Harm Reduction Ambien and Benzos

[Slow_Mobius]

I've seen alot of different opinions on whether it's okay to take ambien with benzos. Im prescribed 10mg ambien and 0.5 clonazepam, but I haven't taken them together. I have some tolerance and a lot of experience taking Ambien, but I have only some experience with benzos. I'm not currently dependent on either. I normally take around 25 mg of the ambien, but there have certainly been times where I've accidentally taken much more in one sitting... I've been a little better about not doing that lately. by far my biggest concern is how much more quickly you'll black out or lose your inhibitions. I would certainly start with 10 mg if i took it with the clonazepam.

Sorry if this should have been posted in BDD. I wasn't 100% on which place, so I put it here since this is where I normally post

 

[Mmp85]

I've mixed them a few times.
Still didn't sleep but also didn't die so there's that.

 

[Keif' Richards]

Mobius, why do you want to combine the two in the first place? I apologize, as I know it's irrelevant to your actual thread, but I'm just curious and it might actually help us advise you. My opinion on the combination of Benzodiazepines and Z-Drugs like Zolpidem (Ambien) is that it probably shouldn't be done. I know you're not a novice Mobius, but for those reading whom aren't, both Benzodizepines and Z-Drugs are quite notorious for their ability to induce amnesia and loss of cognitive control.

It's definitely not unheard of for people to perform complex, potentially dangerous (like driving a car) tasks while under the influence of Zolpidem. I feel like throwing Benzodiazepine into the mix is asking for trouble.

 

[Mmp85]

Can't speak for the original poster but I've done it in attempt to sleep.

 

[Slow_Mobius]

Can't speak for the original poster but I've done it in attempt to sleep.

This is why. Ambien and or smoking won't give me 8 hours. I've tried a ton of different sleep meds, and ambien is the only thing that helps without crazy side effects. If the clonazepam helps, I only plan on taking it every once in a while.

I would just try it when I had someone around to be safe, but I recently moved and don't have friends that would be cool with it.

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

Best to start slow on that combo. I had periods of great 8-9 hour sleep when I first brought benzos into the mix with my ambien but I also ended up crashing into the shower while taking a piss, breaking lamps, and waking up mid fall. Also the mystery knots I would find on my head with no recollection of the incident that caused them was great. All this finally brought me to end the quest for the perfect slumber and go back to exercise, cannabis and a more conservative dose of sleep meds. It can be difficult to explain to your roommates when things go awry in the wee hours of the morning due to meds. But that is my experience. I'm confident you know your dose and your limit, I'm just saying there can be a price for great sleep.

 

[Mracid]

I can't say about zolpidem, but I am prescribed Zopiclone 15mg and ativan 1mg at night, actually it is only ativan but had a 12 month zopiclone script and when my doc swiched he didnt write to stop the zopiclone so now I have both, I also have non prescribed clonazepam that I use during the time I wait for an actual script of benzo for daytime use. I have already done a mix of 45mg zopiclone 2mg clonazepam and 2mg ativan and didnt lose any cognitive function, nor memory, nor inhibitions, I only felt the muscle relaxing effect I need to get most of my different types of pain out of my life for a moment.

Altho my experiance and alot of doctors I saw told me that I was reacting VERY unusually to nearly every drugs, so this should be taken into account.

Now as for simple pharmacology interaction, Zolpidem is more selective to the a1 subtype which induces sedation and sometimes hallucination while clonazepam favorise the a2/a3 subtypes (which are responsible for anxiolysis, anticonvulsive and muscle relaxing effect) which mean they have low cross tolerance and will most likely not fight over a receptor making the additive effect more pronounced so I would be careful mixing them together because it will be more effective than mixing 2 benzos together or 2 Z-drugs together. It will not be quite as powerful as benzo with soma but could be close in term of amnesia and sedation

The best advice I can give take half the dose of the one you need less (regarding their subtype selectivity, if you need more sedation than half the dose of clonazepam and vice versa). And make sure not to take more than the highest dose you would consider taking if you were taking only zolpidem, the equidose of clonazepam and zolpidem is .5mg=10mg respectively.

