A happy, healthy and peaceful new year to one and all. Has anyone got any experience of taking Ambien/Zolpidem for RLS?

[Jumpey]

I've looked on a website recommended by someone on here and it looks like it may be a good drug choice saying that there are no reported problems with tolerance, withdrawal, rebound or augmentation. Any views out there?

[jumpylegs]

Ambien is a sleeping drug and may help you to get over to sleep but I doubt that it would help your actual symptoms.

[Jumpey in reply to jumpylegs]

Cheers for that. It's recommended for RLS. have you tried it?

[jumpylegs]

I tried Ambien for help with sleep, I found it to be short acting and moved up to Lunesta/zopiclone which still does not help a great deal. My understanding is that it is not used for the relief of RLS symptoms. But who knows what will work for you, we are all different.

[Jumpey in reply to jumpylegs]

Thanks for that.

[kelka in reply to Jumpey]

Both of them made me sleep walk. I don't think they are offered for rls and are supposed to be for short term use.

[Jumpey in reply to kelka]

That's interesting. According to the site I researched, they are first choice drugs for RLS.

[kelka in reply to Jumpey]

Ye, your right! Just read it. I wouldn't reccomend them for long term use personally but maybe as a prn. You just have to try these things. I woke up at 3 am, naked, in the kitchen and in front of a freshly made pot of coffee :-)) I take magnesium,theanine and dihydrocodeine which helps enough at the most. I couldn't get on with the dopamine agonists.

[Jumpey in reply to kelka]

Bless you.Yes. what i've learned fr

[Jumpey in reply to kelka]

Bless you. Yes . what I've learned from this site is that there is no cure-all drug and that everyone responds to the medication differently.

[Carol456 in reply to Jumpey]

you have to be carefull with the site's so are promoted by the drug company's themselves

[Jumpey in reply to Carol456]

Good point! I don't think this was however because it reviewed all the drugs used for RLS with pros and cons of each.

[Hidden in reply to Jumpey]

Is the website you have been looking at rlshelp.org ?? If so, it is one of the best sites for information for treatments for RLS, giving like you have said the pros and cons of those meds. It also gives what can for some cause worse symptoms, as in what meds, some food and drink. So, a good website to look at, and has helped many people over the years. Including emailing the doctor of that site for advise on RLS. Something i have done in the past a few times.

[Jumpey in reply to Hidden]

It was Elisse-I found it useful. Thanks for the tip of being able to contact the doctor-I didn't realise that.

[nightdancer in reply to Jumpey]

Ambien is prescribed for insomnia and sleeplessness, but not for specific RLS symptoms. there is a short acting form and a long acting form; well, shorter acting form will be out in the US this year, so it can be taken in the midle of the night for a 4 hr half life, so it goes ot of your system pretty fast. It is hypnotic, so can cause sleep walking, sleep eating, and even sleep shopping (been there and done that). so you are right we are all different, and ambien is prescrived as helpful to RLSer's who have had their sleep patterns crushed, but will not help wit the neurological symptoms.

[Carol456 in reply to Hidden]

i wasnt refering to that site Elisse, but some of the one's that come up are by the drug companie's, it's these i was refering to

[nightdancer in reply to Carol456]

That's for sure, Carol1456! They are by law equired to list all side effects, but many do just enough to let you know there can be side effects. Always better to read about meds on a "neutral" web site.

[kelka in reply to Jumpey]

Yes, we just have to keep looking and trying. I hope the zolpidem works for you. Good luck and a happy new year!

[Jumpey in reply to kelka]

Many thanks

[Carol456 in reply to kelka]

i hope you drank the coffee Kelka

[kelka in reply to Carol456]

I don't know if I was even drinking coffee at the time :-))

[Carol456 in reply to kelka]

lolllll

[nightdancer]

Ambien is for sleep. It may help along with other meds that are for RLS specifically, but it is not going to help with your jumpy legs or arms. I have tried it in the past, made me sleep walk, sleep shop (really bad for the credit rating!) LOL, and sleep eat. had to get off of it. There is a shorter acting form coming out in the US, not sure about in the UK yet. do email Dr. Buchfuhrer on the web site that Elisse gave. his information and his word are GOLDEN. Happy New Year to all! Dr. B is the best!

[ookla]

To echo what everyone else has said, I don't think ambien really treats the symptoms, just knocks you out and prevents rls from keeping you awake. I was kind of scared to take it after hearing all the horror stories. I'm prone to get all the bad side effects (why can't there be good side effects? "this medicine may cause your jokes to be ten times funnier!"), so I expected I'd wake up in the middle of the night on a fishing boat in Alaska with some number written in lipstick on a napkin. So i tried it once. It didn't really do anything for me, good or bad, and I didn't want to push my luck. If you try it, I hope it works for you. Let us know either way. Good luck!

[Hidden in reply to ookla]

Yes, i agree also, Ambien is more for sleep. Now if only ALL the meds gave good side effects, would be one problem less to deal with. So glad you didnt wake up in Alaska, i mean how would you explain that to your wife..!!! You made me giggle this morning, good to start the day with a smile....