What I didn’t share in yesterday’s post is that I have taken Ambien before. In fact, I stopped using it two weeks ago because I don’t want to dependent on it. Lizgwiz commented about a friend who takes Ambien and emails people in the middle of the night and doesn’t remember it, even after her friends ask why she’s sending weird emails. That right there, contributed to why I stopped. I want to sleep better and without the help of pharmaceuticals. Also, I don’t want to be fucking looney tunes amnesia emailer because WHO KNOWS what kind of shit I might say or do all zombie-like.
Before general anesthesia for my back surgery I was given Versed. I don’t remember anything after the Versed, but my dad was there to witness me say this to the anesthesiologist: “There’s no cleaning your soul.” Who knows what the fuck that means. I don’t want to be emailing my filthy, impossible to clean soul to my friends in the middle of the night…goodbye Ambien, hello Melatonin.
Good for you, Pants! I love my Melatonin. Ambien scares the crap out of me.
Are you sleeping better since you took up hiking?
Before I found out that I was very mildly hypothyroid (which can make you very tired, but unable to sleep), my Dr. prescribed Ambien for my sleeplessness. I think I took it all of 1 time… didn’t do shit for me. But I did take Melatonin for a few weeks in high school when I was having trouble getting the zzz’s.
I must say that the unclean corners of my soul wish you would take Ambien so that I could get some entertaining emails.
I took Ambien for a couple of weeks when I was stressing mightily, really didn’t seem to help. I didn’t start sleeping through the night until I felt I could relax again. I dunno, sometimes pharmeceuticals work, and sometimes they just aren’t the answer.
Well, it’s good that you’ve found something more natural for help with your insomnia. I try to stick to as much “natural” as possible. I don’t know if alcohol counts, but it does help to put one down, and is natural. Hmmm.
Anyway, if you do send out any soul cleansing emails, shoot one my way, I’d love the entertainment and thorough bathing.
I am a fan of the melatonin, and once in a while a Tylenol PM. Anything stronger than that and I’m pretty sure I would wake up in my car going 70 mph on the highway.
That Versed stuff doesn’t do anything to my son or I but my daughter was HYSTERICAL before her adenoid surgery. My husband and I looked at each other and said we needed to remember the way she looked and the way she was talking because if we ever saw it again when she was a teenager we would know she was on drugs.
I had to take ambien once and I woke up sort of groggy. I think I only took it twice. The sleep driving warning thing scared me a little too! Feel free to send me crazy emails if you decide to take it again. I won’t hold it against you, I promise.
Wow.
When I was under anesthesia once, I apparently sang in an operatic fashion. I also vaguely remember saying to the doctor, “I see colors!” and he said, “Yeah? What kind of colors?” and I said, “Pretty colors!”
That’s why anesthesia is my best friend. But for every day sleeping, I think I’d rather not hallucinate.
Tori’s comment has me thinking about some messed up Frontline I watched on overmedicating children. Man, that was a scary episode. So damn scary I refused to watch Frontline again and canceled my Season’s Pass. Damn them.
Hey, good luck kicking the vice to the curb. You’ll do well.
I freakin’ LOVE Ambien. Never made me do anything funny, other than the usual snoring and farting in my sleep.
“There’s no cleaning your soul”? Um, that’s actually a wee bit creepy. Did your eyes roll back in your head when you said it? Yikes.
I take 25 to 50 mg of benadryl to help me fall asleep now and then.
As for entertaining emails, I do that even when I’m not on drugs. Not much about my life helps my case for normalcy, I’m afraid.
I wish I had said something that profound to my orthopedic surgeon, because it was actually true in his case.
And I think you just explained why when I have my next surgery on my ankle, I’m choosing to go with local anesthesia.
Yeah – the only pills I take are for my allergies and that’s because if I don’t I walk around with snot clogging my thoughts all day.
Nice image, right?
I have never taken Ambien. I hope I never need to, as I have a feeling I would be one of those sleep-eaters. I can just see my subconscious now–”hey, it’s not MY fault.”
I am generally far more in need of pepper-uppers. I can sleep pretty much anywhere and any time. If I go horizontal, I’m out.
I have had sleeplessness issues for almost forty years. (As an aside, one of the upsides of turning 40 is you get to say how long you’ve been doing stuff and it sounds impressive for a change.) Anyway – I have a “prescription” for sleeplessness for you: lift weights! It’s the one thing that predictably works to make me fall asleep at bedtime. And believe me, I’ve tried everything.
If you want to go totally non-medicated there is this stuff called “Badger Balm.” They sell it at Whole Foods, and, weirdly enough, Urban Outfitters. There is one called Sleep Balm and one called Night-Night balm, which I think might be geared more toward little kids. Go for the Sleep Balm–the longer you use it, the better it works and it totally knocks me out at night. It’s really great so maybe it would work for you?
My memories of Ambien are not good, and I’m not even the one who took it.
Someone else’s problem now.