ambien worked after a while, i am 300 lbs give or take a few wafffles, give it a few days,but ya,you will feel kinda groggy and slow during the day.
Now..this is just me and my body chemistry speakin K?
I have memory issues i associate with ambien use, short term memory is shot, i was on it for a long while,i got off coz of the effects, try the other one Lunesta, it dont hit as hard,but ur less fuzzy in the morning too. Ambien worked great at putting me to sleep,but in the end i had the same effects your describing. luck to ya!

I took Ambien for awhile and found it did not really help me sleep. And when it did I woke up with a hangover type feeling that lasted most of the day.

For me the only thing that helps me sleep is Flexeril which is weird. I started taking the Flexeril to help with the muscle spasms after my surgery. A great side effect was the sleep factor. And instead of a $30 copay for 14 pills I have a $4 copay for 30 pills (the generic). Go figure...........Paul

I take the Ambien CR also, but I don't seem to have a hangover effect the next day. I do take Rozerem with it and the two of them help me fall asleep and stay asleep. I HAVE to take them together though or no dice. When I first took Ambien (the regular one) I thought I had died and gone to heaven! I would take it and then about thirty minutes later I better be close to a bed. It was great! After taking it for a while it lost it's effectiveness and now it does NOTHING for me.
I've been out of my Ambien CR for almost two weeks now and there has been a big problem with my mail order pharmacy. Needless to say, I haven't had very much sleep during this time and now I caught the flu. I totally think it's because my body has completely worn down and lowered my immune system. There's not one joint that doesn't hurt in my body right now. It really stinks!

by the timestamp on my post im sure you can see my ambien is NOT working for me lol.. Flexeril USED to knock me straight out, except one day it did a 180 on me and now it gets me so wired i could stay up for days; weird. Next month, lunesta. Ambien is a no go for me. Hoped someone would have had a magical reply, but thank you all for yours nonetheless.

Ambien works great in the short term ,if you take it every night tolerance builds up fast at least it did for me.Another reason it may not be working for you is it does have a cross tolerance to benzos--they work on basically the same receptors
from what I have read.

I take ativan for now, its hopeless for the chronic insomnia I suffer from due to night terrors and anxiety.

There is a anti histamine called Vistaril(Hydroxyzine) that works wonders, its an rx only but you may talk to your doctor.

flexeril did zero for me, the skelaxin put me out like the cat at night, it was my chemistry i think, everyone else ,it works,me out goes ranch...
bummer on the not sleeping..if you can get this under some control and a good schedual for sleeping myour ganna have the stronger body for the fight. the grindof not sleeping will were you thin in a short while,as you already see, keep your hope up and i hope youdfind the answer your looking for.
the tolerance for then a dependance on a sleep aid is somthing i had to go through, ya get the ambien shufffle" when it no longer works, he headache and a shorter sleep period,then up you go,the ambien shuffle. I finaly kind of got the sleep control sort of back in order,i jacked my circadian rythyms all out of whack, but now i try to push through the day enough,that an hour or less nap to relieve the stress on the back is helping,if i do it round 2.00 pm, i get round 4 hrs sleep" if ya want to call it that a night.
You know when i exercized all the endorfines sure did help with the sleep, good luck to ya!

I definitely agree with Frustrated101. When you take Ambien for extended periods of time you build up tolerance for it.
I know I started with 5mg, but after about 2 months I needed 10mg to do the same thing. I was sort of afraid that that trend would just continue, so I stopped it and looked for other ways to get some sleep.

Now, I dont know IF the tolerance item is actually medical facts, but it sure seems to be that way

I too have been taking Ambien for a while and yes my body has seemed like it got use to it. Same as far as other meds your system always gets use to the meds but not the pain.....

I just started taking it but only try to use it when I really need it. I'm on 10mg but actually 1/2 a tablet does just fine for me. I feel kind of crabby the next morning but it wears off soon after I get going for the day.

sorry

Frustrated101 thanks for the info, I didn't know it bound to the same receptors as Benzo's. I take clonazepam, so there you go. That would explain why I can take a 10mg ambien and stare at the ceiling, or the inside of my eyelids, all night long.. Sounds like Vistaril and Lunesta are next up to bat.

Thanks all for the replies, and I'm glad I'm not the only one.

I, obviously can't sleep, but Ambien always left me feeling groggy. I have taken it often for about 9 years. I just switched to Lunesta and it worked great at first. Now it seems that it doesn't do much for me either but I at least don't get the hangover. Wish there were a magic pill out there for some of us...

