gizmo Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 I am having mood issues right now (bipolar) and my sleep is completely shot. Can't sleep because of obsessional thoughts, don't get mentally tired, toss and turn in bed, can't focus to read, hyponotherapy doesn't work, or wakes me up as soon as the track stops on my mp3. So my pdoc gave me 30 days of ambien 10 mg. After a week or so of taking the 10 mg and not sleeping any better, I started taking 20mg, which works really good. But I've never heard of people taking this high of dose, and one site I went to said to never go over 10mg. So what are my chances of getting the pdoc to write 20mg? Or should I try another med. I'm on ativan, but it doesn't make me sleepy or relax me any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebelSong Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 When Ambien sort of stopped working for me, I took 15. For me 15 was too much, so I've gone back down to 10. So maybe find out if you can be moved down to 15, if you're worried about it. Or just talk to your doctor about your concerns, you know? Maybe your pdoc can tell you why or whether it's safe or not. If it's something you're worried about, I'm sure he/she will be totally willing to talk about it with you. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 i've taken up to 25 of the ambien cr, it was fine. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notfred Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 So what are my chances of getting the pdoc to write 20mg? Or should I try another med. I'm on ativan, but it doesn't make me sleepy or relax me any. Depends on the pdoc. Mine lets me take twice the max Lunesta dose but was unwilling to let me double up on Ambien. I did not ask why. You would need to take 4-6 mgs Ativan for sleep, if it was going to work. nf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirMarshall Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 20mg is twice the maximum recommended dosage. That's a lot, especially if it's more than a one or two time thing. In my observation, the few members who began taking that much seemed to be having problems overall. T he flip side is, that if you get habituated to that level of Ambien you have nowhere else to go, and may have lost it as a sleep aid. shrug. I really recommend you contact your doctor immediately. A better alternative long term is probably to increase mood stabilizer dosage(s) or a supplemental med (like maybe an AP/AAP). It's not fun going thru the wash cycle. Don't let things get worse. a.m. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Actually, I'd have to say my experience on 24 m.g. of ambien CR was positive. It protected my sleep, got me out of an episode quicker, and there were no ill after effects. I did not stay at that dosage for very long, however, and my other meds were being raised in the meantime, so there is that. I wouldn't recommend it for long term use, but as someone who has MAJOR sleep issues when in an episode, I do appreciate the quickness with which ambien works to make sure my lack of sleep does not make my episode worse. I don't think it actually treats the BP dx, but it sure helps my sx not become a snowball rolling downhill. That being said, even the pharmacist queried it, heh. He was like, um, you know this isn't the correct dose, right? So I'd say defer to your doctor on this one. i've never had a problem tapering off ambien once my episode is over, either, so that's nice. Even if I've been on it for some time, I don't get dependent on it for sleep. YMMV. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catnapper Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 When I was joking with my pdoc about how the pharmacist treats me like an addict whenever I get my Ambien refilled, he agreed that the pharm. was being a bit ridiculous since Ambien comes in a 20 mg size in Europe. I wouldn't be as worried about the dosage as I would be about explaining to my pdoc about changing the dose without getting their buy-in first. I think my pdoc would be ticked off about that with any drug, but especially with a controlled substance. I have taken generic Ambien for about two years, and I notice a big differnce between generics - the Teva brand sucked for me. I have never had problems with generics, so am not sensitive that way. Maybe see what generic has been prescribed and if there are others available from other pharmacies, or try the name-brand? I also found that Ambien won't work if I've eaten within two hours of bedtime. Going to bed on an empty stomach is the best way for it to work for me, and as a side benefit I've lost a few pounds that I needed to get rid of, since if it's late, I skip dinner altogether. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worstinsomnia on earth Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I've been told by three shrinks and two sleep specialist that I have the worse insomnia they have ever encountered. I slept great tell I turned 16 and was diagnosed with leukemia, I started having nightmares and worrying that If I feel asleep I wasn't going to wake up the next morning because the dr told me I was on the brink of death. That was the start of my sleepimg problems so they started giving me ambien or sonata which ever I felt like taking that night. I spent two years straight in the cancer ward fighting for my life with chemotherapy and radiation. I had a weird reaction to radiation that they said rarely happened to patients when I finished my radiation I slept 22 hours a day for three weeks straight only getting up to eat and bathroom. After that I stopped being able to sleep all togther. I haven't gotten more then 3 hours a night of sleep the past 6 years all the dr can't explain it they just say that all the experiences and treatments and huge doses of meds have screwed up my brain permanetly and will be this way the rest of my life. Here are the meds I am presently taking to sleep and remember even with all the meds I take I get only three hours, so most of u guys I would count urself lucky that ur sleeping issues are not as severe as mine, I've actually never met many people who I can vent with that have such severe insomnia. Anyways back to my meds for pain even tho it's not a sleep med it knocks most people out I take 80 mg of opana at bed time, I also have been taking 30 mg of regular ambien the past two years, 60 mg of temezapem , 1 mg of ativan, 50 mg of hydroxy , 400 mg of serequl. It's a huge amount of meds and as u can probably see that if this amount of meds can't get me to sleep nothing can, it makes me cry even thinking about the fact that the rest of my life will be like this. If anyone knows of any kind Of rare medication that they think would help me with sleep please let me know I beg u, I need help desperately. I