonopin at night really - because it made me sleep too long/miss my alarm clock/etc.... So I first tried Ambien. I swear it only works 1/10 times.... The other 9 times out of 10 it seems to do nothing. I don't take it close to eating time, or close to a dose of Klonopin, and I don't really take any other meds that late at night (I'm usually up till 1am at least so that's about when I take the Ambien) - Occasionally I will use it and go to bed and sleep comes very easily. Most of the time I still lie in bed kicking and turning until I get frustrated, get up, and break off a tiny dose of the Klonopin or take a Xanax (which I try to not do very often due to experiencing w/d from it and now being deathly afraid of it) - But either one of these methods will knock me out and I will sleep like a baby all night - whereas Ambien seems to barely make me sleepy. Maybe it's just my body chemistry??
I hear so many people talk of the 'miracle' properties of Ambien, and how it is the only thing that has ever given them proper sleep patterns, etc, and I feel left out cuz it just doesn't do this for me. Does anyone know if it is cross-tolerant with benzo's?? I know it is NOT a benzo really, but it works on some of the same receptors, and is closely chemically related to the benzo's. Some sites I have seen, have research stating that Ambien actually IS a benzo, although kind of differently structured than the others - more like a benzo 'cousin'..... Since I have a benzo tolerance due to Klonopin and Xanax, I wonder if this is why Ambien doesn't work for me? It would be very interesting to know if Ambien, although only a 'sort-of benzo', is cross tolerant with regular benzo's? Hmmmm... Somethng to research today!! I don't have to work today and finished Christmas shopping last night so I think I will sit on the PC and do research all day.... Although I need to completely fix the house, the yard, the dog, my car, and basically the whole rest of my life is in limbo - I still think I would feel better spending the day on the 'puter..... 
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//zeuzjuz
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Fiver
Member
Reged: 10/02/03
Posts: 104
Loc: Michigan
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Good questions. Let me give you the benefit of my experiences with benzos and Ambien (and I do NOT endorse this for anyone, nor will I ever do it again. You have been warned.)
I had to wean off of Xanax back in 1986, around 10 to 15 mgs a day and I tapered in a hospital. About seven years ago I began seeing a psychiatrist who prescribed Ativan (1mg 5x a day) and 10mgs Ambien. I did fine with taking one Ambien for a couple of years and then my tolerance grew to needing two of them. It seemed like each year I needed a couple more Ambien to knock me out until I got up to 80mgs a night, still with the 5mgs of Ativan. My tolerance to Ativan never grew, oddly enough. But now Ambien does absolutely nothing for me and frankly, I'm grieving that fact because I loved how it knocked me out at night.
I don't think it had anything to do with my benzo intake, though, because I would think that I'd have developed a tolerance to them as well as the Ambien. Food for thought, though, I guess.
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BlackCat
Old Hand
Reged: 09/22/03
Posts: 410
Loc: Highway to Heaven
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Fiver,
Thanks for the info on the different half lives of the meds! I often find myself waking up at 4am after going to sleep at midnight when taking 20mg Sonata. I usually take a Xanax and some Hydro, eat some cereal, watch TV for an hour (Girls Gone Wild infomercials seem to be on most channels at this hour), then go back to try for some more sleep which doesn't always work. Maybe this early waking is due to the shorter half life of Sonata and I would sleep longer with Ambien??
I'm going to get an Ambien script when I see my doctor in a few weeks and try them instead of the Sonata. Thanks again!
By the way, I looked on the web and see that both Sonata and Ambien come in 5mg and 10mg doses. (Capsules for Sonata and tablets for Ambien). Since I have been taking 2 10mg Sonatas, I guess I will try taking 2 10mg Ambiens as the equivalent.
Does anyone know if the dosing levels are the same for the two drugs? (10mg Sonata = 10mg Ambien) ?
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dsmmcm
Board Addict
Reged: 11/08/03
Posts: 394
Loc: southwest US
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I would try 10 mg first. I have been on and off Amiben (mostly on) for about eight years. 10 mg nearly always works. Sometimes I need 15 mg. Rarely, 20. Ambien will not hit you like sonata-- it takes longer to work, but for me has always worked well, and I have not built up a tolerance.
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summer
Veteran
Reged: 05/21/02
Posts: 563
Loc: East Coast
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Hi!
I too suffer some really nasty insomnia, I started taking Sonata but only slept for about 3 or 4 hours a night, which was better than nothing but not what I needed to function. I switched to Ambien(take it on an empty tummy)
and I sleep like a baby now all night long. I feel like a "normal" person again. IMHO Ambien is definately the way to go.
