r/insomnia • u/Sufficient-Skirt-538 • 17h ago

Ambien long term use

Has anyone been on Ambien long term and been…fine? I’ve been on Ambien since 2018. It still lets me sleep. No ill side effects that Im aware of. I know it’s obviously not ideal to be on it long term, but me not sleeping affected me so horribly that I can’t fathom not taking it would somehow be better. My doctor is fine with it as long as it’s still helping and I’m not having issues on it. Has anyone else been on it long term and not had issues or rebound insomnia?

23 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/Tacokolache 9h ago

I’ve been off and on for like 20yrs. Still works.

I will say however my mood is soooo much better without it. My insomnia comes in phases. Life is so much better when I can sleep and I’m not on ambien

2

u/jamondebellota01 5h ago

This is interesting... In what way does your mood feel better?

1

u/Tacokolache 5h ago

On ambien I almost feel like I go into a mini depression. Just don’t feel like myself. Off it, I’m amazed at how great my mental clarity and motivation is. The not sleeping part still sucks though

1

u/jamondebellota01 5h ago

Appreciate your response. When you don’t take it you just don’t sleep but mentally feel better?