 

[d1nach]

Id take xanax and ambien to get as fucked up as possible. Dont recommend over all id try to fall asleep end up doing weird stupid shit wakeup and pick up the peices kinda like the hangover but without the comedy. The prob is id take it and lay down then be. Hey I should watch this listen to this do this. Then wakeupto a mess and not refreshed

 

[Slow_Mobius]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I ended up trying it last night. I actually took less than half my dose of clonazepam and my normal dose of zolpidem. Oddly enough, I barely felt the zolpidem. I ended up taking more clonazepam and even more than my usual dose of zolpidem just to fall asleep.... I really shouldve blacked out on the zolpidem alone but I didn't. I definitely felt motor impairments, but the clonazepam, even at a very low dose of 0.125-0.25mg, seemed to mask the ambien. Next time im just going to try 0.5 mg on clonazepam alone and see if I can fall asleep on that. I actually felt much sleepier after taking the clonazepam but before I took the ambien.

I may just try to rotate the two meds in an attempt to avoid tolerance since they primarily hit different receptors. I'll have to do some more reading on their biochemistry though

Quick disclaimer, this seems to be an unusual reaction to this combination since most people say that the two significantly increase motor impairments and blackouts. Tread with caution.

 

[ImSTILLtrying]

I was scripted this before; didnt work that well for me.

now scripted Seroquel and Benzo (Xanax) and works better for me. even the Seroquel alone works at times but the Xanax helps put me out much quicker and the Seroquel keeps me out; Seroquel alone you have a hard time falling asleep - hours to hours and a half before passing out - then you are out like a light for a bit. at first you may get 8 hours easy but after a while that sleep alters and you get less and less. w/ a benzo invovled, esp. Xanax, I fall asleep within 20-30 minutes and still get a good night sleep (5-8 hours). I was never much of a sleeper and always had problems so we have been TRYING to figure out best mix FOREVER NOW! ha.

when you've ADDED benzos to your mix you know you are bad at catching ZZZ's. I TRY NOT TO add benzo every night, which I DONT! but def. 3x's a week or so. w/ Xanax and how fast acting, you wont catch a habit if youre only using .5-1MG/night (sleep only). I've had benzo addiction before and surly NEVER WANT TO GO BACK! I've used Xanax to sleep for 3 months straight at times and never had a habit; nowadays, as mentioned I cut it big time and will just use the Seroquel but wont get AS GOOD OF A SLEEP but still just feel a bit more "safe" using Xanny 3x's a week as opposed to daily. no biggie either way.

 

[Slow_Mobius]

I was scripted this before; didnt work that well for me.

now scripted Seroquel and Benzo (Xanax) and works better for me. even the Seroquel alone works at times but the Xanax helps put me out much quicker and the Seroquel keeps me out; Seroquel alone you have a hard time falling asleep - hours to hours and a half before passing out - then you are out like a light for a bit. at first you may get 8 hours easy but after a while that sleep alters and you get less and less. w/ a benzo invovled, esp. Xanax, I fall asleep within 20-30 minutes and still get a good night sleep (5-8 hours). I was never much of a sleeper and always had problems so we have been TRYING to figure out best mix FOREVER NOW! ha.

when you've ADDED benzos to your mix you know you are bad at catching ZZZ's. I TRY NOT TO add benzo every night, which I DONT! but def. 3x's a week or so. w/ Xanax and how fast acting, you wont catch a habit if youre only using .5-1MG/night (sleep only). I've had benzo addiction before and surly NEVER WANT TO GO BACK! I've used Xanax to sleep for 3 months straight at times and never had a habit; nowadays, as mentioned I cut it big time and will just use the Seroquel but wont get AS GOOD OF A SLEEP but still just feel a bit more "safe" using Xanny 3x's a week as opposed to daily. no biggie either way.

