Insomnia Forum Posting

Posted by Scott M on February 18, 2002 at 10:18:24:

Dear friend,
I know what you're going through and it's not easy. It's at times like these that sometimes all you can do is pull the helmet over your head,get into a foxhole and wait until the gun fire stops. I know what it's like to be hooked on ambien and suddenly it stops working the way it originally did. You become faced with two options. The first is to either increase your ambien dosage or add another sleeping medication to be taken along with your 5mg ambien thus sinking further into addiction land which ironically will mess your sleep up even more in the long run. I know because i took that option many times over the last six years and i'm still paying the piper for it. The second option is taper off the ambien and learn how to sleep medication free once again. Leogical's advice is right on the marker. I have been ambien free for 30 days now after taking it for two years and 21 months. It was very difficult tapering off the ambien. My sleep is still very poor. I'm in the process of tapering off 150 mg of trazadone which i've been taking for the past 5 and a half years and it's been hell. As leogical said in his reply to your earlier post: Try not taking the ambien for 3 days and then on the fourth day try 3.75 mg of ambien. The key is getting the ambien out of your system so that when you are totally exhuasted you are able to take a smaller dose of ambien to get your batteries charged so that eventually you will not need the ambien at all and you will be able to get some sleep. I think that this the best method so that you are able to avoid complete and total rebound insomnia which is brutal to say the least. The key to tapering off the ambien or any sleeping medication is the belief and conviction that you will be better off in the long run. Forget about the short term relief of upping your ambien dose and be prepared for battle(pain and suffering). I sleep very lightly at the present time but i'm determined to become medication free so i keep pressing on with my long term goal in sight. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts if you have become dependant on sleeping medication in order to sleep. Obviously, reading G. Jacobs book "Say Goodnight to Insomnia" and J.Wiedmans book Desperately Seeking Snoozin" and practicing their cognitive-behavioral techniques, eating healthy, staying mentally positive, emotionally calm, hence; reducing your anxiety and stress, and staying active physically,mentally and spiritually are all going to help you overcome your insomnia and "sleeping medication dependance". Please note: that if you are taking medication for depression or anxiety continue taking it!! I'm only talking about tapering off sleeping medication. It's very important to pracice a relaxation technique like meditation,yoga,deep breathing,praying,tai-chi,music,relaxation tapes,spiritual readings,getting in touch with nature such as hiking,camping,swimming,gardening,horseback riding,fishing, and etc. And finally, try to find things that youare grateful for on a daily basis. God Bless.

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