Ambien Resistance: Not Working Anymore

I had been taking a generic brand of Ambien nearly every night for 5 years. Due to increased tolerance, I gradually increased the dose from 10mg to 20mg over the past three years. These doses worked for nearly five years. Then suddenly, around the end of May, 20 mg wouldn’t work. I tried 30-40 mg and that was still less effective than 15-20 mg was even one month prior.

I stopped taking Ambien altogether in June and I didn’t experience any withdrawal symptoms. The first few nights were difficult to fall asleep, but the adjustment was minimal. I was on a long holiday, so I didn’t have the pressure of getting up early. Some nights I took Benadryl or Melatonin, but I stopped taking them as well. Sleep was not a problem for me.

Now I’ve started a new job and I need to get up at 6.30 every morning. Once again, I’m having trouble sleeping due to the pressure of having to go to sleep early. I took 20 mg of Ambien again last night, but it’s still not working. I thought that after 2 months of not taking Ambien (I only took it 3 times during that 2 month period) my tolerance would become lower, but 20mg did not work even after two months of not taking it.

Anyone else here stop taking Ambien due to increased tolerance and then start again? Did your tolerance decrease, and if so, how much and how long were you off of it?

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Gareth I believe what you'd experiencing is the generic problem we are having with ambien here in the us. Not 1 pharm. Company that makes a generic makes a good one or I suspect they are making fraudulent pills currently there are only 4 manufacturers of generic regular ambien available in the us & NONE of them are actually made here in the us! Not Teva, Torrent, Northstar(really made by aurobindo now just packed & distributed by NS), & Mylan (us company but again NO LONGER MANUFACTURED IN THE US) all of these drugs are now made in India, Israel, South Africa etc. & have been poisoning me giving me adverse effects I never had with real ambien or the very few old generics that they no longer get make. Do many of us in the same boat you have no idea. Is thete any way to get ahold of the old generics that worked very well without having to use extra dosage?

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Thank you for that info. In fact, I am taking a generic brand made in India. I think they must be of sub-par quality which would explain the sudden increase in tolerance. Though I’m sure my tolerance has gone up some, it’s good to know that it didn’t suddenly jump form 15-20 mg to 40 mg to sleep.

The good news is that I’ve cut down taking them. Now I take it 2-3 times a week instead of every day, which is encouraging. That said, when I do need to take it, I should pay more for the original instead of relying on these spotty generic brands which don’t always work.

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Garet, last month I was able to get my insurance company to cover the name brand ambien. I have a 3 tiered prescription program & I guess when my dr. Put "Brand Ambien Only" & that I couldn't sleep without it on my script my insurance ended up covering name brand ambien. It was on the highest tier and cost me $60 but, that's a small price to pay for a good night's rest. Also when you take it make sure you haven't eaten for 4 hours atleast and make sure you take with lots of fluids and lay down the minute you take it. And bam it works like a dream

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