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How to get ambien?

How to get ambien?

Old Dec 13, 2008, 8:00 pm
  #31  
 
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xanax works best for me, however, my doc won't rx it. He does give me as much ambien as I need. I find that works as well. I use something once or twice a month. Funny enough I have also had some success with the OTC Tylenol PM.
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Old Dec 15, 2008, 8:16 pm
  #32  
 
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I wake up after a few hours with ambien. Ambien CR gives me a full night sleep, but isn't covered under my insurance.
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Old Dec 15, 2008, 9:23 pm
  #33  
 
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Originally Posted by nkedel
Lunesta is the brand name for the drug eszopiclone; zopiclone is a closely related drug, and from most perspectives can be treated as identical BUT since it's not a generally available drug in the US, can cause extra problems at customs.

Then again, all of the Z-drug sleeping medicines are scheduled (sched 4 I believe) and one should take care to be within the law (or exceeding its requirements where it's unclear) if importing them for personal use.
Nearly every sedative/hypnotic in the United States carries a DEA schedule IV label. With some exceptions, this includes all of the benzodiazepines, most of the barbiturates (hardly used outside of anesthesia) and single class agents such as ramelteon, zolpidem, zaleplon and eszopiclone. There are some other sleepers that are in development that may or may not carry the schedule IV designation, but in all likelihood they will if approved by FDA.

I believe federal law allows importation of up to 90 (ninety) days worth of a legal prescription agent from another country so long as you have a physician's prescription, and obviously this would preclude substances that are banned like Rohypnol (flunitrazepam).

Before you start taking ANY sleeper, I highly recommend that you talk to your doctor. Sleepers can have some very significant adverse events such as various forms of memory loss, somnambulism (sleep walking) and other CNS aberrations. Most of them can also be habit-forming and difficult to discontinue. Sleep problems can also be associated with apnea, respiratory disorders or undiagnosed mood disorders like anxiety and depression.

Good luck.

Personally, I use zaleplon when I travel. It is less a continuous sleeper and more like a hammer, if you will. It is designed to get you to sleep, where other sleepers are designed to keep you sleeping. I also periodically write for alprazolam (Xanax) for some of my patients. It provides about four to six hours of sleep and usually does not have the significant hangover effect like the older benzodiazepines. Beware of flurazepam (Dalmane). It has an unusually long half-life and is well known for its hangover effects. I also counsel patients to avoid over the counter sleep agents, which are usually older, sedating antihistamines. They also have a hangover effect and actually interfere with various stages of sleep to the extent that I consider them to be therapeutically unreliable. Tolerance to sleep agents can develop, and this is why you should periodically discuss the matter with your physician.
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Old Dec 15, 2008, 11:17 pm
  #34  
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Originally Posted by SamMarkand
Nearly every sedative/hypnotic in the United States carries a DEA schedule IV label. With some exceptions, this includes all of the benzodiazepines, most of the barbiturates (hardly used outside of anesthesia) and single class agents such as ramelteon, zolpidem, zaleplon and eszopiclone. There are some other sleepers that are in development that may or may not carry the schedule IV designation, but in all likelihood they will if approved by FDA.
When did ramelteon get scheduled? It was marketed at introduction as a non-scheduled drug, and wikipedia still has it listed as such.

I believe federal law allows importation of up to 90 (ninety) days worth of a legal prescription agent from another country so long as you have a physician's prescription, and obviously this would preclude substances that are banned like Rohypnol (flunitrazepam).
For scheduled drugs, I believe the limit may be lower (30 dosage units), although that may only apply in cases where the drugs are OTC abroad and imported without documentation of a doctor's prescription. I've never actually brought back scheduled drugs, but have declared and brought in antibiotics and a few other things (metformin, for example) for personal use and have never been asked for documentation of a prescription even when the drugs were specifically examined at customs.
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Old Dec 16, 2008, 3:04 am
  #35  
 
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Originally Posted by SamMarkand
Nearly every sedative/hypnotic in the United States carries a DEA schedule IV label. With some exceptions, this includes all of the benzodiazepines, most of the barbiturates (hardly used outside of anesthesia) and single class agents such as ramelteon, zolpidem, zaleplon and eszopiclone.
Unless the DEA has gone completely wacko, ramelteon is not scheduled.

As for barbiturates, butalbital is scheduled (CIII) when mixed with aspirin and caffeine, but not when mixed with acetaminophen and caffeine (unless this has changed in the last few years).
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Old Dec 17, 2008, 5:09 am
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MMMM, I just got my Ambien refilled. Between that and the Norco I should sleep well for a while.
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Old Dec 18, 2008, 1:27 am
  #37  
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I thought Chloral Hydrate was the strongest sedative.

Don't here much about it except that it killed Anna Nicole Smith
and Marilyn Monroe.
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Old Dec 18, 2008, 4:59 pm
  #38  
 
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Originally Posted by anacapamalibu
I thought Chloral Hydrate was the strongest sedative.

