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Withdrawl from recreational Ambien

lollerskater

Bluelighter
Joined
Sep 12, 2008
Messages
658
I had been finely crushing and snorting roughly 45-50 mg of Ambien daily, and today I skipped 2 of my morning dosages (trying to take a day off from play), and had some faint shaking in my hands and jittery, rapid speech (similar to what I'm like on meth).

What is the potential for physical dependance on Ambien when it's used recreationally? Is there a good rule of thumb such as no more than X mg a day for no more than x days? Also, what amount of Ambien could potentially cause overdose, and is OD more likely when it's inhaled or digested?
 
Ambien is a benzo-like drug (or maybe it is a benzo, I'm not sure), and benzos are well known to cause withdrawal.

What you describe sounds very much like benzo withdrawal. I have no doubt that one could develop physical dependence on Ambien.

I would recommend abusing it MUCH less often, though you may need a taper if you're having siezures from the withdrawal.
 
I'm surprised you're able to function on ambien during the day. I have taken 10mgs nightly for the past 3 years, and I have not developed any noticeable tolerance. It still knocks me out like a sledgehammer.

I also have some minor withdrawals if I miss a night, amounting to the symptoms you described. By the second night though, they're pretty much gone. I'd take a few days off if I were you, I think you'll be ok and not have any heebie-jeebies if you keep it to a reasonable amount.

Try taking 10mgs and see what happens. Maybe you've been taking more than you need to get high. I do that with oxycodone sometimes.

Are you using any other drugs that may cause withdrawals?
 
I can answer the question about overdosing. I took my entire months bottle in one day....I've been on it for many many years so I am able to take five or six....feel high, sleep for a few hours and wake up. Well, I learned a valuable lesson and have a healthy fear of the drug now. I took a handful at a time over a course of 24 hours. So 30 10 mg. pills in other words. My roommate noticed I wasn't waking up and he couldn't wake me. I woke up 8 days later on life support in full renal failure gagging on the tubes that were breathing for me. Family had been urged to pull the plug as there was minimal brain activity at first. Thankfully they gave it time or I would be dead. I coded in the E.R. and had to be shocked several times. I was on dialysis for a month. Thankfully my kidneys came back because they were talking dialysis three times a week until a matching donar for a kidney transplant could be found. Spent a whole month in the hospital and now have neuropathy that I will have for the rest of my life. It is a constant reminder of what a dumbass I was. All because of my stupidity with Ambien. I didn't crush them. Just swallowed them. Thought I would take a nap and almost took an eternal one!! Be careful!
 
Thank you for sharing your story, Taylor. I most definately will take it to heart. Blueyeddevil, Ambien doesn't make me sleepy at all. The visuals are like being drunk and the mellowness/euphoria is kinda like pot minus the bodyhigh. I plan on tapering off and then making Ambien more of a weekend party drug with companionship who can keep track of my intake and make sure I don't go overboard.
 
taylor_105 said:
I can answer the question about overdosing. I took my entire months bottle in one day....I've been on it for many many years so I am able to take five or six....feel high, sleep for a few hours and wake up. Well, I learned a valuable lesson and have a healthy fear of the drug now. I took a handful at a time over a course of 24 hours. So 30 10 mg. pills in other words. My roommate noticed I wasn't waking up and he couldn't wake me. I woke up 8 days later on life support in full renal failure gagging on the tubes that were breathing for me. Family had been urged to pull the plug as there was minimal brain activity at first. Thankfully they gave it time or I would be dead. I coded in the E.R. and had to be shocked several times. I was on dialysis for a month. Thankfully my kidneys came back because they were talking dialysis three times a week until a matching donar for a kidney transplant could be found. Spent a whole month in the hospital and now have neuropathy that I will have for the rest of my life. It is a constant reminder of what a dumbass I was. All because of my stupidity with Ambien. I didn't crush them. Just swallowed them. Thought I would take a nap and almost took an eternal one!! Be careful!

jeezus, thank god you're ok now bro
 
Ambien isn't structurally a benzo, but its mechanism of action is very much the same. So the potential for physical dependence is quite high if you use it regularly, and it goes without saying that benzo dependency is a nightmare.
 
