Misc Fun Alternatives to Ambien (For an 8 year+ user)???

[discoburger88]

Hey All!

I've been prescribed Ambien for 8+ years now. I've been with the same Dr. this whole time and I've gradually been able to convince him to up my dose above the recommended 10mg of IR. He is now prescribing me 20mg IR a night and sometimes I take 30mg. I've been legally prescribed this dose for over a year now, but its starting to have weird side effects.

When I take my regular dose it is now making me REALLY tired the next day, and kind of hungover feeling. I have no idea what is happening. I confirmed that it was the ambien doing this by taking only Xanax last night, and today I feel stupendous, normal energy levels all is well. Since my Dr. is a pill pusher he will just let me switch to whatever drug I recommend, but I really like the little bit of fucked up feeling I get from Ambien so I don't really have any desire to switch...its kind of like having a beer at the end of the day, it chills me out, fucks me up a bit and lets me fall asleep. After all this time its hard to give up those good ambien feelings.

My question is, has anyone had such an experience with Ambien after using it for so long? What are some good alternatives to ambien that I can take nightly, get a bit of a buzz from?

Benzos are not a good option, I was really addicted to Oxy/Subs for years and I do NOT want to try Benzo withdrawls out.

 

[Slow_Mobius]

Well if you just increased your dose, that might be why you're feeling tired the next day. Otherwise, you might just need to take a break. Kava might be good if you're just looking for something a little relaxing to help you fall asleep. Kratom's another option, but it interferes with sleep for most people. For me, I can sleep no problem a couple hours after taking kratom.

Drugs like trazadone, amitriptyline, and Seroquel are sometimes effective for insomnia, but they won't give you the same kind of buzzed feeling. IMO I think your best bet is to take a break and try some natural alternatives to relax like chamomile, valerian, kava, kratom, cannabis, etc

 

[discoburger88]

I've been on the 20mg a night for about a year, so I don't think that the dose is somthing my body can't handle...I just am beginning to think that that dose is just high enough to give me a little ambien hangover the next day...I also have really begun to mentally crave it, which we all know is a bad sign.

Kratom is great, after I kicked the Opioids I starting taking Kratom and it pretty much eliminated my need to take anything else during the night or day (but, yes I still took my ambien, because its fun), but eventually it got to the point where I was taking Kratom 5-6 times a day...which made it feel less like a solution and more like another drug I could abuse. Basically I'm trying to stay clear of anything Opiate-ish.

 

[Slow_Mobius]

Sorry I guess I read that as you taking 30mg more recently. I would reccomend giving kava a shot. It can provide a calming relaxation relaxation. You might be rebounding from the ambien the next day. It has a very short half life.

 

[discoburger88]

I don't think that even my Dr. would prescribe 30mg of ambien a night, but I do somtimes take that much . I will try Kava, thanks for the input!

 

[Felonious Monk]

That's definitely too much Ambien, especially if you're female (even if you're male, but double for a female as it's metabolized slower).

Have you tried any of the other Z drugs? Or just something OTC like Benadryl? Seroquel worked for me as well.

Have you ever used cannabis? I had trouble sleeping for a long time, but good sleep hygiene, cannabis, and 1 Benadryl per night and I generally don't have a problem falling asleep or staying asleep.

 

[cannablissss]

Seroquel worked wonders for me, and I did get a few euphoric effects out of it too. When I was first prescribed it I was on 100mg but that was too strong of a dose for me to begin with. I would knock out in minutes easily. I cut them in half so I only took 50mg at night, and I still strugged to keep my eyes open! One night I invited my neighbor up to smoke & didn't wake up after the blunt was rolled. I quickly got off of it though because of the horrible restlessness it gave me, almost like going through an episode of RLS. My legs wouldn't keep still.

Not too long after taking the Seroquel my vision was playing with me. I would see faint flashes of light in my peripheral but of course nothing was there when I looked up, and I felt very happy and euphoric. I got switched to Lunesta after that though (which is also great for insomnia I must add.)

 

[Slow_Mobius]

I think cannabis is your best bet if you tolerate it. It'll help with the insomnia and it can be fun/relaxing. Switching between different z-drugs is akin to switching between different opiates or benzos (eg switching from diazepam to clonazepam). The main difference between different z-drugs are their half-lives.

 

[cannablissss]

I agree with that one. Smoking before going to bed makes me way more relaxed and I can fall asleep easier without having any racing thoughts keeping me up at night. It's all in the name, anyways.

 

[Red Moon]

Isn't Xanax very short acting and strong? If you can get good enough sleep on that, I'd recommend Sonata (zaleplon). It's a Z-drug like Ambien, but it's much shorter acting. It really shouldn't even be possible for it to make you hungover from it unless you take like 8+ or something, and even then it's basically never going to happen. It's also a very "fun" drug in its own right. I haven't noticed any cross tolerance between the two, either (and I'm a long-time Ambien user like yourself... except I take way more than you most of the time because I am stupid). The only thing you need to keep in mind with Sonata is that it's pretty heavily affected by eating, especially fatty foods. You definitely need to take it on a very empty stomach if you want nice, strong effects from it.

 

[kleinerkiffer]

This is getting really close to a 'what should I take and get high' thread which is against the rules

Imo you should stop taking drugs to help you sleep, it'll only make it worse in the long run