molly7454

Thank you for your kind words. It's nice to know someone out there can relate to what I'm going through!!

Probably, but I'm still bringing the script in because it said to bring in any drug you have taken in last 30 day and I'm not taking the chance that something will show up and I didn't show that I have a rx. :) Will let you know how this all goes down but for now I'm choosing to be positive.

No need to be concerned!! It's a tolerance and a dependence on the drug. Lifelong insomniac, but fully functioning and it doesn't interfere with my life in any way, shape, or form (except for the confusion over whether or not it will cost me my job hahahahahahaha )

FYI klone, this is taken from Medline Plus: " Do not stop taking zolpidem without talking to your doctor, especially if you have taken it for longer than 2 weeks. If you suddenly stop taking zolpidem, you may develop unpleasant feelings or mood changes or you may experience other withdrawal symptoms such as shakiness, lightheadedness, stomach and muscle cramps, nausea, vomiting, sweating, flushing, tiredness, uncontrollable crying, nervousness, panic attack, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, uncontrollable shaking of a part of your body, and rarely, seizures." Link: Zolpidem: MedlinePlus Drug Information

You're right, and I'm sorry. And it's not the moon..it's me, I'm a monster right now LOL. Been like this since I quit smoking, which is why I'm having such a hard time with this ambien thing I think.

This is all speculation. He said, she said, this employer, that employer... Furthermore, this is a board for professionals, and we have users here making statements that zolpidem is a benzo, there are no withdrawal symptoms from stopping completely after long term use, etc. I posted my question out of my own ignorance on an internet message board, so then again, I don't know what I was expecting!!!

How it should be imo

Good for you, that's great. You can google ambien withdrawal and see for yourself...there's a lot.

I am not saying that you wrote the policy, but on what basis is a policy such as this in place? Can someone explain to me how my taking 10 mg of Ambien the night before I have to be at work and coming in to work 9 hours later when the drug is out of my system will affect my patient's care? Would it be better for me to go without sleep and take care of patients that way? But, going out the night before work, getting completely wasted, and coming in hungover is okay???? Of course not, but they don't care about alcohol. It's ambien that's the big bad dangerous drug? OKAY. I'd rather have a nurse who is taking care of me well rested d/t a sedative in their system than sleep deprived or hungover.

I take zolpidem tartrate which is generic ambien, it is a sedative/hypnotic, not benzo. What people might be confused about is that in some cases it can cause a false positive for benzos on drug tests. I have been trying to not take it at night, but unlike quitting nicotine which was mostly just unpleasant, the side effects for ambien withdrawal can be dangerous. From the people I have spoken to about this, including some who work for the same hospital, if you have a valid prescription there are no issues, and most drug tests don't even test for ambien. To the nurse who works in a facility that that doesn't allow its employees working direct care with patients to take ambien...where is the line drawn anymore? It's mind boggling to me.

to be on the safe side of things...i'm just going to stop taking it for the next two weeks. i already quit smoking to take a hospital job, so what the hell. i will also still bring the script in. very happy to be hired, but it feels like i live in soviet russia sometimes.

Hello everyone! Recently, I was offered a job at a hospital. I have a urine drug test in about two weeks, and was told to bring any prescriptions with me. My concern: I take 10 mg Ambien, every night. I have a PRN prescription for it and have been taking it for years. Can I be denied employment because of this? The reason why I'm concerned is because of my daily use of this prescription, even though it's classified as "PRN". If that makes any sense. I don't take more than 1 a day, but still...reasonable concern or am I stressing for no reason?