Don't here much about it except that it killed Anna Nicole Smith
and Marilyn Monroe.
It was not Chloral Hydrate alone that killed Anna Nicole Smith. It was the combination of narcotics and sedatives that she took. Chloral hydrate itself is not that powerful of a sleeper for most people. It is a good sedative, but as a sleeper it has many drawbacks. Chloral hydrate (old trade name Noctec) is used more widely as an sedative for kids undergoing different types of diagnostic procedures now than as a sleeper. I have not prescribed it in years!

I stand corrected about the ramelteon. I thought it had the schedule IV designation, but it might only be in some states. Most of the Texas pharmacies will consider it a schedule IV for administrative purposes. I do not prescribe ramelteon, instead I find that eszopiclone or zaleplon are preferable to patients due to their low side-effect potential.

Seconal (secobarbital) was the big sleeper until the benzodiazepines came along, and it remains a schedule II drug assuming you can find anyone that even stocks it. The other schedule II barbiturate is amobarbital, the old Tuinal/Amytal. I have not seen either used in over fifteen years.
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Old Dec 18, 2008, 8:06 pm
  #39  
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Originally Posted by SamMarkand
Seconal (secobarbital) was the big sleeper until the benzodiazepines came along, and it remains a schedule II drug assuming you can find anyone that even stocks it. The other schedule II barbiturate is amobarbital, the old Tuinal/Amytal. I have not seen either used in over fifteen years.
Seconal "Reds"
Tuinal " Christmas Trees"
Nembutal "Yellows"

Guess those went out when Ludes were scheduled to I. *

* I think that was due to media hype involving Roman Polanski and that underage
girl in Jack Nicholson's hot tub. Power of Hollywood, I guess?

Last edited by anacapamalibu; Dec 18, 2008 at 8:25 pm
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Old Dec 18, 2008, 8:08 pm
  #40  
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Double post

Last edited by anacapamalibu; Dec 18, 2008 at 8:16 pm Reason: MISPOST PLEASE DELETE
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Old Dec 23, 2008, 7:06 pm
  #41  
 
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Originally Posted by SamMarkand
I stand corrected about the ramelteon. I thought it had the schedule IV designation, but it might only be in some states. Most of the Texas pharmacies will consider it a schedule IV for administrative purposes.
Are they nuts? The stuff is not exactly abusable. Several OTC drugs (e.g. diphenhydramine, DXM, etc.) are far more abusable than ramelteon.

Originally Posted by SamMarkand
I do not prescribe ramelteon, instead I find that eszopiclone or zaleplon are preferable to patients due to their low side-effect potential.
Why don't you prescribe it? It's not particularly effective (IME), but the side effects seem to be much less common and severe than with the Z-drugs.
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Old Dec 25, 2008, 10:52 pm
  #42  
 
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.25 mg of Halcion always worked fine for me. Still works and my Dr. has no problems giving me a scrip for 90 when I need it (about once a year or so).

Why mess with something that works just fine for me? Ambien doesn't work as well for me.

I won't mention that it works even better for me with a double Jack Daniels on the rocks. But, again, that's just me...

Personally, I like forgetting the first half of the flight and what I ate.
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Old Dec 25, 2008, 11:54 pm
  #43  
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Originally Posted by Always Flyin
.25 mg of Halcion always worked fine for me. Still works and my Dr. has no problems giving me a scrip for 90 when I need it (about once a year or so).
Halcion always worked well for me when I could get it; my present doctor won't touch it, and their preferred benzo (restoril) doesn't work well for me - doesn't knock me out very well and leaves a hangover anyway.

For very long flights (transpacs, basically) trazodone is awesome, but it packs too much of a hangover on anything shorter.

These days, I just avoid the transcon redeyes. When Sonata (zaleplon) goes generic, I'll see if I can get a short 'scrip to try it out... err, interesting, it seems to have gone generic when I wasn't looking. Still obnoxiously expensive, but the generic is not nearly as badly so as most sleep meds. I'll definitely talk to my doc next time I'm in for a physical.

Last edited by nkedel; Dec 25, 2008 at 11:59 pm
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Old Dec 27, 2008, 2:07 pm
  #44  
 
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Don't slice Lunesta!

Someone mentioned cutting a 3mg Lunesta in half. This is not a good idea. You will get the most foul taste in your month for hours. It will not go away. Maybe if you 'wrap' the half tablet in some kind of gel it won't bother you. But if one molecule of that stuff gets on your tongue, you'll regret it all night.
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Old Jan 3, 2009, 11:16 am
  #45  
 
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Ambien CR for 6 + hours, Regular Ambien for less than 6. Personally Lunesta leaves a horrible metalic taste in my mouth and has little impact on sleep. Obviously, I would "trial run" anything at home first and depend more on your doctor's advice than hit and miss advice on these posts...
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