So true!!!

I am on day 5 of no Ambien!!! I'm excited, this is longer than I have ever gone in the 7 years+ I've been taking it! Wow, when I write that it is so strange to think, 7 years! It was supposed to be a SHORT TERM fix to my being such a light sleeper and for a while, that worked. NO one can tell me it's not more than psychologically addictive. Stop taking it cold turkey after taking it for years, and watch the PHYSICAL effects. The vivid dreams, the mood shifts, the longing for easy sleep. 

Surprisingly enough, it is not too tough...yet. I think this week will be the real "acid" test. Working nights and having to unwind and sleep during the day. Luckily my apartment is in a very nice, quiet small complex. I love it here, my neighbors are young professionals that work days mostly, and are very quiet on weekends. I actually was shocked at some of the stretches of uninterrupted sleep I had this weekend...a couple were 4 to 5 hours each. I was prepared to wake up, and thought I would have more trouble getting back to sleep than I did. So I'm coming into the work week well rested. A great workout at the gym this morning, and I feel so much better. No craving food before bedtime, no uncontrollable hunger pangs that Ambien always seemed to induce. 

I'm excited about this process, and committed to making it work. The next phase will be to transition back to day shift work, but I'm not rushing that right now. Baby steps.....

I'm grateful to Dr Paul Cauvin of ARC, my family practitioner for years and years. The support was very critical to me. I think I almost wanted him to tell me to taper off it slowly, but he agreed it might be best with my history to just pull the plug and take the usual sleep precautions, no caffeine before bedtime, dark room, etc. He also encouraged me not to fight "sleeplessness" but rather to embrace it, read and let myself feel tired again. That really has worked!