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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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To @lilybell......I was in the same situation.....taking diazepam for anxiety and ambien for sleep....but only staying asleep for 3-4 hours and then having to take more ambien....and eventually they both quit working....weird because diazepam always worked great for me. So me and my doctor decided it would be best to take 1 medication for both sleep and anxiety....instead of 2 different ones. So I was put on Lorazepam. Works great for both my issues, sleep and anxiety, and only have to take 1 med instead of 2. I believe that Ambien made the diazepam not work. Ambien is the worst medication EVER!!
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1 ReactionFala, you need to tell your doctor to switch you to a different sleep med.....so you can stop taking the evil Ambien....worst medication ever!
Does the Delta 8 you take have CBD in it too? I bought some gummies that were a combo of THC, CBD, and CBN....a low dose of THC...2.5mg I think....but you can take 2. But I felt it made me groggy the next day....maybe too much CBD ??
Does 50mg Trazodone work for you?
Unfortunately I'm not able to sleep much. I have been on ambien 10mg until it just stopped working. Lunesta, hydroxizine, 1mg ativan, melatonin, magnesium, thc, all the herbs for sleep. I might get 2 hours of sleep during the night. Chronic pain doesn't help. Usually about 2 nights I just lay awake all night and don't sleep at all. I even paid 600$ at the advice of my dr for a hypnotist. Seroquel works for about 4 hours of sleep but only once a week. But it's a bad med: increased my blood sugar and cholesterol. I'm 55 and so frustrated because its been over 3 years of this and it's really starting to affect me negatively. I used to get up and stay busy even tho I didn't sleep. Now I walk around like a tired zombie. I hope we can both get some help!
Fala....you say you take more and more Ambien to sleep.....does your doctor give you an endless supply of them?? You need to tell your doctor that you need a different sleep med.....try Lorazepam or Mirtazapine. Both work very well for sleep.
You need to keep trying to find a doctor who will help you...can you go to a sleep specialist? Otherwise tell your doctor that you NEED a different sleep medication!
May I ask the dose of Lunesta you were taking?
Missusie0625, you need to get a new doctor! Oh my gosh....they just keep giving you crap that doesn't work! And it's making your life a living Hell....DO NOT PUT UP WITH THIS...go back to your doctor and ask them to prescribe you either Clonazepam or Lorazepam......they are truly the only meds that help some people. And who cares if they are in the "benzo-addictive" class.....all those other sleep meds are addictive too....but they DO NOT WORK! Don't give up....please keep going back to your doctor and demand they give you a benzo medication. And if they won't. then go to a psychiatrist....they will help you....
No longer have the anxiety, I just needed to sleep! (I was prescribed lorazepam when I received an upsetting medical diagnosis. I was a mess. )
I do feel like my body became dependent on lorazepam and the .5 mg was no longer helping me sleep. Last December, I was not sleeping, had loss of appetite, was barely able to function and was depressed. I cried in my doctor’s office at least once a week. Once I started weaning lorazepam, while taking mirtazapine, I started sleeping and feeling better. By February/March, I finally started feeling like myself.
I have been off lorazepam since early June and haven’t looked back,
I hope you’ll find something that helps you.