Ambien Addiction

[cpndrk]

Are there many people out there dealing with ambien addiction? I recently went to treatment for 36 days as a result of ambien (well benzos and opiates overall) but my drug of choice is probably ambien. There wasn't a single person there who was dealing with ambien addiction and i keep searching the internet about it to find any information at all and there really is none out there. I dont know, if there is anyone out there who has experienced ambien abuse that would be pretty helpful.

thanks

[Ke1991]

Yes. I have been taking ambien 10mg for 10 years now and can't stop.. I find myself taking it during the day to take a nap.. However I have to take 2 in order for it to work. So that's 2 during the day and 2 more at night. And if i wake up in the middle of the night I'll take another to go back to sleep.  So sometimes its 5 a day..... So. Your not the only one dealing with this. I was also addicted to opiods for 3 years too. I was taking 6 norco a day. I am now on suboxone 12mg. However. I cannot get off the ambien.

[kimmieb]

yes, sleep meds are considered psychotropic drugs (just as are benzos, anti-depressants, ADHD meds, etc.)....yes, they are....and as such, they alter chemicals in the brain, and yes, they are addictive

google "theroadback" and read up on it.....they lay it out pretty well in black and white

sleep meds like ambien and ambien cr and lunesta and sonata and i can't even all the rest that i took that DID not help me with my sleep problems (and i never abused but just stopped taking them because none worked)...anyway, they're all potentially addictive to a very high degree....especially if taken regularly over a longer period of time than just for a week or few

again, google that site and read up....extremely interesting stuff....might be surprised at what you read

just my two cents!! :-)

[lady67]

I hadn't even thought about the caffine issue.  I am a major Dr. Pepper addict.  My husband jokes that if I ever needed to be rehydrated, just give me a straight line of Dr.Pepper.  You make a very good point.  I know that is alot of the reason I would not be able to fall asleep.  I now don't drink any after 8:00 pm.  or atleast I try not to.  Well, it has been a long day and I am going to turn in for the night.  I have enjoyed debating the issue with you.  Debating is one thing but tearing someone down is another.

God Bless
Susan

[worried878]

Also...u were under an awful lot of stress which causes ur hair to fall out...u have been thru a hard time and u have the right to be sad..if i had to put my dad in a nursing home...i would probably just lose it...so u did better that i would have...this is so hard...we can do all of this to help us feel better but in the end it does not....i hate to say this but nobody cares if i screw my life up except those i would hurt...i would love to have a big pity pary weekly when i feel low but no one likes doomers.so no one would show up at my pity party...no one really cares as there lives are busy too...picking myself up and moving on is the only thing i can do as no one else will pick me up ..in the end it is just me...i have to rely on me and my strength to move forward

[worried878]

My sponsor does not take any mind altering drugs at all...she is at that point...no muscle relaxers, no benadryl..she wont take zyrtec, not sudafed....she trid ambin and abused it...no nyquil for a cold...she will take alieve or tylenol alone as she says it does not alter her mind...no caffeine...she was a hardocre abuser and had to stop every mind altering drug out there...including caffienne...no alcohol...there are some who have to go to this extreme...another girlfriend who abused ambien is now coming off of lyrica...i did not know u could abuse lyrica...but she figured out a way and she stays high as a kite an is tapering off of lyrica...not everyone has to go to this extreme...but some do...if u abuse everything u take then complete abstinence is the only answer...i have not gotten to theis point...i abused hydros 60-80 mg a day and that was enough for me...but if i had to i would be like my sponsor and not use any mind altering drugs at all

[lady67]

You didn't offend me.  It is a shame that as an addict I tend to take everything in excess.  Well I don't take my blood pressure meds in excess.  But I do think the Ambien is addictive.  Even my mother is addicted to tylenol pm and they say it is okay.  As I have stated before, everyone is different.  My husband was able to take morphine for his kidney stones and then put them down the toilet when the stone passed.  A doctor also told me that if you were taking the meds for the right reasons, it was hard to become addicted.  However once you cross that line of taking it for the wrong reasons, it is easier to become addicted.  I guess I crossed that line when I had to put my dad in the nursing home and I just wanted to be asleep to keep from dealing with the angry relatives.  That was the wrong reason.

I do believe that it helps some people.  I guess I am just prejudiced about it because of what happened to me.  I know it wasn't the drugs fault, it was mine.  I just want people to be cautious of any medications.  

