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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by bellaciao on July 1, 2003, at 16:35:51
I have severe depression-possible bipolar, and am on wellbutrin, lexapro, seroquel, klonopin, and lamictal. I also have fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis so am in chronic pain and cannot sleep at night. I started self medicating with ambien (buying it over internet) and am now taking 6-10 of 10mg pills every night. I guess this is making my depression worse but I do not know how to stop. I cannot tell anyone because I am so ashamed. Can anyone offer any support? What will happen if I quit cold turkey? I feel so desperate.
Posted by fallsfall on July 1, 2003, at 17:22:04
In reply to Help Ambien addiction, posted by bellaciao on July 1, 2003, at 16:35:51
If you go to your pdoc and say "I'm so ashamed. What do I do now?" he should help you out and tell you how to get off it.
Best of luck. It takes courage to get off the Ambien.
Posted by judy1 on July 1, 2003, at 17:35:13
In reply to Help Ambien addiction, posted by bellaciao on July 1, 2003, at 16:35:51
Please don't feel ashamed. You do need the help (and support) of your dr. with tapering and not stopping cold-turkey. You're on quite a few meds, people often self-medicate when their med regime don't meet their needs, it sounds like your doc needs to re-evaluate that. best of luck- judy
Posted by toodlebug on July 1, 2003, at 19:49:01
In reply to Help Ambien addiction, posted by bellaciao on July 1, 2003, at 16:35:51
You need to talk to your doctor asap about this problem. Taking that much Ambien is dangerous. Your sleep problems may be caused in part by the other meds you are taking-- Celexa (which is basically the same thing as Lexapro) kept me from sleeping more than 3 hours/night and Wellbutrin is also activating. Have you tried trazodone? It can help sleep. I don't like it because it makes me feel groggy in the morning but I think most people don't have that problem. You also should consider going to a different doctor-- sometimes doctors become convinced that you need a certain med. or have a certain problem and are unwilling to experiment with drugs.
Good luck! And don't be ashamed-- I've been there and know how awful it is to be unable to sleep. I am sure your doctor has heard far worse stories than yours. If my doctor had not warned me never to take more than 20 mg. Ambien/night I would have taken as much as you have. Instead, I just quit the Ambien and tried something else, I think maybe Prosom or Elavil. (Neither worked for long, though, sorry!)
Posted by AAH on July 2, 2003, at 0:13:51
In reply to Re: Help Ambien addiction, posted by toodlebug on July 1, 2003, at 19:49:01
you seriously need to get prof help ASAP your gonna hurt yourself taking that much, your doc, or a new doc in my opinion, should be able to ween you and ease the withdrawl symptoms.
Best of Luck
Posted by galkeepinon on July 5, 2003, at 2:15:15
In reply to Help Ambien addiction, posted by bellaciao on July 1, 2003, at 16:35:51
Hi bellaciao, it is very easy to get hooked on a med like Ambien and even easier obviously(because you did online) to get the med. ALso, because I have an addictive personality-been there done that. Please, please don't feel ashamed. Find someone who YOU feel you can trust. This could be a doctor, your psychiatrist, a family practitioner, an ER doc, a psychologist, anyone who you feel you can talk to about other alternatives. That could include Seroquel, Trazadone, a benzo. That is quite a bit of Ambien. Your feelings in this post may be what is making you depressed also-I don't know-just feeling bad, because it sounds like you know something isn't right-I understand. In my opinion, quitting cold turkey would not only be physically painful, but psychologically painful as well. That's why I said find someone YOU feel you can trust to give you some help with this, please. A med regimen such as Wellbutrin, lexapro, seroquel, klonopin, and lamictal is not all that uncommon, but I am not a doctor.
Good luck and be safe.
> I have severe depression-possible bipolar, and am on wellbutrin, lexapro, seroquel, klonopin, and lamictal. I also have fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis so am in chronic pain and cannot sleep at night. I started self medicating with ambien (buying it over internet) and am now taking 6-10 of 10mg pills every night. I guess this is making my depression worse but I do not know how to stop. I cannot tell anyone because I am so ashamed. Can anyone offer any support? What will happen if I quit cold turkey? I feel so desperate.
This is the end of the thread.
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