night_shade
Threadhead
Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 907
Loc: The State of Hockey
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I've seen numerous people suggest Ambien as a sleep aid for use during withdrawal.
My experience using Ambien during a cold-turkey withdrawal from 30mgs/day of methadone (I couldn't afford financially to pick up my prescription) was absolutely horrifying. The "sleep" I got was like a dying fish out of water--thrashing around, sweating profusely and never quite getting to sleep. It was more like the near-sleep phase when you are probably technically asleep yet you still retain some awareness of the things going on around you.
Basically, I felt so horrible after trying Ambien for 2 nights during withdrawal that I never wanted to be near the stuff again. I do not know what dose they were (as this was about a year ago) but they were quite small, oval white tablets. I want to say maybe they were 10mgs each and I took 2 of them. A neighbor gave me them, I did not have a prescription.
I was able to get some Trazadone after the first 2 nights and 100mgs put me straight to sleep for a full night. Fortunately, I only had to go 4 days without the methadone and by that point, I was VERY, VERY ill with withdrawal.
Has anyone else had this experience with Ambien during withdrawal from opioids?
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Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.
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tone
Veteran
Reged: 06/29/03
Posts: 554
Loc: Chicago
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you cant blame ambien for 30 mg a day methadone withdrawl can ya?
i do know that ambien is either a super powerful drug like 15 xanax, or a mild drug depending on the person
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kimbuka
Enthusiast
Reged: 12/14/03
Posts: 219
Loc: Midwest
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I used Ambien for 3 years, and it was the best three years of sleep ever.
I honestly think that the ambien had nothing to do with feeling horrible. Methadone is a very powerful med as where ambien is a very good sleep aide...it acts fast. It is fast to enter your system and fast to leave your system...therefore never feeling that you had even taken a sleep aid the night before.
JMO, it couldn't have been ambien...chances are the ambien wasn't even strong enough to overcome the Meth w/d.
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night_shade
Threadhead
Reged: 08/26/03
Posts: 907
Loc: The State of Hockey
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Don't get me wrong, I wasn't necessarily blaming Ambien for the weird sleep I had those 2 nights. That's why I was asking for others' experiences.
Trazadone overcame the withdrawal without a problem and days 3 and 4 of methadone withdrawal are worse than days 1 and 2.
Maybe Ambien just wasn't "strong" enough to get me to sleep considering the withdrawal? How much does a normal person use of Ambien for regular insomnia?
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Never underestimate the predictability of stupidity.
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yawkaw3
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/22/03
Posts: 1193
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Quote:
Maybe Ambien just wasn't "strong" enough to get me to sleep considering the withdrawal? How much does a normal person use of Ambien for regular insomnia?
I find nothing is really strong enough to get me to sleep during withdrawal, but my evil twin finds that a fistful of benzos will get him a few hours.
I've posted about this before, I don't really like Ambien. I find that it doesn't put me to sleep- I just get really disoriented, withdrawal or not. It's a very easy drug to fight without trying, for me at least.
Btw, usually adult dose of Ambien is 5 or 10 mg.
-yawkaw
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mermaid72000
Member
Reged: 01/19/04
Posts: 125
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my husband took ambien for 1 night an saw ugly dancing ladies dancing on the ceiling for real. they say to take ambiem for 7-10 days on their drug commercials. i have used it before but there is something about ambien that freaks me out.
take care all
carol
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AvpdMatt
Journeyman
Reged: 11/10/03
Posts: 63
Loc: stress land
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Nightshade,
Just incase it happens again,
Stock up on a few xanex and vallium as a backup, Compared to Ambien they are far supierier for sleep, and if one or two don't do anything, up it untill they do, your guarenteed to sleep then(just go a bit easy though),
Hope your feel better now....................Matty.
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kalina919
Journeyman
Reged: 02/12/04
Posts: 58
Loc: Southeast US
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I gave Ambien several tries and got no benefit from it at all. What sleep I was able to get was constantly interrupted by nightmares, which I have no history of. I wasn't using it for withdrawal, just insomnia.
Trazodone works really well for me at 50mg, sometimes just 1/2 if I'm really tired and relaxed.
It's so true that everone's reaction to a particular medication is as different as the individual taking it.
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trex
Journeyman
Reged: 01/04/04
Posts: 70
Loc: Australia
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For my needs I can't believe Ambien is even classed as a sedative/sleepaid! I only find it useful when rotating sleep meds(mostly bezo's or barb's) and want a rest I find it can work when there are still some of the others still in your system!!
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prettyday
Threadhead
Reged: 02/09/03
Posts: 965
Loc: Coastal Sage Scrub
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Ambien has worked really well for me; because I expect no more than 5 hours sleep out of any aid...eeeeek!!!
