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Ambien stopped working
Hi everyone. I’m hoping to get some advice as I feel a little lost and the doctors I’ve spoken to so far haven’t been able to come up with a solution to my problem.
I’ve had insomnia and also wake up a lot for year. It started with noisy neighbours and construction work (before then I had no issues). During this time I also developed chronic pain that made it even harder to sleep.
My dr prescribed “light” sleep medications to begin with. Some didn’t work, some gave side effects, and some did work for some time. But since I had no control over the noise in the area, eventually I had to move on to Ambien (and gigantic ear plugs).
So, I was on Ambien for a few months, started at 5mg but then noticed I had to take 10mg as my body was getting used to them. Eventually I moved and got rid of the noisy neighbours, but my body was so used to my crazy sleeping habits that I couldn’t go back to my regular hours. I would still wake up the hours my neighbours used to wake me up.
I tried my very best to stay at 10mg of Ambien but eventually I found myself waking up every second hour or so, having to take more to fall back to sleep. I got scared and called my dr, who gave me diazepam (5mg) and told me it should help me break this vicious cycle.
It did. The very first night I slept all night and only needed one Ambien. It stayed like this for a few months and my plan was to taper off everything, but then bad things happened in my life and it didn’t feel like a good time. I was too afraid to not get any sleep while going through so many struggles.
And now I’m kinda back to where I started. My body is so used to Ambien that sometimes I can’t even fall asleep on 10mg (even tho I’m still on diazepam as well). If I do fall asleep, I wake up after 4 hours, sometimes after only 1-2 hours, and it’s impossible to go back to sleep (my chronic pain isn’t helping).
Since I’m already on Diazepam I can’t use this to control the issue this time. My dr told me to try 7,5mg Diazepam and even 10mg but for some reason it’s not working. Quite the opposite. So I’m staying on 5mg.
What can I do? Has anyone been in a similar situation? I really want to get off both Diazepam and Ambien, but at the momemt my goal is to just find a safe way to sleep through the night because I haven’t slept in months!
Could I maybe slowly taper off Diazepam and add something else so that 10mg Ambien will be enough to sleep through the night?
Sorry this got so long. I’d be so grateful for any ideas or advice.
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I’m in Tennessee and whiskey is approved but we are years from using helpful natural drugs. I’m glad you found a solution
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1 ReactionI totally understand, sleep
Is golden . I am struggling with sleep . Nothing works for me except Tempezpam /Restoril . I have lowered the dose from 30 to 22.5 but I wake up and need to take trazodone to get back to sleep . I am under extreme stress .
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3 Reactions@lilybell, I too was hooked on Ambien and Diazepam. And only getting 3-4 hours of sleep and then needing to take more Ambien. I didn't take diazepam everyday though. But I desperately wanted to get off the Ambien. So my doctor prescribed me Lorazepam, which takes care of both my issues, insomnia and anxiety. Instead of taking Ambien and Diazepam, I now take 1mg lorazepam at bedtime and then another .5mg as needed. It's working great, but I also take a Benadryl pill at bedtime too. Don't want to take a higher dose of lorazepam. And I now want to wean off the taking lorazepam every night, and just take as needed for anxiety, because it's an addictive drug and I will eventually need more for it to work. So asked my doctor for Amtriptyline. Just started it but it's helping alot so far. I had started waking up in the middle of night on the lorazepam, and since starting the Amtriptyline, thar hasn't happened. I still take the lorazepam though. Eventually I'll increase the dosage of Amtriptyline and hopefully not take Lorazepam everyday. Good luck to you.
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3 ReactionsThis is happening to me , NOW, and the 30 day supply, is only lasting 2 weeks
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2 ReactionsHi, in many previous responses from you, you raved about lorazepam and weren’t concerned about it being a benzo and being addictive. Curious about what happened to change your mind.
Hope you do well with whatever changes you make.
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1 Reactionkawanee... I raved about lorazepam because I finally found something that works for both my issues... Sleep and Anxiety! I still feel very strongly about benzos. As they are the only thing that works for many people. My doctor assured me that this was safe to take... and I feel it is too. If what I'm taking suddenly doesn't work anymore....I'll cross that bridge then. But my sister has taken the same amount (1mg) for over 10 years and it still works. So I'm hoping it does for me too....as it's been life changing to be on this med...lorazepam. I also take Amitriptyline along with it at night. That helps as well. And I can also up the dosage on that. I believe people should do whatever it takes to get good quality sleep. It's starting to come out in medical news how important enough quality and quantity of sleep is.
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2 Reactionskawanee, in response to why I was changing my mind on the addictiveness of lorazepam...... I was scared of being addicted to it and having to take it everyday.... until I got a new doctor and she told me that taking lorazepam everyday didn't mean I was addicted to it....it's like a maintenance drug, like my blood pressure med, that I take everyday. But the lorazepam is a med for sleep that I must take everyday. Like I've said many times.... do whatever you need to do to get good quality sleep! It's very important for you!
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1 Reactionlilybell, I just re-read your post from 2022 about taking Ambien and Diazepam and eventually not sleeping and wondering what to do. I told you I had been in the same situation and told my doctor about it, and how I needed to get off the Ambien and try something else. Well, that's when he prescribed me lorazepam to replace both Ambien and Diazepam. Because Lorazepam helps both issues... sleep and anxiety. It has worked out great for me...and I'm wondering how you are doing??
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1 Reactionscully56, this is exactly what happened to me! Was prescribed 30 day supply of .5mg Ambien, but I needed at least 3 every night. And then that wasn't even enough! Went to see my doctor to tell him I needed to get off Ambien and start something else. That's when he prescribed me Lorazepam. It works! I hope you get a solution. Maybe ask your doctor for Lorazepam. Good luck! Sucks to not be able to sleep!!
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1 ReactionI recently moved and now cannot find a doctor who will prescribe Alprazolam. It's the only medication that helps me with Parkinson's Disease. I began taking Benzos along with Ambien while living overseas and had to stop both medications because the Veterans Administration would not prescribe these drugs due to the Oxycontin scare. I've become a shut-in: unable to drive, no public transportation in my area, and even taking short walks in my industrial neighborhood is not a pleasure. For a while, I was using a walker, but have built up my leg and core to the point of being able to walk for up to 20 minutes at a time using a cane. However, my dependence on Benzos has led to my becoming socially phobic. If not for my wife, I'd have likely been dead by now; But I don't want to cause her heartbreak and grief. She doesn't deserve it. Without Alprazolam, my life is miserable. I spoke to a therapist who said that at my age, taking no more than 0.5 mg/day would be quite all right for me, a 74-year-old man with PD, insomnia, and severe tremors made worse by fear.