Summer
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DAdrian
Newbie
Reged: 11/05/03
Posts: 36
Loc: California
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I've been taking Ambien for about 3 years solid. Started at 5 mg, but was allowed on the Rx to take up to 2. The 5 didn't work well, but the 10 mg basically gave me my life back. Out like a light for 7 hours (even when I have some pretty significant pain) and no grogginess. There were a few unpleasant episodes of amnesia (once I actually drove to a friend's house and back) where I looked fine but was operating on some kind of weird auto-pilot. After that, made it a RULE not to take until physically in bed.
I'd question too if there aren't some cross-tolerance issues because since I injured my back a year ago and have been on Soma, it seems like the Ambien has slowly been losing effectiveness. Now it works about 5 hours. However, when I asked my MD about Sonata, he said it's short acting (3-4 hours at most), then tried to switch me to Trazodone. Anyone know if that works?
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Devon :-)
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dsmmcm
Board Addict
Reged: 11/08/03
Posts: 394
Loc: southwest US
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In my experience, trazodone is completely useless. Not even remotely comparable to ambien. Trazodone is an old antidepressant which has sedating properties, but it is not in the same league as ambien.
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Fiver
Member
Reged: 10/02/03
Posts: 104
Loc: Michigan
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I agree that trazadone is basically useless. I took it around fifteen years ago (as Desyrel) for depression and it didn't work for that, either. Recently my doc gave me trazadone again for sleep and it made me feel absolutely awful. I felt drugged in a most unpleasant way, sort of like my head was in one room and my body was in another, and everything echoed. I felt like that, fully awake, until the stupid Best if kept off the board finally wore off. Trazadone is one of those drugs where if it works for you, more power to you, but chances are better that it's just going to make you feel crummy.
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2muchpain
Enthusiast
Reged: 10/07/03
Posts: 274
Loc: USA
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I have to put my 2 cents in, too. I don't know why so many doctors think trazadone is some kind of wonder drug, but they sure love to prescribe it for sleep. It made me feel absolutely terrible. I would rather have insomnia any day of the week than take that stuff. It went right down the toilet and I called the doctor and tore him a new one! I was so hungover, I couldn't function all day. Now THERE'S a drug that should be banned! 
Ambien has worked best for me. It is expensive but worth it.
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junebug101
Journeyman
Reged: 03/27/03
Posts: 69
Loc: NY
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Totally agree; trazadone makes me feel like I have a horrible hangover. Can't believe that was prescribed for depression at one point. Turns me into a zombie!
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Kid Free and Loving It!
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Reel_X_4U
Enthusiast
Reged: 04/24/03
Posts: 255
Loc: Queens, New York City
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I've tried both (what haven't I tried!!), I think you'll find that the Ambien 10mg is the stronger med for sleep. Sonata will help you sleep, but it's too short-acting (at least it was for me), and Ambien is great sleeping-pill, but what causes grief about the med is that the price, even with insurance, it can be "REELLY" expensive and in this case shopping around (we're both from the same place, we know the ratio of pharmacies per block) won't make much of a difference because the price is set. That's why I opt for a benzo from my doctor, when she "Down with it" (U know here in N.Y., it requires a triplicate script, and doctors hate having to prescribed something on triplicate, when they can't justify it, afterall she's only a GP not psychiatrist) with insurance 90ct "Valiums" 10mg only costs me $10.00, 30ct Ambien 10mg, $40.00. But definitely if you wanna stay away from the benzos, then Ambien the way to go. Some of the muscle relaxants like Flexeril, Soma, and Robaxin are cheaper alternatives and quite effective.
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Some men see things as they are and say "WHY"!!
Some men see things as they are and say "WHY"!!
I've dreamt of things that never were, and say "WHY NOT"!!
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Sweetz
Diamond Mind
Reged: 05/11/02
Posts: 767
Loc: Texas!
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I personally have horrible amnesia with ambien. I will get up and walk around and do things around the house and not remember it. I've had complete conversations with people on the phone and in person and not remembered one bit of it. Even though I take it and then go to bed immediately, I still wander about the house and do stuff. It's really different for each person. You'll just have to try it and see how you react. I had a dopey neuro that wouldn't prescribe me fioricet with codeine because he said it was dangerous, but would give me 60 ambien a month. Now, that was dangerous. You're not supposed to take it every night. I personally stick to the OTC things (not benadryl) although I have to take more than it says to, I sleep well and stay asleep. good luck with whatever you decide.
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"If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice."
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badass12
Stranger
Reged: 01/26/03
Posts: 24
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Neither one works for me.It takes alot to put me
out.Xanax and Halcion work most of the time.
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