My taper journey

[[vo...]]

I'm posting my tapering here, so it can be tracked. Currently down to 2.5mg of zolpidem. @[La...] just so you know, I'm going to go down to 1.25mg tonight (7/22/24). I read something really powerful today in the group, so it's motivated me even more to suck it up and just deal with withdrawals from xanax. We'll see how it goes tonight. 

[[Oc...]]

Keeping my fingers crossed for you and wishing the same strength to myself.

[[vo...]]

@[La...] I didn't do too well last night. I wound up taking 5mg. I just couldn't deal with it. Sorry to you and to myself. I'll try again today.

[[Pa...]]

I have complete confidence in you @[vo...], I know you'll find your way off of the Ambien, you'll get back on that horse. 

[[La...]]

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

@[La...] I didn't do too well last night. I wound up taking 5mg. I just couldn't deal with it. Sorry to you and to myself. I'll try again today.

I agree with Pam. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Just get back on track. For some people Ambien is hard to get off especially at smaller doses ( the last little bit). You stand strong and keep pressing toward your goal. You can do this! I know it’s not easy. The symptoms are going to happen and they can be strong sometimes. But you are stronger! Remember that. 😊What I did and others did was make some kind of peace with them by not fighting them. Because at some point, you have to ride them out to get over that hurdle to be off the Ambien. I’m not telling you what to do…this is your journey. But, I’m encouraging you to tap into your inner strength to reach your goal. IMO, think about it this way….how long are you willing to updose when it’s uncomfortable? How many times? What’s the clear message you want to send to your brain? As Pam said, you can get back on the horse. Hugs 🤗 

[[vo...]]

My final taper journey comment. From approx 5/24 (I can't remember when I started to taper)  to now, I had tapered from 7mg down to 2.5mg....on 7/24/24 I decided I had enough of taking zolpidem (Ambien). I sucked up the horrible withdrawal symptoms for 31 hours. Then 48 hours. If I could make it that long and endure, I would. It's now 7/28/24 - 96 hours later. I'm done. This is the final and last entry.

Add'l comment to warn others in case they didn't read my profile - I went off of xanax after 47 years on 7/30/23. I didn't know at the time, what protracted withdrawal was. So I went on zolpidem (ambien) in October 2023 to help my insomnia. It never helped me to sleep - it only helped reduce my withdrawal symptoms from xanax. Once I found out by way of the Ashton Manual as well as BB that Ambien affected the same GABA receptors, I knew I needed to come off the Ambien. It took a couple of months to do that. So I caution anyone taking ambien for insomnia, try to get off of it as soon as you can. If you're thinking about taking ambien for insomnia, don't do it. It will set you back in time for your recovery from benzos. I'm now a passionate and strong advocate against anyone taking benzodiazepines for longer than 2 -4 weeks.

Edited July 28 by [vo...]

[[sh...]]

I'm gonna miss you Voluntas.  Not many of us here day-dosing ambien, but I am one of them.  If you see this, can you advise if you cut your day doses out and then tackled the night dose or cut evenly.  I am trying to get rid of the day doses (3) and then when done with that, start on reducing the night dose.  Please advise any help in getting this under control.  I'm on Klonopin, so that keeps me stable from extreme symptoms, but boy do I feel every Ambien cut.  Am a mess about an hour before my dose (I dose every 5 hours).  What do you think contributed to your success?  Thanks.

 

[[vo...]]

Hi @[sh...]! I'm not going anywhere....you're stuck with me! lol.  My lowest dosage was 2.5mg. I stopped the day dosing several days prior, and daytime is when my symptoms are at their worst as they are for you too. I just hibernated and was a little more anti-social for a couple of days. For some reason, my symptoms don't start first thing in the morning - they steadily increase throughout the day so skipping daydosing was worse than my nighttime dose.

