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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 had Xanax which is pretty much same as Atavin at one time before Klonipin . Only .25 mg dose so very small .
Both short acting that’s why put on Klonopin ( which stays in system much longer ).
I’ll ask though … thank u
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2 Reactionsummm. Lorazepam is a benzo
dj0751, I know Lorazepam is a benzo.....but I'm saying she needs to get off Ambien and Klonopin (clonazepam) and just take Lorazepam....because it works for sleep and anxiety
Yes....you should try lorazepam....I have tried klonopin and lorazepam works much better for sleep for me. Or you may want to increase the dose of Klonopin to .5mg....still a pretty low dose....but it could help alot. Good luck.
@lilybell….I was also taking both Ambien and Diazepam at the same time….and both quit working for me too. Ambien never did work good for me….yah it puts me to sleep…but not for very long (3-4 hours) And Diazepam always worked very well for me….until I started taking Ambien. I used to take Flurazepam for sleep, 2-3 times a week at the lower dose of 15mg and it worked FANTASTIC!! And, it always seemed to help me sleep the night after taking it too. Even though I wouldn't take it 2 nights in a row….but I could take it 2 nights in a row if I wanted to….but there was no need to for me. I quit taking both, Ambien and Diazepam because they no longer worked. And I didn't even take diazepam everyday….but i started having to take it alot more than usual because of the Ambien giving me severe anxiety!! So I talked to my doctor and we agreed just taking 1 medication that helps both sleep and anxiety would be much much better…..so I am now on Lorazepam….2mg for sleep, and 1-2mg for anxiety as needed. You should try Lorazepam…..get off that nasty cycle you (and me) were on…..Good Luck.
There are pro and cons to all these meds , and every body reacts differently to each medication 💊 too .
What works for one may not work for another .
It’s trial & error .
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1 ReactionI take 3 tizanidine along with 10 mg of Ambien. It works quite well.
I take quetiapine, its not controlled or addictive and works really well. I have narcolepsy which causes inability to fall and stay asleep as much as it does staying awake. Trazadone is another one that works well and non addictive.
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1 ReactionI take Restoril , Not working so well. I am under extreme stress with my husband’s cancer diagnosis. I have to take trazodone too . Anyone else have this problem.
skullbasecancer4..... you should switch from Restoril (Temazepam) to Lorazepam (Ativan) Restoril didn't work good for me either but Lorazepam does work well. It's worth a try.