Zolpidem can result in dependance and addiction just like most other sedative-hypnotics. The withdrawal syndrome will be similar to that of Benzodiazepines, Barbiturates, alcohol, and probably older hypnotics like Glutethimide, Methaqualone, Ethchlorvynol, etc.

High doses of Zolpidem taken throughout the day for a lengthy period of time will result in dependance and addiction. Read this:

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/158/8/1330-a

Zolpidem Abuse
LESLIE N. MADRAK, D.O., and MARK ROSENBERG, M.S.N., R.N., C.S.
Cherry Hill, N.J.
To the Editor: Zolpidem is a commonly prescribed short-acting nonbenzodiazepine hypnotic that potentiates -aminobutyric acid, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, by binding to benzodiazepine type 1 (BZ1) receptors. Zolpidem was thought to have low abuse potential (1); however, there are several case reports documenting zolpidem abuse and withdrawal (2–4). Successful zolpidem detoxification with a benzodiazepine has been reported (2). To our knowledge, this is the first case report of a patient who continued to have zolpidem withdrawal symptoms despite treatment with a benzodiazepine.


Ms. A was a 67-year-old Causasian woman who came to a detoxification unit for zolpidem abuse/dependence. She was previously treated for depression, anxiety, and insomnia, as well as alcohol, barbiturate, and benzodiazepine dependence. Ms. A had been treated for insomnia with oral zolpidem, 10 mg at bedtime, but she said she had increased her dose without the knowledge of her physicians, using up to 100 mg/day (20 mg five times a day) for the last 1.5 years. She alternated this use with various benzodiazepines obtained from multiple physicians when zolpidem was unobtainable.
Ms. A came in for treatment with severe generalized tremor, psychomotor agitation, facial flushing, and anxiety, despite taking 300 mg of chlordiazepoxide in divided doses in the first 24 hours of detoxification. She had persistent symptoms despite treatment with benzodiazepines; a tapering dose of zolpidem was initiated in addition to the tapering dose of chlordiazepoxide. After taking 15 mg of zolpidem, her symptoms completely subsided within 30 minutes. Ms. A took zolpidem, 45 mg over 24 hours in divided doses; it was tapered along with chlordiazepoxide over 5 days.


This case demonstrates the risk for abuse/dependence from chronic use of zolpidem in high doses. Although effective for short-term use in suggested doses, it should be used with caution, especially in patients with a history of substance abuse. Since zolpidem acts on the BZ1 receptor site (1), a benzodiazepine should control its withdrawal symptoms. This patient, however, continued to experience severe withdrawal, despite taking significant doses of chlordiazepoxide. It is possible that she may have also been abusing benzodiazepines and the dose of chlordiazepoxide was too low, but the dramatic resolution of withdrawal symptoms with the first dose of zolpidem makes this case remarkable. This issue requires further study.
 
Lawsuits from Ambien will be heavy in ten years, I predict. Long term outcomes from abuse of that drug are virtually unknown, throughout the brain. This drug affects a whole array of people in situations from comatose to bored with different results each time. I find patients all the time who get paradoxical excitation from the drug, meaning it ramps them up and finding people who take this medication several times a day is not surprising. Ambien is definitely psychoactive and some users swear it brings about an opiate like high, right before you piss all over the house and drive to Tijuana and back with no memory of doing it.
 
What's Ambien? Is it Zolpidem as being mentioned two posts before mine? If so, why do you take morning doses, OP? I guess it must be another benzo in that case, but I don't know which one, never heared of the name for benzo's though, and I only know Stilnox being used throughout the whole world for Zolpidem, except for Japan where they called it Mysly or something like that. So is it something else, and if so, what is it, and where is this name used? Thanks!
 