So on 7/24/24, I just decided that the withdrawal symptoms couldn't get any worse than they already were and I wasn't sleeping anyway, so why not just jump altogether at 2.5? I did it with xanax at 6mg and nothing bad happened, other than withdrawal - who knew that would happen?!? Glad I didn't know anything about withdrawal at the time. It's now been 5 days today and my symptoms aren't getting any better, but they're not getting any worse either and that's exactly what I was hoping for! And actually, I'm getting a couple more hours of sleep a night which I never expected! I attribute that to going to the gym and eating right. Better than I've ever done before in my entire life. There are a few other w/d symptoms that have stopped, but I want to wait a few more days to be sure they have actually stopped, and then I'll update my history with those. 

I totally get your pain of giving up those day doses that stop withdrawal. I miss them right now, but I'm not sorry I gave them up. (and I haven't thrown away the rest of the pills - just having them is like having a life jacket if I need it, but I know I won't take any) The best I can say is just pick a day when it hits you right and do it. I didn't plan a date - that never works for me with anything. I hate commitment. But I do keep promises and I promised @[La...] and myself I was going to do this - I just didn't know which day. It just happened. Of course I don't know you personally, so I don't know if doing that would work for you. I just didn't want to continue the torture of cutting and not knowing what would happen, so why delay the process? Please let me know what you decide to do. I do care about you going through the same process. Just include my name with the @ . Otherwise it may take me days to see what you write when I happen upon it. Keep me posted please! And who was our third partner going through this with Ambien with us - do you remember?

 

Edited July 29 by [vo...]

[[La...]]

Hi Shotsy and Vol. I just wanted to say I’m proud of you both for doing what’s best for your health in getting off Ambien. There are not many on it here that can give experiences or share when coming off. But, I’m one of them. Now I’m 4 years off. I gradually got better with time and you will too if you do as Vol said in refusing to take anymore once you’ve done a taper.   
Shotsy a few rules I found helpful are to make up your mind that you are going to do this. A promise to yourself. Once I went down, I didn’t go back up. If it was rough I held where I was for up to a week. This didn’t happen often in my taper- maybe twice. Once you have jumped, throw away your remaining pills. Vol has stated that she keeps them for now as a safety net. I’m not the one to tell someone what to do BUT IMO, keeping them may be an easy way to get back on them when or if your symptoms get rough. It will be highly tempting. I had a flush party when I jumped- I played “ hit the road Jack” by Ray Charles and celebrated! Wow it felt great! Another big thing for me was accepting that I will have symptoms and not feel so good for awhile. It’s part of the journey but the intensity is temporary ( if it gets intense at all- for some it doesnt). Have a great sleep routine that you do every night regardless of if it puts you to sleep or not. Over time, you will find that this sends your brain a message of when it’s your bedtime. Near sleep is can be just as refreshing. A sleep rule I have is keep my eyes closed. Get about 15-20 minutes of sunlight in the morning. Implement coping skills for daytime symptoms ( distractions and meditating with positivity as you listen to nature sounds works great). Pamper yourself. Eat a balanced diet free of MSG, preservatives, Parmesan cheese and soy ( such as soy sauce in Chinese foods). Use your supportive family members and buddies here on your rougher days. You give love and receive love. I can’t tell you how much that alone got me through some rough times. Get busy with something using your hands to keep the mind occupied. Calming breathing a few times a day. Positive self talk. Observe your symptoms but try not to participate with them. For example, if you are feeling muscle pain/ tightness then don’t just sit there focusing on it instead get a heating pad and play some games online or warm bath. Many of my symptoms went away as I reduced and after my taper. Just like Vol, my sleep wasn’t affected when I came off and I was surprised by this as well. I slept better! One last thing…don’t be scared of the symptoms. They’re just signs of your brain being in the process of returning you to normal. 
Best wishes! 

[[Oc...]]

@[vo...], @[sh...] I'm here:) I'm the third partner. First of all, congratulations!!! I'm so happy you made it. It's a big success. I'm still stuck with 5 mg. What's holding me back is my dependance on this hypnotic high that Ambien gives me, this relaxation and the feeling that everything's gonna be OK. This is something I know I'm going to miss. I remember I once quit Ambien CT around 15 years ago when I didn't know anything about tapering. It didn't work as well as it ised to and I asked my doctor for some other sleeping pills. He prescribed Imovane and I switched but it didn't do absolutely anything for me. And I remember I had no withdrawal effects from quitting Ambien. It just took me longer to fall asleep. Actually, prof. Ashton wrote in her Manual that Ambien doesn't need tapering cause it's half life is very short so you basically have withdrawal symptoms every day between doses. However, I wouldn't risk going CT from 10 mg. My doctors advised the same tapering method as you implemented: cutting into halves. And I'm gonna do the same: got to 2,5 mg and then get off. I just need strength cause I depend on it so heavily. Voluntas please tell me what are your symptoms? Anxiety, restlessness, jiteriness. Do you feel any cravings? That's something I fear most. That I won't be able to resist the temptation. Anyway, you're saying the symptoms didn't get any worse when you get off of the drug?

[[vo...]]

6 hours ago, [[L...] said:

Hi Shotsy and Vol. I just wanted to say I’m proud of you both for doing what’s best for your health in getting off Ambien. There are not many on it here that can give experiences or share when coming off. But, I’m one of them. Now I’m 4 years off. I gradually got better with time and you will too if you do as Vol said in refusing to take anymore once you’ve done a taper.   
Shotsy a few rules I found helpful are to make up your mind that you are going to do this. A promise to yourself. Once I went down, I didn’t go back up. If it was rough I held where I was for up to a week. This didn’t happen often in my taper- maybe twice. Once you have jumped, throw away your remaining pills. Vol has stated that she keeps them for now as a safety net. I’m not the one to tell someone what to do BUT IMO, keeping them may be an easy way to get back on them when or if your symptoms get rough. It will be highly tempting. I had a flush party when I jumped- I played “ hit the road Jack” by Ray Charles and celebrated! Wow it felt great! Another big thing for me was accepting that I will have symptoms and not feel so good for awhile. It’s part of the journey but the intensity is temporary ( if it gets intense at all- for some it doesnt). Have a great sleep routine that you do every night regardless of if it puts you to sleep or not. Over time, you will find that this sends your brain a message of when it’s your bedtime. Near sleep is can be just as refreshing. A sleep rule I have is keep my eyes closed. Get about 15-20 minutes of sunlight in the morning. Implement coping skills for daytime symptoms ( distractions and meditating with positivity as you listen to nature sounds works great). Pamper yourself. Eat a balanced diet free of MSG, preservatives, Parmesan cheese and soy ( such as soy sauce in Chinese foods). Use your supportive family members and buddies here on your rougher days. You give love and receive love. I can’t tell you how much that alone got me through some rough times. Get busy with something using your hands to keep the mind occupied. Calming breathing a few times a day. Positive self talk. Observe your symptoms but try not to participate with them. For example, if you are feeling muscle pain/ tightness then don’t just sit there focusing on it instead get a heating pad and play some games online or warm bath. Many of my symptoms went away as I reduced and after my taper. Just like Vol, my sleep wasn’t affected when I came off and I was surprised by this as well. I slept better! One last thing…don’t be scared of the symptoms. They’re just signs of your brain being in the process of returning you to normal. 
Best wishes! 

@[sh...] Tagging you on this to be sure you see it 

[[vo...]]

