Ambien Amnesia (doctors, insurance, stomach, nausea)

[Icehearted]

Originally Posted by elfyum

NOTHING I repeat NOTHING tastes as bad as Xanax!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And actually, if I ever take it more than twice in a week, I start to forget stuff - like, oh, how to turn on my headlights!!!
I can always get xanax but there's never a refill. But a 30 day supply (of 2mg) lasts me like 6 months!!!

It's funny how those sorts of things seem so ordinary when not taken into perspective. I'd always figured being forgetful was just something I had to dismiss and move on with things. Now I'm running into people that know me, but I don't know them at all.

I'd go back to the 5mg Zyprexa Zydis but I looked pregnant from that stuff.

[SeattleAtNight]

Where shall I start? Well, just to name a few experiences...
Driving sixty-eight miles south and not remembering anything about the trip. The way I discovered it was when I woke the next day I had a Chevron receipt stating where and when I fueled up. That put the fear of God in me.
I've also 'sleptwalk' around the adjacent college campus. A buddy saw me next to the music building and described me as zombified. He said I didn't recognize nor respond to him. I do have flashbacks of walking through a church parking lot on the other side of the campus that night, but the flashes of memory are very dreamlike and surreal.
I've drawn pictures on my walls and kitchen cabinets. Toothpaste and clorox, by the way, are excellent for removing hard-to-remove ink.
I saw blood on the carpet one morning. Then I saw where I broke a glass picture frame, and where it dropped on my toe causing it to bleed. I have no recollection of this happening at all. You know you're 'out of it' when you hurt yourself enough to bleed and not wake during the experience.
My main objection is the way I'll take one or two pills before bedtime, and I'll wake the next day and discover I've taken six to ten additional pills in the middle of the night. That one issue made me discuss this problem with my doctor. He just told me to hide me car keys out of reach or leave them with my neighbor (yeah, right.) Then he wrote a prescription for generic Ambien, stating on the label, I may take up to three pills a night. Yes, he knows full well about my amnesia episodes, and how I can take ten pills a night. He said, "Well, it's safer than Benadryl." Then told me not to worry. My pharmacist said I should report him to the state health board.
I'm hoping I can wean myself off Ambien myself I tried quitting cold turkey and ended up in the ER with what I thought was the flu. I honestly felt like I was gonna die. They were withdrawals. And what did the ER doctor do? Write me a prescription for more Ambien.

[think.reciprocity]

Originally Posted by elfyum

NOTHING I repeat NOTHING tastes as bad as Xanax!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And actually, if I ever take it more than twice in a week, I start to forget stuff - like, oh, how to turn on my headlights!!!
I can always get xanax but there's never a refill. But a 30 day supply (of 2mg) lasts me like 6 months!!!

First, 2 mg of Xanax is quite a bit. Second, if you stay on Benzo's long enough - they have been known to cause permanent brain damage in at least one serious study (I have a brain injury & go to a brain injury clinic run by a very well respected physician who is a Diplomat in Neurophychology - in other words - I believe him when he says BE CAREFUL).

I get nearly every side effect known to man - I don't even have to be told there are side effects for me to get them (in other words - they are not "all in my head"). But, so far I have not sensed any bad taste or any taste at all with Xanax.

I recommend to anyone taking benzo's (xanax, valium, & such) to be very very careful - not only because they are highly addictive - but because of the possible long term affects on the brain.

[think.reciprocity]

I don't know if you are taking 5 or 10 mg Ambien - but regardless, I'd be very very concerned about a doc being okay with me taking as much as you are describing. My sister did the same thing - was taking more as she was asleep - & when I began doing the same thing - I didn't bother weaning - I quit cold turkey & haven't touched another since. I went through withdrawals - but, I knew I wasn't going to die & I stuck through it.

Now, I am working on trying to deal with the issue that is causing the problem in the first place - not like I wasn't doing that before - but, that is my main focus. I take 5 mg of Melatonin a nite, NO CAFFEINE (had to go cold turkey off of that too), change in eating habits - in other words, I am doing it the hard way & I will get through this.

There isn't always any easy answer or a simple pill for everything - sometimes we have to go through the fire to become pure gold... I'm willing.

Originally Posted by SeattleAtNight

Where shall I start? Well, just to name a few experiences...
Driving sixty-eight miles south and not remembering anything about the trip. The way I discovered it was when I woke the next day I had a Chevron receipt stating where and when I fueled up. That put the fear of God in me.
I've also 'sleptwalk' around the adjacent college campus. A buddy saw me next to the music building and described me as zombified. He said I didn't recognize nor respond to him. I do have flashbacks of walking through a church parking lot on the other side of the campus that night, but the flashes of memory are very dreamlike and surreal.
I've drawn pictures on my walls and kitchen cabinets. Toothpaste and clorox, by the way, are excellent for removing hard-to-remove ink.
I saw blood on the carpet one morning. Then I saw where I broke a glass picture frame, and where it dropped on my toe causing it to bleed. I have no recollection of this happening at all. You know you're 'out of it' when you hurt yourself enough to bleed and not wake during the experience.
My main objection is the way I'll take one or two pills before bedtime, and I'll wake the next day and discover I've taken six to ten additional pills in the middle of the night. That one issue made me discuss this problem with my doctor. He just told me to hide me car keys out of reach or leave them with my neighbor (yeah, right.) Then he wrote a prescription for generic Ambien, stating on the label, I may take up to three pills a night. Yes, he knows full well about my amnesia episodes, and how I can take ten pills a night. He said, "Well, it's safer than Benadryl." Then told me not to worry. My pharmacist said I should report him to the state health board.
I'm hoping I can wean myself off Ambien myself I tried quitting cold turkey and ended up in the ER with what I thought was the flu. I honestly felt like I was gonna die. They were withdrawals. And what did the ER doctor do? Write me a prescription for more Ambien.

