Ambien?

[tinybuddha]

I would like to hear other people's experience with ambien and adderall addiction. 

[Cat]

Hey tinybuddha, ambien and adderall addiction went hand in hand for me. I was addicted to both medications for 4-5 years. I quit adderall first in January 2013 and then quit ambien about five months later in May. That was a HUGE turning point for me. I was shocked at what a dramatic and immediate difference it made in my life. A lot of the depression and fogginess that I had been attributing to adderall withdrawals lifted right away when I quit taking ambien. 

[Jon]

I didn't have the same luck quitting Ambien as Cat did. I'm still just as lackluster as before swapping Ambien for 5-HTP. I'm only taking a third of a capsule of the 5-HTP, but it knocks me out. I sometimes wake up with heartburn and can't get back to sleep, but some nights I sleep the whole night through, but still not wanting to get out of bed. I wonder if the 5-HTP is causing "hangovers" the next day? I haven't had an Ambien in over a month and I'd rather not go back down that path again if I can avoid it. Sleep disruption (too little or not enough) is a major problem, as we all know.

[Zerokewl]

dis-solvable melatonin works wonders for my sleep. 

[Cassie]

A few weeks ago I found a .5 mg klonopin pill in a makeup bag that a friend left at my house like two years ago. I have never taken a benzo before (except valium before a surgery), so I took it just to see what it did because, hey, I like pills. It made me tired for two days! I felt exhausted and drowsy and slow for two days as if I had a major hangover or something. So, as someone who has never been into downers, I would guess that they are really hindering your ability to be alert after you quit Adderall.

[BeHereNow]

Ambien scares me.  I was curious about trying it but I keep seeing headlines about how it induces "zombie-like" behavior and sleepwalking in some people.  So I decided not to ask my doctor about it.

 

That said, I have major insomnia issues, especially lately.  I've started taking melatonin XR 10mg.  I take 1-2 pills and that usually works for at least a couple hours, plus 200mg of 5-htp. I also just ordered some L-Theanine and L-Tryptophan to add to that stack. Haven't tried either yet.  I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Klonopin helps my anxiety but I mainly take it during the day.  If I have to take it at night, I don't get as involved with those supplements, but it doesn't really help me sleep--unless I'm having major anxiety, then it takes the edge off.   Cassie you're probably right that it affects people more than they realize. 

[ashley6]

Cassie, I'm glad you brought the klonopin issue up on here. I've been going back and forth lately with thinking klonopin might be affecting my recovery, in regards to sleep. The amount of hours I can sleep is really abnormal, like I'm talking 14 hours if given the time. Ever since I quit adderall, I've slept a lot. Actually I still slept a good amount on adderall, just extremely weird hours. As my time for a job that's "9-5" is nearing I'm getting really nervous about my amount of sleep. I think klonopin could play a major role, the more I think about it. I also deal with depression by sleeping, but I haven't felt super depressed really. I don't want to scare anybody into thinking they're going to be like me after 20-21 months adderall-free and sleep constantly because I don't think it's typical. Thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

[Cassie]

Cassie, I'm glad you brought the klonopin issue up on here. I've been going back and forth lately with thinking klonopin might be affecting my recovery, in regards to sleep. The amount of hours I can sleep is really abnormal, like I'm talking 14 hours if given the time. Ever since I quit adderall, I've slept a lot. Actually I still slept a good amount on adderall, just extremely weird hours. As my time for a job that's "9-5" is nearing I'm getting really nervous about my amount of sleep. I think klonopin could play a major role, the more I think about it. I also deal with depression by sleeping, but I haven't felt super depressed really. I don't want to scare anybody into thinking they're going to be like me after 20-21 months adderall-free and sleep constantly because I don't think it's typical. Thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

I feel tired and sluggish if I sleep too long. I've never had problems sleeping. I love sleeping and slept fine on Adderall too - nothing was needed to knock me out except the occassional glass of wine. That one .5mg Klonopin made me want to lay in bed for two days. To be fair, I tried to only take half the pill, but it was old and when I tried to break it in half the whole thing crumbled so I said fuck it.

 

You'll probably feel better when you have a 9-5 job and you're forced to get up at a certain time very day. I need 8-9 hours of sleep a night but any more than that and I will have a sleep hangover. At my job now I work 10-7 so I've been sleeping a little longer than I used to when I worked at 8am and had a long commute. But, my dogs keep me getting up by 7-ish because they need to go out and get their morning walk around that time. So, my advice would be to have something external that forces you to get up at the same time every day, whether it's a job or a pet. I need to have something to get out of bed for - something that depends on me getting up - otherwise I lay around for too long and my energy and momentum for the day go down the tubes.