1 hour ago, [[O...] said:

@[vo...], @[sh...] I'm here:) I'm the third partner. First of all, congratulations!!! I'm so happy you made it. It's a big success. I'm still stuck with 5 mg. What's holding me back is my dependance on this hypnotic high that Ambien gives me, this relaxation and the feeling that everything's gonna be OK. This is something I know I'm going to miss. I remember I once quit Ambien CT around 15 years ago when I didn't know anything about tapering. It didn't work as well as it ised to and I asked my doctor for some other sleeping pills. He prescribed Imovane and I switched but it didn't do absolutely anything for me. And I remember I had no withdrawal effects from quitting Ambien. It just took me longer to fall asleep. Actually, prof. Ashton wrote in her Manual that Ambien doesn't need tapering cause it's half life is very short so you basically have withdrawal symptoms every day between doses. However, I wouldn't risk going CT from 10 mg. My doctors advised the same tapering method as you implemented: cutting into halves. And I'm gonna do the same: got to 2,5 mg and then get off. I just need strength cause I depend on it so heavily. Voluntas please tell me what are your symptoms? Anxiety, restlessness, jiteriness. Do you feel any cravings? That's something I fear most. That I won't be able to resist the temptation. Anyway, you're saying the symptoms didn't get any worse when you get off of the drug?

Hi @[Oc...]! I hesitate to tell you my symptoms, because I don't want to put them in your head to think you might get even similar symptoms. The majority of them are in my profile under history. I'm not going to add ones I had forgotten to my profile either. Anxiety I wouldn't list because I have it pretty bad, but for me, it's not a result of the xanax I was on, it's the reason I was put on xanax.   And I have vibrations rather than the jitteriness that some people have. IDK - maybe it's the same thing with a different label to different people. That specifically is coming down a little bit each day. I will say that my symptoms definitely aren't getting any worse than they already were. The downside was just giving up the Ambien and allowing the symptoms to just happen. I just sucked it up! lol. I will say it's day 6 now, it think..and I'm finding that I'm starting to get blocks of time throughout the day, that I'm actually forgetting my symptoms, but I'm also keeping myself busy (ie: distracted). Then as soon as I realize that, they start again, but not horribly. Very tolerable! Jump ship at 2.5 @[Oc...]! Just don't think about it - pick a day when you're on 2.5 for about a week or so and then just jump! I know you can do it! Keep me posted! 

Edited July 30 by [vo...]

[[Pa...]]

On 28/07/2024 at 03:42, [[v...] said:

My final taper journey comment. From approx 5/24 (I can't remember when I started to taper)  to now, I had tapered from 7mg down to 2.5mg....on 7/24/24 I decided I had enough of taking zolpidem (Ambien). I sucked up the horrible withdrawal symptoms for 31 hours. Then 48 hours. If I could make it that long and endure, I would. It's now 7/28/24 - 96 hours later. I'm done. This is the final and last entry.

Add'l comment to warn others in case they didn't read my profile - I went off of xanax after 47 years on 7/30/23. I didn't know at the time, what protracted withdrawal was. So I went on zolpidem (ambien) in October 2023 to help my insomnia. It never helped me to sleep - it only helped reduce my withdrawal symptoms from xanax. Once I found out by way of the Ashton Manual as well as BB that Ambien affected the same GABA receptors, I knew I needed to come off the Ambien. It took a couple of months to do that. So I caution anyone taking ambien for insomnia, try to get off of it as soon as you can. If you're thinking about taking ambien for insomnia, don't do it. It will set you back in time for your recovery from benzos. I'm now a passionate and strong advocate against anyone taking benzodiazepines for longer than 2 -4 weeks.

Congratulations on getting Ambien free @[vo...], that stuff did a number on me too!  This is great advice, thank you for documenting your journey.

[[Oc...]]

@[vo...] thank you so much for motivating me. I'm happy your synptoms didn't get any worse. I also had anxiety before, I'd say I'm a classic example of GAD and I've been taking SSRI and other psych meds for 20 years now. That's why Ambien was so convenient. It's a comfort drug for me. I'm not scared I'll have similar symptoms to yours cause I know all the possible ones that may appear. And some of yours might actually be caused by Xanax withdrawal, right? What I'm scared of is that my original anxiety won't be "soothed" in any way and it will be difficult to be tense all the time, without even a window that Ambien has given me. Anyway, to know that you managed and are doing all right motivates me to find this strengh in myself that I need.

