gandle and shadowgarden, I guess i stole your share of sleep. I could not make myself wake up today and slept hard last night and kept dozing off and on today. Y-A-W-N. Then i go through periods where i can't sleep for a couple of days. no booze,drugs or pills, just my weird wired brain. gandle,i empathise with your painful knee. My sholder and hips give me fits sometimes. I can't imagine listening to trains going by all the time. I remember when i was growing up listening to an occasional far off train. The who-o-o-o who-o-o-o was a soothing sound but todays trains are just noisy. Have you ever tried listening to soothing music at night.Sometimes it works for me, sometimes not. Hope you sleep good tonight. vickie

Long Term Effects During longer-term treatment (28 to 35 nights) in controlled clinical trials at doses less than 10 mg, the most commonly observed adverse events associated with the use of Ambien and seen at statistically significant differences from placebo-treated patients were dizziness (5%) and drugged feelings (3%). Does Ambien increase total sleep time? Yes it does. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center study, subjective measurements showed Ambien significantly increased total sleep time compared to a placebo for all 4 weeks. Switching to Ambien? There are no definitive clinical trials that address switching from other sleep medications to Ambien. Therefore, it is advisable to allow for an adequate washout period when switching from other sleeping pills, particularly long half-life products like benzodiazepines. Discontinuing Ambien As a general precautionary measure, gradual tapering off of the sleeping medication rather than abrupt discontinuation may be needed. This helps to minimize the potential for withdrawal reactions. Storing Ambien Store Ambien at room temperature away from moisture, heat and children, but not in the bathroom.

oofasis, I totally understand where you are coming from...so much so that I had to re-read your post to remember what you said...oh yeah, you said you can't remember...I turn 58 on May 22. So.. I hear ya. Sleep has always been a problem but these last couple of years, it has been a major issue. I am sure that menopause and worrying plays a huge part in this. The loss of hormones is key. Knowing and ruminating on how you will feel the next day does not help. No one and nothing I have read has caused me to believe otherwise. It's always "fun" to be one of the older folks at work anyway, and the effects of insomnia night after night only reinforce and highlight that. Not a good thing for those of us who need and like our work. I know younger people have insomnia, as did I, but I believe it is tolerated better when one is young. I was always able to make it up. Now I am not. I sleep 3-5 interrupted hrs each night now for the last couple of years. If I get the 5, I can function. If I get less, well, you guys know how that feels. Irritable, loss of desire or ability to go beyond the simplest activities, (guess I really don't care what movies are playing after all...a new picture of my great/grand nephew...maybe tomorrow I'll have a look). This is not me. I eat right, I exercise (40 years now) regularly, I weigh 110, take vits and calcium, etc)..I am so very sick of living like this. Drs today don't give a hoot. All they think about is "Herd em in, herd em out." So forget it. They shove prescriptions across the table for Ambien, Lunesta, etc. I try none. Too afraid of having an anxiety episode. I have a restless mind, am a realist and therefore, unfortunately, not a real positive thinker. I am sure none of that helps my sleeplessness. I have taken Klonopin (a benzo) for about 15 yrs at night for help. It takes the edge off but doesn't do a thing to help me sleep thru the night. Certainly I am addicted to. it. My husband and I have both had job losses thru the years due to offshoring and it has taken the starch out of us. We have a 17 year old daughter (our only) and I have done a piss poor job with her due to my personality and mood issues due to menopause and sleeplessness. Can you imagine menopause vs puberty and PMS? It has been rocky. I try but am so tired all the time, I can't give her my best..she has seen ugly sides of me. I am always concerned about health care, money, etc. I used to have so much energy and a better attitude. Now I just feel like a zombie. Sure I feel depressed. I don't get any sleep. OK, I am rambling. My daughter is here and wants me to come upstairs...It is Mother's Day. It would be nice to have some emotion about it. Thanks to all of you for the suggestions. I have printed a lot of them and won't give up trying. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

I go to a CVS pharmacy which is about 3 blocks from my house, and I have to say, they are without doubt the most careful ppl I have ever dealt with in my life. There are five ppl working in the pharmacy at all times, and 3 of those 5 ppl are licensed pharmacists and the other 2 are licensed pharmacy techs. When you go in to the pharmacy area in the store you go to a window where you hand your prescription in. The pharmacy tech takes your prescription and then asks to see your I.D.. Even though they know you by name, they still require you to present an I.D. card, which she checks against the name on the prescription. When it matches she logs the prescription in, then puts it in a little drawer that slides through the glass panel into the actual pharmacy area. Inside that glassed in area there are two pharmacists who fill the prescriptions then they go to the other end and pass them out to the desk where you pick them up. The person at that desk then takes all the bottles or packages out of the bag and checks them one by one against what was originally logged in. If there is even the slightest doubt about the count, that pharmacist will count the pills again to make sure you have the correct amount. In addition, there is a label on each container that gives the full description and the drugs letter or number markings so they can be positively identified. When he/she is certain that all is correct the bag is stapled shut and placed on a holding rack till you come to pick it up. When you go to the counter to pick up your meds you are once again required to show your I.D. which they verify against the presciption, then they open the bag and confirm that you are getting the correct number of containers before they will ring up the sale. If someone comes to the counter and needs to talk to a pharmacist, the one who verifys the bags will come to the counter. According to the girl on the counter the pharmacists in the booth have a phone, but it will only make outgoing calls so they can call a doctor to verify a prescription. All incoming calls are handled by the pharmacy techs or the pharmacist outside the booth who verifies the counts, but under no circumstances are the pharmacists behind the glass filling the prescriptions to be disturbed. About two months ago I had to undergo a minor surgery and when I turned in a prescription from the surgeons for some meds to prep for the surgery the pharmacist checked the computer and told me that the drug specified was contra-indicated with one of my COPD drugs, so they had to call the surgeon and explain the situation before they would fill the prescription. It turned out the surgeon was not aware of the other drug, but he changed my prescription to another drug that was okay. To my complete surprise, about three months ago the pharmacy called and said their records indicated that I only had 8 more days on an inhaler that I have to use twice a day. They asked me if I had an apointment to see my doctor to get refill and I said no. The pharmacist then asked, would you like me to call your doctor and schedule you an appointment? Sure, I said, and a half hour later my doctors office called to tell me they could get me in the next day. Jan uses the same pharmacy and one day when I was there I asked them if she could pick up prescriptions for me? The girl said sure, but you will have to sign a consent form and I will put a note on the computer that you have authorized her to do so, otherwise no one but you can pick them up.