Ambien direct taper: does it get better at the end

[[ro...]]

Hi you all, 

Here is a little bit of my backstory: 

I started an anticonception back in december. A few days after i got horrible heart palps and a really really fast heart rate (normally my rsr was 70 now it was 120). My doc gave me propranolol and it worked for calming my heart. However, i think this caused major insomnia. For 2 weeks, i would get an average sleep of 2-3 hrs per night. So i began taking zolpidem nightly. This worked well for i think a little over 2 months. I built tolerence pretty fast and now i also take mirtazipine (6 weeks). However, this doensn't really work for sleep. In april, I used 10 mg zolpidem (ambien) and 15 mg mirtazipine. 

At the end of april, I decided it was enough. I'm a member of a pretty useful dutch facebook forum about tapering your benzo's\z drugs. So I'm currently tapering 10% per 2 weeks. Sometimes, if I get a couple nights of okay sleep, my heart issues seem to be non existent (there is nothing wrong with my heart btw, this is confirmed by several tests). My main issue is insomnia. Most nights, i get 4hrs of broken sleep. If i'm lucky, maybe 5 hrs and sometimes 6. 

I just need some encourgement that things will get better if it ends. Did people succesfully taper zolpidem? Do you maybe started to see some improvement in sleeping while you got on a lower dose? i would love to read this kind of stories since they give me hope. 

 

[[La...]]

Hi Rosa. I’m sorry I didn’t see this until now. I’m not on here as much as I used to anymore. I mostly pop in off and on during the week to say hello/ check on my friends that are still here. But since Ambien was the only medication I have experience with I wanted to try to answer your question. There aren’t many Ambien/ zdrug users that post or come here anymore. One of your questions was tapering off Ambien successful. Yes it was for me. I did a dry taper without any other medication. I cut very small pieces off my pill and kept lowering it every 2-3 weeks ( mainly 2 weeks). The rule was to not go back up.Once I made a cut, that was that. I tapered over 10 months by making a paper drawing of my pill then marking on the paper where to cut the pill. As I got lower doses, I did feel better with weird symptoms I’ve had for awhile suddenly disappeared! This was the case for many others too when they tapered off. 
It’s normal to be worried about sleeping. Also it’s expected to have some sleep issues when coming off sleep pills. It’s temporary. when I began my taper, I started CBT-I therapy ( cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia). It worked nearly immediately and very well each night for me…and I still do most of the routine to this day. Some other buddies said it didn’t work for them. Some said it didn’t at first but a couple of months later, it did. I’d say to give it a fair try of 2-3 weeks to allow your brain to “ catch on” to the indicators of its time to sleep. Getting early morning sunlight for 15-20 minutes is also helpful. It’s ideal to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. I do get occasional nights of trouble falling asleep. But I stick with my CBTI and fall asleep. This month I will be at my 4 year milestone. Although I’m still recovering from the after effects of taking Ambien for 7 years, I’m improving and I’ll continue to do so until my healing is complete. And so will you! 
BTW, some people might advise you to crossover to Valium. IMO I don’t think that is wise. I’m aware that Ambien has a short half-life and the inter dose WD can be uncomfortable. The reason why I don’t think it’s a good idea is because anyone doing that is now introducing another medication that is a real benzo. It would have to be tapered off as well and will introduce more WD symptoms that would probably be WAY worse than you already have. I believe Dr Ashton mentioned a crossover from Ambien because some people were on very high abusive doses and for a long time. Many people have come off Ambien by just tapering and did just fine…I sure did! I’ve heard many many others say that they wish they would not have crossed over to Valium. 
I hope you have a good slow dry taper plan. Low and slow. You can do it! And I did improve in my sleep as I came off. It’s ideal not to be too concerned about how much sleep you’ll get. One thing for sure, missing some sleep will not kill you. It may or may not be a little rough for a bit but it’s temporary. Go read the Zdrug thread experiences on this forum. 

[[ro...]]

Hi Ladyden, 

Thank you so much for your reply! I read almost all of the Z drugs stories here and they are really heplful. I´m now on 7.5 mg zolpidem  The taper is going OK so far. Some nights with little sleep, but most are honestly fine. I'm more worried about the rapid hartbeat, because it started before i took Zolpidem.  I'm getting a POTS test done next month. I feel like my symptoms have improved a bit over the last couple of months. I stopped taking propranolol for example and I'm doing quite well at the moment. However, I still feel my symptoms every single day. And i don't exactyly know what caused it. Maybe it will improve further once I'm lower on my taper, but sometimes I'm afraid it wil not. However, I think natural sleep will be really good for the heartrate. 

Greetings, 

rosa 

 

[[vo...]]

On 02/06/2024 at 10:21, [[L...] said:

