To ANICCA re: Ambien

antcat
antcat Member Posts: 270
in Ovarian Cancer #1
Hi, I have also taken Ambien and wake up after about 4 hours. I was on 5 mg. and the dr. gave me a prescription for 10 mg. I haven't taken it yet. The only time I really have anxiety is when I go to sleep at nite, during the day I'm fine. I wanted Ativan origianlly for anxiety but primary dr. gave me BuSpar. I don't think I'm going to continue on that and I'll probably ask for Ativan, a very low dose. I really don't like taking any extra meds unless I have to.

Comments

  • anicca
    anicca Member Posts: 334 Member
    #2
    Thanks for the info! It's
    Thanks for the info! It's good to know I'm not the only one that Ambien affects that way. The few times I've taken it, I knew I would not be able to sleep without something, so it was worth it. I'm also pretty good during the day, when it's easy to keep busy. I have a friend who had severe sleep problems for years, and tried everything. Nothing worked without bad side effects. She finally figured out with a friend (both are MD's) that gabapantin (Neurontin) might work, as it quiets the nerves. That has worked so well for her that she is fully functional again after more than 5 years. I'm going to try to convince my doctor to prescribe it for me. Maybe it will also help with the neuropathy.

    I don't like the extra meds either. As it is, I take 600mg ibuprofen every night for hip pain, and a 12 hr sudafed in the morning with 50mg benadryl at night for a chronic sinus infection. I'm seeing a specialist about the sinus problem soon, and will probably need surgery for it. It's making me miserable enough that I'll probably do it.
  • Hissy_Fitz
    Hissy_Fitz Member Posts: 1,834
    #3
    anicca said:

    Thanks for the info! It's
    Thanks for the info! It's good to know I'm not the only one that Ambien affects that way. The few times I've taken it, I knew I would not be able to sleep without something, so it was worth it. I'm also pretty good during the day, when it's easy to keep busy. I have a friend who had severe sleep problems for years, and tried everything. Nothing worked without bad side effects. She finally figured out with a friend (both are MD's) that gabapantin (Neurontin) might work, as it quiets the nerves. That has worked so well for her that she is fully functional again after more than 5 years. I'm going to try to convince my doctor to prescribe it for me. Maybe it will also help with the neuropathy.

    I don't like the extra meds either. As it is, I take 600mg ibuprofen every night for hip pain, and a 12 hr sudafed in the morning with 50mg benadryl at night for a chronic sinus infection. I'm seeing a specialist about the sinus problem soon, and will probably need surgery for it. It's making me miserable enough that I'll probably do it.

    Just the 50mg of Benadryl
    Just the 50mg of Benadryl would put me to sleep. That stuff is a better sleeping pill than most sleeping pills.

    I have been known to take my husband's Klonopin whenever I have trouble sleeping. The good thing about it is that it has a long half-life, so I don't wake up 4 hours after taking it.

    I never filled the script for anti-depressants that the doctor sent me home from the hospital with, after my debulking surgery. I was already a zombie from the pain pills, then I started chemo and the fatigue was so bad, I slept 12 hours a day. I figured that downers on top of that would really zone me out. Besides, I'm a major control freak.

    Carlene
  • anicca
    anicca Member Posts: 334 Member
    #4
    Hissy_Fitz said:

    Just the 50mg of Benadryl
    Just the 50mg of Benadryl would put me to sleep. That stuff is a better sleeping pill than most sleeping pills.

    I have been known to take my husband's Klonopin whenever I have trouble sleeping. The good thing about it is that it has a long half-life, so I don't wake up 4 hours after taking it.

    I never filled the script for anti-depressants that the doctor sent me home from the hospital with, after my debulking surgery. I was already a zombie from the pain pills, then I started chemo and the fatigue was so bad, I slept 12 hours a day. I figured that downers on top of that would really zone me out. Besides, I'm a major control freak.

