Anyone use Ambien for intermittent insomnia?

[Bess]

If so, what are your side effects if any? Do you feel drugged or still sleepy when you wake in the morning?

 

Thank you.

[mom2hunangirls]

I do! Before Ambien I had not slept an entire night in YEARS. I never could take the OTC "PM" meds...they made me jittery and didn't let me sleep at all. Lunesta just made me more tired but still couldn't sleep (yeah, that was fun). But Ambien has been great!

 

I was Rx'd 5 mg and can take it 4 times a week. Due to some life transistions (bringing our daughter home from China), I've only been taking 2.5 a night...but I do have to pretty much take it every night.

 

On 5mg I really need a good 10 hours to sleep it off and not "feel" it the next day. But if I did only get 8 I wouldn't exactly say I felt bad, and could do what I needed to, but if given the chance I would nap too, for about an hour.

 

On 2.5mg, I would say it's the best thing to a natural nights sleep...what "normal" people get. So it's been good for me. If something does wake me up I'm able to go right back to sleep. And even when I was waking with our daughter a few times a night I was fine the next day.

 

I am soooo glad I found Ambien. I had no idea just how sleep deprived I was!

[Claire]

Not Ambien, but I used Sonata intermittently over a period of several years. It was really wonderful for me. I could take it, sleep 8 hours, and not feel drugged or dopey the next morning. It was good for helping me re-train my sleep system. When I got "off", I would take Sonata for a few days in a row and it would seem to "reset" me into a normal sleep cycle. Eventually I didn't need it anymore. My only gripe about it was that it was so expensive. It was $1 per pill even with insurance (about $3 per pill without insurance).

 

Ambien came out later. I would imagine it has a similar effect. If you don't want to waste money, have the pharmacist make up just a trial portion of the initial prescription. If it doesn't work well for you, you're not out an entire month's supply of pills. If it does work out, you just go back to the pharmacy to get the rest of the Rx.

[crazycoffeechic]

Ambien is some good stuff! The doctor prescribed it to me one time, slept like a baby. Couldn't afford it after I lost my insurance, but I'm getting new insurance next month and that is the first thing I'm asking for! It's not addictive and you don't feel groggy the next day. I don't know if it affects everybody like this, but when my husband takes a whole one at bedtime, he doesn't remember what he does after he takes it. Can't remember what mg. he takes, but if he takes half of it at 8pm then the rest before he goes to bed, he's alright.

[mommylaw]

I LOVED Ambien. I was able to sleep for the first time...uh..ever. I don't recall ever sleeping through an entire night before Ambien.

 

I was in heaven. I didn't have any side effects, that I knew of, it was heaven.

 

After a month or so Dh began making odd comments. "Last night when you were cooking eggs..." "We had this conversation last night..." "You seemed so tired I was surprised when you started working out at 11..." :001_huh:Huh? None of it made sense. I didn't do any of those things. For the 1st time in my life I was sleeping, or not. :glare:

 

Turns out I had the amnesia side effect. It was really creepy. I had absolutely zero memory of anything that happened 10-20 minutes after taking the pill.

 

I know this is probably TMI, but I'm certain this is how #5 was conceived. In Dh's defense, I don't think he was able to tell that I wasn't "with it." Apparently, I acted completely normal despite have no memories.

 

I stopped taking it as soon as I figured out what the heck was going on. That was over 3 years ago. I would love to try something else but I'm too scared the same thing will happen again.

[Claire]

I don't think Sonata has that amnesia effect. You might want to ask for that to try.

[cin]

Ambien made me evil. I loved sleeping well, but my personality changed. for the worse. The dr had 'never heard of that one' before.:glare:

[Parrothead]

I have chronic intermittent sleep onset insomnia. Ambien is my best friend. I don't ever feel drugged or groggy in the mornings.

[my2kidsmom]

I've taken Ambien and Abien CR. I think I feel worse in the mornings that I don't take it if I've had a bad night. Sicne I dont' have insurance right now, I've been taking benadryl to help me sleep. I feel a little groggy in the mornings, but usually better than when I take forever to fall asleep and then wake up a billion times in the night. I definatly like the CR better because it helps with falling asleep and staying asleep. Which, I have a problem with both.

[klmama]

Sorry to hijack your thread, but it doesn't hurt to know other options. My doctor recommended I try melatonin when bedtime calcium and magnesium weren't enough. If I can't sleep, it works wonders. Something to consider, too, is that you are stimulating your brain to stay awake if you use the computer or the TV before bedtime. Even reading a book can cause sleeplessness in some people because it activates your brain so much.

 

Regardless of what you choose, I hope you find a good solution for your sleep needs!

[Karen in CO]

I have frequent insomnia - partly because I work off-shifts, but I have always had it. I have tried everything around to get better sleep especially since I started getting migraines if I go days without sleep.

 

Anywho...

 

Ambien is too strong and lasts too long.

Lunesta is not as strong but lasts too long.

 

I typically have at most 7-8 hours between lights out and morning. How do I know before I go to bed if I am going to have insomnia that night. So what I would do is not sleep one night then take a sleeping pill the next. Bad.

 

My doc switched me to Sonota. It has the shortest half-life of the sleeping pills. That way I can toss and turn for 3 or 4 hours then take a Sonota and be set.

 

I actually take it less often now than I did before and I don't stress about taking them.