I also have fibromyalgia, and sleep apnea, so I have not gotten good sleep in years and years. So, I got a seven-night free trial of Ambien CR.

Oh, baby. After 5 nights on it, and I slept like a happy baby all night straight, and I felt wonderful for the first time in a decade, I tried to skip a night.

Yeah, right. Nice try.

My brain is already hooked on Ambien. If I want to sleep even one little bit, I have to take the pill or I do not even feel sleepy.

I was afraid of sleep-eating, sleep-driving, doing stupid stuff, being unable to complete sentences; that has not happened at all. I am awake during the day, and I actually have energy. But I am not sure how long I can be taking Ambien "short-term" and if I will get those awful side effects that gets people in the newspapers.

I just got a script for regular Ambien for 30 days. Have any of you taken this medication and tell me what it did to you, side effects, were you happy with it, tell me everything I might need to know.

(whining here) I don't want to get off it because I am getting a solid night's sleep for the first time in a decade, and my brain really likes sleep. Can I stay on it for years? Please?

2Quilt,

I took Ambien for a bit, but it stopped working for me fairly quickly. Same with Lunesta and Rozerem.

I had no side effects with the Ambien.

Good luck, and I'm glad you're getting sleep.

Best,
Rachel

I've been on Lunesta for about 2 years. When my nightmares started up again a year ago they had me try Ambien and Ambien cr but they did nothing for me. Most of the time, they didn't even make me drowsy at all. As for physical side effects, I really couldn't tell anything different but I was so physically exhausted it's probably not a good indicator. We've decided, for me, Lunesta when needed is good enough and I have 3 other meds I can use when I have nightmares or anxiety at night.

Probably didn't help much but good luck to you.

2quilt,

I have tried NEITHER, but wanted to ask if you have evr tried Trazadone??? It's really great for sleeping. Well for some people anyway.

When I was first diagnosed with insomnia my dr. gave me Ambien. He told me to take it for two weeks and then stop taking it to see if I was sleeping better. That worked for me. The only side affect I had was I when I took it, I would wake up at 4 am, unable to get back to sleep. My dr. said that's why they now make Ambien CR. It helps you stay asleep.

I only take Ambien now if I can't fall asleep at all - usually that means if I'm still awake at 1 - 2 am. I can sleep in so taking one that late doesn't bother me and I do sleep past 4 am.

The other night I decided to try Simple Sleep OTC and it worked great. Maybe switching up the meds every now and then makes a difference.

SheCat,
Trazodone made me sleep for 3 days straight, barely making it to the bathroom because I could not get up the energy to raise myself off the bed. It was like a paralyzing stupor.
I flushed the whole bottle. I should have returned the pills to the pharmacy instead of adding them to your water supply.

OMG....2quilt, I love your sense of humor at times... So what was the dosage perscribed???? I was only on 25 mgs, and it did nicely. I took something once and did just about what you did, and I was only taking 7 1/2 mgs. I think it was ametripteline(sp) That stuff was nasty!!!!!!

You answered your next question with the above statement IMO....

Your already addicted.... now you just need to make the newspapers. Please be careful with medication. Being knocked out or addicted to prescription medication is no different to being addicted to illegal drugs. One in the same.

I'm on Trazadone, and I love it! I sleep 100% better than I used to, and it is non-addictive.

She,
I don't remember the dose of Trazadone, because I only took that one pill out of the bottle. This was ten years ago.

Amytriptiline stopped my gastrointetinal tract dead: I was stopped up with concrete poopies. that's a fairly common side effect; it takes all the water out of your intestines. It's an older drug so they don't prescribe it much anymore, so I am told.

It's amazing that a brain can get addicted to Ambien during the 7-day free trial. Sheeeet, the drug companies sure know how to control consumers. That's why I truly believe that we will never really cure any popular diseases, because the pharmaseutical companies would be shooting themselves in the foot if diseases were eradicated. But that's a whole 'nuther thread subject...