Hi Rosa. I’m sorry I didn’t see this until now. I’m not on here as much as I used to anymore. I mostly pop in off and on during the week to say hello/ check on my friends that are still here. But since Ambien was the only medication I have experience with I wanted to try to answer your question. There aren’t many Ambien/ zdrug users that post or come here anymore. One of your questions was tapering off Ambien successful. Yes it was for me. I did a dry taper without any other medication. I cut very small pieces off my pill and kept lowering it every 2-3 weeks ( mainly 2 weeks). The rule was to not go back up.Once I made a cut, that was that. I tapered over 10 months by making a paper drawing of my pill then marking on the paper where to cut the pill. As I got lower doses, I did feel better with weird symptoms I’ve had for awhile suddenly disappeared! This was the case for many others too when they tapered off. 
It’s normal to be worried about sleeping. Also it’s expected to have some sleep issues when coming off sleep pills. It’s temporary. when I began my taper, I started CBT-I therapy ( cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia). It worked nearly immediately and very well each night for me…and I still do most of the routine to this day. Some other buddies said it didn’t work for them. Some said it didn’t at first but a couple of months later, it did. I’d say to give it a fair try of 2-3 weeks to allow your brain to “ catch on” to the indicators of its time to sleep. Getting early morning sunlight for 15-20 minutes is also helpful. It’s ideal to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day. I do get occasional nights of trouble falling asleep. But I stick with my CBTI and fall asleep. This month I will be at my 4 year milestone. Although I’m still recovering from the after effects of taking Ambien for 7 years, I’m improving and I’ll continue to do so until my healing is complete. And so will you! 
BTW, some people might advise you to crossover to Valium. IMO I don’t think that is wise. I’m aware that Ambien has a short half-life and the inter dose WD can be uncomfortable. The reason why I don’t think it’s a good idea is because anyone doing that is now introducing another medication that is a real benzo. It would have to be tapered off as well and will introduce more WD symptoms that would probably be WAY worse than you already have. I believe Dr Ashton mentioned a crossover from Ambien because some people were on very high abusive doses and for a long time. Many people have come off Ambien by just tapering and did just fine…I sure did! I’ve heard many many others say that they wish they would not have crossed over to Valium. 
I hope you have a good slow dry taper plan. Low and slow. You can do it! And I did improve in my sleep as I came off. It’s ideal not to be too concerned about how much sleep you’ll get. One thing for sure, missing some sleep will not kill you. It may or may not be a little rough for a bit but it’s temporary. Go read the Zdrug thread experiences on this forum. 

@[La...] Hello - I did a search for anyone tapering off of ambien and found your post. Glad to read what you wrote so I can compare it to the taper I will be starting today. Thanks for posting the info!

[[La...]]

On 05/06/2024 at 11:54, [[r...] said:

Hi Ladyden, 

Thank you so much for your reply! I read almost all of the Z drugs stories here and they are really heplful. I´m now on 7.5 mg zolpidem  The taper is going OK so far. Some nights with little sleep, but most are honestly fine. I'm more worried about the rapid hartbeat, because it started before i took Zolpidem.  I'm getting a POTS test done next month. I feel like my symptoms have improved a bit over the last couple of months. I stopped taking propranolol for example and I'm doing quite well at the moment. However, I still feel my symptoms every single day. And i don't exactyly know what caused it. Maybe it will improve further once I'm lower on my taper, but sometimes I'm afraid it wil not. However, I think natural sleep will be really good for the heartrate. 

Greetings, 

rosa 

You’re very welcome. I also had the heart issues for awhile before my taper ( interdose/ tolerance wd will cause that) and I had them for a short period during my first 9-12 months off. They started getting milder and farther apart as the months rolled by. They disappeared for a couple of years then came back about 4 months ago….BUT, they’re SO mild and short lived now. I only get them if I’m revved up by something. It will go away. Give it time. Don’t go waste your time and money trying to figure out what’s wrong. I’m not saying don’t get checked out. What I am saying is when you get some basic tests done that comes back normal then you know it is nothing serious and you can relax as you wait it out. It is a common symptom in WD. Accept it, don’t fight it, don’t let it scare you and breathe easy when it is uncomfortable. Meditation is a good idea! Lay on your left side and breathe easy with calming nature sounds. Tell yourself in your head…

” This is just a symptom. I’m healing so I’m feeling the repairs. But I’m safe. This will pass. Relax!”  Then go do something with your hands to ignore it. Crochet, Knit, jigsaw puzzle, fold clothes, etc. 
Big hugs ! Know in your heart that you will be alright! 🤝💕🤗

I had that and here I am. I am fine. Others had that and they’re fine too and so will you. 

[[La...]]

23 hours ago, [[v...] said:

@[La...] Hello - I did a search for anyone tapering off of ambien and found your post. Glad to read what you wrote so I can compare it to the taper I will be starting today. Thanks for posting the info!

Hi Voluntas. I’m happy to help anyone dealing with Ambien. It is a powerful drug! But, it is very doable to come off. Dry taper…tiny bit by bit…you can do it! I’m cheering you on a and here to help. 
if you are on Ambien CR ( extended release- control release) a pharmacist told me that it is STRONGLY advised to NOT cut those. It’s best to get on the regular Ambien close to your dose for a week then start your taper. 
I posted some years ago in the Zdrug thread on how to taper Ambien the dry way ( no crossover) . I’ve helped others do it this way…successfully! As well as taught my own doctor and her students. I’m not an expert, not a doctor, etc. This was my experience and it was easy and worked. So I shared it. 
best wishes on your taper.. 👏🤝👍🏼

[[Oc...]]

Hi,

I'm trying to taper Ambien but it's very difficult for me. My initial dose was 10 mg, sometimes 15 mg. Now I'm on 5 mg. I read about very slow tapering here. My doctor, on the other hand, says it might prolong my agony. He says I'm on such a low dose that I can taper to 2.5 and be on it for a week and then stop or I can taper to 2.5, be on it for 3 days, then taper to 1,25 and after 3 days stop altogether. What do you think about it? I really want to quit but at the same time I'm so addicted to the pleasure that the drug gives me. I have GAD and the drug makes me relaxed, makes me feel calm and it's such a nice feeling. I have huge cravings for it between doses that I can't imagine myself without it. Will these cravings go away quicly after stopping the drug? How to motivate myself? I'd be grateful for your help.

Julia

[[Co...]]

Hello @[Oc...]. Welcome to BenzoBuddies.

If you seek some feedback and support with your own taper, be sure to start your own thread (topic) for some targeted support.

[[Oc...]]

Thank you.