← Return to Ambien

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Ambien

Sleep Health | Last Active: Dec 8 9:00am | Replies (12)

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@triciaann99

Be thankful that trazodone works. I’m happy for you that you didn’t have to go down the Ambien route.

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Replies to "Be thankful that trazodone works. I’m happy for you that you didn’t have to go down..."

No one likes to be dependent on medication. However we have to carefully, with our physicians, determine what we need to be healthy and have a good quality of life. I have to take 3 medications to keep my blood pressure in the normal range and that’s fact. I also have a lifetime of insomnia. I started treating it medically in my 40’s. Started with ambien and later switched to Xanax then Klonopin. Klonopin was very effective for me and I never developed tolerance. 1mg at bedtime consistently resulted in a solid nights sleep. However, as I approached 65, doctors would no longer prescribe it, so I did a slow taper, followed by 9 months of terrible insomnia. I tried CBT-I and it was hell. There are very strict guidelines about not being in bed for more than 20 minutes if awake. I was up and down all night every night. No matter how exhausted I was, I kept getting more agitated and anxious. The doctor was willing to let me try Vistoril and Remeron and neither worked. I eventually got a referral to a sleep medicine doctor and she affirmed to me that not sleeping is harder on our bodies and minds than taking a sleep aide and Lunesta works well for me to shut off my thoughts and allow me to sleep. For me, it only lasts about 4 hours, so when I wake around 3, I take a half pill and sleep the night. Discuss your reasons for wanting to get off ambien with your doctor. Some of us just need help and accepting that.