Night Elf Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Is this supposed to help you fall asleep, stay asleep, or both? I'm trying to figure out if I'm expecting more from it than I'm getting. I realize this medicine is bad for some people. I remember threads of horrid stories. I'm not looking for that information. I do not have side effects from it. In fact, I don't think it even helps with my sleeping. I feel like I'm taking a sugar pill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 It is supposed to help you fall asleep....but it DOES NOT make you sleepy. As a matter of fact, you can stay awake on it.....and end up having black outs....ask me how I know....:001_huh: Anyway, don't take ambien until you are done with your day and IN BED...under your covers...tv off....dh happy....and ready to sleep....then don't move.... Oh, make sure you go to the potty first too.... Ambien only stays in your body 2 1/2 hours.....but I find once I am sleeping, I stay asleep....and Ambien is the only thing that doesn't make me groggy in the morning..... HTH Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gracesteacher Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Ambien is suppose to help you fall asleep with in a half hour of taking the pill. Most of the patients I have take it and do stuff till they feel tired. Even their regular drs tell them to do this however this is not how the pill was developed. Ambien CR is suppose to help you maintain sleep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 There is an extended release version that might help you stay asleep. What dose are you taking? I find just 5 mg helps me sleep. Sometimes 10 is better. Many people take 10. I have never had a bad effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Anyway, don't take ambien until you are done with your day and IN BED...under your covers...tv off....dh happy....and ready to sleep....then don't move.... Faithe I have taken it maybe 10 nights a month for years - mostly when I am traveling, but other times as well. I always take it and then go about my last bit of evening - take a shower, read a book,tidy the kitchen. I have never had a problem with black outs or behaving strangely. I do tend to take a small dose, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 I haven't taken it since last year. The most recent RX is for Lunesta but that is too expensive to refill, and it really didn't seem to be any different than the Ambien for me. I asked my doctor to phone in Ambien to try again. When I think back on it, I was expecting it to make me sleepy but it never did. I didn't realize that's not how it works. I would be awake for a couple of hours and then feel ready for bed, but I always figured that was timing and not medicine. My dose was 10 mg. though. I definitely remember that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gracesteacher Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Ambien is suppose to act like a benzodiazepine or seditive however is that is not working then ask for a benzodiazepine or a sleep study to see what is going on that you dont feel like you are falling asleep. One thing we also recommend is to turn tv computer and such light sources off about two hours before bed. Dim the lights in the house. If you cant fall asleep after laying in bed for what feels like a half hour find another sleep area and try again Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Ambien is suppose to act like a benzodiazepine or seditive however is that is not working then ask for a benzodiazepine or a sleep study to see what is going on that you dont feel like you are falling asleep. One thing we also recommend is to turn tv computer and such light sources off about two hours before bed. Dim the lights in the house. If you cant fall asleep after laying in bed for what feels like a half hour find another sleep area and try again Good luck Thanks for the information. I do have a benzodiazepine, Ativan, that is my goto anxiety med, but it doesn't have a sedating effect at all. I don't take it every day, but I'd say I take it at least 3 times per week, always in the early evening. My doctor is trying to spread out my other meds, but the evenings are usually my worst time of day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gracesteacher Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 your evening is typically my morning. how is that your worse time? too much going on or just anxiety? if i can help with anything i will do what i can sleep is soooooo important in ones health Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 I know this sounds new age-y and dorky, but I can't tell you how well this works. A friend who is an herbologist heard me complaining about insomnia and recommended lemon balm. You buy it loose, put a tsp. in a tea ball and drink it like tea about 1/2 before bed. You might even start w/ a 1/2 teaspoon. This tea is nothing like chamomile -- the stuff really works. I googled it and googled it for side effects -- there are none. In fact, they're starting to think it helps Alzheimers patients with the anxiety they tend to get around 5 or 6 p.m. each evening. They call it "sun downers syndrome. Anyway I can't recommend it enough. I did find that if I drank a cup every night after a few months it lost it's efficacy and I had to drink more. So I started to only use it on the nights I really needed it. But nobody should read this and take lemon balm for anxiety -- it really will put you to sleep. Where to buy it? I thought I could find it in tea bags at regular stores. I had to go to a special health food type store that sells lots of organic produce, vegan food etc. Good luck, Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 your evening is typically my morning. how is that your worse time? too much going on or just anxiety? if i can help with anything i will do what i can sleep is soooooo important in ones health The only blame I can assign is that my day is done and that is when I start relaxing. Until then, I'm very focused on working with ds16 and his schoolwork. I also get in a little housework and have time to sit and check this board or read a book. But after dinner, things settle down and I start getting bored with the internet and tired of reading. My worries kick in as my mind becomes more active. I have bipolar 2 and despite meds, I can still have racing thoughts sometimes. When I'm stressed, the thoughts get more intrusive. Right now I have two main worries that just sit and gnaw at my mind. I'm also wondering if some of it is my Concerta wearing off. I take that about 9:00am. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Ok, I consider myself an Ambien pro. I have been taking it off and on for five years now and I can tell you some of the strangest stories. You are supposed to take immediately before laying down to go to sleep, as in already in bed. I find that there is a window of about 15-30 minutes in which if you are laying down it will help you fall asleep (which is what it's job is. It is for helping you fall asleep, not stay asleep). If you miss that window though then you are basically wildly drugged and no more likely to go to sleep than any other time. We calll this state Ambienated. This is when you do absolutely crazy things that you have no memory of what-so-ever until someone else tells you and sometime not even then. I usually take Ambien at bed time and then if I wake up in the middle of the night I take some Xanana to fall back asleep. Sometimes I obviously take the wrong thing or the Ambien has not worn off yet and I do weird stuff. Just this past week, I was visiting my dd in GA. I went to bed at tabout 9:30-10:00 and went right to sleep. The next morning I get an email from my hubby asking if I could decipher the email I sent him last night before I take my meds that night. Most of the words were English buy they were not strung togther in any logical manner. Some examples: the lightness of winter, the fragile vegetarians, call me in the morning after you get out of bed but before you take the dog to be trimmed. And then there was some garbledy gook that made less sense than that - something that had been naveled and was not an orange, a baby or have anything to do with the Navy. The time stamp was 3:00. By my recollection, I was sound asleep at 3 AM. I don't remember waking up, getting on the computer or email my hubby. My family is usually pretty good about insuring that I stay in bed after I take me meds. Sometimes even Ambien doesn't work though and I have to take something stronger but at least it knocks me out and I don't have to worry about doing crazy stuff. If Ambien isn't working for you and your benzos are doing the trick either, then maybe it is time to consider other options. You can PM me if you want. I am leaving for GA today but I will be there tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Just this past week, I was visiting my dd in GA. I went to bed at tabout 9:30-10:00 and went right to sleep. The next morning I get an email from my hubby asking if I could decipher the email I sent him last night before I take my meds that night. Most of the words were English buy they were not strung togther in any logical manner. Some examples: the lightness of winter, the fragile vegetarians, call me in the morning after you get out of bed but before you take the dog to be trimmed. And then there was some garbledy gook that made less sense than that - something that had been naveled and was not an orange, a baby or have anything to do with the Navy. The time stamp was 3:00. By my recollection, I was sound asleep at 3 AM. I don't remember waking up, getting on the computer or email my hubby. Oh my gosh, this made me laugh so hard. :lol::lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gracesteacher Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 One of the tricks I have been taught is to roll your eyes up keep them there but closed and count up from one and down from 200 at the same time. Doing this doesn't let your mind race with thoughts as it is tooooo busy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Oh my gosh, this made me laugh so hard. :lol::lol::lol: Yeah, my famiy was quite amused as well. As you can see by the posting time, I'm not sleeping tonight either. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 My 14yo has insomnia and does really well on Trazodone. She takes 3/4 of the lowest-dose tablet 20-30 minutes before going to bed and hasn't had any problems at all since she started taking it. This was after two full years of less than 4 hours of sleep/night. My 19yo has also had sleeping problems and was on Trazodone after going two weeks with no more than 2 hours sleep/night, but it didn't work for her. Even after two tablets, she couldn't sleep more than an hour. She takes Remeron as-needed now and it works well for her. She only ends up taking it a few times each month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Twain Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Ambien and other drugs in that class only help you fall asleep about 10-15 minutes sooner than if you don't take them. Keep in mind that these drugs also increase death rates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coffeetime Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 (edited) In fact, I don't think it even helps with my sleeping. I feel like I'm taking a sugar pill. Just wanted to say that I've had much better results from Lunesta. It worked right away, and I never felt groggy the next day. (My issue was staying asleep but I know it helped me fall asleep, too. ETA: Just saw that you said Lunesta doesn't work any better (and yes, it's incredibly expensive.) :( Edited July 13, 2012 by Coffeetime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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