Ambien

Nervegas

Nervegas

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So I ended up in the ED last night after taking ambien and having an adverse reaction to it. I apparently was up sleep walking and acting oddly, so a family member drove me to the ED. I was semi-coherent when we got to the ED, and was able to provide information about what I had taken etc. They didn't treat me for the ambien but my HR was ~150 or so while I was resting, so they ran a full workup and found that I actually have hyperthyroidism and that it has been causing me to go into SVT at random. They gave me a 1000 bolus of NS and let me rest, and my HR came down on its own. The weird part about the whole experience is that I remember everything but it feels like the whole thing was a dream, like it wasn't real. Suffice to say, it was an interesting experience and not one I plan on repeating anytime in the near future. I do remember hitting the EMS room on the way out though and snagging some snacks lol.
 
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Ambien is a very potent drug and I've heard some interesting stories involving it. My mother reacted very badly to it while in the hospital, my sister had to talk her down basically. On the other hand for those who respond to it well (myself for instance) it can be the difference between walking around like a sleep deprived zombie for days or getting a good nights sleep. Most of my "bad" experiences have involved epically bizarre emails written during the wee hours of the morning and episodes of sleep eating. I have heard that Lunesta although a similar drug tends to be better tolerated in those who experience the more severe side effects that ambien can produce. I personally dislike Lunesta because it makes everything taste like copper for days after I take it. Work with a sleep therapist if you can, you may find an alternative to ambien or better yet a non medication method of dealing with sleep issues.
 
Sleep walking and doing complex behaviors is a known side effect of zolpidem. I certainly does sound like it was unpleasant for you...and you're family. I hope you are able to find something to help you get the rest you need, especially with keeping EMS hours.
J
 
bigbaldguy said:
Ambien is a very potent drug and I've heard some interesting stories involving it. My mother reacted very badly to it while in the hospital, my sister had to talk her down basically. On the other hand for those who respond to it well (myself for instance) it can be the difference between walking around like a sleep deprived zombie for days or getting a good nights sleep. Most of my "bad" experiences have involved epically bizarre emails written during the wee hours of the morning and episodes of sleep eating. I have heard that Lunesta although a similar drug tends to be better tolerated in those who experience the more severe side effects that ambien can produce. I personally dislike Lunesta because it makes everything taste like copper for days after I take it. Work with a sleep therapist if you can, you may find an alternative to ambien or better yet a non medication method of dealing with sleep issues.
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Yeah, that's my next step. The ER doc prescribed me trazodone as a stop gap until I can go in.
 
Nervegas said:
Yeah, that's my next step. The ER doc prescribed me trazodone as a stop gap until I can go in.
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Being in the airline biz half my co workers at least occasionally have to take some kind of prescription sleep aid. I've heard trazadone Works well but tends to take a while to kick in and makes them groggy the next day. There is also a drug called sonata that is a very short acting medication that works well for many of my co workers and tends to have fewer (at least among my co workers) side effects than ambien. It did not work well for me because it tended to wear off about the time I finally started to fall asleep. Unfortunately because I started with ambien (kind if the pinnacle sleep drug) nearly 9 years ago when I first started seeing a therapist other "lesser" sleep medications don't tend to work for me. I have had some success with relaxation techniques and Non medication methods of maintaining healthy sleep patterns. Unfortunately much like EMS the airline business does not lend itself to normal methods of dealing with sleep issues like maintaining a rigid bed time or allowing yourself to relax for a hour before bed.
 
Nervegas said:
Yeah, that's my next step. The ER doc prescribed me trazodone as a stop gap until I can go in.
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Decent drug. I'm on psych right now and we use it a lot for sleep. Restoril is a good one as well if your not against trying a benzo.
 
Local tweaking bikers used to like Ambien.

Then Seraquil. Go figure. Be careful and good luck!
 
I have a friend who goes ebay-ing on Ambien.

Very expensive side effects.
 
Yeah Ambien has crazy effects. I've never taken but my wife has. Lots of Strange conversations and morning after amnesia. Now she lays in bed,takes it and stays there till it kicks in. It's safer that way.


Sent from my electronic overbearing life controller
 
Taken Ambien many times - as prescribed.

I am sure those nasty effects that are so common, are from taking it when doing things other than lying in bed waiting to drift off. I can just imagine the horrors of using it in a recreational sense. I've never had a bad experience with it. Ever. I know it doesn't suit everyone, but it works for me.

I wake up feeling great. Good from going from days to overnights.
 
As someone with chronic sleep problems (insomnia at its finest) I've found that Ambien works best for making me fall asleep (I have no problem staying asleep). My wife and her mother have tendencies to sleep walking and therefore they can't take Ambien. According to a hypnotist, sleepwalkers are the best at being hyponotised because the hypnotised state is very much identical to sleepwalking. Because of that tid bit, I saw the funnies hypnotism show in Las Vegas in which my wife was show. Funniest Vegas show i've ever seen.... but I digress

Restoril is great if you're ok with taking benzo's. Some others would be Rozerem (boosts melatonin levels), Lunesta, or possibly Trazodone in low dose 50-100 mg as its primarilly used as an antidepressant. There's also Neurontin or Lyrica which is used for seizures and fybromalgia but has been known to help calm the nerves by boosting GABA (gamma-aminobutric acid) levels.

Hope this helps, and let me know if you need to know about thyroid disease as i'm very familiar with it as it has a strong family HX on my mother's side.
 
Ambien has been a life saver for me, definitely not for everyone though. If you do a Google search there are endless message boards filled with people's horror stories.

I have only had one bad experience with it in 2 years, and that was when i mixed it with alcohol. Bad idea.
 
Chief Complaint said:
I have only had one bad experience with it in 2 years, and that was when i mixed it with alcohol. Bad idea.
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somebodys been looking at erowid.com :unsure:
 
Why are you doing that with your body?:wacko:

Here in Germany Ambien falls under the Narcotics Act, because it has a high potential for addiction.
 
Rettsani said:
Here in Germany Ambien falls under the Narcotics Act, because it has a high potential for addiction.
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Same here in the USA, it's considered a Controlled IV or Schedule 4. On a scale of 1-5 where 1 is being the most controlled substance. Vicodin (Hydrocodone/APAP) is a Schedule 3, and Adderall (amphetamine salt) is a Schedule 2.
 
DV_EMT said:
Same here in the USA, it's considered a Controlled IV or Schedule 4. On a scale of 1-5 where 1 is being the most controlled substance. Vicodin (Hydrocodone/APAP) is a Schedule 3, and Adderall (amphetamine salt) is a Schedule 2.
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Thank you, very interesting ..
Now I've learned something.^_^
 
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