Posted by lou pilder on February 14, 2002, at 21:44:37
In reply to Re: withdrawing from sleeping pill addiction at home? » lou pilder, posted by Greg on February 14, 2002, at 21:03:23
> > > Lou,
> > >
> > > I think that it's important to get one's information from different sources, if possible. I read up on Ambien and asked my pdoc about his experience with it before I started taking it. I decided to try it precisely because of its differences from benzodiazepines (its only known mechanism of action is selective activation of one subtype of benzodiazepine receptor). I continued to be interested in it after I started taking it, and I took note of my own response to it. Finally, I listened to other people's remarks about it, on boards like this one and in RL support groups. I think this has given me a fairly good idea of what the typical effects of Ambien are. As I've said, my impression has been that withdrawal symptoms, if any, consist mainly of rebound insomnia, and that this is generally brief. That doesn't mean that nobody has bad withdrawal reactions, but they are the exception, not the rule. Similarly, tolerance is very rare. In contrast, I wouldn't recommend benzodiazepines for long-term insomnia, as a rule; people who take benzos for very long tend to become tolerant to their sedating effects, and discontinuing benzos after long-term use can be difficult and even potentially dangerous (although it's quite possible to do it safely as long as you exercise some patience).
> > >
> > > -elizabeth
> >
> > Elizebeth;
> > I have read so many reports that are saying something much different than you are saying about Ambian. Onr report says that it a favorered drug on the street for drug addicts. Other reports show withdraw as bad as BZs. Do yu want me to share those with you. ?
> > Lou
>
> If you could post the links to these reports I would like very much to see them. I have been taking Ambien for over two years for insomnia. I have stopped on a few occasions and have experienced nothing more than a little temporary rebound insomnia. I've certainly never heard of Ambien being a drug of choice for street addicts.
>
> GregGreg;
Try this addresss:
www.sleepnet.com/insomnia7/messages/427.html
Lou
poster:lou pilder
thread:93431
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020208/msgs/94185.html