Guest guest Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 Cooky, Thanks so much for your note. I have been feeling so alone with my depression, and your candid remarks helped. It's relieving to know other people have " been there. " I have been off the Temazepam for a month. And, like you did, I have been experiencing rebound sleep deprivation. Hopefully, I will also get better with my ability to sleep as time passes. I wish so much I had never taken the stuff and feel so stupid that I did not research this drug like I have so many others that I have taken for R.A./Lyme. This summer I kept feeling like I was being hypnotized by a real estate agent. I fluctuated between being way too " in control " to being completely compliant. I knew I wasn't thinking straight but couldn't wrap my mind around the " why " of my mental state. I am thinking more clearly than I was, but I really feel these sleep drugs are bad voodoo. I know I can't just blame the Temazepam and pain drugs, but I know in my heart that they did a number on me. The recovery process is hard. Thanks again for caring-- **************Planning your summer road trip? Check out AOL Travel Guides. (http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states?ncid=aoltrv00030000000016) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 6, 2008 Report Share Posted April 6, 2008 , hi! I took Ambien for a little over a year along with an antidepressant. At first Ambien was like a dream come true. I can never fall asleep. Then I started the eating in my sleep and just walking around the house in my sleep. About 3 months before I decided to stop taking them I became very depressed and felt as bad as you do. I tried to help my family not realizing I was doing more harm than good and cried myself to sleep every night. I thought a lot about suicide and that is finally what made me stop. It took about 3 months to get over all the side effects from quitting. I had night mares. I could not sleep. I had major fears of doom. I had shakiness of my skin especially my legs. I am glad to say it has been a year since that all happened and I feel much better. I still have trouble falling asleep but the only thing I take now is Advil. Its amazing how advil makes you relax to fall asleep. I do not take it every night. You will get thru this and feel better soon. Yes I believe in Karma but taking the pills have nothing to do with karma. I'm sure you are a good person and you have nothing to fear about that. It's just the side effects from going off the pills. Hang in there. Hugs, Cooky Hi all, I am going through a rough patch and need support to buoy my spirits. It seems like no matter what I do, something in the universe is out to sabotage my actions. Do you believe in bad karma? I guess little annoyances and bad things happen to everyone. For the last several months, though, no matter what the circumstance, I seem to come up short. This all started after I unwittingly took Temazapam as a sleep aid for a lengthy period of time. It dulled my senses during the day, and I didn't operate in a rational manner. I made poor decisions, and I am continuing to get fallout from those decisions. If anyone out there has taken a prescription sleep aid, be very cognizant of the ramifications to your perceptions. I would like to know if any of you have had similar reactions to sleep aids. _ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 , It doesn't matter how much you research drugs. Sometimes it's what you need at the time. They all have side effects even the homeopathic and supplements. I hope you get thru all the problems soon. Hugs. Cooky Cooky, Thanks so much for your note. I have been feeling so alone with my depression, and your candid remarks helped. It's relieving to know other people have " been there. " I have been off the Temazepam for a month. And, like you did, I have been experiencing rebound sleep deprivation. Hopefully, I will also get better with my ability to sleep as time passes. I wish so much I had never taken the stuff and feel so stupid that I did not research this drug like I have so many others that I have taken for R.A./Lyme. This summer I kept feeling like I was being hypnotized by a real estate agent. I fluctuated between being way too " in control " to being completely compliant. I knew I wasn't thinking straight but couldn't wrap my mind around the " why " of my mental state. I am thinking more clearly than I was, but I really feel these sleep drugs are bad voodoo. I know I can't just blame the Temazepam and pain drugs, but I know in my heart that they did a number on me. The recovery process is hard. Thanks again for caring-- ___ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 sorry you are feeling so blue karen...it is so hard, all that is involved in these awful diseases and nobody but one who suffers understands. i understand. i take ambien when the lack of sleep gets to be too much and i ,knock on wood, haven't had any bad side effects except for the fact that i still only get 2 or 3 hours of sleep with it, but that is better than none. take care. sue RE: rheumatic The Toll of R.A./Lyme , It doesn't matter how much you research drugs. Sometimes it's what you need at the time. They all have side effects even the homeopathic and supplements. I hope you get thru all the problems soon. Hugs. Cooky Cooky, Thanks so much for your note. I have been feeling so alone with my depression, and your candid remarks helped. It's relieving to know other people have " been there. " I have been off the Temazepam for a month. And, like you did, I have been experiencing rebound sleep deprivation. Hopefully, I will also get better with my ability to sleep as time passes. I wish so much I had never taken the stuff and feel so stupid that I did not research this drug like I have so many others that I have taken for R.A./Lyme. This summer I kept feeling like I was being hypnotized by a real estate agent. I fluctuated between being way too " in control " to being completely compliant. I knew I wasn't thinking straight but couldn't wrap