Day Dosing Ambien...desperate!

[[sh...]]

@[Pa...] So that would mean upping my Klonopin dose while discontinuing my Ambien.  I don't think that I am ready to do that yet.  Honestly, it's like 2 different drug classes, in my opinion.  I know they say it's like a benzo, but when I take my ambien, I feel instant relief.  I don't feel that when I take a Klonopin.  It does nothing to relieve the ambien w/d. 

[[sh...]]

@pamster @[vo...]  I work as a flight attendant and the idea of being cooped up on a hot, delayed, noisy metal tube filled to the brim with needy, whiny, angry passengers is making me very leery that I am going to be able to stay strong.  I have been on vacation for the last 3 weeks and haven't had to face going to work since I started this taper.  Ughh.  Working a 6 hour flight on Tuesday.  Hopefully it will provide a distraction.  Pray for me!  LOL.

[[vo...]]

13 minutes ago, [[s...] said:

@pamster @[vo...]  I work as a flight attendant and the idea of being cooped up on a hot, delayed, noisy metal tube filled to the brim with needy, whiny, angry passengers is making me very leery that I am going to be able to stay strong.  I have been on vacation for the last 3 weeks and haven't had to face going to work since I started this taper.  Ughh.  Working a 6 hour flight on Tuesday.  Hopefully it will provide a distraction.  Pray for me!  LOL.

@[sh...] omg...I definitely will. I traveled for work for years every other week so I was constantly gone. I'm imagining how challenging that is going to be for you. I'll be thinking about you. Keep posting what your going through - I'm hoping it will help you to get it out here in the group. Where are you from shotsy?

[[Pa...]]

Thanks for sharing your perspective about Ambien and Klonopin, since I didn't take them at the same time, I was unaware of the differences and the limits of what the Klonopin can do for Ambien withdrawal.  The Ambien may be helping with your tolerance to the Klonopin but it doesn't appear that Klonopin can temper Ambien withdrawals. 

@[sh...], I found work a good distraction but the most challenging aspect of that was my co-workers, it was very difficult to be around people, so your work situation is very tricky.

[[sh...]]

@[vo...] I live in New York.  What about you? 

[[vo...]]

3 hours ago, [[s...] said:

@[vo...] I live in New York.  What about you? 

Right above you lol! CT

[[Sc...]]

I withdrew from Valium 10 years ago with the help of benzobuddies, who saved my life. My story is under ScaredinMA.

Now after 10 wonderful years I find myself in the anxiety, not able to sleep trap, for which I took ambien after days of no sleep. I started on 8/11/2024 while I was in the hospital for low sodium. I used 10 mg for 2 nights then have been trying to taper off since then. I am down to about 4mg but can't sleep at all now and feel awful, although not as bad as I did during benzo withdrawal, that was beyond all belief!

I am asking anyone with ambien experience , should I just jump at this point because it has been less than 2 weeks, or continue to taper. I feel terrible and am so upset about falling into this trap again. Thanks for your help.

paul

[[sh...]]

18 minutes ago, [[S...] said:

I withdrew from Valium 10 years ago with the help of benzobuddies, who saved my life. My story is under ScaredinMA.

Now after 10 wonderful years I find myself in the anxiety, not able to sleep trap, for which I took ambien after days of no sleep. I started on 8/11/2024 while I was in the hospital for low sodium. I used 10 mg for 2 nights then have been trying to taper off since then. I am down to about 4mg but can't sleep at all now and feel awful, although not as bad as I did during benzo withdrawal, that was beyond all belief!

I am asking anyone with ambien experience , should I just jump at this point because it has been less than 2 weeks, or continue to taper. I feel terrible and am so upset about falling into this trap again. Thanks for your help.

paul

I definitely would just stop.  Two weeks isn't long enough to have become dependent on Ambien.  If it's not helping you sleep, what's the point?  I think tapering is overkill. Just stop - you don't report any w/d symptoms from your taper besides no sleep. Have you tried anything else for sleep?  I currently take over 30 mgs a night for sleep for years.  I have to taper because of the downgraded receptors and interdose w/d.  Sometimes when I can't sleep even with all that Ambien, I'll take 2 Benadryl.  Surprisingly, it does the job for me. I also follow a very strict sleep hygiene routine for the first time in my life and that has aided me so much in my tapering & withdrawal.  I think maybe your anxiety is the issue. 

[[Ro...]]

28 minutes ago, [[S...] said:

I withdrew from Valium 10 years ago with the help of benzobuddies, who saved my life. My story is under ScaredinMA.

Now after 10 wonderful years I find myself in the anxiety, not able to sleep trap, for which I took ambien after days of no sleep. I started on 8/11/2024 while I was in the hospital for low sodium. I used 10 mg for 2 nights then have been trying to taper off since then. I am down to about 4mg but can't sleep at all now and feel awful, although not as bad as I did during benzo withdrawal, that was beyond all belief!

I am asking anyone with ambien experience , should I just jump at this point because it has been less than 2 weeks, or continue to taper. I feel terrible and am so upset about falling into this trap again. Thanks for your help.

paul

Sorry to hear about your sleeping difficulties.  I took 2 mg to 10 mg of Ambien for about a year and then just quit, without any withdrawal symptoms.  As @[sh...] has stated, you have been on it for a very short time.  I also think you should just stop taking it.

[[ka...]]

I tapered off of clonazepam (.25 or .5 mg nightly for 1.2 years) in April 2022. Since then, I've taken doxepin to help me sleep at night and at times mirtazapine which I've started taking again recently at 3.75 mg. bc I'm not sleeping that well lately. I have had a few nights recently where I am up at 3:30 am and get up at 5:30 am. It's not nice at all. I am tempted to take 2.5 mg zolpidem to have a good night of sleep or zolpidem er but I feel that it's not recommended. I hope Pamster sees this post. She wrote in her profile how it was not a good idea to take ambien after getting safely off of a benzo. I may take doxylamine succinate (Unisom tablets) again instead. I also read that someone was able to get off of a benzo and still able to sleep at night by taking 5 mg of liquid melatonin. Anyone else know of or been helped by taking it?