Ambien Withdrawal and Headaches

[Caitlin]

Does anyone else find that they cant think? I'm withdrawing and I can barely formulate sentences...It almost HURTS to think hard enough to push out a small sentence verbally. My boyfriend also says that when I do get a few hours of sleep I sweat A LOT! Anyone else have/had these symptoms? I'm especially interested about the sweating...Also, I have been feeling unnecessarily nervous...like, afraid of the dark...really vague childish fears...is this anxiety?

[Ellen]

I have had a horrible time getting off Ambien CR. What makes it so much worse is the complete denial from my doctor. He started me at 12 mg. Why didn't he start me at a lower dosage? He told me it was not habit forming and I could take it every night. I took it for 2 months. When I had side effects such as morning dizziness and nausea, he said they weren't from the Ambien. It is all over the web that these are common side effects. I told him I wanted to get off the drug and he said I could quit cold turkey if I wanted. NOT TRUE!!! NOT SAFE!!! There has been no one to help me through the tapering process. It is so hard to guess how fast to taper off. And the CR's should not be cut in half, so you have to switch to the regular pills at 5 mg and then break them. After I was almost finished, I heard you should go very slowly. I went from 12 mg to 6 mg for two nights, then 2.5 mg for two nights and then off. Lots of side effects, especially hangover-type sensations, up and down blood pressure and on and off nervousness. I feel like my old self again. I'm back to some insomnia, but at least it is all me. Oh, a different doctor called Ambien a pharmaceutical sledgehammer. Get off this stuff! You CAN do it.

[Jacksonville FL]

Up until the past two years I had never even taken Aspirin. Two years ago when I couldn't sleep my doctor gave me a prescription for Ambien and said there was no chance of addiction. What a joke. I have tried 4 or 5 times to get off the drug - no luck. Next step, I am scheduling a sleep study. I never knew what night horror could be until I tried to not take the Ambien anymore. If you love someone tell them to never take Ambien.

[Ray]

I'm up to 100 mg per day and growing. I'm admitting myself for treatment early this week. I'm in real trouble.

[Jx Australia]

Follow this webiste...http://www.benzo.org .uk/manual/bzsched.htm
Ive found it to be a great sort of information regarding slow withdrawl of both benzo and non benzo related drugs..
The problem with sudden withdrawl from Ambien is that you will have both panic and night terrors. It is sensisble to replace the drug witha safer, longer acting benzo like Valium and slowly lower the dose every week if necessary. There really is no fast way of doing this. Ive just recently stopped Ambien or Stilnox as we call it in Australia and it was very hard. Luckily i found the above website and have been on a slow withdrawl plan. Its really helping me gain my life back.
Furthermore, Dr's dont seem to have much education in benzo withdrawl. The responiblity falls on the individualn to educate and evaluate their own situation. Find the information about the drug you are on. Truth is, you probably know more about it than the Dr prescribing it. After all you are taking it, not the Dr. Well that you are a aware of.
Take it slow and remember there is light at the end, it just takes time

[Dina]

Caitlin wrote:

Does anyone else find that they cant think? I'm withdrawing and I can barely formulate sentences...It almost HURTS to think hard enough to push out a small sentence verbally. My boyfriend also says that when I do get a few hours of sleep I sweat A LOT! Anyone else have/had these symptoms? I'm especially interested about the sweating...Also, I have been feeling unnecessarily nervous...like, afraid of the dark...really vague childish fears...is this anxiety?

I have been sweating, had abnormal bleeding (nose and other parts), gained about 40 pounds, lost some hair, my eyes are always swollen, have now kidney problems and heart rumor

stay away from this drug, especially in combination with antidepressants

[Dina]

Ray wrote:

I'm up to 100 mg per day and growing. I'm admitting myself for treatment early this week. I'm in real trouble.

Be careful, the treatment will be that you might not be able to fall asleep at all. I have done this and the doctors prescribed me some other sleeping aids (lunestra and antidepressants). I have taken them and found out later that nothing helped. My central nerve system was damaged and it destroyed my life

[Dina]

Jacksonville FL wrote:

Up until the past two years I had never even taken Aspirin. Two years ago when I couldn't sleep my doctor gave me a prescription for Ambien and said there was no chance of addiction. What a joke. I have tried 4 or 5 times to get off the drug - no luck. Next step, I am scheduling a sleep study. I never knew what night horror could be until I tried to not take the Ambien anymore. If you love someone tell them to never take Ambien.

Great comment. I had the same problems and the sleep lab stated that it takes me up to 240 minutes to fall asleep and my actual rem phase is only 19%(with 240 minutes of sleep at night). I have taken no more drugs for over a year now and nothing got better.
good luck, but I can not tell you what the outcome will be. Just stay away from any additional medication.