[Roselvr]

Those of you taking pills at night, have you tried hiding them or having your spouse hand you the pill every night?

I use pill despensers. I have the weekly, plus an a.m. - p.m. one. You could hide the main bottle, use the weekly, then take from the weekly, putting it in the a.m. - p.m. one.

[Mattie Jo]

i would get a new doctor. seriously!

[SeattleAtNight]

...and the doctor who writes the scripts for Ambien, his office called me this morning saying they're calling in more Ambien. I called them back about ten minutes ago, and told'm not to call it in. I'm gonna see about trazodone or seroquel at another doctor's office though.

[GEORGIAINMT]

To make a long story short....I've had difficulty sleeping for many years (I'm 47 now). For quite awhile I used Tylenol PM or other PM meds, but I hated the drowsiness in the morning and also heard it was bad for the organs. I consulted my dr. He put me on Ambien CR, starting with 6.25mg. It didn't help much, so he upped it to 12.5mg. I slept great, but found that I definitely COULD NOT sleep without it. After about 6 months we discovered that I was getting up during the night to eat ice cream (as a previous poster stated!). Entire 1/2 gallons were gone without me remembering eating them. They weren't even flavors I liked! It took some investigation to find out I was the ice cream bandit. We figured out that this happened when I took the Ambien CR but didn't go directly to bed. Evidently I was falling "asleep" on the couch then detouring through the kitchen on my way to bed! If I went directly to bed after taking the meds I didn't get up.....until one night. I woke up thinking that I had had a dream about eating an entire container of German Chocolate frosting. I thought that in my dream I felt drunk & was bouncing off the walls down the hallway. Well, my husband went on a search and found a container of frosting with about 1/2 inch left in the bottom in the refrigerator! It WASN'T A DREAM! That did it for me. I tried stopping cold turkey but couldn't sleep at all. So I went to a sleep specialist. I had a sleep study and found that I have severe sleep apnea. My husband had said that I snored at night and I have complained of daytime drowsiness for years, but I hadn't thought it was that bad. I started using a CPAP machine and had to use the sleep meds for a couple of days, then I tried without and have slept like a baby since! You would never believe how much better I feel! I'm a new woman! So, that's my story. No wonder I was gaining weight!!!! I guess the ice cream & frosting diet does that for ya! Anyway, I hope this info helps someone out there. I will never go on a sleep med again and wouldn't recommend them to anyone. Take care!
Georgia

[tasmtairy]

I am taking 3mg of Lunesta now, did the ambien thing. Eventually everything stops working for me. I have sleep issues. I mean it will take hours to fall asleep and with the job I had, that just would not work for me. Of course I was obsessed with my job so that might have had something to do with it. As soon as I lay down the mind goes full force. My shoulders are up to my ears. I've tried the melatonin thing. I dunno. I hate it. I didn't realize it might be affecting my memory. I thought it was just normal. My DD says for the past 2 years it's been terrible, but since I quit my job and have less stress, she says I am much better. Still on Lunesta though. More psychologically addictive than physical.

[think.reciprocity]

Originally Posted by tasmtairy

I am taking 3mg of Lunesta now, did the ambien thing. Eventually everything stops working for me. I have sleep issues. I mean it will take hours to fall asleep and with the job I had, that just would not work for me. Of course I was obsessed with my job so that might have had something to do with it. As soon as I lay down the mind goes full force. My shoulders are up to my ears. I've tried the melatonin thing. I dunno. I hate it. I didn't realize it might be affecting my memory. I thought it was just normal. My DD says for the past 2 years it's been terrible, but since I quit my job and have less stress, she says I am much better. Still on Lunesta though. More psychologically addictive than physical.

I had taken Lunesta & one other sleep aide for some time. I had no addictive issues with them whatsoever. I went cold-turkey off of Ambien because I was concerned that I was taking it EVERY SINGLE NIGHT was almost not hoping for an end to it. That concerned me.

I just went cold-turkey. No weaning... no nothing. I didn't feel any psychological need for it whatsoever - when I said "enough" - it was "enough". I have experience physical side effects/withdrawal symptoms - but have kept my physician apprised - I know they won't kill me - so I push through it. That's it.

I happen to take Percocet & Valium for chronic severe pain issues. It's been years & no matter how bad the pain becomes I do not chronically take it any where near the maximum dosage - even though I always have it readily available to me. I could medicate myself to sleep around the clock if I chose to.

God how I hate side effects. I am taking Xanax now for severe anxiety disorder / panic attacks / PSTD - I passed out in the living room - not remembering how, when, why. That's only after 2 daily doses - at a lower dose than they anticipate me getting to. Guess that would take care of the insomnia, though, huh? I PASSED OUT - for at least two hours & woke up completely disoriented, blurred vision, vertigo, slurred speech - very slurred speech, cloudy thought process. Whew. I don't like it - not one little bit. I called poison control (don't laugh) & then I left a voice message for my psychologist so he could hear what shape I was in.

Now, I've gotta try to get out the door & down the stairs to take my dog potty - I guess tumbling rapidly down them is one way to achieve the goal at hand? (kidding - never let yourself take YOU too seriously)


If I am incoherent - I blame it on the meds... If I make better sense than anything you've ever heard - It's ME all ME!