have tried to sleep with out meds 4 years ago when I finished chemo I slowly decreased everything so if have no withdrawls tell I was taking non of the above but then I went ten days straight with out sleeping a single hour and u might not believe me but it is true I ended up in the ER from going crazy from no sleep and they said I could of died and I was put back on my large doses of meds. So please give advice, I don't want people telling me that I'm crazy for taking so many meds and that I'm going to over dose and kill myself accidentally because I am not doing any of this illegally I see one psychiatrist who is in charge off all my sleep and she controls my doses so don't bad mouth me and say mean things I've had a very hard life battling cancer and I don't need people hurting my feelings when few people realiZe how hard all this is to deal with I'm just looking for help. Thank u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I agree with sylvan. I don't know if you've ever tried lower doses of quel, but for many people, that works better . You might also try a "bump" of regular quel to get you to sleep and a dose of ER quel to KEEP you asleep, depending on how you react to it. Extended release quel just keeps me sleepy all day long.... I don't know if you've tried trazodone. It would help if you listed the meds and things you've tried, so that we can offer suggestions/alternative possibilites.... Also, I am assuming you have had a sleep study done (that was a bit hard for me to read, you may have mentioned it) but if you have NOT get one. I'm also like a CHRONIC insomniac, so I feel your pain. There is also dark therapy for sleep, that works for some people. You can read about it at psycheducation.org. It might or might not help your scene, but you are sounding pretty deseprate, so I'm listing things I know.... Some people find Geodon very sleep inducing, but mileage can vary on that... the sleep factor can also wear off. There are also herbals and supplements you can try that people here have tried, to varying degrees of success, but you need to run it by pdoc. Neurontin helps with both sleep and anxiety. I have used it to good effect. You do have further options. Please post more so we can help out more. I'm sorry about your situation, it sounds dreadful. Anna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcjimjam Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 I started taking 20mg when 10mg stopped working (that took like 2 nights to happen, lol). Then that stopped working very quickly and I threw in the towel. Ambiens a weird drug, and I think the reason that there's not any room to go up is because things would get too weird. Like maybe a lot more people would be crashing their cars in their PJ's eating buttered cigarettes if everyone took 20mg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kan Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 On 7/30/2011 at 10:58 PM, Worstinsomnia on earth said: I've been told by three shrinks and two sleep specialist that I have the worse insomnia they have ever encountered. I slept great tell I turned 16 and was diagnosed with leukemia, I started having nightmares and worrying that If I feel asleep I wasn't going to wake up the next morning because the dr told me I was on the brink of death. That was the start of my sleepimg problems so they started giving me ambien or sonata which ever I felt like taking that night. I spent two years straight in the cancer ward fighting for my life with chemotherapy and radiation. I had a weird reaction to radiation that they said rarely happened to patients when I finished my radiation I slept 22 hours a day for three weeks straight only getting up to eat and bathroom. After that I stopped being able to sleep all togther. I haven't gotten more then 3 hours a night of sleep the past 6 years all the dr can't explain it they just say that all the experiences and treatments and huge doses of meds have screwed up my brain permanetly and will be this way the rest of my life. Here are the meds I am presently taking to sleep and remember even with all the meds I take I get only three hours, so most of u guys I would count urself lucky that ur sleeping issues are not as severe as mine, I've actually never met many people who I can vent with that have such severe insomnia. Anyways back to my meds for pain even tho it's not a sleep med it knocks most people out I take 80 mg of opana at bed time, I also have been taking 30 mg of regular ambien the past two years, 60 mg of temezapem , 1 mg of ativan, 50 mg of hydroxy , 400 mg of serequl. It's a huge amount of meds and as u can probably see that if this amount of meds can't get me to sleep nothing can, it makes me cry even thinking about the fact that the rest of my life will be like this. If anyone knows of any kind Of rare medication that they think would help me with sleep please let me know I beg u, I need help desperately. I have tried to sleep with out meds 4 years ago when I finished chemo I slowly decreased everything so if have no withdrawls tell I was taking non of the above but then I went ten days straight with out sleeping a single hour and u might not believe me but it is true I ended up in the ER from going crazy from no sleep and they said I could of died and I was put back on my large doses of meds. So please give advice, I don't want people telling me that I'm crazy for taking so many meds and that I'm going to over dose and kill myself accidentally because I am not doing any of this illegally I see one psychiatrist who is in charge off all my sleep and she controls my doses so don't bad mouth me and say mean things I've had a very hard life battling cancer and I don't need people hurting my feelings when few people realiZe how hard all this is to deal with I'm just looking for help. Thank u Have you ever tried xyrem for sleep? Typically neurologists or pulmonolgists are the ones who will prescribe it, it's a pretty good program but this is usually the last line even after lunesta or sonata. This is because xyrem Is basically the date rape drug but it helps you sleep, it's a mix that you put in drink and depending on weight, etc they've can repeat if needed like 2 hrs later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted September 3, 2017 Share Posted September 3, 2017 Idk what actually you've tried but high dose halcion did it for me...also I know some docs use Thorazine for treatment resistant insomnia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatphuk Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 I'd love to try triazolam, I've inquired about it to several doctors and none of them knew what it was! They had to google it, then give me the benzodiazepine lecture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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