Gary

it is hard to get off of, because of "rebound" insomnia - you sleep worse the night you don't take it. but I have finally pretty much gotten off of it by tapering over a few months. as weird as it sounds, it was the back surgery that made this possible, my body was just so tired it was ready to sleep.

but I was on sleep meds for years - the most effective was mirtazapine, which is an anti-depressant/anti-anxiety medication. you take it every night, and you get huge munchies, but wow - the five years I was on it, I could not have slept better, even traveling. it was amazing.

Even before I got hurted (yes, I know that's not correct English, I'm playing)...I've taken a NUMBER of things and honestly, it will sound dumb but Elavil is an anti-depressant that is used at lower doses to help people sleep and it worked beautifully for me, no hangover, or anything like that...There was another one they had given me, I can't remember the name of it, but it was basically a concentrated dosage of anti-histamines and they give it to women who are pregnant and can't sleep...But that one left me really hungover...And as I wasn't pregnant, I didn't get it, but docs don't like to give younger people narcotics...

I also have used Melatonin and that actually worked for me as well, it's OTC and what your body produces to go to sleep. Unfortunately I have neither and that's why I was up until 4 am, I'd kill for a good night's sleep at the moment! Good luck, I hope you get some rest!

Ive been ambien for roughly three years now and Ifind it lost its effectiveness. I tried lunesta and all it did was give me a bad taste in my mouth and eveything I ate and drank afterwards tasty nasty. I'm considering asking my doc for something else to try. I use to use restoril. I might ask for that again.

Christina

This may sound strange but i reallly prefer Trazadone. You can take up to 600 mgs of it and it wont kill you. Its an anti depressant (A terrible at that one) But it also makes you drowsy.
Also I think the med that knocked me out the fastest by far was REMERON That stuffs no joke its also a good antidepressant.

i use lunesta at the moment, not working so good anymore, tried ambien it did nothing for me, but my hubby uses ambien for last 2 years but he uses it off and on maybe only once or twice a week, thats prolly why he still has lots of luck with it. about lunesta leaving the bad taste (id eat cat food if it meant i could sleep, heheh)lunesta gives me munchies much less now but it was bad for awhile many years ago i started out with 3-flexy's at bed and that worked great then one night out of the blue it turned me into a hyper fool, now i use it prn during day helps relax my muscles and clean house hehehe, oh i have tried many i thought i read sumwhere earlier in the post with someone using two diff kinds at once.(yikes)..(i have never did that, dont think i would even try just recently i took a break with my lunesta and tried my old script of trazadone (doc said this would be fine)he tells me start off with 150 mg thats 3pills and if that dont work keep adding 1 pill every night up to 8 pill in one night, well it did work after 8 pills, this is my rhumey who takes over my sleeping meds he even said i could take more if that didnt work, cause i was abit nervous taking that many pills at one time from one bottle, well i did the trazy for couple weeks then went back to my lunesta, im just gonna keep doing the back ad fourth thing for awhile i also started on klonopin recently small dose point5 mg it was ok at first helped me with the muscle spasms, helped me chill out, but just that fast it dont do much for me and im not getting it refilled i know a higher dose would prolly help me like it did at first, but i dont need valuim as bad rite now as i might after my surgery, and doc says its okay to just keep a few for a really bad day, taking 4 of them every day was to much for this lady grandma,....patsy

_____________

Cervical Stenosis with Myeolopathy.
C-3-7 Herniations Impingement on Cord several areas.
C6-7 is worse with Large Herniation with over 50% Impingement."myolopathy syptoms seem to be getting worse. So time is important to me.keeping a positive attitude and holding head high.

UPDATE- Had surgery Feb.4th.2009. C6-7 disc was removed from what Surgeon called a very sick spinal cord.
If anyone would like to ask me any questions about before,during and after such a surgery it would be my pleasure to help.
If you would like my home E-mail, (Just ask)

Feel Free To Check Out My Websites: Patsy Now And Hunt Pix

I would love it if you left a comment ! !

Patsy Now - known as ladybug !

