HI....sleep can be very elusive in early recovery it is usually the last thing to come back to normal there are many natural cures untill you try them you really dont know witch one will work best for you melatonin works for many just make sure the room is dark after you take it or it wont work vlarian root has helped many my favorite and I still use it for insomnia is the sleepytime tea ...you can pick it up at walmart in with the regular tea's it comes with double bags use both and a little sweet/n low to give it some flavor try it 1/2 hr b/4 you go to bed gives you time for a nice hot soak witch will also help I wish you luck on this it is one of the hardest parts of detoxing but eventually time will heal you....God bless.....Gnarly
Please be very careful with the ambien. It is highly addictive also, and if you are not careful, you will end up trading one addiction for another. I was completely addicted to ambien and lunesta. It had such a grip on my life and I ended up wrecking 3 cars and doing countless other things while I was using. If you can get by without using any of the prescription sleeping aids it is best.
the 12.5mg tabs are an extended release....i didn't know you could break those...
have you tried melatonin? you can't really use it with the ambien and for it to be effective, you usually need to make sure you 'prepare' yourself for bed. lights off....relax....let yourself wind down....all that junk.
ambien and benzo's usually don't do a lot of good other than to simply introduce another addicting substance. i've heard that very limited use of valium can sometimes help....but still its usually not enough to be worth it.
The sleeplessness was the worste for me as well, I tried several medications to help me sleep but the fact of the matter is the first 4 days nothing is really going to help, After that trazodone and nyquill became my best friends, Hang in there it will help find some friends to talk to through the night to keep your mind off it as much as possible, Ive been right where you are to many times to count but it will get better keep the faith and find some support in the mean time we are here to help. God Bless!