Thread: Ambien is great but need to change

Hi Willow:
I was "hooked" on lorazepam (Ativan) for a long while, and finally got the courage to wean off it. It took 3 tries and almost a year BUT I now find that (1) I sleep better than with the drug and (2) the benzos suppressed deep sleep - and I confirmed it with my Zeo Sleep Monitor - and I believe that Ambien suppresses REM sleep??? Although there will be plenty of nights with awful sleep, the short-term pain is worth the long-term gain. There's nothing better than sleep without help ;-)
Cheers,
das997

Thanks, Das 997 - Any pointers on HOW you weaned off? One sleep book talks about not taking it one night a week until you're doing OK with that, then going without another night, and so on, until you're off. Another method I've heard is to cut down the dosage by a little bit each night. I think the first method is supposed to have the advantage of building confidence by seeing that they've been able to be OK without taking the med for a night, etc. Any words of wisdom about what worked best for you?

Hi Willow:
I first went to the Benzodiazapine support group (in the UK). They have a great website with all kinds of techniques to wean off. Because Ambien is a non-benzo, I suppose the wean would be different BUT the steps might just be the same:
(1) they recommend switching over to Valium because it's basically the same drug (as Ativan) but much less potent so easier to divide into smaller doses. I DIDN'T do this because my doctor didn't want to play along.
(2) started taking about a 20-25% smaller dose of Ativan EVERY NIGHT for about 6 weeks. I progressed from 1.5mg/night to 1.25mg -> 1mg -> .75mg ->.5mg ->.25mg.
(3) When I got to .25mg, It got really hard. I had to up the dose again (all the way to 1mg) before I got any sleep. Apparently this is common when you get to very small doses. Had I known then what I know now, I would have just stuck it out. This decision cost me another several months.
(4) The THIRD time around, I finally stuck to the small dose (and didn't get too bad) and then started taking the small dose every second night. Then every third night. Then once a week.
(5) Now I take an Ativan every month or two - and I find it does nothing for me. Last time I took it, and monitored the night with my Zeo, it made no difference in my sleep, AND I could see that it significantly (50%) shorted Deep Sleep.

You might want to do a Google search to see if Ambien weaning is all that different from Benzodiazapine weaning - you may find that the steps are the same, but you can go much faster. My understanding is that Ambien is much less addictive.

Good luck!
Doug

Thanks again, Doug. That's helpful. Hope I can take this on soon, knowing that there are inevitably some tough times involved. It helps to know that others have been successful in doing it, though.

Hi Willow;
Just another quick question for you - what dose is the Ambien you're on? I've recently heard of very-small-dose Ambien causing some remarkable brain-trauma recovery that I'm REALLY interested in.
Thanks!
Doug

I've been splitting a 10 mg Ambien, taking 3/4 of it (7.5 mg) at bedtime and 1/4 (2.5 mg) when I almost always wake at about 3 a.m. I have some slight progress to report. A couple of nights this week, l lowered the dose at bedtime to 5 mg and was able to fall asleep and sleep just as long. One morning I didn't even need to take any at 3 a.m. to get back to sleep. This is very encouraging to me as I would never have guessed I could sleep that well without it. I am aware that I'm waking up more because I'm remembering more of my dreams and I don't feel quite as rested the next day, but hey...baby steps. I'm hoping to keep cutting down the dosage until I can start going without one night a week, etc.

A remarkable treatment for brain-trauma recovery would be awesome so I hope it proves to be successful.

I've been splitting a 10 mg Ambien, taking 3/4 of it (7.5 mg) at bedtime and 1/4 (2.5 mg) when I almost always wake at about 3 a.m. I have some slight progress to report. A couple of nights this week, l lowered the dose at bedtime to 5 mg and was able to fall asleep and sleep just as long. One morning I didn't even need to take any at 3 a.m. to get back to sleep. This is very encouraging to me as I would never have guessed I could sleep that well without it. I am aware that I'm waking up more because I'm remembering more of my dreams and I don't feel quite as rested the next day, but hey...baby steps. I'm hoping to keep cutting down the dosage until I can start going without one night a week, etc.

A remarkable treatment for brain-trauma recovery would be awesome so I hope it proves to be successful.