Lunesta makes everything taste yucky!!

just tried lunesta and sonata, I got lots of warnings about the gross tasting mouth thing with lunesta but it didn't happen to me. All I know is that nothing, still, nothing makes me sleep as good as good old excessive exhaustion. =) Hope you all sleep well tonight =)

Strange how different we all are. ambein 10 mg gives me sleep-fast. and I wake up refreshed and in less pain. But that's for occasional sleep only. If I take it to often it loses its effectiveness. and I have to take one and one half. so I try not to use it too often.
I got lunesta to break it up, and use some thing different so the ambien wouldn't loose it's effectiveness but lunesta gave me a hang over. So much for that idea. The ambein will work fine for me as long as I don't use it too often. As with any thing over used, It will lose it's effectiveness.
Good luck, Jim

ive asked before but i experienced memory loss with ambien, have any of you? ambien is more brutal in the fall asleep stage, but lunesta had me sleep a little better until i got used to it...bummer

i was thinking maybe lunesta works better for women and ambien works better for men. what do you think?
about the bad taste....i only have the bad taste when i get up in the morning,I brush my teeth and its gone...
so my question is do you guys out there that say it gives you a bad taste mean right after you take it...it gives you a awful taste in your mouth? like right away?after taking it?
just wondering...

i have a suggestion this is from my experience anyway if i take it on a empty belly it works if i eat first..forget it im not sleeping that night for sure, i usually take my lunesta wait 30 min eat dinner and start getting sleepy in about 30 min.
another thing take some magnesium along with your sleeping pill it kinda gives it a boost....hugs & good sleep..patsy

_____________

Cervical Stenosis with Myeolopathy.
C-3-7 Herniations Impingement on Cord several areas.
C6-7 is worse with Large Herniation with over 50% Impingement."myolopathy syptoms seem to be getting worse. So time is important to me.keeping a positive attitude and holding head high.

UPDATE- Had surgery Feb.4th.2009. C6-7 disc was removed from what Surgeon called a very sick spinal cord.
If anyone would like to ask me any questions about before,during and after such a surgery it would be my pleasure to help.
If you would like my home E-mail, (Just ask)

Feel Free To Check Out My Websites: Patsy Now And Hunt Pix

I would love it if you left a comment ! !

Patsy Now - known as ladybug !

Well Lets see I have been taking ambien for about 2 years now and pretty much 10 mg work for me nightly.. I have noticed that if I eat before I take it, it does not work well, and and then I feel like I need to take 1/4 of one... I will admit I am totally addicted to it, and even in the hospital they gave it to me nightly........I have a problem with sleepwalking especially with food at night, so it has not done me any good in that department.... We moved last year and I put my ambien in a different spot from what I ususllly keep it and I took it with my morning pills and went to work,,, DONT DO THIS...... I was feeling funny so I called my husband to count the pills in bottle and I had taken one, Thank God it was not a cooking day and it was a management day so I could sit at desk and try to stay awake.......It wore off after about 4 coffies and 2 hours so there you go, its not something that keeps me asleep all night,,,,, In the begining though I did a few wierd things like get up and make chicken salad and not remember it, till I thanked my kids for making it and they said I did.. I just kept my mouth shut. YIKES

Right now, I take Neurotin, Trazodone, Resteril, and Ambien CR all at the same time and I sleep really well. I've been on the Trazodone and Ambien CR for a couple of years (before the back problem) and didn't have a problem with building up a tolerance. When I don't take the Ambien for maybe a couple of nights, my head feels really weird...can't explain it, but I don't like the sensations I get. Anyone else have that problem when you don't take it? Just curious.

I have a very high tolerance for medications (as you can tell from the above cocktail) and I think it started back when I was a teenager and had migraine headaches so often. They would give me meds to basically knock me out so I could sleep through them. Ever since then, it takes a truckload of pain medications to do me any good. Weird.

I've taken Ambien on and off for 2 years - currently "on". When I first started taking it, it was wild! I was dead asleep in 10 minutes, so needed to be near a bed. But, whoa - what a trip I would go on!! Let's just say - intimacy with hubby was really wild. I wanted it even more than normal (which is a lot) AND would hallucinate somewhat throughout. Like I might think he was in a costume, we were in a forest, etc. I would talk about it as I would see it. It worried him at first, but then he realized I was fine and just incorporated it into the experience. lol That lasted just a few months.

I haven't had trouble getting off of it when I don't need it, but currently, my pain is really elevated and if I don't take it, I don't sleep. My current doc believes it causes rebound insomnia if taken every day, so she only gives 20 a month. I tried Lunesta and it just didn't work as well. So I'm willing to stay with Ambien and just not sleep much at all 10 days.

I also tried the CR and it was horrible - I was up and down all night. I prefer the regular Ambien, 10mg.

I no longer need to be near a bed, as it takes sometimes several hours to full kick in, but once I'm asleep, I get a really good restful sleep. Very rarely groggy if I get a full 6 hours or more. If I have to get up sooner, I will be groggy. I won't take it if I know I don't have 6+ hours to sleep.

