My First Ambien

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  • Curlylocks
    Curlylocks Member Posts: 1,060
    edited December 2011

    Your welcome Shelly!  I just dont want anyone to think that sleeping pills are the answer to solve insomnia...short term for a few weeks maybe but no longer....

     If I knew back then what I know now about sleeping pills would never have taken that first one.  I was pushed into menopause at 42 and then on Armidex for 5 years which made the insomnia worse.  I have never had insomnia in my life! My husband use to joke that I could fall asleep at the drop of a hat as soon as my head it the pillow!

     All the best in your recovery.  I am 6 years out and feel better than I have in years!

    Michele

  • jancie
    jancie Member Posts: 2,631
    edited December 2011

    On the other hand I dealt with insomnia for over 20 years.  I couldn't get a single doctor to listen to me - always heard the "reduce your stress"  "Change your sleep patterns"  oh yes....that worked really well - NOT.

    I know Ambien is addicting and that when I stop taking it I probably won't sleep for 48 hours straight but like Vicodin and other pain meds, you wean yourself off slowly and you don't quit cold turkey.  In the meantime, I am going to enjoy my sleep!

  • steffief
    steffief Member Posts: 30
    edited December 2011

    My doctor has basically prescribed me Ambien for the last 4 years. I have cancer; I dare anybody to take away a few hours of forgetting about it all. There are worse things to be addicted to! Best wishes to you all.

  • nora_az
    nora_az Member Posts: 720
    edited December 2011

    Ok you girls are cracking me up!   I am an ambien whore and have been for a couple of years. I take 10mg of the generic stuff.

    I try to make sure I am IN BED after I take it. If I dont I cant take responsibility for my own actions! I have woke up in the morning with food wrappers on my night stand and been told about phone conversations I never remember having.

    I have a friend who told me she took it and woke up in the morning, took off her pajamas and when she was headed for the shower she took a quick glance at herself and noticed something odd....no pubic hair...go figure!  She had no recollection of doing that but the evidence was in the bathroom!

  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited December 2011

    LOL Nora. Good one. Missing underwear, missing pubes, you get it all here. 

    I am taking Ambien only occasionally now - just makes me too hung-over in the morning. Xanax doesn't do that, but I am developing an impressive tolerance...

    And I agree Steffief, IMO there are worse things than being addicted to Ambien...like lying awake all night thinking about cancer.

  • nora_az
    nora_az Member Posts: 720
    edited December 2011

    Strange, I read the page where it talked about some guy shaving off his beard after I typed my response.  Maybe we should just keep razors away from people after they take Ambien?  LOL

    I dont take Ambien everynight and I am trying so hard not to take "something" other than when I have trouble sleeping but my mind works overtime and I just want something to knock me out.

  • shells43
    shells43 Member Posts: 1,022
    edited December 2011

    Me too, Nora, the brain is just in overdrive. I close my eyes but just keep right on thinking of all the stuff I have to do, or articles I've read about, or pieces of music I'm practicing. It just won't shut off. Ambien just slips me into La-La land so nicely. I've had a few bad dreams, but so far I still have my pubes (darn)..

  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited December 2011

    Shelley, as I was debating on whether to partake tonight, I read Nora's post...And that clenched it for me, as I could use some southern landscaping.

  • Outfield
    Outfield Member Posts: 1,109
    edited December 2011

    Urgh, what about those nights like tonight when I'm lying awake ruminating about cancer anyway?

    Chemopause left me with so little body hair it would really be more xeriscaping.   

  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited December 2011

    Outfield. One word: XANAX. That's the ticket. LOL @ xeriscaping, I truly enjoyed getting the body hair loss from chemo - hate shaving. I did get that crazy sudden burst of facial hair post-chemo, but it went away...maybe by itself, maybe by the hand (flipper?) of the walrus...

  • Outfield
    Outfield Member Posts: 1,109
    edited December 2011

    Didn't mind it during chemo either.  Would I ever miss chin bristles?  But those tough little buggers sprouted right out again, along with a beautiful fur on my cheeks.  Now all that exhuberance has slacked off and I'm left with the hair distribution of my grandmother.

    I used to take Xanax to fly.  Not because flying scares me, but because it not infrequently makes me sick and Xanax seemed to help with the nausea.  I unknowingly rented a car. 