I have done without because the pharmacists were always warning me about ammnesia.....
hello....I go five nights without sleep and it is not pretty...I am sure I would go more but I start being so scared to face the monster within, that I head for a dr...ORRRRRRRRR...I go get some generic Benedryl...works...weakly...and I feel literally bruised the next day, but who knows, that could be just my body saying, "Idiot! Did you have to wait FIVE nights? Take this!?!"
So, who knows?
I sure wish you the best peaceful safe-feeling sleep for you and yours you can achieve...
Much fondness,
PD
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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
- Mahatma Gandhi
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SandyFeet
Stranger
Reged: 03/20/04
Posts: 24
Loc: The land of mint juleps, honys...
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I am an insomniac, so I have used Ambien in the past. It knocked me right out....had a great night's sleep.
I have never had a perscription (I take benzos). It was a generous friend who gave me a few of her rather expensive Ambien because she had mercy on me in my time of need. 
Everyone is different, and I have a low tolerance.
I hope I haven't strayed to far off topic here. I wish I could offer more help on the withdrawal issue....but maybe I helped a fellow insomniac.
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"When you can't change the direction of the wind--adjust your sails."
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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I have had nothing but postive experiences with Ambien. Restoril (a benzo) gives me terrible headaches upon waking. Guess it just depends.......
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surfer1
Journeyman
Reged: 06/22/02
Posts: 99
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i too have trouble falling asleep....for most of my life,it started in my teens.having an extreme alcoholic father and a neurotic mother who fought all the time, often into the early morning hours probably set a pattern.ambien doesn't even make a dent....even with valium i still have a restless mind and can take up to 3 hrs to fall asleep.i decided to give xanax a try and ive been sleeping well for the past 2 years...i boost it with atarax 50mg...atarax is an antihistamine.supposedly benzos lose their effectiveness after a few weeks but xanax still does the trick.i dont notice any side effects from it.i make sure i have a back-up supply in case any orders go missing.also i have never taken it except 1 hr before bedtime,it takes 45 mins to an hr to kick in.as a side note i find that 100mg of atarax is actually an effective sleep aid...rec dosage for adult anxiety using atarax is 400mg so im not even close to abusing it.if i have to come off xanax then that is a totally different thing but with klonopin and valium used properly then it wil be manageable.im awareof the need to taper off properly.hope this helps.
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surfer1
Journeyman
Reged: 06/22/02
Posts: 99
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i left out the dosage..i started with 3mg but after a few weeks i decided to try 2mg and thats what i take now.i could probably up the atarax to 75mg and drop to 1.5mg xanax..havent tried it yet but im sure it will work.1.5 xanax is not that bad....most people run into problems at 4mg and above.by the way atarax has very few side effects and may actually be good for some people.
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surfer1
Journeyman
Reged: 06/22/02
Posts: 99
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you seem like a very nice person...please do not go 5 nites without sleep..sleep deprivation can add up over time and cause all kinds of problems.yes iam probably addicted to xanax but i choose the addiction over all the negative effects of bad insomnia.i may have to detox someday but until then my workday is good and i have lots of energy...all personal choice of course.
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DAdrian
Newbie
Reged: 11/05/03
Posts: 36
Loc: California
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I have had 3-4 years of insomnia due to neck pain - (I had a herniated disc at C5-6 and avoided surgery because I was really afraid it wouldn't work. Had the surgery 1/02, but my sleep pattern is still completely messed up.) The best I could get before was 2-3 hours of tossing and turning. My PCP prescribed Ambien and it literally gave me my life back. I take one 10 mg just as I get into bed and have around 7 hours of wonderful deep sleep, and wake up clear as a bell.
However, I have friends who have had amnesia and nightmares. Trazozodone, on the other hand, literally gives me hallucinations. I'm going to try a sleep clinic and see how that goes. If not, my PCP doesn't have a problem putting me on it forever...
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Devon :-)
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Butterfliez
Newbie
Reged: 02/25/04
Posts: 38
Loc: Somewhere, USA
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I have tried Ambien twice in the past and both times were the nights of hydro withdrawal. I have to say it was like a miracle pill! I get the usual insomnia and restless legs with hydro withdrawal and I tried one ambien a night and have exactly 7 hours of uninterrupted deep sleep!! I don't get that even on hydro due to my bad back. I woke up with so much energy. Like I just had the best sleep in my life and have no drowsy side effects like all the other sleep aids Ive tried. I have to say I am sad that others aren't able to get the relief I got from it.
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~ Kat ~
>^..^
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