NoahsMom0904 Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 (edited) Hi I'm Crystal. I'm 28 years old. I have been taking Ambien 10 mg every night for 9 weeks and I want to get off this medicine. This morning I woke up still terribly sleepy with a headache. I am wanting to go cold turkey. Any advice would be appreciated. Edited October 19, 2016 by Shep added username to title and added tag Link to comment
Moderator Emeritus Shep Posted October 19, 2016 Moderator Emeritus Share Posted October 19, 2016 Hi, Crystal. Welcome to SA. Please note that going cold turkey off Ambien is not advised and could cause great harm to you. Ambien is what's known as a z-drug, which is similar to a benzodiazepine. Z-drugs and benzodiazepines are notorious for causing dependency in as little as 2 weeks. Please use caution. It's best to slowly taper off z-drugs, start incorporating non-drug coping skills for your insomnia, and give your mind and body time to heal and adjust to being off the drug. While we're primarily an antidepressant withdrawal site, we do have a members-only benzo area of the forum where you can get more information: Members only benzo forum The Ashton Manual will give you more information on what to expect with benzo / z-drug withdrawal: The 2002 Ashton Manual is at http://www.benzo.org...anual/index.htm The April, 7 2011 Ashton Manual Supplement is at http://www.benzo.org.uk/ashsupp11.htm You may find useful information in this thread specific to Z-Drugs: http://www.benzosupport.org/the_z_drugs.htm Although the withdrawal from benzos and Z-drugs is very similar, a main difference is in the half life. Z-drugs have a much shorter half life, so some people find it's best to split the dose throughout the day to help with interdose withdrawal. How are you feeling during the day? Other than waking up sleepy with a headache, are you having any other symptoms? Are you taking any other drugs? Please list you drugs in your signature, as explained in the link below: Please put withdrawal history in signature This is your thread to document your symptoms and ask plenty of questions. Please let us know how you're doing. Link to comment
nz11 Posted January 26, 2018 Share Posted January 26, 2018 Crystal any update? Thought for the day: Lets stand up, and let’s speak out , together. G Olsen We have until the 14th. Feb 2018. URGENT REQUEST Please consider submitting for the petition on Prescribed Drug Dependence and Withdrawal currently awaiting its third consideration at the Scottish Parliament. You don't even have to be from Scotland. By clicking on the link below you can read some of the previous submissions but be warned many of them are quite harrowing. http://www.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/PE01651 Please tell them about your problems taking and withdrawing from antidepressants and/or benzos. Send by email to petitions@parliament.scot and quote PE01651 in the subject heading. Keep to a maximum of 3 sides of A4 and you can't name for legal reasons any doctor you have consulted. Tell them if you wish to remain anonymous. We need the numbers to help convince the committee members we are not isolated cases. You have until mid February. Thank you Recovering paxil addict None of the published articles shed light on what ssri's ... actually do or what their hazards might be. Healy 2013. This is so true, with anything you get on these drugs, dependance, tapering, withdrawal symptoms, side effects, just silent. And if there is something mentioned then their is a serious disconnect between what is said and reality! "Every time I read of a multi-person shooting, I always presume that person had just started a SSRI or had just stopped." Dr Mosher. Me too! Over two decades later, the number of antidepressant prescriptions a year is slightly more than the number of people in the Western world. Most (nine out of 10) prescriptions are for patients who faced difficulties on stopping, equating to about a tenth of the population. These patients are often advised to continue treatment because their difficulties indicate they need ongoing treatment, just as a person with diabetes needs insulin. Healy 2015 I believe the ssri era will soon stand as one of the most shameful in the history of medicine. Healy 2015 Let people help people ... in a natural, kind, non-addictive (and non-big pharma) way. J Broadley 2017 Link to comment
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