[[vo...]]

2 hours ago, [[O...] said:

And some of yours might actually be caused by Xanax withdrawal, right?

What I'm scared of is that my original anxiety won't be "soothed" in any way and it will be difficult to be tense all the time, without even a window that Ambien has given me.

@[Oc...] I'm glad you questioned where my symptoms were coming from because I don't want to leave that as an unanswered question for you. 100% of my symptoms were from xanax withdrawal. I didn't get any from the Ambien. That's why I felt I might as well get off the Ambien - I figured it couldn't get any worse at 13 mos.

As for my anxiety, I haven’t fully figured out how to manage it yet. Xanax was my go-to since I was 17, but I knew that once I stopped taking it, I’d have to find natural ways to cope. So, I’m in therapy and also working out and eating clean, which have probably been the most effective for me. 

Stay in touch so I can be there for you if and when you choose to quit the Ambien 

[[sh...]]

I know that 100% of my w/d symptoms are from Ambien.  I am on Kpin too, but haven't started tapering that.  Sometimes I'll miss a dose of Kpin and won't even notice it.  I took Ambien every night (at high doses) for sleep for years.  No problems during the day with interdose w/d.  Everything was going great until I got a bad case of covid.  I was so miserable I decided to start taking some ambien during the day to sleep - just to get through the covid.  Eventually I was taking doses several times a day during this 2 week illness.  That's when the interdose withdrawals started.  My body became accustomed to having ambien in my system 24 hours a day and it has continued nearly a year later.  I am now day dosing every 5 hours and don't know how to stop without going through miserable withdrawals.  Again- still taking original dose of kpin at 2.5 mgs a day, and still feeling every ambien cut.  What a mess I got myself into!  I would be happy just to go back to taking it for sleep at bedtime, but my brain craves it all day long.  Feel immediate relief after I dose, so it's no mystery for me what is causing my symptoms.  I do feel that the best strategy for me would just to take a couple of days a white knuckle a complete c/t of the day dosing- still protected from extreme w/d from the kpin.  But I am weak willed and always cave into the cravings.  Feel like I'll never get off of this merry-go-round,

[[vo...]]

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

I know that 100% of my w/d symptoms are from Ambien.  I am on Kpin too, but haven't started tapering that.  Sometimes I'll miss a dose of Kpin and won't even notice it.  I took Ambien every night (at high doses) for sleep for years.  No problems during the day with interdose w/d.  Everything was going great until I got a bad case of covid.  I was so miserable I decided to start taking some ambien during the day to sleep - just to get through the covid.  Eventually I was taking doses several times a day during this 2 week illness.  That's when the interdose withdrawals started.  My body became accustomed to having ambien in my system 24 hours a day and it has continued nearly a year later.  I am now day dosing every 5 hours and don't know how to stop without going through miserable withdrawals.  Again- still taking original dose of kpin at 2.5 mgs a day, and still feeling every ambien cut.  What a mess I got myself into!  I would be happy just to go back to taking it for sleep at bedtime, but my brain craves it all day long.  Feel immediate relief after I dose, so it's no mystery for me what is causing my symptoms.  I do feel that the best strategy for me would just to take a couple of days a white knuckle a complete c/t of the day dosing- still protected from extreme w/d from the kpin.  But I am weak willed and always cave into the cravings.  Feel like I'll never get off of this merry-go-round,

@[sh...] I'm sorry you're dealing with this, Shotsy, and I agree with your conclusion that Ambien is affecting you. I understand why you don't want to give up something that helps you avoid withdrawal, but you're going to have to decide whether to tough it out or stay where you are. For me, it was a surprise—I didn't know I'd go through withdrawal. But you already know what you're up against, and I know it's going to be a tough choice for you. Just know that I support you, and we all do.