Posted by Minnie-Haha on August 31, 2004, at 13:43:13
In reply to Re: Ambien or Ativan?, posted by Bela on August 31, 2004, at 12:48:31
> Marsha, I am actually beginnning to think that the Ambien encourages depression, too. I realize that may come as bad news, and until recently, I thought the opposite, but now I am not sure. Yes, I get a reasonably good sleep from it, but frequently I wake up very depressed and often remain so all day or at least until the effects of the Ambien wear off. I don't know if there is a relationship there or not;it is confusing to me. All I know is that prior to gettng hooked on Ambien in 1997, I was a morning person, and loved the early morning. I rarely had a problem getting up. Of course I was a little younger then, too, but the difference now is profound; I loathe many mornings now days.
>
> Perhaps someone else can comment on whether they think that Ambien can actually enhance depression.Yes... this is exactly what I wondered after 3-4 nights on Ambien (10mg). I had taken it briefly (less than one week) several years ago for insomnia without ill effect (that I remember) but I was also on an anti-depressant at the time. So maybe instead of having withdrawal from my very low dose of Ativan (0.25-0.5 mg) -- which I've been taking pretty regularly for about 10 months now for middle-of-the-night insomnia and axiety -- maybe I was having a depressive side effect from the Ambien -- which I was taking to try to replace the Ativan -- and maybe this depression was feeding my anxiety and insomnia? Lord, trying to figure out illness puzzles is such a pain!
poster:Minnie-Haha
thread:381490
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040830/msgs/384811.html