stable not balanced Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 going from 12.5 ambien cr to 6.25 ambien cr. hello! i would love to hear from you. so, here goes: one reason for the switch is to possibly help my short-term memory. also, maybe not so tired the next day. also, less meds. maybe go to sleep sooner? what i would like to know is, does one feel withdrawals changing like that? should i kinda taper off by alternating the two doses? did i hear that they are made of different ingredients? if so, what physical difference does this make? thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 As far as I know, the only difference is the dosage. I haven't done any research, but I don't know why this would be any different than any other med that comes in multiple doses. My personal experience is that 12.5 mg makes me too groggy in the morning. It also doesn't put me to sleep as well as 10 mg of immediate release. 6.25 mg isn't enough to put me to sleep or keep me there. If I'm groggy in the morning, it's because I haven't slept all night. I'm currently taking 6.25 mg of CR and 5 mg of immediate release and it's a great combination for me. You shouldn't experience any "withdrawal" symptoms because it's not physically addictive. At worst you'll get "rebound insomnia." In other words, you won't be able to fall asleep (or stay asleep) at the lower dose. This can last for several nights. Your body may be fine at the lower dose. Or you might find that even after the rebound stage, you aren't sleeping well... which could mean you need the higher dose (or a different med). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Am Bien Posted April 14, 2008 Share Posted April 14, 2008 Your best bet would be to taper off of Ambien. There is a big risk of withdrawal symptoms with Ambien. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine Posted April 15, 2008 Share Posted April 15, 2008 There's a difference between addiction and dependence. Ambien is not physically addictive. Drugs like Xanax and painkillers are addictive. Discontinuing Ambien should not cause what one typically refers to as "withdrawal." It likely, however, will cause "rebound insomnia" if you've become dependent (which can often happen if you take it for long periods of time). In other words, you won't be able to fall asleep without the medication. This can last up to several days (or nights, I guess). I suppose it's a bit of semantics, be that's how I understand it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stable not balanced Posted April 16, 2008 Author Share Posted April 16, 2008 hello there! thank you thank you. yea, i actually got the ok from my pdoc that i could taper down between the two. so, i am armed with both 6.25 and 12.5. will see what happens! thank you! kathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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