I took an Ambien last night...holy crap!

[Squatch]

At first nothing. Watching HBO's Rome and really digging my history...then all of a sudden, it felt like my brain was about a second slow in catching up to my body.

The next thing I remember after the show ended was waking up this morning draped over the side of the bed, still in my blue jeans.

I'm glad they put the warning label on the bottle:

"Caution: may cause drowsiness"

[KitchenWitch]

1. What did you expect

it is a sleeping pill after all

:hi:

[Squatch]

2. I expected it to just kind of make me droopy-eyed.

Nah, it literally put me down for the count.

Me likie very much!

[KitchenWitch]

3. HAHA

Glad it works!

Maybe I should get sumadat!

[Squatch]

4. Funny thing is...my doctor just gave it to me without my asking for it...

Hey, Squatch...you look tired. Get some Ambien.

Yes, sir!

[RumpusCat]

5. Ah, I used to have a script for this!

I suffered from insomnia my final stressful semester of college. When the student health doc handed me the script he told me to make sure I was in bed with my pajamas on when I took the pill, and he wasn't kidding! Out like a light.

After a couple of uses you'll start being able to stay awake on it longer and longer, and man, let me tell you--trippy stuff. I remember seeing things, having conversations with people who didn't exist... very exciting. Just be sure to be home and near soft objects to collapse onto! :D

[Taverner]

6. Ambien is great for long plane trips

[LisaLynne]

7. I used to have that happen a lot ...

except I wasn't taking prescription drugs. Good times! :crazy:

[MarsThe Cat]

8. "Alcohol may intensify this effect"...

I've always wondered- is that a warning or a suggestion?

btw- do you know how Ambien got it's name?
it's a bastardization of "good morning" A.M. Bien(spanish for good)
and by "good morning", they mean that they won't leave you feeling drowsy in the morning.

[Mojambo]

27. My first DU spit take.

"I've always wondered- is that a warning or a suggestion?"

:rofl:

[Debi]

9. Hey, isn't this thread against the new DU rules?

I'm such a narc!! :7

I have a friend who's an insomniac and he swears by Ambien. I can't imagine not being able to go to sleep - for me a warm glass of milk will knock me out. :shrug:

[Canadian Socialist]

21. Hmmm. Mayhap I should get some of that...

right now, to combat insomnia, I have the biography of Lord Montbattan on my bedside table. I've never got past the second page. But I have woken up in the morning with paper cuts on my face.

[Syncronaut Seven]

26. Depends on if it's medical or recreational use.

So... Which is it? :evilgrin:

[redqueen]

10. Isn't that the stuff Powell and Rumsfeld and everyone was taking?

Weren't there some side effects that everyone was talking about?

[Angry Girl]

14. Yes. Hard to fall asleep with 100,000+ lives on your conscience

URGENT! Timing is critical to save earthquake victims before winter!

[smirkymonkey]

11. The same thing happened to me...

there was no warning, no drifting into drowsiness, it was just *wham* and I was out.

I was talking to a friend on the phone shortly after I had taken it and he said literally on minute I was coherent and then the next I was completely out of it and he couldn't get me to respond. I just conked out with no lead in. Scary.

[musette_sf]

12. I miss Ambien

and understand totally why Scarborough told CNN's Dr. Deepak that he could keep the Valium if he could score some Ambien (this was last week's Bill Maher show).

I'm taking Lunesta now, and don't love it. It tastes crap and you don't get that delicious "buh-bye" feeling at all.

But I do have to admit, Lunesta works 65% of the time, and is approved for long-term use. Ambien is not for everyday, there are some spacey waking-time effects if you do take it regularly.

[Left Is Write]

13. I use Trazadone, but I only take it when I really, really have to.

It's great at helping me sleep, but I'm usually groggy and a little on the cranky side the next day.

Other times, I just use an OTC sleep aid with an antihistamine.

[no name no slogan]

15. I take both trazodone and ambien

the ambien knocks me out, the trazodone keeps me out. I was taking a lot of traz initially (100mg/night) but my dreams just got too bizarre, so we added the ambien when I was in the hospital.

It's a good combo-- but when it hits, it really hits

[AlienGirl]

17. I don't like Trazodone

It gives me a headache the next day, and often isn't enough to put me *really* out.

Ambien puts me out no matter how squirrelly my brain is, but that means if I'm anxiety-ridden as I'm going to sleep, the anxiety continues, and I can have nightmares.

What I need is something that will stop the squirrel-brain.

Tucker

[Deep13]

16. By the way, it's AD 3058 and apes have evolved from men.

FYI

[LynneSin]

18. Reminds me, I need to get a refil

I did that once and the weirdest thing is I had no idea how I got from my living room sofa to the bedroom

:scared:

[redwitch]

19. I am so jealous

ambien does not have that effect on me. I get sleepy, sleep for a few hours and wake up at 3 or 4 AM. Which sucks. I hate having sleep problems!

[BlueIris]

20. Yeah, a lot of the new sleep aids, er...really work.

I sometimes warn people about my experiences with Sonata. Hallucinations. Every dose. Mild, kinda pleasant. I think they're fun. But I really try to take as directed. Which is rarely. Not everyone has the side effect, of course, but most wouldn't want it, so I tell them what happens to me.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

22. I get good results with Ativan

but that sounds cool. Maybe I'll bug my doctor.

Did you dream? The thing about Ativan is it stops your rem sleep. Then when you cut back, look out! Like dreaming on LSD. Not that I would really know anything about that.

[NMMNG]

23. I'm glad it worked well for you

That stuff doesn't do squat for me.

[grannylib]

24. I've heard that from others; never tried it myself, although it sure would

be useful for those horrid white nights when you just can't shut your brain off and lie there thinking, 'any minute now...sleep can happen any minute now...'

usually I read Deuteronomy; there's a soporific for ya, but it doesn't always work.

[wildhorses]

25. thank God's mother for the stuff

speaking as the wretched insomniac that I am...

[Elidor]

28. I had the same experience the one time I took a quaalude.

I thought it was party time, but suddenly it was the next morning. Doh!

[MarsThe Cat]

29. quaaludes were the BEST!

if you could fight off the sleep for 45 minutes or so, you could party all night.

[graywarrior]

31. Oh, how I loved ludes.

[graywarrior]

30. This so appeals to the alkie in me.

I am green with envy. It's almost worth spending my last buck on a doc visit. I haven't slept in years.

[schmuls]

32. Ambien is some good shit!

[MN ChimpH8R]

33. Works like a charm for me

Take one, read for 15 minutes and zonk out but no morning grogginess or doped feeling. I agree with the comments about ludes though. I miss 'em.:)

[Sanity Claws]

34. Non-pharmaceutical remedies for insomnia

I've had bad reactions to prescription meds and try to avoid them. Besides I hate giving my money to those companies.
I have found certain herbal teas to be great at combating insomnia. Celestial Seasonings makes two strengths of Sleepy Time Tea. Trader Joe's carries a knock-off called BedTime Tea. I go to an herbal store for a special blend of passionflower (great name, eh?), skullcap, and a little lavender. A food supplement called 5-HTP (related to L-tryptophan, an amino acid) is also good.