My tolerance to Ambien increased amazingly fast

[vyudo]

After only a week of daily use, once before bedtime...I no longer feel any effects of the drug. They are prescription 10mg tabs. Has anyone else experienced this? The only other benzo I take is xanax for situations where I need it, twice a week on average. Maybe that contributes as they both act on the GABA receptors in similar ways? Who knows, but has anyone else experienced this?

[Gaius Pollux]

This is probably because auf your tolerance to Xanax. In my experience it doesn't matter which benzo you take, you will have a tolerance to all the other benzos too.
I tried zolpidem, it didn't work well for me so I switched to temazepam and later to nitrazepam.

[JohnWall]

After only a week of daily use, once before bedtime...I no longer feel any effects of the drug. They are prescription 10mg tabs. Has anyone else experienced this? The only other benzo I take is xanax for situations where I need it, twice a week on average. Maybe that contributes as they both act on the GABA receptors in similar ways? Who knows, but has anyone else experienced this?

Hey vyudo,

I took Ambien a few years ago, very briefly. I did nothing for me - and I mean from the first time I took it. Must be pretty mild. Luckily, I started sleeping again unaided.

[bananadine]

Try to take some lyrica, it will reduce the tolerance towards benzo and any GABAa agonists. Gabepentin works the same but less potent form of Lyrica.

[Coheed]

I believe in the commercial and also my doctor told me when he prescribed me 10mg ambien a few years ago that they are only intended to be taken for a two week period which was odd that he gave me fifteen refills on it? Hmm but seriously I have heard that tolerance can increase very fast with this drug how much are you taking nightly? @vyudo

[Mlmk]

@vyudo
If I had to pick one thing that I never started it would be Ambien. Eveyone is different. This may be a good drug for u. Do a search for ambien with my user name mlmk. There was a good thread.

Tolerance occurs with daily use. Before u know it u take 2 ambiens to get same affect. Then u run out too quick and run short for the month. One of these days I am going to stop taking it. Sleep is such an escape and so seductive to me.

In answer to your question. Yes I believe that u build a tolerance if taken daily. Go find that thread. Ambien sleep walking, sleep eating, sleep driving stories.

Good med if people take it sparingly and responsibly. My thoughts only ( my disclaimer). Be well. Not spell checking. In a hurry.

Fake zolpidems?
I think that I added that thread link. Not sure I did it correctly.

[Kittsoan1989]

I would agree - Ambien is the one drug I wish I NEVER would have taken - Everything else has been a learning experience- Taking my prescribed dose of Ambien led to me sleep driving, totaling my car, spending the night in jail and getting a DUI - the whole story is ina diferent thread. PLEASE - Ambien IS NOT a drug to be taken LIGHTLY despite the fact that it is only a CIV substance - Heed me advice - PROCEED w/ caution (With the or ANY Z-Drug).

PS - I am biased in this report as I am currently very active in a movement to get Ambien either re-scheduled or at the VERY LEAST - to have Black Box Warnings about possible side effects. I could have killed myself or others because of this ONE little pill! That's NOT something I will EVER take LIGHTLY!

[kate13]

Yes, tolerance builds up very quickly with Ambien...and when you try to stop taking it (or in my experience at least) it takes a long time for your body to "re-learn" to sleep without pills...for a few weeks after I stopped taking Ambien, I really had problems sleeping at night...I also found that the quality of my sleep was very poor when I was taking it - I had more vivid dreams and tended to wake up more during the night

[chera]

After only a week of daily use, once before bedtime...I no longer feel any effects of the drug. They are prescription 10mg tabs. Has anyone else experienced this? The only other benzo I take is xanax for situations where I need it, twice a week on average. Maybe that contributes as they both act on the GABA receptors in similar ways? Who knows, but has anyone else experienced this?

I have almost exactly the same effects using Ambien. I've read several posters also say ambien has stopped working for them very quickly. For some reason, it must be a very easy medication to build a tolerance quickly to. Just like you said, after about 1 week, it was as if I hadn't taken anything at all.
I haven't yet asked my doctor if she'd switch me to a different sleep aid, but I'm certainly gonna have to. It's gotten to the point now where I'm out of pills mid-month because I have to take 1 1/2 - 2 each night in order for them to work.
I sure wish she'd prescribe me xanax....but I'm pretty sure she won't agree to that. With xanax, I can actually go to sleep and stay asleep all night long--without having the CRAZY dreams I always seem to have while taking ambien!!! Have you ever experienced this from them?

[madcap]

I prefer zopiclone, it's another z-class drug that's a bit weaker than zolpidem, in a good way. You can still get to sleep with it and the effects are more like valium rather than the waking-dream like state you get with ambien. I haven't seen or heard of any sleep eating/driving/****ing/walking reports from zopiclone.

There's still the problem of building a tolerance which I work around by stepping up my dosage by half a pill every night and then not using it for a few nights over the weekend and return to the original dosage on monday.

Also alcohol seems to potentiate the effects but I probably shouldn't recommend it. Maybe a shot or two of whiskey could help push you to sleep.. Just consult your doctor first, it's not something you want to try (or any alcohol+pill combination for that matter) if you have any problems with your liver/kidneys.

[Quaalude]

@vyudo

I've been taking Ambien off and on for about 4+ years and their still effective for me. I'm cursed with long-term chronic insomnia and while that "happy, euphoric, 'all is good with the world'" feeling you get 15-20 minutes after ingesting the tablet dissipates over time, I've found that it still is very effective in putting me down and into a restful sleep. Everyone's different and as many as doctors, sleep specialists, and psychiatrists I've seen, the Ambien continues to work and still prescribed. It's generic, cheap, and effective. It wasn't designed for long-term use but still continues to quiet my racing mind and provide me with restful sleep. I have experienced the hunger/munchies that appear shortly after taking the medication but that's about it. The bizarre reactions/side-effects I've never experienced. I still continue to take the 10mg dose and it works, however, I've tried up to 20mg thinking I'd get a better kick or reaction but just didn't happen for me. I do think it's true, however, that if you're already taking a benzodiazepine regularly/daily and attempt to take a "z-drug" sleeping medication, it's effect is diminished---even though z-drugs aren't true benzodiazepines.

Q

[exponentially]

I took Ambien once and never again. I can see how people can do crazy sleeping activities while taking it. Normally I am a lucid dreamer and know that I'm sleeping and dreaming, but the one time I took it, it made dreaming more intense and real than reality. That's the best I can describe it. I would definitely endorse a black-box warning, as I never expected nor experienced anything like it.