Could This Be From Ambien?

Hi there. I'm currently taking 5 m Ambien for 1 month along with 2 Melatonin and 2 Valerian Root capsules.
My doctor and pharmacist told me it's okay to take together. This combo works pretty well since I added an additional capsule of Valerian Root one week ago. But I noticed in the last week that I had shortness of breath for 2 nights when first trying to sleep for the night. Like I couldn't get a full breath. It also took me longer to get to sleep (1 hour and 3 hours).

I asked the pharmacist about the breathing issue and he said it was not caused from Ambien or the VR. I believe it's from the Ambien. Anyone have any experience with this? Thanks everyone.

 

Are you hyperventilating?? Are you anxious about anything??

 

No, not really. Right now I'm tired from lack of good sleep (only 4 hours). I guess it could be from the Ambien or the Valerian root. Or maybe I was just anxious about getting to sleep last night, but I don't think so. I noticed it after I took the Ambien last night and couldn't get off to sleep right away. That happened a few days prior also. Like I had shallow breathing, and could not get a deep breath. Maybe an allergic reaction to the VR or Ambien interdose symptom? I was thinking I could lower the Ambien to 2.5 m cause the VR (taking 2 capsules now not 1) was giving me a more deeper, natural sleep. Now I am not so sure...

 

You're anxious. I have that breathing problem too. Where you feel like you can't breathe in fully or it feels like you need to yawn but no yawn comes out? It feels pretty real to me, but I know it's not real. Perhaps it's happening at night because this is the time where you are most anxious about falling asleep. I know for me I get really nervous before sleep because I'm scared that I wont fall asleep. So just try to relax, it will pass once you're a little calmer about things. Ive had this twice before and it took seriously MONTHS to get over, so don't freak out about it. It will naturally go away on it's own

 

Tylenol, Ergotomines, Barbitruates, and Aspirin do that to me. It's a crappy feeling.

 

Ambien REALLY jacked me up!!! Turned me into a freakin' zombie! I hate that stuff!!

I hope you find some relief patty!!!!!

 

Two words..... Tolerance Withdrawal.

 

How much melatonin you taking? It technically is a supplement but pretty powerful. You need to be careful how much you take.

But like Neenie said, shortness of breath often is related to anxiety. And anxiety often ramps up at bedtime if we have sleep issues because we are worried about falling asleep.

As for Ambien: that stuff is wicked. People taking it have been known to eat full meals, go for a drive, all while sleeping. Not to mention that It doesn't really keep you asleep much past four, five hours, which may be why you are taking the other supplements. I would find another prescription sleep med.

 

Thanks for responding. My hubbie decided we (me) should do a test. Just take the melatonin and valerian root last night and no ambien and see if I get the shortness of breath. Well I did get that shortness of breath. It's kind of like shallow breathing. A little scary. Tonight I will not take the vr and just take the melatonin and ambien 5 m. I was not about the get to sleep last night without the ambien, so at 2:30 am hubby woke up and said why don't you take it. I did and slept for 4 hours.

I will see after tonite how I feel without the vr. It is pretty strong. Several nites I would get deep real sleep for 6/7 hours with ambien/2 vr/2 melatonin. I think it is the valieran root, but not sure. I read about valerian root and a possible reaction could be respiratory. Might be anxiety or ambien tolerance withdrawal. Anyways I had upped the valerian root to 2 capsules, trying to avoid upping the ambien. I told the doc I was not sleeping enough with 5 m, and he said to up it 7.5.

 

Thanks for your response. I know Ambien is not the answer cause I don't get enough sleep on the 5 m dose. I took 10 m at the beginning and got about 5 hours, was moody and bothered my stomach. So I was looking for natural supplements to add to the Ambien. Just don't know what med I should take. Mr doc mentioned Elavil. Maybe I could take a small dose combined with the Ambien. I don't get any weird sleepwalking or sleep eating episodes. I know when I took the 10 m I went to bed and closed my eyes asap, and did not want to look at the TV. The colors seemed a little to vibrant if you know what I mean. If I could get 6 hours regular, I am good to go.

 

I think this could definitely be a possibility. Trying the Ambien 5 m tonite without the valierian root to see if I have the breathing issues, and see if I fall asleep right away. It's like a puzzle I need to solve.

 

Thanks for the response neenie. It definitely could be this to-a psychological response. Or it could be the valerian root, a side effect being respiratory issues. Or it could be the Ambien .5 is not enough and my brain wants more, tolerance withdrawal. Isn't this fun? Well I'll figure it out. Like I keep saying, I just need 6 hours of regular sleep. The T does not bother me much during the day. When I get a good night's sleep, I feel good, go to the gym, shopping, whatever.

 

Definitely a crappy feeling. But you know when it's happening, I don't think I'm anxious, I'm just like well this sucks I just want to go to sleep and wonder what it is. I think it's the valerian root, but not sure. I was taking 2 pills each 450 m. It says take 5 on the bottle, but that might knock out an elephant.

