Insomniac here

[[Da...]]

Hi, I'm Dave, a newbie here. I have terrible insomnia! I take 15 mgs of Ambien a night, it is the only thing that works for me.

I am also on 2 mgs of Ativan a day and want to get totally off of that, but keep the Ambien, at least until my insomnia passes. I have tried everything. Warm milk, baths, herbal teas, OTC sleeping pills, I mean EVERYTHING!

 

I just want to know if Ambien long-term can destroy any internal organs, like the liver or kidney.

[[Me...]]

No Davey it won't "destroy" your internal organs but it will destroy your body/brain's natural ability to sleep, your short term memory, increase your anxiety - need I go on?  Also you will develope a tolerance for your dosage and have to continuously increase it to get some sleep.  I reached 50mgs nightly while also taking Benzo's (for insomnia).  I have "successfully" c/t the Benzos (not recommended)  after two attempts however my last attempt to c/t Ambien (Zolpidem) resulted in horrific withdrawals  and 21 nights straight zero sleep.  It is an evil drug and although some say it is not a true benzo it works on the same receptors as a benzo and was classified as a "non-Benzo" purely for marketing purposes. 

 

BTW all drugs do have to be absorbed by your liver so they can reach your brain so I getting off them will definitly improve the healthy functionality of your liver.

[[Da...]]

No Davey it won't "destroy" your internal organs but it will destroy your body/brain's natural ability to sleep, your short term memory, increase your anxiety - need I go on?  Also you will develope a tolerance for your dosage and have to continuously increase it to get some sleep.  I reached 50mgs nightly while also taking Benzo's (for insomnia).  I have "successfully" c/t the Benzos (not recommended)  after two attempts however my last attempt to c/t Ambien (Zolpidem) resulted in horrific withdrawals  and 21 nights straight zero sleep.  It is an evil drug and although some say it is not a true benzo it works on the same receptors as a benzo and was classified as a "non-Benzo" purely for marketing purposes. 

 

BTW all drugs do have to be absorbed by your liver so they can reach your brain so I getting off them will definitly improve the healthy functionality of your liver.

 

That's quite alot of Ambien.  5 times the max dosage I believe. Didn't it make you hallucinate? When 5 and 10 mgs did not work, I went up to 15 and for the first 3 nights I hallucinated. I can't imagine 50, wow. I'm not worried about my liver. I don't drink often or take Tylenol often, I was just wondering. 21 days no sleep? Is that even possible? I thought my insomnia was bad. It works now, and 15 mgs has worked for a few years.

[[Me...]]

Davey I have been on it 13years in May and No it never made me hallucinate - not even when I first started taking it. I did start at the prescribed dosage of 10mg and it worked for 8years at that dosage.  It was only in the last 4 years that I had to keep increasing it so much so that by 2011 I would have to take one regular 10mg and a CR 12.5mg as well as Dormonoct 2mg at 10.30pm and would wake at 2.30am and repeat the dose.  I work and have 3children so I have to get up at 5.00am and 50mgs was only giving me 6-7hours sleep.

 

Yes the 21nights of zero sleep is for real - I was in a rehab at the time so that made it even worse. I did end up in a psych hospital for 3 more weeks as a consequence and even though they reinstated Benzos, z-drugs, ads and psychotic drugs my sleep average was 2and a half hours a night 

 

When I joined TRAP I was told by a Moderator that she often went weeks and had even gone months on Zero sleep.  I have also read of people on this site who went months on zero sleep especially when it was as a result of c/t.  It is amazing how much sleeplessness the body can endure.