writehellarandomshiny Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Took my 10mg of ambien too early & it isn't knocking me out. I need to pretend to rest, though. Right? any advice? Sleepless in Seattle (actually Ohio but Seattle sounds better) Sincerely, worried Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazyfroglady Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I found with ambien if I take it everynight or too many nights in a row it's useless and then I have to take a break from it for a while that's just been my experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malachite Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Ambien often stops working after a period of time. You usually have to go off it for some months for it to work again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shesellsseashells Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I found that if I didn't fall asleep within half an hour of taking Ambien it would not help me at all. Hope you get some zzzzs soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Did you take it with food? I just read a post here on CB that said it would work best taking it on an empty stomach; otherwise it doesn't work as well. I hope you sleep soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
writehellarandomshiny Posted April 26, 2014 Author Share Posted April 26, 2014 Thanks guys. Yes, I did eat right before going to bed that night. Changed up the routine a bit and it seems to be working better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KillBytes Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 Yup works best on a empty stomach and just before you go to bed. I've found if I stay up or take it too early, it defeats it's purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catnapper Posted April 26, 2014 Share Posted April 26, 2014 An empty stomach is a definite requirement for me, and also taking it as the very last thing before I get in bed. And now that I'm older (54), I find that I sleep better on an empty stomach anyway. Or mostly empty, just don't eat a full meal. If I have eaten near bedtime, then I might pace the floors or go outside and walk around for 10 or 15 minutes as that helps speed up digestion. I've been using Ambien nightly for over five years and it still works reliably. Because staying up all night is one of the best ways I know to enter an episode, I'm pretty religious about taking it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtac Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Ambien seems to have this narrow window of effectiveness, and if you miss it, you stay awake. I say this strictly from experience of taking it on and off over the past 5 years. It would usually put me down within 15-30min, but if I wasn't asleep within about 45min, or tried to stay awake, it seemed to have no effect at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will79 Posted September 28, 2014 Share Posted September 28, 2014 I took Ambien for the first time last night. It didn't kick in as fast as Id hoped. It took at least 2 hours to work. Im going to keep taking it, and hope that it will start taking affect sooner. I take a tiny red pill, Im guessing thats the lowest dose? Maybe I need a higher dose? Ill give it some time. If nothing changes Ill have to tell the psychiatrist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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