 

What sleep med would be better? My doc said he wanted to try ambien first cause it has the least side effects of all the other sleep meds. I would be fine with just taking an anti-depressant if that alone would work for regular good night sleeping.

 

I was thinking ambien 5 m along with elavil, small dose I think is 10. Would that knock me out for 6 hours? Or elavil alone?

 

I am taking Melatonin 2 capsules, 3 m each. My doc said that's the dose to take.

 

I take zolpiderm 10mg and triazolam 125ug when i go to bed. Then i take another 10mg zolpiderm when I wake up in the middle of the night. And I take anidepressants at night which are sedating. With this set up I sleep around 8-9hours on my best days. 6 hours is not enough. Apparently only like 2% of the total population feel ok on that amount of sleep. Recommended is 8 hours, which can be broken into smaller chunks during the day. On average people sleep around 7hrs a night which also, it just not enough. I worked in a sleep clinic so I know! 8 hours!

 

That is very interesting to know. Before all of this nonsense, I would sleep an average of 6 hours, 7 if I was lucky. This was usual for me, and it worked fine. Of course I would love 8. The last time I got 8 hours was maybe 2 years ago. Ha! My hubby has also been a very poor sleeper. He was actually worse than me before I had these issues. Now I am worse than him. Ha! He has sinus issues, deviated symptom, etc. He never wanted to have surgery, and frankly I don't blame him. He takes naps when he comes home from work as he is a teacher and gets home in the middle of the afternoon. He said recently he probably should be on sleeping meds too, but he would never. His sleep might be a little worse now because of me.

I could take something when I wake up in the middle of the night, like more Ambien, like .5 and .5 when I wake up. I am still just averse to taking sleeping meds, even tho I need too. I would not be averse to taking an anti-depressant if that made me sleep enough. Previously when I got a headache, I would try not to take an aspirin, then I would give in and take only 1, instead of 2. Good for you that you get 8/9 hours.

 

Guys.. You should try Quetiapin. It's not a traditional sleeping pill. Its for people who are schizophrenic. But "normal" people can use them too. I get so tired of them... I have not noticed any side effects with them either. Much better then that Ambien bullshit. You can't get hooked to Quetiapin either...

Yeah, and one more thing. When I take Quetiapin, I sometimes sleep 12-13 hours...

 

Holy shit -12 to 13 hours. If I got that much sleep my hubby would throw me out of the house he'd be so jealous. Haha. Generally could I get 6 to 8 on this med? Maybe a half a dose? Were you drowsy the next day and did you fall asleep right away. I never heard of this drug. I need to read up on it. Anyone else try this med? Thanks for your response Meeruf.

 

I've tried that many times. It never worked for me even though it makes EVERYONE a zombie, well, everyone except me. I was on 700mg and still lying stressed awake all night. Oh yer, and I was massively constipated too. Hahah, that was actually the main reason i stopped taking it!

 

WOW!!! that's a whole lot of sleep ... maybe a wee bit too much! just my opinion ...

 

Hi. I was put on Alimemazine 10mg which is an old style antihistamine. It's non-addictive and often given to kids with sleeping and/or behavioural problems. I took it while I was still up watching telly, and about an hour later, I got up to make a drink and thought my legs would give way. It had such a powerful sedative affect. So I went straight to bed and felt so relaxed and had a great night sleep. However, the following day I felt whoozy right up till about 6pm, and would not have been able to drive. My GP recommended I try cutting the tablet in half, which I did, and that was very effective.

The only downside is that you must not drink ANY alcohol with it as it apparently exaggerates its effects. After having taken the full tablet I could not imagine what would have happened if I had had any alcohol - I would probably have been out cold for 3 days, or worse....

 

I took first 200mg, nothing happened. Then I just tried 25mg for fun, and one hour later I had to sleep. Also, when I took 200mg I got very restless in my legs. On 25mg, nothing of that.

 

Just an update... It was the valerian root. First night I took the 2 vr without the ambien and had the respiratory problems. Next night took just the 5 m Ambien and did not have respiratory issues. Now back to square one with Ambien. Doc says to try 7.5 Ambien, and I'll give it a go for now and see how it works.

 

Well I am just about done with Ambien. It only works for 4 hours even at a higher dose. Have an appt. with doc to get something longer lasting for sleeping. Wish me luck.

 

I take 1/2 of a 5mg ambien and 1/2 of a 5mg melatonin and sleep for about 4 hours then take the other half of ambien and generally sleep another 4 hours. Funny if I take a whole 5mg ambien I still sleep 4 hours so splitting it works for me and im a 190lb. guy. My wife and I listen to liquid mind on pandora one hour prior to bed and I use bird sounds and nature on my chromebook for sound sleep. Works for me !!!!!