P.S.  Just a note, for the 18 months I was using the sleep meds, my hair was falling out in huge amounts.  It got so bad last summer that I bought a wig and wore it.  I had my thyroid and all other kinds of test ran to see what the problem was.  After an exhaustive search, my doctor researched the infor from the net on the subject and that is one of the side effects.  On a better note, when I stopped the ambien, my hair has started growing back, just not very quickly.

~Hugs
Susan

[worried878]

I am sorry if I offended u...i do think i have to take responsibilty for my own abuse of narcotics...i do not blame my abuse on a pain pill that is very useful to those who do not abuse it..I accept resonsibiltiy for my abuse...i would also take responsibilty of abuse of ambien or any other medication i chose to abuse or felt compelled to abuse....as many can take narcotic for short term pain relief and ambien as need for sleep...I will not blame the drug...i will blame myself and this is one of the first steps towards recovery for me...i have never blamed lortab for my addiction...it stated it was for short term use only and i used it for 3 years...often above the prescribed dose...it is all my fault...i am sorry if the way i feel is not the way u feel....if u wish to go on blaming the drug that is ur right...i do not think the drug will pop out of nowhere and help u right now..u only have urself ...ambien is addictive to some...not a huge problem like narcs but still is mentioned here.infrequently...what was ur dose? how long did u use it?  these r all questions to be answered...my best friend had to quit taking it as she abused it..i am not blowing it off...just as a rule if taken for less than2 weeks at prescribed dose and only used as needed, it is not up in the high stack or abused drugs...u stated this earlier...i am not blowing off the seriousness of ur problem...but if u dont accept the blame and wish to blame it on the drug..u have a much more serious probelm

[lady67]

Good luck cpndrk

I have been clean from them for 4 months now.  I wish you the best.  

[cpndrk]

well obviously you are asking for problems. opiates are helpfuil to many and people DO take more than is prescribed, snort it, and drink with them to get themselves high. ALL prescription drugs are beneficial if used responsibly. you can't blow off ambien as a whole because it is not a narcotic. ambien is a mind and mood altering substance and, as all mind and mood altering pharmaceuticals, it can be abused. i have gone through the physical and mental withdrawls of ambien and benzos as well, and i can safely say that your body does in fact depend on these. just because you don't hear about the abuse of it like you hear with, say oxycontin, does not mean you can only blame the addict, not the substance. it's so frusterating to hear someone say that a person needs to take responsiblity for their actions of using. do you think i clearly CHOSE to burn myself with a cigar? i knew what i was getting into during the begining of my using, but once i was caught up in it, i could not control it.

[worried878]

When u use a drug..or abuse a drug..like u r speaking of u r askin for problems..snorting ambien is just not in the directions...i have used this drug safely for 15 years when i need help sleeping...i take 3 mg a night as needed and not every night....1/3 of a pill when i need help sleeping...i have never developed a tolerence and i DO have an addiction to opiates...i am not sure it is fair to "nail" a drug as "addictive" that is helpful to many  when people are taking way more than the prescribed dose or snortiing it or drinking with it to get high..this is really not a fair presumption...compared to benzos or dalmane and restoril (benzo) this is a safer drug than most for sleep...if people choose to take it all night long and abuse it, or take it for months on end every night, it is not really the drug's fault...ambien can be a life saver for many who need a safe medication for sleep...it is sad that some will abuse everything they get their hands on, but dont blame the drug, sometimes people need to take responsibilty for this ...and abuse of lunesta goes hand in hand with this as it is also not an addictive drug as a rule...sorry...but blaming drugs that are not known for their addictive qualities for ur addiction when u abused or continue to take them every night is not a fair assessment of the drug itself

[cpndrk]

i'm a senior in high school right now and was using it my entire junior year and about the first semester of my senior year. for the most part i used it pretty responsibly even though i would usually get out of bed once i was high and mess around on the computer and such and not remembering anything. i never thought of it as a recreational drug until i was talking to one of my friends about it and she wanted to try it. she ended up trying it with me at work during the day and slowly i began using it at work to let the time pass quickly. i then began using it everyday just so i could stop thinking and forget and just not care. at night i would sometimes snort (and i am guessing because i can't remember exactly) probably between 15-20 10mg pills and do all sorts of ridiculous things, i ended up burning my wrist with a cigar one night because i thought it would look cool, i can honestly say i dont even remember the pain of it happening. after this happened my doctor and i decided to switch medicines up. he put me on sonata, which i abused, and lunesta, which i also abused. i enventually went back to ambien with my parents locking it up in a safe and giving me my dosage right before i went to bed.

