My 13 Year Ambien Zolpidem Addiction AND How I Finally Tapered Off! 👍 Withdrawal?

Tappering off ambien and kicking the addiction takes iron discipline and monk patience. Anyone who has gone through it. You are the unsung hero.

Thank you for posting this. I have been on Ambien since 2011. I was taking 3 OTC meds because I couldn't sleep. Same as you as soon as a toxic relationship ended I wasn't able to sleep. I would sleep for Ike 2 hours then up from 2am to 5 am I would go to work and sleep in my car at lunch. Then my mom died and it got worse and my Dr gave me ambien. I tried to get off last year and then my dad died. Now I am just tired of being a prisoner to this med. I started to taper to 5mg 2 days ago. So far I am ok. I am so super proud of you for doing it. I know what it feels like. Trapped in your emotions and then trapped by a med.

Tons of pat in the back ❤ Congratulations 🎉 This sh*t is hard to get off of! So proud of you.

I was on it for 14 years, 10mg a night every night. The last 5 years it increased after my father died, it increased to eventually 80mg a night. I tried tapering but always went backwards, used a benzo called clonazepam to try and lower dose to about 40mg a night. Once I was at that level I just went cold turkey. About 3-4 days of hell, but no seizures or hallucinations, just really bad dreams. I am so glad to be off it, but it really did help me for those first 11 years, it’s a great drugs for short term insomnia. I’m back to my awful sleeping habits now as I suffer from a circadian sleep disorder. Well done to anyone that can get off this with whatever means possible, it really is an achievement to be proud of.

I'm from Europe. I just signed up for rehab. 8 weeks in a closed environment. I'm actually excited, but also a little scared :)

I had a co-dependency of straight vodka and ambien for years. I’m very lucky to be alive. Been sober for 2 years. Never felt better

That’s AWESOME man, great job. I’m still working on getting off my Gabapentin, I’m about to have to get one more script just to stretch out the last bit of my taper. I was on 3200 for a while, 2400 for like 7 years before that, now I’m down to 200mg, but it’s like Suboxone in the way that the bioavailability is mainly in the lower doses. So I hit a wall once I got this low. Gonna spend the next couple weeks trying to knock out this last bit however I can. If anyone is considering getting on Gabapentin, I say don’t get on it for longer than a week, it’s very similar to opioid withdrawal, just without the vomiting, still pretty terrible. But yeah man, Ambien is a killer, you knocked it out in 6 weeks that’s absolutely awesome.

Congratulations. Thanks for video

Kevin , you making all kinds of gains. Keep pushing bro. I am rooting for you to have suboxone / sublacade behind you. I am 13 months free from subs. I was just like you all over the place with taper. Finally went cold turkey. Keep fighting the good fight.

You have friends ! Us ! Love the videos Keep up the good work I like hearing peoples stories I find that in a lot of ways I can relate and yes everybody is different our chemical make up and how we react is different

My experience over the last 17 years with ambien has been very good ( the first few years) and agonizing. I’m really glad I came across your channel and I feel less alone. I have had a DUI while sleep-driving. It’s very dangerous but it’s the one drug I can’t stop thinking about and craving. I was addicted to opiates for 12 years and I used suboxone for a year. I’m truly free from opiates but sleep is a lingering problem. I do have Seroquel and it works probably half of the time, which is a win ( 50mgs). I miss the blackout/chill cycle of Ambient. However I don’t miss getting so blacked out that I take a handful without realizing it and suffering BRUTAL withdrawals as a consequence. Again, you made me feel like someone out there understands. It’s very encouraging to know that you’re doing well without ambien!

Been on Ambien for over 10 years. Can’t imagine getting off it. I would go for weeks without sleep if I didn’t have ambien. It works great for me. The problem is 10 mg is not enough anymore and I need 20mg but doctor won’t go up on it. Thanks for the video. Reading the comments makes me nervous. So many people have negative experiences. Ambien has been a life saver for me. Congratulations for getting off of all the meds!!

Congratulations! Interesting way to taper this switching technique. I'm coming off of xanax currently. Might try this switching way. It seems less agressive

Saw the helmet.... thought it would be a straight answer ... cheers 😊

Im so relieved to hear you went through the same thing it somehow gives me hope. I was on Ambien for many years and got off for many years but having my wife leaving me w the kids suddenly last year got me back on and im battling to get off it again.

Congratulations for getting off of Ambien…I’ve been taking it for over 20 years, but only take 1/2 of a .025mg tablet…so, at 83, I’m not going to worry about it…

Awesome

I take ambien too I am trying to get rid of ambien too. When I used to go through withdrawals and drug myself to sleep just to get through it. I used to take it all. So I know what your going through. I couldn’t take trazodone the 💊 was big like you said and would hurt my stomach. Now I think I know what your trying to do with the sublocade now . You don’t want suboxone to lean on anymore and trying to get it outta your life .

Would love to ask you a personal question about this medication do you have an email or somewhere I can as in private Ty!

Ambien is short acting so skipping days will put you into interdose withdrawal. It should be treated the same as any other benzo. The Heather Ashton Protocol is advisable to taper of these drugs. 'Empty stomach' refers to a 4-hour period without food (includes drinks and supplements that contain minerals like calcium and iron). People who are on 500-600mgs have built tolerance to lower dosages. Highly dependent-formimg drug, damaging side effects and horrendous to get off from, even at low dose of 25mg.