[petiej]

Hi...hope someone can help...I took Ambien CR 12.5mg for the first time last nite and it did not work. If I slept at all, it was a doze here and there, because at some point I looked at the clock at every hour.

I am 2wks into transitioning from Avinza 120mg tid to Opana ER 30mg bid. Yesterday was bumped up to 40mg bid. I was never sleepy or drowsy with the Opana; just lethargic. By day 6, it was as if I didn't know how to go to sleep! I made do with benedryl til I got the ambien yesterday.

I've used ambien before and it worked great...just not all night. So I had hight hopes for the CR version.

Does anyone have a clue, a thought, an opinion...anything?

p.s. first nite on the opana began sweats vs cold. it's one or the other. will this eventually stop permanently? i've not seen anyone mention this yet. Thanks for any input!

[Robert_325]

You're just going through an adjustment period with your body getting acclimated to the new Opana script. There is no other logical reason for the sudden change in how you react to ambien. Sleep abnormality is a common side effect when switching RX opiate medications.

Give it a little time and you should be okay. Don't load up on the ambien to over-compensate though. Some people just don't do as well with the 12.5mg ambien cr as the regular 10mg ambien. Mention that to the dr.

Keep us posted how you're progressing. God bless.

[petiej]

2:35am...Second nite with the ambien CR. Tried taking it a little earlier tonite, much less food in my stomach; no change.

God bless you Robert for your response. It does give me hope. I never thought the ambien wouldn't work right away. Aside from no sleep in general and how it affects energy, mood, etc., I know my body is not getting the healing help it still needs from my 4th back surgery in May. It was a major construction site...the xrays could not prepare the docs for what they saw in the flesh...the head shaking still goes on this day. But, a body needs that rest to heal properly and I have been on eggshells and will be for sometime to make sure I will never ever be in a position to have to even entertain the thought of another possible surgery.

Since my opana er dose was raised yesterday from 30mg bid to 40mg bid, the side effects that had finally started tapering off after 2wks, started all over again in full force. The worst is the sweating...will it eventually stop permanently? Hoping for hope here!!

[sklsanford]

My doctor recommended one benadryl to help kickstart the ambien (CR). I do know that it works much better on an empty or nearly empty stomach and I tried to avoid high fat meals at night because that seems to help too.

[sammyb88]

that sucks, every once in a while I have a really hard time sleeping too. Ambian and ambian cr doesn't work for me either. Right now I take 3 mg of lunesta and as long as I'm in a dark room and don't have any caffeine too late I'm fine. You might want to try prosom though. I used to take it when I was having a really hard time sleeping. It works really good, but I don't need it anymore. Hope this is helpful!