Yep, I was referring to zolpidem. The early AM and throughout the day doses were a wake and bake of sorts, usually only 5 mg crushed and snorted at a time. I stayed away from higher doses until evening, since I wanted to at least be able to remember what I did in the first half of the day.
 
sonnyluv said:
Lawsuits from Ambien will be heavy in ten years, I predict. Long term outcomes from abuse of that drug are virtually unknown, throughout the brain. This drug affects a whole array of people in situations from comatose to bored with different results each time. I find patients all the time who get paradoxical excitation from the drug, meaning it ramps them up and finding people who take this medication several times a day is not surprising. Ambien is definitely psychoactive and some users swear it brings about an opiate like high, right before you piss all over the house and drive to Tijuana and back with no memory of doing it.

This backlash has already started, many celebrities and politicians have admitted to Zolpidem abuse/trouble. IV abuse has been around a long time with it too (myself being an early adopter of banging the red dragon). It is basically no different than any other hypnotic sedative ever developed. It has a high incidence of side effects, and a large abuse potential (including addiction & dependancy liability, IV abuse, etc).

Eventually it will be re-scheduled again (it went from unscheduled to Schedule IV now) to CII or CI, along with Glutethimide, Ethchlorvynol, the Barbiturates, Methaqualone, etc.
 
taylor_105 said:
I can answer the question about overdosing. I took my entire months bottle in one day....I've been on it for many many years so I am able to take five or six....feel high, sleep for a few hours and wake up. Well, I learned a valuable lesson and have a healthy fear of the drug now. I took a handful at a time over a course of 24 hours. So 30 10 mg. pills in other words. My roommate noticed I wasn't waking up and he couldn't wake me. I woke up 8 days later on life support in full renal failure gagging on the tubes that were breathing for me. Family had been urged to pull the plug as there was minimal brain activity at first. Thankfully they gave it time or I would be dead. I coded in the E.R. and had to be shocked several times. I was on dialysis for a month. Thankfully my kidneys came back because they were talking dialysis three times a week until a matching donar for a kidney transplant could be found. Spent a whole month in the hospital and now have neuropathy that I will have for the rest of my life. It is a constant reminder of what a dumbass I was. All because of my stupidity with Ambien. I didn't crush them. Just swallowed them. Thought I would take a nap and almost took an eternal one!! Be careful!

Damn! Glad your OK man. I've also "OD'd" on the shit, but I only took 100mg over course of 6 hours the first time (only remember the first 3) and woke up and had to go to the doctor for an appointment and I was falling all over the place. Second time I have very little recollection and went out with a friend and took the box with and brought it back almost empty (maybe close to 150mg each). I didn't actually know you can OD on the stuff, thought it was like benzos where you can get away with taking a lot and you'll just get amnesia. Now I know I'll keep far away.

I've also gone through dialysis, fuck that shit sucks. The feeling of kidney failure is terrible, thank God yours (and mine) started by themselves again.

As for it being addictive, even if you use therapeutic amounts, you'll get bad rebound insomnia when you stop. A small hint of it's physical dependency attribute.
 
A couple of weeks ago I got a script for 14 ambien (10mg). I decided to take three or so. ext thing I know it was the next day. I thought I had fallen asleep. Come night time I checked the botle and none were left. I dont know what happened but Im going to be way more careful from now on. Ambien is no joke. Im just thankful I didnt end up in the hospital like Taylor.
 
^ This is very common with me. Especially hypnotic benzos and nonbenzo Z drugs. Which is why I've got someone to keep them for me now. Anxiolitics I have no problem with amnesia and eating my supply during the night.
 
The Z drugs like Immovane and Stilnoct are renowned for causing the "take a few tablets and wake up with a whole pack of pills missing" phenomena ... Something which often leads to very embarassing situations to say the least, or just outright dangerous ones if unlucky. Many doctors are still convinced by the lying bastards of Zanofi-Aventis that Stilnoct is non-addictive, which is a total lye as well. Many doctors write prescriptions for Stilnoct as the first line drug for insomnia, while intermediate or longer acting benzo's are actually less addictive and much less prone to causing side-effects. In my opinion, the medical community really needs to be woken up an re-educated about Stilnoct and other Z-drugs, and by an independent source, not Zanofi-Aventis obviously ...
 
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