  • Ellie1959
    Ellie1959 Member Posts: 316
    edited December 2011

    My Dr.'s told me at DX it was far more important to sleep than to worry about taking medicine. I've tried just about everything and never seem to find a combo that lasts. Ambien at least sounds fun and lately I've been such a stick in the mud. Hmmm, I'll have to talk to the Doc next time.Seriously though, thanks for the addiction info - Ellie

  • nora_az
    nora_az Member Posts: 720
    edited December 2011

    Ok so I am used to hair that goes below my shoulders, always well kept, it was always my pride and joy. Then I lost it all to chemo. The lack of body hair was kinda nice. Weird but nice, and no facial hair on my upper lip or chin.  What seems a cruel joke to me is having very, very short hair yet the facial hair and pubic hair is exactly how it used to be.  grrrrr

  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited December 2011

    Nora, too true! I think I should have been keeping a running list of cruel jokes all along...doesn't it seem like they lurk around every corner? I think the word I have used the most in the past 9 months is "REALLY?!" - my succinct, polite way of saying "You've got to be f-ing joking".

  • christine47
    christine47 Member Posts: 1,454
    edited December 2011

    Hi girls, my doc and I agree, a good nights sleep is far more important than fear of addition to ambien.  Micheal Jackson should have stuck to ambien.  When my mind is especially racing, I add the xanax.  Never had much facial hair before, but now I have peach fuzz!  I have had it "threaded" twice, and it seems to be doing better.  My hair (head) is so dang slow .

  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited December 2011

    threaded? through a needle?

  • christine47
    christine47 Member Posts: 1,454
    edited December 2011

    No, they (asian lady, at salon I go to), somehow use a piece of thread to pull the hair out.  They do this instead of waxing.  It hurts a bit, but is easier on the skin.  I think she trained in Vietnam?

  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited December 2011

    Whoa. Wonder who figured that out? I am fascinated and going off to google it now. 

  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited December 2011

    Wow, I just learned how to do it myself on youtube! They say it takes some time to get it right though and since the hair on top of my head currently looks like Anthony Michael Hall's in 16 Candles, I don't really need any eyebrow or mustache or unmentionable area disasters. Maybe the walrus will let me practice on him. 

    Edited to add: On his WHISKERS ONLY. Get your minds out of the gutter, ladies. 

  • christine47
    christine47 Member Posts: 1,454
    edited December 2011

    I don't think you should try this at home (hide the thread when taking the Ambien).  The gal who did mine at the salon did not charge me, think she felt sorry for me because of my cancer hairdo.

  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited December 2011

    Christine, no worries. I lack the motivation to find thread, let alone learn a new skill involving body hair. Joking.

  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited December 2011

    I mean I am joking about trying this at home. Sincere about my lack of motivation. I am currently lying in bed eating chocolate, and have been doing so pretty much all day. 

  • nora_az
    nora_az Member Posts: 720
    edited December 2011

    OMG threading hurts like heck!!!   I let some middle eastern woman in a hair salon do that to me a couple of years ago. She insisted it was so much better for the skin than waxing. Never again!!!

  • nora_az
    nora_az Member Posts: 720
    edited December 2011

    Are you sharing, BlueCowgirl? 

  • shells43
    shells43 Member Posts: 1,022
    edited December 2011

    I think either way you are ripping hair out by the follicles and it hurts. I can't seem to grow my eyebrows back. They are really thin, but not in the right places. They need shaping but I'm afraid to pull them out in case they don't grow back.

    You girls make me laugh a lot!

    We need a cartoon of the walrus getting his whiskers threaded, Blue.

  • myrtle1
    myrtle1 Member Posts: 29
    edited December 2011

    I have no problem with taking Ambien every once in a while.  Xanax helps me to relax & get to sleep as well.  It's terrible when the mind takes off to a "bad place" while you need to get to sleep!! 

  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited December 2011

    Nora, when I read "Are you sharing" I was SO AFRAID someone was trying to take my drugs away...and then I realized you were probably talking about the chocolate, which I will gladly pass around our little circle.

    Queenie, you go girl. You will find a lot of kindred sprits on this here thread. 

    Tonight was narcotics night in the house of Blue, so Shelley, I am afraid any walrus threading is just not gonna happen til tomorrow, sorry. 

    Hope the weather is better in all y'alls parts of the world - this 3 day rain thing is doing unspeakable things to my joints... 

  • nora_az
    nora_az Member Posts: 720
    edited December 2011

    No, no stealing your drugs........THIS TIME!  lol

    I just refilled my prescription for the ambien yesterday. The doctor also gave me a prescription for pro-som to try.

  • BlueCowgirl
    BlueCowgirl Member Posts: 667
    edited December 2012
  • nora_az
    nora_az Member Posts: 720
    edited December 2011

    LOL  The Ambien Walrus did not greet me last night.  It was more of a percocet night. Maybe I need him, my upper lip needs to be dealt with.

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