Do the parasomnias go away after a while?

[rowen]

I recently started taking Ambien. I'm having some issues with parasomnias. I think. It's bizarre, because I sort of remember bits of pieces of things happening but it all feels sort of dream-like. I have a similar issue post-night terror (I kind of but not really remember feeling frightened and being awake at night, but I couldn't tell you if my waking up actually happened), so I'm thinking this might be parasomnia based on previous parasomnia experiences.

Does it..go away? This is the first medication my doc has prescribed for sleep that has been helpful. However, the doing-things-in-my-sleep-thing is kind of freaking me out. Plus it gives me a loss of control feeling. And I like control, dammit (topic for another thread...or for my shrink appointment this Friday).

Does this side effect warrant a call to my provider?

I just find this side effect so bizarre...

[LunaRufina]

I don't know for sure, but I don't think the parasomnia-type side effects go away. That's just my opinion from what I've read in the past though- I've been trying to find some information on that specific aspect to give you something concrete but had little luck. I'm sorry.

I DO think it is something you should discuss with your doctor and you can both decide whether you want to continue it or not. I don't know what sleep meds you've tried, and you've probably already tried it, but Lunesta helped me and didn't make me feel weird or give me problems.

[rowen]

Thanks for the reply! I tried looking up some stuff on this subject, but I didn't find a whole lot.

I've been given sedating medications that are supposed to double as something else - Klonopin and Ativan for anxiety, Seroquel for mood, and Remeron for depression. I've had a script for trazodone, and I've tried melatonin and diphenhydramine at the pdoc's suggestions for sleep specifically. Benzos and melatonin don't do anything, and most other things that have sedation listed as a side effect knock me out for way too long. This is getting frustrating.

I'm questioning the quality of my sleep. I like that Ambien gets me to sleep quickly (or...er...something akin to sleep) and I don't have any problems waking up the next day, but I have found that I've needed extra nap time on the days I take it. At first I figured that that I was playing catch-up because I went about three weeks or so on crappy sleep, but it's been a few days and I should feel well-rested at this point.

Thanks for mentioning Lunesta. I'll see if my insurance covers it, and then ask my pdoc about it next time I talk to him.