I tried Seroquel alone, but it was very unreliable at best at the dose I was on (can't remember the mgs).I felt like a zombie every morning even if I got 8 hours. Ive also seen some pretty scary reports when people combine kratom with antipsychotics. Kratom is too helpful for me to quit using it.

Good to know I'm not the only one who still can't sleep on that combo lol

 

[ImSTILLtrying]

on 100MG of Seroquel; its zombie like at first till you pick up on it. after about a month its all good. you also get bad dry mouth at first but again you kinda build that tolerance and are able to take it a bit better. it worked the best FOR ME out of all sleep meds - and I've been on them ALL I FEEL - throughout the last 10 or so years. like I said, I've added a benzo because its become a hassle some nights. I have to wake up tomorrow at 615AM; so I gotta def. wake up early so ill make sure to take my sleep meds tonight around 11PM; without them I'd prob stay up till 4AM and maybe get 2 hours if I am lucky.

 

[Slow_Mobius]

I think I was on 50. I only took them for about a week. Im actually cutting down on my kratom, so i might be able to give them another shot.

Thank for the replies everyone.

 

[BeachBum4u]

mix with my ambien but I also ended up crashing into the shower while taking a piss, breaking lamps, and waking up mid fall. Also the mystery knots I would find on my head with no recollection of the incident that caused them was great.

Dude, have you been hiding out in my house or what? Your descriptions above really hit the nail on the head. I lost count of the times I fell while taking a piss. Sometimes I'd wake up mid-fall and be able to semi turn a bit or brace for contact with the floor, but more times than not, I'd come to a split second before I'd hit the floor with almost no time at all to do anything at all to lessen the impact. I hurt myself so many times, I lost count but the one thing I'm really grateful for is I never really smacked my head too hard. Concussions are no joke! I too ended up telling my doctor to stop the Ambien pronto and asked to try something else before I ended up in the hospital. I think I tried two other meds before just giving up on the sleep meds altogether. I use my Flexeril (muscle relaxer) to basically make me tired and although it doesn't really knock me out and my tolerance is such that I hardly feel it at all, it does kind of make my eyelids heavy. All in all, it works about as well as anything I've been given, taking into account said side effects and all. Good Luck OP!

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

^ I probably should have mentioned that some oxycodone and/or soma was also in the mix but having the ability to stand for 8 -10 minutes like a sleeping horse with zero cognitive skills before the "Wake Up! Fall is Imminent!" feeling was a real trip. Entertaining the first time, not so much after putting my elbow through the bathroom wall, using the bath tub as a recliner,etc.

 

[Melancholy Hill]

Well seeing that Zolpidem (Ambien) is a Z-Class drug which is a considered "non-benzodiazepine" and work in almost the SAME manner and have almost the same chemical structure as a normal benzodiazepine, wouldn't they cancel out each other's effects as they are cross-tolerant?

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

^ While both are from a similar family, Zolpidem can be like the wacky uncle that has had a few drinks after Sunday dinner.

 

[leebird]

this is my first post ever. I am new to this computer thing and just learning the basics. How many ambien can you safely take. I have been on norco and flexeril and xanax for the last two decades and have a huge tolerance. i do not want to mix anything dangerous but am trying to stay off of the wrong mix.

 

[leebird]

just want to relax a little

 

[Jekyl Anhydride]

^ The Norco, Flexeril and Xanax should have you relaxing as it is. Adding Ambien is like stepping out of the driver's seat for 6+ hours then trying to play Columbo and piece the missing time back together. I consider myself to be a seasoned drug user and still find things like a pepper shaker and carton of warm milk in my room the next morning after using ambien. If you must try it stay at 5mg or less as poly sedative drug use advice is a long ways from harm reduction. I'm going to suggest that you avail yourself of the Search Engine at the almost top right of the page because I blabbed about my ambien use too much as it is and have been hyper posting in this thread.. Stay safe and good luck.