Losing Sleeping Pills

Hi @lsittll, Not being able to fall asleep can definitely cause more anxiety. It is very common for people to "lose time" and not remember exactly what happened when taking ambien. I speak from personal experience. Sometimes, you can even wake up and take a pill in the middle of the night without knowing it. At least you can account for what happen to the 6 pills.

Normally a pharmacy will fill a script up to 2 days prior for that particular medication.

Have you asked your physician to go ahead and call in the RX to see what day it can be filled?

Hello @amandaburnett I have not asked my doctor to do anything because I know the pharmacy will give her problems. It will only give me ambien every 30 days no ifs and or buts. It refuses to give it to me until after it has gone through with my insurance. I will call Cigna and explain the matter to it. It will have the say over the pharmacy to get me any pills. Tomorrow I speak with my doctor. I'll call Cigna too.

Hello @amandaburnett! Cigna called the pharmacy and it said that the drug is a controlled substance so I had to call my doctor and have it call the pharmacy telling it about the loss of pills. When I told my nurse practitioner this she said she'd be in the red if she did that. She called the pharmacist a year ago saying I lost pills down the drain but she won't admit that. She did call a pharmacist. He said I could pick up the medicine two days early. At this point I'm one pill short. I'll have to go to the pharmacy sometime when I know a nicer pharmacist will be there so the Zolpidem can be filled either a day or two ahead.

@lsittll
I have a suggestion regarding the lost pills. Have you considered putting one pill in a pill case for each day of the week? That way, spilling them down the drain or perhaps taking more than one would be less of a problem.

Just a thought to consider since this has happened more than once.

Hello @hopeful33250

I have thought of that. Because I only take one at a time I have put a pill in a separate vial in the medicine cabinet. I have shake hands and double vision at migraines so I lose pills

@lsittll

@lsittll, a friend of mine asked this question on her blog back in 2015 here:
- Hack needed: Tiny pills, trembling hands https://susannahfox.com/2015/04/19/hack-needed-tiny-pills-trembling-hands/
I wonder if this response by someone named Lori might help
"She can’t hold the small pills and has a hard time with the bottles and lids. I ordered some salt and pepper shakers that have a rotating dispenser, small holes for seasoning BUT also has a wider one that will work for different sizes of pills. I plan to put a label on them for her (either a reusable label or with a sharpie and painter’s tape.) The lids are easy to remove to refill. I got two different types for her to try: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WFCFMD2?ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_asin_title&th=1 "

Please report back if you find a solution that works for you.

@colleenyoung Thank you so much for this information. You have made me a busy lady searching all this information. Temporarily I am using a daily pill reminder with a pill in the morning and a pill in the nighttime compartments.

I feel that with all the support and information that I have receive from you and the other moderators that becoming a member of Mayoconnect is the best thing I could have done for myself.

@lsittll