PSA: Take my post with a grain of salt

Long story short:  I take ambien to help me sleep off and on for the last year.  I do weird stuff that I don't even remember.  I do not drive though so that is a plus.  I have posted on here MANY times and seriously had no memory of it until i wake up the next day and see that i have replies.  So if you see a stupid post from me or a mean one then i apologize in advance.  I have posted about this before but the post from me the other day about "pouch size" was a prime example of doing stuff that I don't remember. Before anyone tells me that I need to stop taking it i just wanna say that yes, i have tried EVERYTHING and ambien is the only thing that works.  Unless you truly suffer from insomnia then you do not understand why that i still take this. 

The majority of my replies to that post were actually made from me when I remembered.  It's not funny honestly but I have to laugh because I do some seriously stupid stuff and have posted some wacky **** on facebook before.

So I just want to apologize in advance.  The majority of the time i just post some weird things but i have found myself posting some mean things from time to time.  I don't take ambien everyday....maybe 3 -4 times a week but its a godsend for me with some negative side effects that I can deal with. 

Thanks everyone! 

I used to take Ambien - but because I ALSO did crazy **** - as in the time I woke up the next morning, checked my email, and saw all these receipts from Amazon indicating I'd spent about $300 on all KINDS of stuff - I quit taking it. But, no judgement from me - I too have a really hard time getting to sleep (note the time), and switch back and forth from clonopin and Lunesta. For some reason I don't get as crazy on Lunesta as I did on Ambien. But hey, whatever works for you. And yes, I did drive once - over to my ex-bf's house in the middle of the night - and I have no memory of it. Too scary for me!

I tried lunesta once and it did absolutely nothing for me. Didn't even make me tired. Not to mention the fact that my prescription co pay was $150 a month!!!!  My ambien is $3 a month so much more affordable.  Even tried trazadone and it didn't even make me sleepy.  

What dosage are you on? I just started it last night and don't think anything happened.

FYI I took it for quite a while with no problems.  That is why I was so surprised that after at least a year of taking it with no problems all of the sudden I was doing these things.  At first it was like an isolated incident and I thought it wouldn't happen again but it did a few weeks later and then it was several times a week.

I take 10mg.  I have even had 15mg at a time before.  The starter dose is usually 5mg. 

I had the same problem with Ambien.  I posted on Facebook, sent out friend requests to people I didn't like or know, even made some calls, cooked and all kinds of things.  Once I woke up and my nails on my thumbs were gone.  I quit bitting my nails years ago and it was painful for days I had bit them so short.  And after they grew back I did the same thing again.  I tried to stop but like you I couldn't sleep and I know about insomnia.   I would be up until 5 am or more, just could not sleep and it was hell so I put up with the Ambien even though it was scary.  What finally did it was my daughter coming to me crying her eyes out and I didn't have a clue until she told me what I had done and said and I didn't have a clue.  Before I would have some vague memories of things and my daughter would tell me and i kind of remembered bits and pieces.  This time, nothing.  I could not believe the things she was saying and I thought she was lying but she was way too upset.  I was giving my dog his medicine and dropping it and she was scared I would give him the wrong amount or the other dogs would get it.  I guess I also said some really ugly things to her when she tried to get me to go to bed and I was fighting her.  I promised her I would never touch it again and I haven't.

I also tried Lunesta and it didn't do a thing for me, either, except make water taste nasty.  I had been on Trazadone for many years and that no longer worked.  I was scared of the insomnia but I was more afraid of the Ambien so I decided to tough it out and you know what?  I slept without anything, for the first time in I don't know how long.  Now I will take some Benedryl or Melatonin if I really can't sleep but most nights I am fine.  I don't know how and I don't know why.  Even my doctor was amazed since she had been with me through years of insomnia.  This was about 2 years ago and while I occasionally have some difficulty sleeping or staying asleep it is much more manageable then it ever was.  I have some 3 mg chewable Melatonin and sometimes if I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep I will suck on one of them.  

I'm not suggesting that you stop taking the Ambien or anything like that since I know the hell of insomnia.  I am just saying I understand about the behaviors while taking it.  I also found that I had been eating some of the times and that scared me because I usually don't eat after bed.  Fortunately it wasn't anything I don't usually eat but I worried that I might at some point.  My health record even says that  I can't take it.  I wish they could come up with a good sleeping aid that didn't have the side effects.

I currently have a Rx for Ambien.  I took the 5mg with nothing, still awake all night long.  Then I upped it to 10mg.  I fell asleep, but not stayed asleep.  That sucks too!!!  I use to take benadryl, but I get a terrible benadryl hangover from it.  My mother in law gave me some Unisom (over the counter) and it knocks me out!!  I am afraid that I am going to build a tolerance so I switch between the Unisom and Ativan.  I have also heard some crazy weird stories about Ambien.  Good luck sleeping, it keeps us saine!!

I am opposite of you...I'm of on Ambien (that's what I take, now,) but when I take Lunesta all hell breaks loose.  I eat TONS, I strip naked, I make strange calls, I have looong conversations that I have no recollection of, I send emails...the list goes on.  Don't worry too much about offending people, I think most of us understand the Ambien crazies once you explain what happened.

I have horrible insomnia but have always been afraid to taken Ambien or Lunesta for fear I might eat and not remember or any of the other bizarre behaviours that can occur.  I had a friend on Ambien call me once and it was bizarre and he had no clue he did it, it really did scare me.  I would love to sleep through the night, but its impossible.  I think some of my middle of the night posts are probably nasty also as I am so sleep deprived sometimes I really thinks if ***** with my head.  I try very hard to read read read anything I can until I fall asleep but it is usually 3 hours a night from 2-5 or 3-6 that I am wide awake, and then dead tired when I am supposed to be getting up.  It sucks.  I can appreciate how you feel about needing the Ambien.