Posted by SLS on November 14, 2000, at 17:24:37
In reply to Have I ruined my brain sleep receptors????, posted by Dona on November 14, 2000, at 14:46:43
> I have been going through a particularly difficult time and as a way of coping, I have been using large doses of ambien to keep "out of it". By large doses, I mean, 60 to 80mg at a time--it works like alcohol for me and I do things I do not remember. I am not proud of this behaviour and need to figure out a way to stop. But does anyone know, could I have permanently damaged my sleep receptors so that I will never be able to sleep normally??
No. You have not damaged your receptors.
Unfortunately, your system has by now compensated for the large amounts of Ambien you have been taking. This means that you may experience a withdrawal "rebound". This indeed represents a change in the receptors' "thermostat". However the thermostat and the receptors work just fine. You just have to reset the thermostat.
Your system now expects to see Ambien, just to sleep at all. When you discontinue or reduce the dosage of Ambien, your brain will now tend to remain awake. This is the rebound effect. For now, why don't you try taking Ambien ONLY at bedtime, and taper the dosage gradually. You may experience anxiety and jitteriness during the day for awhile.
If you reach a point where you just can't lower the dosage any more without producing withdrawal, there are a few tricks that may help. I guess the first step is for you to commit yourself to discontinuing the harmful habit you have found yourself depending on. It seems that you already have. I don't know anything about you, but perhaps it would be a good idea to seek a psychological evaluation. There may be very powerful psychological reasons for why you are driven to such counterproductive self-medication.You can do it.
You may need to substitute Ambien with a longer-acting medication like Ativan, Restoril, or Klonopin. Ambien is a powerful drug, but it disappears from the body very quickly. If the substitution is successful, you will then gradually taper off of the substitute.
Good luck.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:48797
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001102/msgs/48809.html