[Jon]

But, my dogs keep me getting up by 7-ish because they need to go out and get their morning walk around that time. So, my advice would be to have something external that forces you to get up at the same time every day, whether it's a job or a pet. I need to have something to get out of bed for - something that depends on me getting up - otherwise I lay around for too long and my energy and momentum for the day go down the tubes.

 

I think maybe that's my problem too Ashley and Cassie: Sleep Hangovers from "laying around for too long and my energy and momentum for the day go down the tubes".

 

I agree with your solution Cassie: "have something external that forces you to get up at the same time every day, whether it's a job or a pet. I need to have something to get out of bed for - something that depends on me getting up."

 

I work shift work rotating 2 weeks on midnights and one month on 3-11, or rotating all 3 shifts every 2 weeks. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get a handle around that? I have 29 years in with the company and I want to retire. I would do so this year, but I don't feel that my recovery is far enough along...only 7 months. So I have postponed it until January 2015.

 

Am I using correct thinking about these things this way, Cassie?

[ashley6]

Cassie,

I think you're right on with that advice. I've wanted to be one of those people who got up in the morning and was active all day long until bedtime while not feeling tired. Hence, why adderall was appealing to me; however, I ended up being completely unproductive and basically became a bump on a log. The fact of the matter is I AM an externally motivated person so it makes me feel better to think that I'll probably be better off with more responsibilities. I want a dog SO badly. I've had puppy fever for awhile now, but I can't have one due to my living situation Ughhhh...king Charles cavaliers melt my heart, and I can't wait until I can have one. They truly make me so happy, and I really enjoy taking care of them. Anyway, thanks for the advice! Definitely some food for thought.

[quit-once]

I have resisted posting on this thread because I don't have much experience with downers, and never taken ambien.  But there is now enough content to respond to for a brief response. 

First, although I didn't take ambien I did take Ativan.  Why the fuck does this spell checker capitalize Ativan and Adderall but not ambien?  Anyway, In the few times I have taken it post Adderall, I have experienced a foggy hangover from only one .5 mg pill.  Strong stuff. 

 

@Cassie:  I got a few good laughs out of your posts on this thread.  thanks.

@Jon: I think you made a wise decision to keep on working.  At this point in your recovery, I think you need that routine of work to hold on to and make you function.  My mom worked until she was 84 years old for that very reason of needing something to get out of bed for and have a sense of purpose in life.

@ Ashley: Sleeping up to 14 hours, given enough time, is not normal.  Have you always been like that, even before Adderall?  Excessive sleeping is a great way to avoid the realities of life.  Are you depressed?  I definitely believe that a real job would be helpful and even necessary for your recovery to progress now.  I really hope a puppy comes into your life, but not until you get your living and working situations in a better place.  Puppys require a lot of time and energy to properly train, but that investment is well worth it.  When you do get a dog, it will be very lucky to have you as its owner. 

@Tinybuddah:  How are you doing?  Have you come up with a plan for quitting Adderall?  Do you also have an addiction to ambien that you need to deal with as well?  Those are two different animals that share the same cage,    

[Cassie]

@Jon - Yeah, I agree with quitonce. Working sucks but the routine is good for recovery, if only to give your mind something to keep busy. I didn't feel comfortable quitting my wretched job until I had been off Adderall for 18 months. Now, my new job is turning out to be sucky and I am job hunting again, but I have to get another job first before I quit. I wouldn't have been able to handle this a year ago.

 

Do you rotate working overnights with the 3-11pm shift? That would be rough. My sister is a nurse and had to choose between working rotating overnight shifts/day shifts (every two weeks), or working just overnights. She chose all overnights just for the consistency. I've never had to work like that so I don't have any advice. I don't think I could have an erratic sleep schedule like that without feeling like ass all the time.

[Jon]

Thanks for replying Quitonce and Cassie. I know I need a job of some kind to give me a sense of purpose, so why not keep the same job that will add to my pension and maintain my current wage? Don't a lot of us end up in jobs we dislike, but stay in them for the pay or stability or pension? I have been reminded by people that "you chose your career path." This is to imply that I have no right to whine about it now. They are right. We are responsible for our choices in life.

 

Yes Cassie, I rotate overnights with the 3-11 shift. I also am required to work the 7 AM - 3 PM shift, but was afraid that I couldn't get out of bed for that shift and have been able to avoid it completely during the first 7 months of my quit, by wheeling and dealing with my co-workers....but that is coming to a head. I will have to work the 7 AM - 3 PM shift very soon due to training sessions that will take place within that time frame.

