Ambien Discussion

It is not working for me as well anymore. Any suggestions on other sleep aids, preferably one that is approved for long term use? I have been taking Ambien for almost 4 months, almost every night.

Chosen Answer:

Hello:
This is in response to your question posted on yahoo about the efficacy of Ambien.
Ambien is a class IV drug ( classifiation created by the Drug Enforcement Agency), The lower the number the higher the potential of abuse, tolerance, addiction, etc. For example a class II drug like percocet has a higher potential for abuse whereas a Class III drug like hydrocodone, ie vicoden has less of a potential but it is still there. Since Ambien is a class IV drug, it still has some potential for abuse and tolerance. Now the word tolerance simply means that over time, it will take more of the drug to get the same effect so the answer to your question is YES. Ambien is not supposed to be used on a daily basis and should never be used for more than two weeks at a time because TOLERANCE can develop. It has a low potential for addiction but the tolerance potential is still there. Since you have been taking it every night for four months that is the reason that it is not working for you as well as it did before. You have other options. Over the counter choices are Tylenol-PM which has a very sedating antihistamine in it. It works like a charm for me. Prescription medications include sonata which is also a Class IV drug and if used for extended periods of time, you could run into the same problem. There is a newer medication called Lunesta which has less of a potential for tolerance. The newest medication to come out that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for long term use is called Rozerem (generic name is ramelteon) and comes in 8 mg tablets. Supposedly, there is no potential for tolerance even if using every day for months on end. In my opinion, it is probably not a very good idea to use something long term anyway, because if you stop using it abruptly you could have rebound insomnia that is worse than your orginal insomnia. I tell my patients to come up with a sleep diary or log that they fill in.ie. what time are getting to bed each night, what time you wake up in the morning, what times of the night you wake up, what time in the early morning you awake and cannot get back to sleep. The bedroom should only by used for sleep and sex. No TV in the bedroom, no reading before bed, no fluids several hours before bedtime, no caffeinated beverage, ie coffee, sodas, chocolate several hours before bedtime, methods of stress reduction, ie. progressive relaxation, yoga, a hot bath just before retiring at night can help. If none of these things work, then you should get a sleep study done (it is called a polysomnogram that a Neurologist can do). You must spend the night in the office and they monitor your brain waves and determine if there are any derangements in the various cycles of your sleep. I know it is a hard disorder to deal with because I suffer from it myself. Shift work, and flight attendants suffer the worst, but it is estimated that at least 75 percent of people in the U.S. suffer from some type of insomnia at some point in their life.
I hope this helps to answer your question and alleviate some of the concerns you have about insomnia.
Regards,
Warren B. Shaffer, M.D.
by: doctordad
on: 19th June 06