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Weaning off zolpidem (Ambien)

Sleep Health | Last Active: Oct 1 7:53am | Replies (460)

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@justsleepplease

I have been taking ambien for over 17 years. 10 mg once nightly. I first started taking it to help me sleep with my new CPAP machine the doctor started me on for sleep apnea. I became quickly addicted. In the beginnings it worked great lots of sleep. Then after about a month or two I started having those bad symptoms of getting up, fixing meals and eating everything I could find. I would have sex and not remember it the next morning. Also, I have bizarre conversations with people at home or on the phone and not remember it. I have even driven to Walmart and purchased groceries and not remember it until I found the bill and saw the time stamp. You would think this would have scared me enough to stop taking it but it hasn’t. I developed psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis so I continued to take the ambein because it is like taking a hypnotic drug. I knew I had psoriatic arthritis but when I took the pill I didn’t feel the pain. It put me in a dream/wake stage. I have had to apologize to a lot of people/friends/family the next day after taking ambien. So, I have said all this to say that I need to wean myself off of ambien because I am having severe memory loss. It almost seems like I have dementia. I am only 55 year old man and just retired from teaching elementary school for 30 years. It really feels like my mind is changing and not in a good way. I need some advice on quitting and still being able to get some sleep. Maybe someday I will blog about all the bizarre stories/talks/actions that happen when I take ambien. I am truly addicted and need help. I am very afraid of the side effects that will come with the withdrawal. Please help.

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Replies to "I have been taking ambien for over 17 years. 10 mg once nightly. I first started..."

@justsleepplease, good for you for posting to this community. The first step is recognizing that this drug is no longer helping you and is harmful for you. I'm tagging fellow members like @bernese53 @blazytracy @robbinr @mickie75 @lpole @maryshipley @sussan @sndishpr @sundance6 @jeffkboyce who can share their experiences with tapering off of Ambien (zolpidem).

JustSleep, are you working with your doctor to develop a tapering schedule that's right for you?

I too have taken ambien for maybe 20 years now but generally not the full dose of 10 mgs. I have weaned myself down to about 2 mgs per night as more than that triggers Periodic Involuntary Limb Movement (PILM) which won't allow sleep even with the ambien. However, I cannot get below the 2 mgs. I am able to get to sleep on most nights without ambien but wake up 2, 3 or 4 hours later and am wide awake and unable to get back to sleep. I would love to no longer need ambien to sleep. I would be willing to just tough it out if I knew that after a week or so I could sleep through the night but I cannot find any medical literature indicating that to be the expectation. I fear I am stuck with Ambien for the rest of my life.