Cardiogirl 19 percent body fat 100 percent fun

2007-08-23

Ambien, why do you forsake me?

|

Calling all insomniacs (this definitely means you, Dulligirl). Does anyone have any experience with Ambien?

Here's my brief relationship with that drug. Back in the summer of 2004 I was experiencing a lot of stress and couldn't sleep. I did try Xanax but it gave me a headache and didn't allow me to sleep much longer than the five hours I was already getting. I got a prescription for 10 mg of Ambien and it must have worked well enough for the week or so that I took it. It's hard to remember, but I would say my experience with Ambien at that time was neutral -- not great, not terrible.

Right now I'm having a lot of trouble sleeping. So I remembered that I have a three-year-old prescription of Ambien left. Enter Sandman, or so I thought. I don't really have a problem falling asleep at night, it's staying asleep that's giving me trouble. I wake up around 3:00 am and start to toss and turn. Yesterday I got up at 4:30 for the day. Today I got up at 3:50 for the day.

The Ambien isn't doing its job. I considered taking two pills (20 mg) but the pharmacist said that would not be a good idea (Chris a little help here, is it going to kill me, is it going to mess with my motor functions, why is 20 mg such a heinous dose?)

Last night I cut the 10 mg pill in half thinking I would create my own extended-release Ambien. Take that, Sanofi-Aventis (Ambien's manufacturer).

It didn't work. I took half at 8:00 pm and woke up at 12:30 am. Took the second half at 12:30 am and woke at 3:00 am.

I have seen commercials for Lunesta. Anyone out there ever try that one? What drug advertises with Abe Lincoln and the ground hog telling the guy his dreams miss him -- is it Rozerem? I need something besides Ambien. Any home remedies?

I did run across a guy on the internet who took three 10 mg Ambien pills to "create a crazy head trip." He explained he was not a doctor but that one did not need to worry about overdosing until one has had 400 mg of Ambien. So, in his words, "it's all good" (taking 30 mg of Ambien). This guy said to experience "the trip" you have to fight the effect of falling asleep for about 20 minutes (gee, you think?) Then, he said it's like an acid trip without the harsh hallucinations. He described it as dreaming with his eyes open. I'm not looking for an acid trip, I'm just looking to remain sleeping for eight hours.

Side note: This is exactly the kind of stuff my doctor hates to hear about. I'm quite certain his biggest pet peeve is patients who self diagnose via the internet. I have replaced the phrase "internet" with "research" when I talk to him. As in, "my research tells me this may be a problem with stress." I cannot tell you how many times in the past he has said to me, "There's a lot of crap on the internet." Point taken, but you have to admit there is a lot of interesting crap on the internet.

I'll be visiting my parents today, which is always stress-free and enchanting (this is sarcasm). You may recall my dad took my mom to the ER last week Thursday because he thought she was having a heart attack. While there, my mother fell which resulted in a black eye, staples along her hair line and a lot of bruising on the back of her hands from all of the blood drawing.

So visiting her and now seeing all of the bruising and staples induces stress in me. Her behavior is also changing drastically, I'm sure this is a result of the advancing Alzheimer's. It just seems like we have turned a corner with her Alzheimer's. I guess I had assumed her decline would be gradual and not so abrupt.

Apparently my psyche is but a delicate flower that cannot handle rapid, stressful changes. I need some kind of sleeping pill or a straight jacket to help me cope. I'm a Large (long arms), if you happen to have an extra jacket lying around.

*

My reminder which will go away on September 1, 2007:
Don't forget my goal of getting enough votes so I can donate money to Gilda's Club. You don't have to leave your name or your e-mail address, just anonymously click the the thumbs up icon at this website. That's all it takes!

*

Sending out a thank you: I'm sending an extra 1000 strides on the elliptical trainer to irisheyes70 who added me as a favorite recently. Thanks Irisheyes70!

|

2007-08-23 at 5:22 a.m.

last post | next post