Weaning off zolpidem (Ambien)

I have tried many different "solutions to get a full night's sleep! I finally decided to go back to Zolpidem. I worked pretty well for about 2 months... I would wake up about 5:00 or 6:00.
Now I wake up at 3:00, every single night, when I go to bed at 11:00. What strength do you take?
I tried staying up until Midnight, but that did not help. It's like I have an internal alarm clock!
Any ideas?

Thank-you. I took medrol when I had Covid and I haven't been able to sleep since without meds. Also my mild anxiety turned into severe anxiety. Thanks for your well wishes. I’m grateful.

Trazodone does nothing for me, not even 400 mg. Ambien caused trouble. Keep trying until you find a doctor who will prescribe Xanax. I take 2 mg of Xanax about once a week for sleep, but my doctor knows I'm careful and I don't abuse it. On rare occasions, I may take it two nights in a row, but not more than that even if it means lying awake for what seems like years. Although I am petite, I have always needed elephantine doses of everything. I finally stopped trying to sleep every night, so only slept every other night. Now I'm at a point where I may only sleep every third night. It's a horrible situation, but I don't seem to have any sleep deprivation symptoms. When I simply MUST sleep, I take the Xanax. I have read very recently that the FDA may ease some of their absurd restrictions on opiates and other drugs like Xanax, but it always takes them years to act on anything.

Does anyone get severe anxiety when going off Ambien?

Yes, I get very anxious about sleeping.

I too take ambein 10mg for over ten years..I have no desire to stop.I remember how horrible it felt not to sleep..had sleep study..results were I had the worst results ..I will continue the ambein ...sleep is better then no sleep....

I've been taking zolpidem 10 mg for about 18 years and I sleep great but I hate the idea of dependence. I should be able to sleep without it. I don't even remember why I started!! There HAS to be an off-ramp to take that is safe. I am otherwise very healthy. I am 72 years old and still working as a psychotherapist! I have never had to increase the dosage but recently I have been doing stupid sh*t after the zolpidem starts working, like calling people - emailing/texting people at midnite, buying stuff from amazon and having NO memory of doing it. I have read that chronic use of zolpidem puts one at higher risk of developing Alzheimers. Please ...is there anyone who has successfully weaned off zolpidem without going to a residential addiction center????? My doctor says don't worry about it. He doesn't "get it"

Hello. I took Zolpidem (5mg) on a regular basis for 20 years. It didn’t help me in later years as it had earlier on. Last spring my dr said I should taper off because it is now linked to dementia. Last June I started tapering off at two week intervals. One every other night, then one every 2nd night, then one every 3rd night and on like that until I was off. I’m actually now sleeping fairly well. I get to sleep but wake up 2 or 3 times. It’s not perfect but I’m not feeling sleep deprived. I do feel that my mind is clearer since stopping. However I never found that it helped with anxiety.