    Carlene

    Unfortunately, when you take
    Unfortunately, when you take benadryl every night, it stops working quite so well, both as an antihistamine and as a sleep aid. When I took Ambien, I was careful not to take benadryl also. The runny nose & postnasal drip don't matter so much when you're out on Ambien.
  • pattysoo
    pattysoo Member Posts: 170
    #5
    Insomnia
    I've been taking Ambien for some years now, being chronically an insomniac. I complained to my GP that it only lasts for 4 hours and then I'm awake. His reply was, "Yes, it affects me that way too." So I only use it now when I have a big day coming up and need to get at least some sleep. An increased dose didn't help me much with the 4 hour thing. There's a time-released Ambien that's very expensive and the insurance won't pay. So I started to use Ativan instead and found that it keeps me relaxed enough to sleep through the night. If I use it, I find that I don't have my usual wakefulness from 3:30 to 5:30 AM.
  • anicca
    anicca Member Posts: 334 Member
    #6
    pattysoo said:

    Insomnia
    I've been taking Ambien for some years now, being chronically an insomniac. I complained to my GP that it only lasts for 4 hours and then I'm awake. His reply was, "Yes, it affects me that way too." So I only use it now when I have a big day coming up and need to get at least some sleep. An increased dose didn't help me much with the 4 hour thing. There's a time-released Ambien that's very expensive and the insurance won't pay. So I started to use Ativan instead and found that it keeps me relaxed enough to sleep through the night. If I use it, I find that I don't have my usual wakefulness from 3:30 to 5:30 AM.

    That's exactly how I have
    That's exactly how I have used Ambien also. I will try Ativan next time. Sometimes I am so desperate to sleep and so anxious that I won't be able to, that the anxiety over sleeping becomes the roadblock to sleep!
  • pattysoo
    pattysoo Member Posts: 170
    #7
    anicca said:

    That's exactly how I have
    That's exactly how I have used Ambien also. I will try Ativan next time. Sometimes I am so desperate to sleep and so anxious that I won't be able to, that the anxiety over sleeping becomes the roadblock to sleep!

    anxiety
    Yes, that's it exactly. I was so glad to quit work because now if I don't sleep, I know I'll catch up by sleeping later in the morning. My husband says as we get older we don't sleep as well. Boy is that the truth. It's ridiculous, but I actually looked forward to the anesthesia aspect of surgery because I knew I'd be irrefutably knocked out...so silly.
  • vj1
    vj1 Member Posts: 150
    #8
    pattysoo said:

    anxiety
    Yes, that's it exactly. I was so glad to quit work because now if I don't sleep, I know I'll catch up by sleeping later in the morning. My husband says as we get older we don't sleep as well. Boy is that the truth. It's ridiculous, but I actually looked forward to the anesthesia aspect of surgery because I knew I'd be irrefutably knocked out...so silly.

    sleep
    Geez! I guess I haven't hit this yet. I am 21 months past my initial chemo and have never had sleeping issues. I am so busy thru out my day with walking, weeding,painting, etc that I don't have a chance to be restless when I hit the bed. My son and husband said I did not receive chemo but got B12 by mistake. Wouldn't that be nice? All kidding aside, I feel very fortunate to have gotten this far without problems. One day at a time, right???


    Verna
  • anicca
    anicca Member Posts: 334 Member
    #9
    vj1 said:

    sleep
    Geez! I guess I haven't hit this yet. I am 21 months past my initial chemo and have never had sleeping issues. I am so busy thru out my day with walking, weeding,painting, etc that I don't have a chance to be restless when I hit the bed. My son and husband said I did not receive chemo but got B12 by mistake. Wouldn't that be nice? All kidding aside, I feel very fortunate to have gotten this far without problems. One day at a time, right???


    Verna

    Hi Verna, I should clarify
    Hi Verna, I should clarify that I've pretty much always had sleeping problems, the cancer is just another thing to worry about for me. I'm very talented at worrying :) I do think that if I could emulate you and keep that busy and active, it would help.
  • JMSheeder
    JMSheeder Member Posts: 9
    #10
    anicca said:

    Hi Verna, I should clarify
    Hi Verna, I should clarify that I've pretty much always had sleeping problems, the cancer is just another thing to worry about for me. I'm very talented at worrying :) I do think that if I could emulate you and keep that busy and active, it would help.

    Ambien & Ativan
    Greetings,

    I am currently taking Ambien CR (controlled release) for my sleeping aid and it works great. I take it about an hour before bed time and wake up refreshed the next day. With regards to teh Ativan this is a great drug that can be used to treat anxiety as well as nausea. I take 1mg for when I get anxious and it takes the edge off. THe regular ambien is shorter living and if I would suggest if you need a longer working sleep aid you inquire about Ambien CR.

    Jaime

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