Weaning off zolpidem (Ambien)

I quit cold turkey as it was messing with me! It's been tough. My allergies and worrying is not helping.
I am still trying to figure this out but think it's best to stay away from ambien.

I guess I’m lucky. I have a glass of wine every day around 5-6. Take my ambien and Xanax around 10:00 and feel fine and we’ll rested the next day. If I try skipping the ambien, I end up taking it after not being able fall asleep. My doc really wants me off ambien even though I take only 5 mg.

So you have stopped ambien as well?

I am now down to 50 percent of what I was taking. Every week I cut it by 1/4. I am using Trazodone to help in the weaning process. It is working. I do sleeping a deeper state. Still wake at least once. Just think this is part of the process.

So what are you taking to sleep now? Did you feel like you needed to be off ambien?

Trazodone 250 mil. And I am not all the way off Ambien yet. Cutting down 1/4 a week. I felt that I could not sleep without it and was having to increase the dose. It was also a security blanket for me. I have taken Ambien for many years and I felt like it was time to try something else. Even at 50 percent of what I was taking, I think I am sleeping deeper. Still waking once a night, working on that. Hope this helps.

Hi Mary, I’m off Ambien now but still not sleeping very well. Take an anti anxiety pill (klonapin) to help me sleep and I smoke. I’ve tried every holistic way, over the counter meds, and supplements, ie. Melatonin. Nothing really helps. I even took the TV out of my room. I take an Ambien once every 4/5 weeks to get a deep sleep. I wouldn’t have given it up the Ambien, but if I took it for more than a couple of days I was getting pains in my stomach and nausea. I even put up with the digestive issues so I could sleep. That’s how desperate I was. I finally knew I had to stop when I woke up with a pot of food and potato chips on my bed and had no recollection of the night and what I did. Ambien was the best and if I didn’t have the side effects I would have continued. The quality of my life is poor when I don’t sleep. So will continue to smoke and take the Klonapin.

Meditation and exercise help me. Have you tried the app Calm ? They have sleep stories that also help a great deal for me. Insomnia is the pits.

Will try Calm. Thank you.

Was on Ambien from May 2004 till May 2017. Started at 5mg and at one time, was taking 70mg (yeah you read that right) a night. I was on 12.5mg er when I had just had enough. It is easy to form a dependency or even an addiction to Zolpidem and have your life or lifestyle depend on it. Currently, I take one Tylenol pm, 1 10 mg melatonin and smoke some cannabis about an hour before bed. If you are going to break a long term dependency on Ambien, cannabis is key in my opinion. It treats anxiety, depression, insomnia and has anti-inflammatory properties and the CBD’s help with memory and nerve repair and have been known to kill toxic cells like cancer. Cannabis has no “next day grogginess” and comes in raw form or edibles, drops, mist and can even be rubbed on ( transdermal ). The LD50 ( lethal dose that it takes to kill 50% populous) is 1500lbs consumed in 24 hours which is just about impossible. It’s worth a try if it’s available to you. Moderation as always is the key.