[Dina]

Jacksonville FL wrote:

Up until the past two years I had never even taken Aspirin. Two years ago when I couldn't sleep my doctor gave me a prescription for Ambien and said there was no chance of addiction. What a joke. I have tried 4 or 5 times to get off the drug - no luck. Next step, I am scheduling a sleep study. I never knew what night horror could be until I tried to not take the Ambien anymore. If you love someone tell them to never take Ambien.

Yes stay away from it...look for homeopathic medicine instead.

[Dina]

Caitlin wrote:

Does anyone else find that they cant think? I'm withdrawing and I can barely formulate sentences...It almost HURTS to think hard enough to push out a small sentence verbally. My boyfriend also says that when I do get a few hours of sleep I sweat A LOT! Anyone else have/had these symptoms? I'm especially interested about the sweating...Also, I have been feeling unnecessarily nervous...like, afraid of the dark...really vague childish fears...is this anxiety?

Yes ambien causes speech problems. I had the same experience---and I am a language teacher---I lost my job, could not teach longer than 1 hour per day

[Dina]

kathy wrote:

i have been on ambien for over a year, am now fighting with withdrawl. it is absolutely horrible. strange night terrors are a big one. if anyone has any suggestions, i am hoping for help. how long will this go on. can't go much more on no sleep and the anxiety at night is unbearable.

Can you imagine that I have had these symptoms for over 2.5 years now. Nightmares, sleep only 2-4 hours per night...my body never recovered from the nerve damage....I feel so helpless and have consulted more than 20 doctors (USA, Germany and Switzerland)...there diagnosis--depression--treatme nt-- more sleep aids and antidepressants--what a joke--it completly destroyed my life and family--death is welcome

[Bereaved in RI]

I take a total of 24-29 pills every night (nice cocktail) and get on average 2-3 hours of sleep. If I go without Ambien, I can forget about sleeping altogether.
Is there anybody here who's insomnia has degenerated to this extent? I am wondering if there is even any point in going to rehab or not.
Thanks

Is there some sort of sleep study clinic you can go to? The amount of medication you are taking is extremely worrisome. I'm not a doctor, but it seems like you need to get real help. The drugs aren't helping you. Have you tried talking to a shrink? Maybe there's a psychological cause for your insomnia. What about massage therapy or acupuncture?

I wish you good luck and a good night's sleep.

[Bereaved in RI]

I have been taking Ambien for three months, every night. I started after my beautiful baby girl died suddenly in her sleep. My life is shattered and I couldn't sleep without crying all night or wandering around in the dark. The Ambien helped me sleep, but now I want to get off it. I stopped taking it cold turkey a few days ago and have been having bad headaches and feel really disoriented and dizzy. I've had weird numbness and tingling in different parts of my body. And I can't sleep at all. It does seem to be getting a little better though. I am hopeful that in a few more days, I will be able to sleep again all by myself and start to feel better. I never felt like the sleep I got on Ambien was good-quality sleep. It was better than being awake and miserable with my grief, but I never felt really rested.

Thanks for listening.

A Grieving Mom

[Scott T]

I see all these horror stories but this just hasn't been the case for me. My insomnia is terrible--before Ambien I would sometimes stay awake for two or three days, walking around like a zombie. Even after that, I'd only sleep 1-2 hours. I tried all the usual routes--no caffeine, relaxation, etc. Then I tried benadryl which knocks me out but makes me feel like crap the entire next day.
I've taken Ambien for about 3 years now, 5 mg a night, 5x a week and it still works fine, I have no desire to take more, and I feel *much* better in the day than I did when I wasn't sleeping.
I suppose I should stop taking it, but again my insomnia was so awful for so many years it really is a blessing to be able to get a good night's sleep.

[Liz]

Karen wrote:

<quoted text>
Shakes, sweats, night terrors. I never stopped. I did get off for a whole month once by dousing myself full of Valerian root and Melatonin. Took one Ambien one time again and was hooked right back in.
I am off it completely now after landing in ER 3 times in a 10 month period of time because I was acting psychotic from it.
Read my other posts... there are lots of them in the Topix Ambien pages. My M.D. prescribed one of the oldest sleeping pills around (Dalmane) and I was off (no longer desiring or craving) Ambien within 2 days. No withdrawal, no psycho stuff anymore. Everything is well with me now. Except it will take many years to undo all the damage that using Ambien has done financially, physically, emotionally, and relationship wise.
Tell your doc you want off but don't think you can do it without something else. On that note... shun Sonata, Lunesta, Rozerem, etc.,. They don't have the "umph" that Ambien has and they don't work (at least they didn't for me... not at all. Waste of $$$.
Good luck to you. Please keep us posted. I'm in here all the time as I'm finally free of the Ambien monkey on my back and want to help and warn others.
Karen

Karen, This was my first night off Ambien. I am really sick. I am hurting everywhere. I know I can quit because now I'm terrified. I was wondering how long this could take and what kind of advise from your experience you could share. Thanks, Liz

[Claudia]

Liz, it CAN be done. It takes time, it's painful and very frustrating because of the setbacks and the ongoing question of whether you are going to sleep or not. Every night when I go to bed I wonder if I will sleep, but after two months of not taking Ambien-i took 10mg for 8 years- I am able to sleep a few hours most nights. I still cannot bring myself to throw out the remaining pills but more than anything I really don't dare even think about taking one because I am really afraid that I'll get hooked.

