Fibromyalgia Support Group

You're not alone in your pain. Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be difficult to diagnose and manage. If you're trying to cope with pain throughout your body, sleep problems, general fatigue, or other common fibromyalgia symptoms, you're in the right place. The community is here for you to talk about therapies and share your challenges.

4,403 Members

50,124 Posts

0 Online

sometime 08/05/2008

I've been taking Ambien for about a year now. It has helped my sleep, but I only slept about 5 hrs. My dr put me on Ambien Cr saying I would receive more hrs of sleep. He was right I did sleep for about 7 hrs. I started feeling very anxious and couldn't figure out why. Thought it was just some other effect from fm. Attatched to my last prescription of Ambien CR was an extre Pharmacy notification stating the side effects. One of them was anxiety. I stopped taking the Ambien CR and the anxiety stopped. Did anyonelse have this reaction? My problem now is what can I take to get a good nights sleep. Anyone taking something that they could recommend. Right now I am in desperate need of some good sleep. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Wonderbaby 08/05/2008

Hi there.
There is also Soma...and another..I just can't remember the name.
I'd recommend talking to your docs office about this.

Good luck,
jen

deleted_user 08/05/2008

There is also Lunesta. I have never been on that med. I am on the regular Ambien and like you only sleep for a max of four hours at a time. The cost of the Ambien CR was too expensive. I have trouble with anxiety anyway, so I don't know that I would have noticed it as a side effect.

Did your doc mention a higher dosage of the regular Ambien?

Heather

sometime 08/05/2008

thanks for your input. Will be going to my dr in about a month and will definitely ask him for a new medication or a higher dose of regular ambian. Thanks never thought of that.

deleted_user 08/05/2008

I also take ambien and I found that when I took the whole pill I only got 5 hrs sleep and I woke up with headaches..I decided to half the pill and would you believe it worked better! I get 7 hrs and no headaches. If you still have ambien you might want to try this and see if it works that way for you.

deleted_user 08/05/2008

I tried both Ambien CR and Ambien and slept longer with the CR. Lunesta left a bitter taste in my mouth for a day or so. But I did sleep good.

deleted_user 08/05/2008

Hi,
I also took Ambien and had to go to detox to get off of it! What a nightmare. I now take Trazodone-which is generic for Desyrl and costs about $11 a month. I couldn't sleep bc of severe pain after a hysterectomy, got on Ambien and immediately became addicted to it. I took it night AND day and actually functioned, but ran into walls etc and couldn't remember a 5 minute conversation. It was great at night, I had NO pain, then when I woke up, I'd have severe panic attacks until I took some-I think I was already in withdrawal and didn't know it. But Trazodone is awesome-it helps my pain and I get a great night's sleep and it's non addictive too! I'd tried a lot of different things, but didn't like the narcotics and hypnotics (Ambien)-they say it's non-addictive, but when I would sleep 2 hours per dose, wake up and want more-something's ajar.
My psychiatrists prescribes it for me. They give it a lot to folks who have been on drugs and it helps w the withdrawal part.
Hope this helps...
Kim

deleted_user 08/05/2008

I tried everything for sleep,ambien,lunesta,restoril.....I don't know what else.I was ready to lose my mind ,had a terrible flare and no sleep for weeks.I just started Dalmane 30 mg friday and I slept great and have been feeling better the past few days!
I hope you find something to work,when we don't sleep everything is magnified!Hugs!

sometime 08/05/2008

imstime You mentioned you took half of an ambien and you slept better. Would you mind telling me what strength the pill was? Thanks for your time.

deleted_user 08/05/2008

I am having trouble finding a good sleep routine too. I still only get 4-5 hours on the 10mg ambien before I wake up. I don't know what to do either. I also take 1mg clonopin and an herbal supplement that has 3mg melatonin in it.

deleted_user 08/06/2008

I didn't have the anxiety with the ambien but I was sleep walking and sleep eating and had to stop. Haven't found anything else that helps with the sleep. I will go days without sleeping and then sleep for 12 hours.

Tonight I can't get to sleep because of pain and restless legs syndrome. It is so horrible to feel so exhausted and not be able to sleep.

Good luck finding the right sleep med for you.

Join the Conversation