6 ms·
I’ve been taking Zolpidem for about 13 years now and suffer from addiction. I’ve sought treatment for this but it doesn’t work as now I cannot sleep without tak
by bxtt 6y ago
I’ve been taking Zolpidem for about 13 years now and suffer from addiction. I’ve sought treatment for this but it doesn’t work as now I cannot sleep without taking something. If you haven’t taken Z-type sleeping aids, I would definitely suggest not to start, as from experience the consequences outweigh the benefits. I’ve lost a considerable amount of friends/reputation/etc. from the abuse. Every experience that you hear about from sleeping aids, I’ve been through it (from the loopy fun to binge eating to weird sex to psychosis to crashing my car)
- grecy 6y ago(Genuinely curious and not trying to downplay the seriousness at all) What would happen if you took a month off work and all your obligations and stayed home and didn't take anything for a whole month? My understanding is the human body can't go more than about 10 days without sleep [1]. So I assume at that point you would fall asleep, and then over the coming ~20 days hopefully you could normalize it and get back to some kind of unassisted "regular" sleeping.... ? [1] https://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sleep/how-long-can-you-go-without-sleep https://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sleep/how-long-can...
- Pfhreak 6y agoAccording to Wikipedia, withdrawal symptoms can be severe including seizures, vomiting, etc. To do nothing of the discomfort from a lack of sleep. It would take incredible will power to overcome something like that. It also sounds like there are some treatments that can help fight an auction, including other medications that bind to some of the same receptors. Or very slowly weaning someone off (but then you have to figure out something else for the insomnia.)
- bxtt 6y agoI've actually decided to take some time off work because of my addiction issues. It's more so the cycle. I'll stop taking Zolpidem/Zopiclone for several weeks/month (the first several days -- terrible shakes, chills, nightmares, several days without sleeping etc. Zopiclone/Benzo withdrawal is far worse) After a while, I'll eventually adjust but I have insomnia/poor sleep so I'll eventually cave in due to sleep deprivation then I'll pick back up. For the past year, I would roughly take 90mg of either Zolpidem/Zopiclone in a single night. On average, I roughly go through 100 pills a week (I have pharmacies that sell to me...I know sketch). It wasn't always like this, when I first started taking medication after going to Stanford Sleep Clinic, I would just take a pill or two a night and have fantastic sleep. It was like this for several years but eventually my tolerance increased and my work stress/insomnia got worse with age. I want to reiterate that I've destroyed/damaged every meaningful relationship in my life. I state this all out because I've realized that people have a strange fascination with Ambien.
- refurb 6y agoFor the past year, I would roughly take 90mg of either Zolpidem/Zopiclone in a single night. Holy crap. The typical dose is 5 mg or 10 mg. I’ve taken 10 before and I’m out. 90 mg?!?
- irrational 6y agoI can understand the strange fascination with Ambien. My wife was prescribed it one time. She would take it and then soon after want to have sex. Mind blowing sex (for me) every time. She was insatiable and wanted to do things way outside her norm. But the next day she had absolutely no memory of any of it. That weirded me out and I encouraged her to stop taking them. Though to be honest I wouldn't mind one or two of the ambien fueled sex sessions a year. Absolutely mind blowing, but also exhausting.
- rdevsrex 6y agoThat really makes you question how much free will we have, if a drug can produce that kind of behavior and affect short term memory. But more fascinating still is what functionality in the brain even enables that.
- mensetmanusman 6y agoIt’s often a question of how much. Do we have free will when sleeping? No. There goes a large part of our life. How about when zoned out? No. Do we ever have free will? Atheists looking at the scientific evidence argue that we never have free will.
- foxhop 6y agoI'm of the school of thought that we have at 2 minds, my guess is this drug inhibits our egoic executive mind and our unconscious mind takes over.
- Nexxius 6y agoI've been witness two sleepwalking events with different peopl. Both were fully conversant and aware of their surroundings, they just did odd things and we assumed they were drunk. Later we found out about the ambien and how neither had any recollection of the event.
- Griffinsauce 6y ago10 days without sleep is a great recipe for an epileptic seizure. Don't experiment with this kind of stuff without consulting a neurologist / sleep expert.
- InfiniteRand 6y agoI periodically used to periodically take a day off work and sleep pretty much the entire day to refresh myself during periods when I was having trouble sleeping at night. I found getting yourself back to sleep when you never get to 100% awake is a lot easier than getting to your initial sleep, of course this was with rather mild sleep issues related to stress and anxiety. This isn’t really an option anymore as a father of young kids
- jeron 6y agothat's horrifying, so sorry for the situation you're in right now.
- smabie 6y agoTry getting prescribed seroquel instead. A lot more powerful, and will help you sleep. Less (known?) downsides as well. I guarantee you that you will be able to sleep with it.
- 7839284023 6y agoI am happy that this works for you, but you can't really compare a Z-Drug with an atypical antipsychotic. That's some dangerous medical advice. Also (from wikipedia) on Seroquel / Quetiapine: "Despite being widely used as a sleep aid due its sedating effect, the benefits of such use do not appear to generally outweigh the side effects." https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8812/afd4bc713c03435b68f2bb6ea456c611b0b2.pdf https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8812/afd4bc713c03435b68f2bb... Personally I would only take antipsychotics when absolutley necessary. Nasty stuff.
- smabie 6y agoI've taken it for over 10 years and am better than ever. Hasn't suffered any harmful side-effects either. Of course, side-effects differ from person to person. But it's worth a try. Z-drugs and benzos are way worse. Moreover, if you're severely addicted to Z-drugs like OP, the benefits probably do outweigh the side-effects. Not every person is the same, and the cost benefit analysis differs accordingly.
- winocm 6y agoAntipsychotics ruined my life and gave me tardive dyskinesia.
- smabie 6y agoCould you expound? It's always been in the back of my mind and I take a fairly low does, but would love to hear more about how it started, symptoms, and how it's affected your life. I'm really sorry, that sucks. There is some new medication that is supposed to treat it (I think I saw an ad on TV for it).
- domano 6y agoI got a subscription for 1 package when I had major sleep issues as a young adult and i immediately wanted more. Best 2 weeks of sleep i ever had. Luckily the doctor did not allow another subscription
- odiroot 6y agoSame here. Got like 2 weeks' worth once, a few years ago. Never had a better sleep than on the Z-s.
- raducu 6y agoI really like zolpidem and other substances. I almost never took them for more than 3 consecutive days. I still have a lot of zolpidem laying around and don't take it, because I know the brain gets uses to them and the magic is gone. Amazing how people react differently to addicting substances. Back when I used zolpidem, I found that it is best to use it as a reset button, not as a daily crutch. I do take 300mcg melatonin but I found it has no diminishing returns and in fact it has a negative feedback -- after 3 days of melatonin, I don't need it for at least another week. I keep the zolpidem for "recreational" usage, but I don't want to use it with my wife and daughter in the house in the remote possibility I get sleepwalking(never actually happened, I just get amazing auditory hallucinations before I fall asleep).
- downrightmike 6y agoWhen you immediately want more of something is a REALLY good sign to walk away.
- AuryGlenz 6y agoThat bums me out. I’ve tried two different z-types for very occasional days where I need to get up early - maybe 4 days a year. Anyways, I feel like I’ve had 2 hours of sleep on them even when I get a full 8 or 9 hours. They must really disrupt my sleep patterns.
- peteretep 6y agoAh geez dude, I’m sorry to hear this. Getting over benzos was a huge, year-long drag. But you’re going to need to do that at some point...
- in3d 6y agoTake this with all the weight a message board advice from a non-doctor is worth but have you tried Trazodone instead? It’s used widely for sleep issues and it’s effective for many. And have you looked at something like Ketamine for a possible long-lasting solution?
- Perceval 6y agoI had a good experience with Trazadone. Very easy to get to sleep, eliminated anxiety about going to sleep, and got restful sleep, with only a little grogginess in the morning. No withdrawal when I stopped cold turkey after 2 years. Nowadays I just have valerian tea or magnesium before bed.
- copperx 6y agoTrazodone has a mild side effect profile, but it is an anticholinergic. You don't want to do it long term; there is an association with dementia.
- jdkee 6y agoSeconding Trazodone. It is not addictive but does have a rebound effect if you discontinue it without weaning yourself down.
- stordoff 6y agoI've had some weird side effects from Zopiclone. They're effective, even when benzodiazepines haven't been, but the side-effects are concerning. On multiple occasions, I've woken up and the room appears to bathed in a yellow light (even though no lights were on and it was still dark outside), and on a few occasions I've been looking at the time on my phone, blinked, and it's suddenly four hours later. I've no idea whether I just fell back asleep and checked the time again, four hours passed and I did _something_, or it just made me misremember the first time. They're not drugs I would use lightly. Benzodiazepines on the other hand I've had no issues with (no desire/need to increase the dose, no withdrawal even when I've been taking them for prolonged periods, no side effects), but I don't find them as effective. I have seen the destructive effects they can have though - a family member had to taper off them over six months, and at the end she was cutting the smallest dose tablets into quarters as she still couldn't quite get off them.
- intricatedetail 6y agoI had a week course of Zolpidem and it only worked first two nights. The rest was what some describe as the visit of a walrus. I thought I was sleeping but I was doing things.
- phobosanomaly 6y agoCould you elaborate on that phrase 'visit of a walrus?' I googled around and found that walruses sleep in some pretty weird positions. Is that what you're referring to? Super curious.
- therealx 6y agoOp was most likely referring to the Beatles song. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_the_Walrus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_the_Walrus Edit, just kidding, it's this: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ambien-walrus https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ambien-walrus
- phobosanomaly 6y ago
- mancerayder 6y agoIs it possible to very very slowly taper over a long period of time? Like take a 5 pct lower dose every week by scraping off some and using a scale?
- BuzzwordBingo 6y agoSeriously, tell your doctor. They will stop prescribing these and help you find an alternative that works and has less potential for misuse.
- therealx 6y agoOp should work with their doctor to taper off.