[Ellen]

To Liz and Bereaved.

You are having side effects from withdrawaling too fast. My new doctor confirmed that is dangerous to stop ambien cold turkey. You must taper down the dosages. There are lots of thoughts out there about how fast to taper off the medicine, but slower is safer. See my entry above. The night that I went cold turkey (with my old doctor's advice) I ended up in the ER with crazy blood pressure and seizures. Once I started tapering the dosages, the worst symptoms went away and the lesser ones got better as I gradually reduced the dosage. You will be okay. I am totally back to my old self now. In the midst of it, I saw no light at the end of the tunnel, the there is one.

[Michael]

Scott T wrote:

I see all these horror stories but this just hasn't been the case for me. My insomnia is terrible--before Ambien I would sometimes stay awake for two or three days, walking around like a zombie. Even after that, I'd only sleep 1-2 hours. I tried all the usual routes--no caffeine, relaxation, etc. Then I tried benadryl which knocks me out but makes me feel like crap the entire next day.
I've taken Ambien for about 3 years now, 5 mg a night, 5x a week and it still works fine, I have no desire to take more, and I feel *much* better in the day than I did when I wasn't sleeping.
I suppose I should stop taking it, but again my insomnia was so awful for so many years it really is a blessing to be able to get a good night's sleep.

I have to agree. I spent years with terrible insomnia, and taking Ambien has been a Godsend. I can finally fall asleep quickly and get up feeling fine and well-rested. I feel terrible that so many people seem to have had such bad reactions, but I gotta say for me, it's been a tremendous relief.

[Metal Girl]

I have been on Ambien since the end of January this year after the loss of my son. At first I was grateful I could sleep, but then the effectiveness wore down, I was taking a bit more, and it still didn't help (same old story). My doctor put me on Trazodone, which is an anti-depressant, but also presribed for other uses, including as a sleep aid. I took controlled increased doses every night at his direction, until I was able to get a good full night's sleep. I only took a couple days, and since then I immediately started backing off the dosage. I have been able to lower that dosage every night. I read Trazodone was a low risk dependance sleep aid. It really helped in getting off the Ambien fast, and it seems that I will be backed off enough in a couple more days to be totally off the Trazodone. It may be a solution for better withdrawal, it was for me.

[Clugent]

Claudia wrote:

Liz, it CAN be done. It takes time, it's painful and very frustrating because of the setbacks and the ongoing question of whether you are going to sleep or not. Every night when I go to bed I wonder if I will sleep, but after two months of not taking Ambien-i took 10mg for 8 years- I am able to sleep a few hours most nights. I still cannot bring myself to throw out the remaining pills but more than anything I really don't dare even think about taking one because I am really afraid that I'll get hooked.

Claudia, I was on ambien for eight months straight, sometimes the 12.5 mg CR tablets, usually just the regular 10 mg pill. After five months I started a taper toward discontinuation. Six weeks ago, when I finally got down to 2 mg per day, I was really in bad shape. Now, 30 days after I stopped ambien altogether I'm enormously thankful that the ordeal seems to be "in hand." But, like you, I am still caught up in withdrawal symptons that sometimes are quite severe: night sweats, dysphoria, deep depressions and never enough sleep -- but I also have a few nights each week where I can sleep for six hours in a block. I still have two or three bad nights per week, where I'm lucky to get a single hour of sleep before the night terrors throw me out of bed. But, the ugliest part of my original WD seems to have subsided, the "night terror" symptoms used to come with a nasty suicidal compulsion that seems now to be over. I just cannot sleep on the bad nights, getting maybe an hour, or two only.
The present situation is still not "excellent," but it is already so much better than it was just three weeks ago that I really think I've really turned a corner. Whew!
At this point I'm wondering how much permanent damage was done to my brain, and whether I'll ever get back to any thing like "normal." I'll keep some notes on how long this rebound insomnia lasts, and maybe this will encourage others to take the final plunge and tough out the month or two of rough times, knowing, that for some of us, the healing time may be fairly quick. For those ambien-addicts who've been on the stuff for multiple years, their WD experience may be quite different, probably more protracted; but moodwise, being off ambien just for 30 days -- I feel so much more positive! I was unaware how many of my daily symptoms (depression, agoraphobia, suicidal blues, anxiety) were actually being caused/ exacerbated by continued ambien use.
My wholehearted, very best wishes for the rapid recovery of all my fellow
users here, whatever the particular poison! IT CAN, AND DOES GET
BETTER!