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Nerve Pain in Feet: Ambien as a treatment

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Posted 2/10/2014 7:38 PM (GMT 0)
My feet have severe nerve damage. I have tried different kinds of pain meds but the only one that does anything to cure the numb, swollen, frozen feeling is ambien. It does not make me feel sleep unless it is bedtime. It helps me function during the day. I really don't know why. Does anyone else take ambien for this??? I am at a loss and don't want to take ambien forever, especially for the wrong purpose intended. Doctors only prescribe 30 pills so I can only get that many which leaves me for days, in extreme pain/discomfort, unable to walk, drive. I am getting very frustrated and just now told me doctor. I am a recovering alcoholic so they are nervous to give me anything that can be addicting.

Any response is appreciated!!!
Posted 2/10/2014 9:10 PM (GMT 0)
Hi and welcome to HealingWell. I don't have any experience with this but when I looked online for references to Ambien and neuropathy or off-label use, I found a couple of sites with a post or two that mentioned they also found or thought they found that Ambien relieved their neuropathy. Some responses suggested that the drug could be acting like a muscle relaxer and in that way might give some nerve relief.

However, since it's not meant to be prescribed that way, I'm sure there's no dosage that would address neuropathy needs.

If you have neuropathy because of diabetes, you need to be absolutely sure that your blood sugar is very well controlled so there isn't any more nerve damage because of high blood sugar.

I'm sorry I can't help more.
Posted 2/11/2014 1:49 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, you might see if your doctor will give you a prescription for a compounding cream that has Furbiprofen, gapapentin and 2 other ingredients. That has worked well for me.
Posted 4/29/2014 9:54 AM (GMT 0)
Yes, I get 50 - 80% relief with Hydrocodone and 100% relief with Ambien. There has got to be some analog out there that will do the same thing without the hypnotic effect
Posted 5/1/2014 8:52 AM (GMT 0)
Gabapentin, Lyrica and Cymbalta are the 3 most commonly prescribed medications in the US for diabetic nueropathy. All 3 are non narcotic.
Posted 9/19/2015 2:30 PM (GMT 0)
There is a very simple explanation for why Ambien helps your neuropathy in your feet. Ambien primarily targets the GABA A receptor in the brain and that is the same receptor which alcohol targets. If your neuropathy was caused by chronic alcohol use, this medication makes that receptor more open to receiving the calming neurotransmitter GABA A, therefor temporarily relieving your neuropathy symptoms. I would be careful taking it on a regular basis though because it may potentially lose it's effect as tolerance builds and can cause a lot of other side effects.

Post Edited (Tracy23) : 9/19/2015 8:37:29 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/19/2015 2:34 PM (GMT 0)
I would love to know if you are still taking it and getting the same effect. Unfortunately ambien GAVE me neuropathy and a whole host of neurological painful symptoms. I also have alcohol abuse in my history which makes me really sensitive to anything that binds to that receptor.
Posted 10/13/2015 2:03 PM (GMT 0)
Lyrica does it for me. I'm not completely pain-free, but I didn't expect to be. I can walk fairly comfortably and my feet don't hurt when I'm just sitting down resting or in bed trying to sleep.
Posted 11/11/2015 4:28 AM (GMT 0)
Five milligrams of Ambien results in three to four hours of relief from my neuropathy...that is 100% relief. Lyrica helps a little, fentanyl helps a little, norco helps a little but 5mg of Ambien doesn't make me too sleepy. I probably don't sleep as well for taking so much but neuropathy relief is neuropathy relief.
Posted 11/11/2015 4:34 AM (GMT 0)
Whatever you do, don't tell your doctor about this. I've been screwed 100% of the time that I did.
Posted 11/11/2015 4:34 PM (GMT 0)
How have you been in the past year? What meds are you on now?
Posted 11/12/2015 2:00 AM (GMT 0)
First, I want to be clear, I don't have diabetes. The neuropathy is idiopathic or possibly due to my Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia.

In the past year I've simply been treated for pain; that appears to be the endgame. I've been on Fentanyl patches, Lyrica and Norco. There is hope on the horizon however. In Israel a drug designated BL-7050 is in clinical trials. It is supposed to open potassium channels to allow potassium to flow out and hence no longer activate pain transmitting nerves. Please see: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120430124715.htm
Posted 11/12/2015 2:17 AM (GMT 0)
Oh, ok. Thank you for clarifying this. I hope there is progress in the treatment of neuropathy. There are many people suffering from it.
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