my mind around the " why " of my mental state. I am thinking more clearly than I was, but I really feel these sleep drugs are bad voodoo. I know I can't just blame the Temazepam and pain drugs, but I know in my heart that they did a number on me. The recovery process is hard. Thanks again for caring-- ___ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 Hi , Temazapam is a benzodiazepine, which is the same class of drug as Valium, Ativan, Xanax, among others, along with their generic equivalents. I was on lorazepam (Ativan generic) to help with a heart arrhythmia that my beta blocker wasn't doing the job on almost fifteen years ago. I very reluctantly went on it for what I thought would be short term use. However, benzo's are very addictive and I didn't get off this one until two years ago last month (but who's counting? ) Through a strange and quite painful series of events, I discovered the drug was at the root of my being very, very ill for a couple years with all sorts of neurological and neuromuscular issues that had my doc sending me to a half dozen or more specialists trying to find out what was wrong with me. It was the drug, but thank God I am free of it. So, if you are struggling, try real hard to cut yourself some slack, as these drugs can be murderous. In fact, I first used the a couple years back when I was first suspecting the benzo to be the culprit of my situation. There is a benzo group if you think you might be interested. It's called simply, " benzo " . If it's okay with the moderators, I will get you a link or you can just look for it -- it's pretty easy to find. If you've been on the med for any length of time and want to get off it, you may need to do a taper. There are great suggestions from a lot of very helpful people there to help you through that process. Also, there is a tremendous site from the UK that has a ton of great info on benzo's -- symptoms/side effects of benzo's, equivalency tables, etc. You can find that through the group, too. Lastly, the feelings you have that nothing is working out -- I remember them well! Much of the late half of the 90's that was a regular feeling of mine (while I, too, was taking the benzo). I actually wondered aloud at times if someone wasn't playing a cosmic joke on me. But I was so wrong. I now know that it was actually God's mercy that I got sick...as crazy as that may sound. I believe I would have continued tolerating a half-life had things not gotten so tough (impossible, even) as I can be pretty thick-headed. Here's a favorite verse of mine... " For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. " -- 29:11 God bless you, ! Lee > > Hi all, > > I am going through a rough patch and need support to buoy my spirits. It > seems like no matter what I do, something in the universe is out to sabotage my > actions. Do you believe in bad karma? I guess little annoyances and bad > things happen to everyone. For the last several months, though, no matter what > the circumstance, I seem to come up short. This all started after I > unwittingly took Temazapam as a sleep aid for a lengthy period of time. It dulled > my senses during the day, and I didn't operate in a rational manner. I made > poor decisions, and I am continuing to get fallout from those decisions. If > anyone out there has taken a prescription sleep aid, be very cognizant of the > ramifications to your perceptions. I would like to know if any of you have > had similar reactions to sleep aids. > > Thanks, > > > > **************Planning your summer road trip? Check out AOL Travel Guides. > (http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states?ncid=aoltrv00030000000016) > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 Lee. I want to thank you immensely for directing me to the website, benzo. There is a wealth of information there. I have also found some wonderfully informative videos there, i.e., the use of buckwheat as a superfood--and how to find out which drugs are the most controversial. Also, it helped calm some of my fears that there is something wrong with me. It gave ammunition--if only to myself--that benzo drugs are indeed a blight to mankind. It helps to hear that others like you have experienced similar reactions to benzodiazepines. I naively began taking them at the suggestion of my doctor who told me they were not addictive--just a good sleep aid. We really have to stay on our toes and stay proactive. I feel I was so duped--hopefully never again. Until about a month ago, I had never heard the term, benzodiazepine. I was just taking temazepam at the suggestion of my doctor--I didn't know it was a sought-after street drug. I wonder if some doctors are truly aware of the problems these drugs cause their patients. Maybe they don't really " want " to know as they are a source of perks from drug reps. There are so many drugs out there, though, that I wonder if our health-care workers are sometimes as naive as me. I look forward to hearing about your daughter's progress. Again, thanks. **************Planning your summer road trip? Check out AOL Travel Guides. (http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states?ncid=aoltrv00030000000016) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 7, 2008 Report Share Posted April 7, 2008 Lee, Just an added thought--you sound like a very strong person. I wish you well, and God Bless You, too. **************Planning your summer road trip? Check out AOL Travel Guides. (http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states?ncid=aoltrv00030000000016) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 8, 2008 Report Share Posted April 8, 2008 Thanks, Sue, If you ever need to talk, I understand what we all deal with at different times. I am so wanting the sun to shine in Missouri. Wishing good health to you, **************Planning your summer road trip? Check out AOL Travel Guides. (http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states?ncid=aoltrv00030000000016) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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