I'm not asking about the ambien for myself - I don't even take it.?

Question

My Mom does. I watch her meds and she takes a lot to make her sleep. Just wondering what that threshold is between sleeping for let's say 24 hours & never waking up. That's all.

Answer 1

sleeping for 24 hours is a big problem...for most healthy adults less than 7 hours is the average

Answer 2

Georgie,

There actually is no right answer to this question. If your mom has developed a tolerance to Ambien, then her body has adapted to it in such a way that is can handle a lot more of it than someone else's body could. As to the "sleep for 24 hours" part of the question, that's definitely on the "flirting with disaster" end of things. True, it is Ambien CR (controlled release), so it's not quite as bad (in some ways) for her to sleep for 24 hours on that formulation as it would be if she tried taking whatever kind of a dose that would take of regular Ambien.

From the way you describe it, the part that concerns me as much as anything is that she's reached the point that she needs a lot of medicine just to be able to sleep. From the sound of things, she very likely needs rehab help--whether or not she's in a place/space that she can admit it to herself or anyone else yet, she apparently has a drug problem. (Most people don't know that Ambien at high doses is considered a drug of abuse, but it is.)

Good luck to you both.

Answer 3

Although it depends on how much "a lot" is, usually taking more than the recommended dose will not make you sleep longer, it'll just make you groggier when you wake up. The thing with Ambien is, it's not really meant to be taken every night but if you do, you are going to need to take more each consecutive night for it to work properly. It's definitely habit forming, so perhaps you should bring this up with her as well. The average dose is 10mg per night, and I've taken up to 50mg (recreationally) and only felt slightly messed up the next day. My best advice to you is to perhaps ask your mom if she wouldn't mind not taking it for a night or two, and then have her start taking it again (if she thinks she needs to) with the lowest dosage. I don't want to be intrusive, but maybe there's another problem at hand? Is she depressed? Like I said, Ambien is addictive, so maybe you should ask her about that.
Good luck.

Answer 4

Ambien is considered to be a sedative, hypnotic, sleep medication. It not only induces sleep but causes the body to relax. It's generally used short term (no more than 10 days) and when used for long term (longer than 10 days), use needs to be monitored by a doctor extremely closely. Like most sleep medications, Ambien is habit forming, and it sounds like your mom has become addicted to Ambien.

Ambien should be taken with a full glass of water, right before bed, and only when the person can get a full night's sleep (8 hours). Stopping Ambien after taking it for more than 2 weeks, can cause withdrawal. Your mom should not be sleeping all day after taking Ambien, she should be awake after a minimum of 7 hours, an average of 8 hours, and no more than 10, in some people 12 hours. She also should not be taking Ambien every night, unless she was directed to do so by a doctor, and is under doctor supervision. Generally when people over dose and become addicted to sleeping medications it is because they are trying to cover up underlying problems (depression, migraine headaches, etc). If your mom is repeatedly taking more Ambien than was prescribed, or is taking it nightly without doctor supervision, she could suffer severe health problems like sleepiness all the time, confusion, dizziness, difficulty breathing, slow breathing, and even unconsciousness.

You said she takes a lot of Ambien, do you mean she takes a lot at one time (like more than one), or do you mean she takes it often. There are many different recommendations for how much Ambien to take, and she should only be taking what was prescribed to her, by her doctor. Generally for adults, the recommended dosage is 10 milligrams right before bed, while some adults are prescribed 5 milligrams. Taking more than 10 milligrams, unless prescribed by a doctor can be dangerous. If it's Ambien CR, then the recommended dosage is 12.5 milligrams.

It sounds like your mom has a serious problem. She should never be sleeping 24 hours straight. The body does not require that much sleep. When she takes Ambien, she should be able to wake up after 7 or 8 hours of sleep, and get on with normal daily routines. If she's unable to do so, then Ambien is not the right medication for her. You seriously need to call 9-1-1 next time she sleeps a long time, or there would come a time when she does not wake up. It's a hard thing to do, call 9-1-1 and rat out a loved one, but it is for their own good, and after going through detox or rehabilitation, they just may thank you for saving their life one day. And even if they don't, at least you won't feel guilty if they die, knowing that you did nothing to stop it.

Answer 5

I take Ambien every night because I too cannot sleep without it; however, the only reaction I have with the med is the next day at about 3-4 P.M. when I can't keep my eyes open. There are other meds like Ambien (that do not cause addiction) that work quite well. Ask your MD about them. Boy, that is some reaction you have to Ambien. Are you certain that it is due to the med? Did you have any of these weird things before taking the med?

Answer 6

Maybe you should look on Web MD for right now. Then I'd suggest contacting a doctor's office tomorrow if you are really concerned.

Answer 7

Alot unless shes allergic to it. people have been known to swallow a whole bottle, not get help immediately and still survive. she would have to be seriously commited to killing herself for it to happen.
Shes more likely to die from one of the strange side effects- people have been known to sleep drive when on it i.e. go to bed, fall asleep and wake up in a car driving along some road. or not wake up at all, as theyve crashed into a tree. just make sure she stays in the house. however taking more than 10 or 20 mg really isnt healthy
Read somewhere that it takes 500mg to kill a rat but that might be a little far fetched

Answer 8

What? Are you wanting to know what dose is going to kill her? She shouldn't take more than 20mg without doctor permission - you can build a tolerance, certainly, but it's unusual.

If she's taking it EVERY night, she needs to see her doctor - she's addicted.

Answer 9

unfortunately, I had a really scary situation with my mom taking elavil to help her sleep. She was hallucinating, and I had to call EMS on her. They kept her in ICU for 24 hrs, and she doesn't remember anything about it. I suggest that you take her to her physician and have her meds evaluated. Some meds cannot be taken together, and may have a dangerous reaction, like what happened to my mom. Good luck to you and your mom.

Answer 10

Have you talked to her about your concerns? Or can you talk to her doctor?