I think you are right curlydog, you are going to have to stick to your guns and tell him that you are not willing to let go of the ambien. It is your body.
good luck
bizi

Yea, I think I'll put him on the couch for a few questions . Find out why he's so against Ambien. I'll trade the Ambien for 1 mg of Klonipin a night, that would work fine. Somehow I think he would have more to say about Klonipin though...I'll see.

Heyyyyyyy Curly!

it's nice to see you. i've been wondering where you disappeared off to. i have been here in spurts the past few days... mostly i haven't been here in spurts, i should say. having problems... but, i digress.

i am not a fan of Ambien personally, but 5 mg is a real small dose and if it works for you, then i see no problems. i have had problems with it such as anterograde amnesia (which really messes with your head!) but i was being given 10 or 20 mg depending, and it was with concomitant use of another benzo in doses too high for me. i suspect some of the "sleepwalkers" had anterograde amnesia. i imagine the chances of that also are greater with ambien if one takes alcohol - even a small amount. this is probably why he doesn't like it. that and it is more of hypnotic and less of a muscle relaxer. given Ambien helps you i have to wonder if you have true RLS or if the insomnia drives it.

as for your pdoc i think he got snowed on Requip by some real clever rep or something... argghhh those pharm reps... right up there with lawyers and car salesmen. the starting dosage... with the precautions given i would also challenge that with him.

furthermore, i do NOT like what i am reading on requip at ALL, in general, especially for a bipolar person. it seems much worse than Ambien. definitely if you could go for some Klonopin that would be much better. you shouldn't need to taper from 5mg if it is replaced with Klonopin.

re: the Requip ... talk about risk of mania... it seems to be associated with impulsive/compulsive behavior...

from http://www.drugs.com/requip.html

yeah be assertive and let him know you aren't comfortable taking this drug. it IS your body, your brain, and your LIFE.

good luck!

~ waves ~

Hey Waves, thanks for the post.

Yeah, my wife and I have talked a lot about the Ambien relieving the RLS. She says my legs still go crazy when I take it, so apparently I just get to sleep through it. And I don't kick her or anything so I guess it works for both of us in that respect. And we are an alcohol free family so there are no worries as far as that goes. You are right, it's not a cure, just allows me to sleep through it. As far as true RLS or insomnia driven...no clue on that one.

Yeah, I started reading all about requip and it is kinda scary ain't it? Just the other day I had a strong urge to gamble and have sex, so I bet my wife $20 that we would have sex that night. Somehow I lost twice with only one bet So I paid my wife $20 to not have sex...I'm still scratching my head

Hi, Curly,



You crack me up.
M