I also no longer have hallucinations, and haven't done anything else that is worrisome or dangerous. It only lasted a few months.

It does still make me extra-amorous. lol

Tizanidine is a skeletal muscle relaxer.I never get a hangover like I do with Flexeril, and I have a respiratory problem that has me on 30 mg of Prednisone daily. If I can sleep through Prednisone, they're good.

I tried visteral and it didn't do anything but give me a sore, dry throat. I've been taking ambien for a couple of years. First started with ambien CR and I would sleepwalk, eat at night and not know it and wake up naked not remembering what happened but my husband would have a smile on his face so it must have been good I switched to generic ambien, zolpidem and that seems to have helped the sleepwalking and other activities. Oh I just remembered one time I drove to icecream store in the middle of the night and they were closed so I went to gas station to get icecream. I didn't remember any of this until I seen the empty cartons of icecream and then it slowly came back to me after a couple of days what I did. This was all while I was on CR though. Since I've switched to zolpidem I do get at least 4-5 hrs sleep but it takes at least 1-2 hrs to kick in so I take it around 8:30-9 and go to sleep by 10-12 and wake up around 3-5am and then go back to sleep for a couple more hours. I couldn't sleep without it. I also take 3 tylenol PM which I do not advise doing but it helps with the pain and getting to sleep better. I noticed if I take pain meds anytime near time to take ambien I also had a tendency to do things in the middle of the night that I didn't remember. One night I decided to thin my hair out only I used the thinning shears upside down. I woke up laughing about the dream I had until I looked in the mirror and seen all the hair in the garbage and realize it wasn't a dream.

Oh the questionable things we do while taking Ambien!! I have had many experiences after taking Ambien that I never remember doing, which is probably good! Of course, my husband has had a few experiences with ME on Ambien (lol). One night I put a whole roll of paper towels on my couch thinking I was protecting from being whizzed on by my dog. The next morning, my husband got up for work and found all the paper towels and left me a note asking what was up with the paper towels! OMG it was so funny to me. I vaguely remember doing it and at the time it made perfect sense to me!! I have never tried to thin my hair though. That would be quite a shock to wake up and find your hair all chopped up!
When I don't take sleep medicine, I don't sleep! Plain and simple. If it costs me a roll of paper towels occasionally, I'll make the sacrifice!

My husband has my some stories too, but they are confined to the bedroom. lol I'm very glad I didn't sleep eat or sleep drive. I was a sleepwalker as a child, and one time went out the front door and ran down the street at 2am. If my dad hadn't been up, they don't know where they would have found me the next morning.

Ambien is an awesome sleep med, though!

loves it when I take an ambien before bed and according to him one night last week I was apparently feeling a little frisky in the middle of the night. I have no recollection whatsoever of it though.
I also noticed the same thing about the food-if I eat close to time before taking it, it doesn't work as well.

You should ALWAYS take Amnien on an empty stomach, at least 2 hrs after eating something, for best results with it. This is the instruction that comes with it.

You are so right Terri.
Lunesta is the same way, If you don't take it on a empty tummy it wont work at all and then you just wasted the pill.
good luck and good wishes
Patsy

_____________

Cervical Stenosis with Myeolopathy.
C-3-7 Herniations Impingement on Cord several areas.
C6-7 is worse with Large Herniation with over 50% Impingement."myolopathy syptoms seem to be getting worse. So time is important to me.keeping a positive attitude and holding head high.

UPDATE- Had surgery Feb.4th.2009. C6-7 disc was removed from what Surgeon called a very sick spinal cord.
If anyone would like to ask me any questions about before,during and after such a surgery it would be my pleasure to help.
If you would like my home E-mail, (Just ask)

Feel Free To Check Out My Websites: Patsy Now And Hunt Pix

I would love it if you left a comment ! !

Patsy Now - known as ladybug !

I took Ambian 12.5mg for several months. My husband took a video of me once it hit me. TOO FUNNY!!!! I was sleep walking & eating, so I'm now on Lunesta, I still wake up a few times throughout the night.

I took it years ago, and I did pretty weird things like rake leaves at 1am and wake up with food in my bed. No thanks

I did exactly what I was suppose to. Took it and went straight to bed and every morning I woke up with a headache because it would not keep me asleep the full 8 hours or whatever they say on the commercial. I could take 2 Tylenol Pm's before my surgery and I was a goner. It wasn't addictive and I didn't have to take it every night for it to be effective.

to know about taking it on an empty stomach. I did not know that and will be sure to try it.

Cheri