as soon as school started, i found someone who would sell me their ambien. i was then buying ambien from her and using it during school, i was high almost everyday and said the most ridiculous things that i cant even remember now. i dont even remember the majority of my senior year. everytime i would get high i would always go to the extreme, meaning i would do all the pills that i had bought, generally this was about 60mg every other day pull 20mg that my parents were giving me at night. sometimes i would find the pills my parents hid, and end up doing all of them, which probably was between 15-20 10mg pills but i really cant say exactly.

i started using during my rowing practices as well and i ended up quitting rowing, which i have done since 6th grade, because all i was focused on was ambien and other pills.

i dont know, i really feel that people need to be made aware of the damages that this pill can do to people..

yeah.. thanks.. haha

[bladerunnerb]

I guess I don't agree with most on here.  I've used Ambien and Ambien CR on and off for several years.  I've gone as much as 10-15 days in a row, and as much as 30 days inbetween.  Your body will get used to the Ambien, but it is not addictive.  If you take it for a few days in a row, then you will have a night or two where it is more difficult to fall asleep.  It is important to note that ANY drug can be psycholgically addictive, but Ambien DR has a very safe profile, does not typically cause any withdrawal symptoms like opiates do...from my experience.

[sicraw]

For you - as for me - horrible w/d and I know it's ambien as I don't do any other drugs or drink.  But I did take 10 mg every night for 5 years.  Once you start and sleep is so quick and you sleep well, it is hard not to take it (especially if you have an addictive personality).  Please be careful.  If it needs a prescription and says don't take longer than 14 days . . . believe it!

[lady67]

Good on eagle

[worried878]

If people use a sleep aid every night for years they will become dependent on it....or if they are taking more than the amount prescribed...that is just a fact...almost all sleep meds say for short term use only..even tylenol pm says for occasional use.or no longer than 2 weeks....the best thing to do if there is a problem with sleep that requires an every night medication would be to stay with the natural stuff like melatonin and valerian root....but then recently I read an article about someone addicted to valerian root!  My friend became addicted to benadryl and was taking 5 each night to go to sleep...she tapered down and quit...she is not an addict and does not even drink...but for years she had used benadryl to sleep and her dose climbed higher and higher....everyone is different and an addict needs to be careful

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

And I thought the short term use label meant that I should empty the bottle as rapidly as possible.....

[lady67]

google ambien addiction and look at the people who have abused it.  YES IT IS HABIT FORMING, especially if you have an addiction problem.  I am sorry I feel VERY strong about this situation.  These medicines are designed for short term use, but as an addict, we all know how that goes.

[lady67]

I have been clean from all sleep meds since January 2, 2008.  It is just getting to the point I don't crave them.  I have found a wonderful all natural sleep med at walmart called Rapid Sleep.  The natural stuff has never worked for me and I don't like benedryl, but this stuff works great.  This is coming from a person who took around 48 mg. a night.  

I wish Amben and Lunesta would be taken off the market.

Love
~Susan

[lady67]

OY MY GOSH YES!!!!

Ambien and Lunesta are what did me in.  I was a binge user with the hydros and could take em or leave em.  Meaning if I had them I took them, but if I didn't I was okay.  The sleeping pills are what killed me.  Over 3 months I wrecked our vehicles 4 times because of them.  I would go to work and then as soon as I got home I would take some  (around4:00 pm.)  Then I would wake up a little while later and would get in the car and drive.  I also had countless conversations with my family that I do not remember.  It was a nighttmare.  My father came to our house for his birthday (about 1 week before he died) and I was messed up and can't remember anything.  That is what hurts me the most.  The last time I was able to spend with my daddy I don't remember.  Those stupid little pills robbed me of my life.  I thought because they were non-narcotic they were okay.  Those things are evil.  Thank goodness they don't show the commercials so often.  While I was going through withdrawls, I would be watching t,v, and everyother commercial was for sleep med.

Please don't ever get these pills, they will take everything away from you.
~Susan

[worried878]

My friend abused ambien  but when she quit she had no physical withdrawal from it..she would take like 30-40 mg and stay up and do crazy stuff....she also had addictions to narcotics as well which was a physical wd..ambien is a widely prescribed sleep aid and not always habit forming and is not an extremely addictive drug..it knocks most people out within 20 minutes...most have no problems with it...then i have seen a few that abused it and became addicted/not sure if it is just a psychological  addiction or physical tho......it may be a good idea to try and taper off of it...