 

Rotating shift work was added to the list of known carcinogens in 2006, I believe; Colorectal cancer in men and breast cancer in women. I've rotated shifts for most of my life. It was much easier when I was younger.

 

I don't find any consistency in working permanent night shift because you will always rotate back to a normal schedule on the weekends and be part of the world. I did it once for 9 months and it nearly killed me. Unlike your sister Cassie, I would rather rotate.

 

While the 3 PM - 11 PM shift has given me some consistency it has also caused me to become lazy. The shift has a history of being called "The Lazy Man's Shift." I have nothing to get out of bed for, unless it is to report to work early, which happens quite often, at least once a week, sometimes every day of the week. It is impossible to predict.  

 

I love dogs, but never wanted to keep a dog on a quirky and unpredictable schedule. It would be unfair to the dog. 

 

I guess I just have to try, on my own, to make a reason to get out of bed for health's sake. It is a battle between the Jon's in my head.

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the subject. I'm sorry that your new job isn't all you hoped it would be, Cassie. Looking for a new job is hard work. Where's the fun in life?

[ashley6]

Quit-once,

This time of year is often hard for me in regards to my depression. The winter months tend to be so blah, so yeah, I think it is some depression. Sleeping has been my coping mechanism even pre-adderall. I don't feel severely depressed, but it's something I need to evaluate. I go to counseling, work out, and I'm on antidepressants. Depression and anxiety have been in my life as young as like 4th grade (definitely runs in my family). It might be something I always have to battle (why i was initially attracted to adderall), and I'm just still learning how to deal with it many years later. Dysthymia is what my counselor called it, and I think she's right. I believe/hope having responsibility and feeling a sense of purpose will help. I'm so glad adderall isn't in my life to mess things up even more. I'm finding my way, and I am excited about what the future holds!

[tinybuddha]

"Those are two different animals that share the same cage" -Quit-once this really captures it perfectly! I have been using Ambien for way too long over 12 years and I am only early 30's. I think I wrote in the past about the horrendous failure my last big attempt was at quitting ambien. I had a few pills to get off of and left ambien for last as it was the lesser of evils in the impact on my life at the time. For now I just try to switch up the sleeping pills and keep my tolerance somewhat in control. Even taking the ambien many nights does very little. I often have to take other meds with it which is never good. As for relapsing with Adderall and being unsure how to handle studying without it..I am still struggling. Part of me says THIS IS IT just take the pills and study like crazy and pass the test then you can get better and be done for good. But I remember were that actually got me stuck in for years. The cycle of reasoning with yourself for another script or another last pill. I bought a new online review that was pricey(throw it on the thousands $$ spent and much wasted trying complete this degree) seems more engaging. The thing is I hate the tweaked out feeling now and even sometimes get a weird intense drowsy effect from stimulates sometimes that was the opposite of before I quit. I know with the studying it is a mental crutch now. I was exetremely physically addicted prior and that was HELL and not a place I want to go back to. Without the adderall I literally feel like I forgot how to sit down and learn. That sounds insane, but truly how I feel. I felt my self isolating which is very bad for me in every aspect with addiction and depression. I forced myself to plan a trip and thus forced to be social. The funny thing as I write this so few people would actually get that about me. You can't just tell people that you don't want to go out as much as I do without red flags so people always just assume you have a busy life. My drive for being social took a huge hit through all this. I think that ability not to have that fake exterior we develop when addicted becomes a major obstacle because it is hard to even know what is real anymore and to feel the passion I used to have for things. Feels like still coming out of the numbness and sorting out WTF happened to the last years of my life! The guilt over it and trying to pick up the pieces. It really is comforting to come here and let it spill out. I know at some point all the self medicating has to end and I have to do some real work on myself that is over do on emotional and spiritual level. The thing is I feel like I am barely holding on now to how far I have come so that again is not in near future. For now just trying to not back slide and keep going regardless. I am falling a lot, but for now my goal is just to keep getting up again. I gave up on life for awhile. I will not let myself lose sight of that. My progress with studying is slow and I may not be able to even do this after all of this(that would kill me), but better than not trying or letting the pills take over. Thanks for the support and advice. Forgive my grammar was writing in a bit of a rush.

[Greg]

I don't want to scare anybody into thinking they're going to be like me after 20-21 months adderall-free and sleep constantly because I don't think it's typical. Thoughts or advice would be appreciated!

That is the same with me except with PAWS. I go through really really rough patches especially recently but try to avoid posting here because I don't want to scare new people into thinking they are going to be like me. It takes a long time to recover but how long is different for everyone.