Reply to How bad is it to take Ambien every night to sleep?

Forum Index » Health and Medicine

Reply to "How bad is it to take Ambien every night to sleep? "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I think i am a little late for this post but I take Ambien and have for more than 3 years. I took it through my first pregnancy and now am taking it through my 2nd. I have tried EVERYTHING. Insomnia is debilitating. It was for me. It caused me anxiety. It caused me depression. I have tried dealing with the latter two in addition to the insomnia but ultimately, my doctor and I decided that i suffer from insomnia. So we treat the insomnia with Ambien. It works. It has no side effects. I still wake up regularly during the night but it's better than nothing. Please dont judge people who seriously suffer from insomnia. And just saying "have you tried warm milk? how about melatonin?" is probably the most insulting and upsetting thing I hear. YES, i have tried EVERYTHING. I dont take Ambien because it's fun. I take it because it works. [/quote]

This. Exactly this.  I have insomnia, not just trouble sleeping.  Yes, I have tried all of the sleep hygiene tricks and melatonin, valerian root, warm milk, yoga, meditation, prayer, therapy, sleep studies, EVERYTHING.  For some of us, nothing but medication works.  For some unlucky few, even medication doesn't work.

BTW, if I have insomnia for more than about a week (and by "insomnia" I mean less than 2 hours of sleep per night, sometimes none, not just a hard time getting to sleep like I think some non-sufferers think of it), I start having panic attacks.  If it goes for more than two weeks, much like PP, I get seriously depressed.  There is nothing worse than wanting and [i]needing[/i] to sleep and not being able to.  Eventually, before I started taking ambien for my insomnia, I would sometimes to drink alcohol to knock myself out every night for weeks (and you know how bad your sleep is when you've drunk alcohol, right?), or else I would get to the depression stage and just seriously consider how much easier oblivion would be than insomnia was.  It is very scary how much loss of sleep can ruin your life.

When I told my doctor, he told me to try ambien right away, rather than drink and hurt my liver (he was really concerned about that), or get to a stage where my mental health was suffering so badly (I see a therapist regularly, and he was even more concerned about the depression).  It's been a miracle for me.  I have used it for 4 years, not every night, but at least every week.  I know some people have problems with it, but much like other serious medicine that people can have problems with (painkillers, benzos, etc), it can really help people if it's the right drug for them.  My life has completely 180'd and I am so grateful for my doctor.  When I think about those years of insomnia, I want to cry.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics