Ambien and still awake?

Hey There Everyone,

Does anyone take Ambien? I am finding that I can take it and fall asleep VERY quickly, like not even rembering at what point I fell asleep. But then in a few hours here I am wide awake. My MD suggested taking more when I awake because she said that it has a short life and can be out of your system quickly. I wonder if it is faster because of our digestive system. Anyway she said to take more if I awake during the night. I am afraid I will be drowsy the next day if I take it too late. SOOOO here I sit at 3:10 am. Anyone else have this problem. I have been put on Rozerem which I did not fall asleep at all on. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Kim

I can't take ambien because it keeps me awake!  Once you wake up how bout taking like one tylenol PM.  Maybe that will help you sleep!  Good luck to ya!  Amanda

I am pre-op and have take ambien.  I have not had very much success while taking it.. It doesn't make me sleepy most of  the time, and I too find myself up at all hours during the night.  I have been a night owl since I was a little girl, and it has to stop. Not to mention when I do try and sleep, I physically hurt. My hips seem to crush into my lungs, and I have terrible back and leg pain. My arms fall asleep, and I feel like I am just one big giant mess.  Ambien was supposed to help with that, but it didn't work for me.. Maybe you could talk to your Dr. about a different type of sleeping aid, or  I started taking over the counter melatonin (sorry I think I spelled it wrong, it's in the other room and my son is sleeping on my bed) It helps you fall asleep naturally, and doesn't leave you feeling groggy the next morning. (At least not for me)  My step-mother had RNY and she has taken it before, but if you are unsure about taking it yourself, I would just give your Dr. a quick call to see what he/she thinks.

Well I hope this helps..  Good Luck!

~Jenn~

I have a long history with sleep disorder problems. My PCP put me on Lunesta and I love it. There are 3 different strengths. I started with 3 mg and it was too strong. Now I am on 2 and it works wonderfully for me. If I take it I usually read for about 15 to 20 minutes and usually fall asleep in my book rather rapidly. It does leave a bit of a bad taste in your mouth but if I wake up during the night I rinse my mouth out and go right back to sleep. I am not a morning person but generally wake feeling pretty good.

Hey Kim,
I take Ambien and I have the same issue.  I took an extra one b.c I was still awake at 0300, and I guess at some point after that, I woke up and drank a beer from the fridge!  First off, I NEVER drink beer-not fond of the taste, but it all came back to me what I did when I saw the twist off cap laying in the middle of my kitchen floor (another no-no, neat freak) that morning.  Probably not a great idea mixing beer and meds, but it's all kinda foggy to me.  Be careful!

Ambien did nothing for me, either.  I take a small amount of klonopin now, if I feel like I'm not going to be able to fall asleep, or if I wake up in the night and can't go back to sleep.

My PCP says not to take any of the PM medicines, because they contain an anti-histamine whi*****reases appetite.

I took ambien for a while, made me feel wierd. My wife takes it and likes it. My Doc switched me to lunesta, I think it's great. different drugs for different folks, find the one that works for your particular body chemistry

I take Ambien and at first I had the same experience waking up in the middle of the night and not fal;ing back to sleep so I now take the CR version which dissolves slower.  I still sometimes experience this but if I take it about 8:30 pm I seem to sleep the enitre night.  I wake up a little drowsy but not too bad. 

NOW I do have other weird experiences while on Ambien with in the first 1/2 of hour of taking it I get this huge burst of energy and start like cleaning or making lists and then the next morning I wake up and have no memory of doing any of those things.  I've woken up to a clean bathroom having no memory of actually cleaning it.  Another time I woke up and realized I had written 10 pages of notes from this book on nutrition I had on my book shelf.   But it sure does help me sleep so I can put of with some of the weird things.

You are developing a tolerance to the drug.

That drug played horrific little games with me.  I won't go into what all happened, but I pulled a Patrick Kennedy and "came to" teaching (or talking to, anyway) a group of horrified high school kids.  I had to prove I wasn't drunk to the school principal.  I'd gotten dressed, caught my ride, no one saw anything unusual, and then I came to and all hell broke lose.

That pill is dangerous.  Keep taking it, and you'll see.

Yes, I took it for 3 years and after about the first year, I started waking in the middle of the night and my doc said it was because our bodies get used to the medicine and it takes more to get the same effect as it gave in the beginning. The problem is that Ambien is very habit forming and before you know it, your body needs it every night and eventually it needs more and more. I had a terrible time getting off of this junk. I went through a pretty powerful withdrawal and it was hard to learn how to sleep on my own, but I eventually re-trained my body to do it. My advice, don't take it anymore. Go to some over-the-counter sleep aid. Try Googling Ambien Withdrawal. There is a whole message board geared toward what Ambien can do to your body. Hope that helps.