Posted by lou pilder on February 15, 2002, at 13:01:08
In reply to Re: withdrawing from sleeping pill addiction at home? » lou pilder, posted by Elizabeth on February 15, 2002, at 12:11:08
> > 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. ?
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> I don't draw any conclusions based on isolated "reports" that come from individuals who claim to have had a particular reaction. It appears from some of your (numerous) posts that this is what you meant by "reports."
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> Since you do seem to be interested in collecting "reports" from individuals about their experiences with Ambien and with benzodiazepines, I will share mine. I first took Ambien in 1996, and I continued taking it for about 1.5 years, nearly every night. I was taking 20 mg/night, which is twice the usual dose (I had tried 10 and 15 mg without success). I didn't have any problem discontinuing it when I no longer needed it. My experience with Ambien was a positive one: it was an effective sleeping pill that did not lose its effectiveness over time. I wonder what would happen if I tried posting my "report" of my experience on your anti-drug site.
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> It is true that some recreational users enjoy taking Ambien (this doesn't mean that they are "addicted" to it, although some, like Dona, probably are). That has nothing to do with whether or not Ambien causes any serious withdrawal symptoms.
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> Ambien has been studied for periods longer than the officially recommended 7-10 days. This did not result in any serious discontinuation symptoms either. The 7-10 day recommendation is included in the product labelling for all drugs that are labelled for insomnia -- *regardless* of pharmacologic mechanism.
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> Ambien has indeed been placed in Schedule IV by the federal government. That means it has low abuse potential. It doesn't say anything about withdrawal symptoms. Drugs like anticonvulsants, antihypertensives, and glucocorticoids, which can have very serious withdrawal symptoms if discontinued abruptly, are not controlled substances at all; some drugs that do not cause any withdrawal symptoms, such as marijuana and LSD, are in Schedule I.
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> Once again, Ambien is not a benzodiazepine. It's also not zaleplon (Sonata). The generic name of Ambien is zolpidem. If you really want to help people, as you claim, you might try getting your facts right. I think that if you did that, people might take you more seriously.
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> I don't know of anyone who is trying to have you removed from this site. What I see is you making a lot of claims -- some of which are simply factually wrong -- and a lot of people disagreeing with you. Disagreeing is not censorship.
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> -elizabethElizebeth;
Forgive me for getting the "Z" drugs mmixed up. I have a rare neurological condition that associates words into music. Right now, since you brought up the Z drugs, I am hearing "Zippity-Do-Dah" This will play for a while and then I will hear another song in the same asssociation. It goes on like a pinball machine. It is part of my affliction and I can do nothing about it. The songs come from my memory and are triggered by any association. I am now hearing "Xanadu" even thogh it starts with an X. So forgive me and I will try to not let my condition cause what you observed.
Lou
poster:lou pilder
thread:93431
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020215/msgs/94276.html