tapering ambien

[[sh...]]

I am thinking of cutting1/4 of my ambien- I am taking 5 mg cut into 1/4s- I take 2 1/4s at bed time and the other 2 1/4s when I wake up 3- 4 hours later. My doc said to take 1/2 for a week or 2 then stop, Im afraid this is too fast but I've been stuck for a long time and just want to get off this asap- my husband thinks it is such a small dose so it shouldnt matter. I am not sure if I have leveled off- I keep having waves and windows so Im not sure where I am inhealing- my husband and son seem to think I am doing great but I am not sure, sometimes it feels like I am worse but I have this little voice saying I will be okay. Is ambien w/d as bad as xanax? I am getting 5-6 hours of sleep a night and have been dreaming more.Any suggestions?

[[sh...]]

Hi Shyhamlet,

 

I  moved your thread here because I thought you'd get more answers, specifically for tapering.

 

From what I've read, others have eliminated Ambien without doing a taper. I'd wait for other members to chime in, though. What worked for one person doesn't always work for someone else.

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Hi Shyhamlet,

 

I have been tapering off of 15 mg of ambien.  I cut 10% every 3 weeks.  At first I cut a 1/4 and it was too much.  I got zero sleep.  So I updosed and took the advice of many others on here to taper 10% every 3 weeks.  People on here are very much into the Ashton Manual.  And that is where this taper came from.  I can say it works. 

 

Now to you.  I would say it really depends on your body and mind.  You can try to cut by a 1/4 and see if it works for you, but if not I would say a slow taper is not such a bad thing.  My own 2 cents, I would probably cut the second dose by whatever you decide.  I have noticed that I actually sleep better just taking one dose at night.  I was on 2 dosages. Took 10mg slept for 2-3 hours then took 5mg.  It's like almost a sleep restriction type therapy for me.  When I wouldn't sleep but only 3 hours i would not take the second dose and just suffer with less sleep for about a week.  After about a week of doing this my body actually began sleeping after just 1 dose. 

 

It's funny my husband always thought I slept until I told him I really didn't.  Listen to your own body.  There are many success stories on here where people have successfully gotten off of ambien and their sleep returned!!!  I think you will totally be another success story!

[[Me...]]

Hi Shyhamlet

I am a little confused you say "I am taking 5 mg cut into 1/4s- I take 2 1/4s at bed time and the other 2 1/4s when I wake up 3- 4 hours later" -  2 1/4s = 1/2 right? so you are taking half a tablet twice = 1 tablet. I am not certain why you are cutting them into quarters.  I agree with DG about trying to eliminate the second dose.  I too used to dose 25mg before bed AND then another 25mg about 3 hours later when I woke.  Having taken Ambien for almost 13years I never thought I would ever be able to eliminate a 2x a night dose.  I did however and even though my sleep is erratic I usually get past the 2.00am mark.

 

I would suggest that you try taking your full dose of 5mg before bed for a couple of weeks.  Then try reducing by 10% each 3 weeks or so - I am on the same page as DG with this taper rate and it seems to be working.

 

IMO - I found Ambien w/ds, when I tried to c/t, far worse than my Benzo c/t  w/ds.  You say you are dreaming - that is a fantastic and a sure sign you are healing