Ambien and ESLD Question

Hi   First of all, I appreciate this forum and those on it have been and continue to be so supportative and informative.  Thanks for being here.

  Secondly, I have a question that has come up.  My hubby with ESLD went to Dr. on Monday and told the GP Dr. that he can't sleep (although it appears to me he sleeps alot, mostly in the daytime then he isn't too tired at night).  Dr. gave him a prescription for 10 mg of Ambien and he took one yesterday(I counted pills and he did only take one) at 9:00PM went to sleep and slept til 4:00AM (7 hours) when he came wildly stubbling out of the bedroom and went to the front door for no reason, all wild eyed and back to bed, then up 2 hours later..didn't make it to potty(first time ever), then back to bed until 2:00 this afternoon, up an hour and then asleep until about 2 hours ago (9 more hrs of sleep).  He is puffy in the face, not eating, bad tremors and weak.  Prior to taking the Ambien he was doing quite well, making his own meals, going for walks reading and now he just is in bed almost all day.

  The only thing that is different is the Ambien sleeping pill.  I took the bottle and until we figure out what happened and I talk to the Dr, I'm not giving him anymore.  Do any of you take Ambien to sleep?  Has anyone had a bad experience with Ambien?  Could he be allergic to it?  Hubby says he hallusinated and is so so very weak.  Any feedback or ideas would be helpful.  Thanks

Angie1953

It's funny how everyone reacts differently to medications. My husband was on Librium 25 mg, Ambien 10 mg, and melatonin (5 pills) I think they are 5 mg each (can't remember) and it took all that to just get him to sleep every night. Most of the time it was 2 or 3 am before he would get sleepy and he took all these pills by 9:30 every night. The Doctor will probably try him on different things before he finds what will work for him. In the meantime, I agree with Connie, no Ambien. Sounds like it's definitely not for him!

Good Luck!

Yikes ..I've heard of healthy people having bad reactions to to that med ....I know many people who take melatonin ..which is more natural . Luckily my husband hadn't had any major problems with sleeping..hope doc can find something that works for your husband.

Now for the other side... I had problems sleeping (for years) when my liver was failing. I was prescribed Ambien. It was like magic. I slept wonderfully and never had any bad effects from it. I know that many people have had problems with it, but for me, it was the difference between sleeping all night and barely sleeping.

My husband has taken Ambien for years and he has definitely had sleeping problem since treatment. We just talked to the doctor on the 6th of this month about his sleeping problem. He said it is normal for liver patients to have problems with there sleep and that encephalopathy is why the sleeping is backward, as in sleep all day and up all night. His doctor said that most patients are prescribed Trazadone but unfortunately my husband is allergic to it.

Maybe try cutting down the ambien to 1/2 of what he was prescribed and see how he does but Ambien can cause sleep walking and eating and not remembering it in some people. Like David Ambien has worked great until this last year when it doesn't seem to work as well but if he doesn't take it he won't sleep for days. Any sleeping pills or Xanan or any drug in that same field will be hard on a liver patient and can cause encephalopathy to become worse if you have it.

Last night my husband was up till 6 this morning but went to bed at 12:30, he read a book and it didn't help. He went to sleep at 7 A.M. and will sleep until 2 or 3 p.m. We don't like this at all but we have tried everything. You name it we've tried it. We went to the sleep doctor and he said there isn't much we can do but let him sleep when he can....he does sleep sooner or later but it sucks!!

Sometimes I think the notion of the sleeping being backwards isn't 100% right.

For Mike it seemed to HIM he was backwards...sleeping much of the day and wakeful at night.

But I think he napped 24/7...often long deep naps during the day, and long deep naps at night also. But every few hours he was up for some time.  Minutes or hours.   In the middle of the night those wakeful periods must have felt like being "up all night!"

During this set back Mike seemed to be sleeping in bed about 16 hours a day.  He was awake from 6-8 AM, 11AM - 1PM, 4PM - 8PM...but he was likely up a bit in the night while I was sawing zzzzz's also.

Carol

Post Edited (MamaLama) : 9/18/2011 12:35:03 PM (GMT-6)

Carol. I agree. My husband tells me "I got no sleep last night, i was cramping and itching all night" I get up several times a night to check on him and he is asleep, and he sleeps during the day. Naps, like you said. Strong snoring naps. I won't wake him unless he has an appointment or something very important, because I know he feels like he is getting no sleep, and he is exhausted.

Debbie

This is very helpful.  I really didn't think of hubby's complaints of "not sleeping" could be because he feels so tired all the time.  When he told the Dr. he couldn't sleep, I was stunned because to me that seems like that is all he does do.  But, now that I think about it, it does make sense that he feels tired all the time and assumes he isn't sleeping...also my hubby's memory is failing and getting worse all the time and he likely can't remember one day (or night) from another and can't recall if he sleep....all he knows is that he is so tired.

  Also, because of his years of taking care of elephants, (way before he was ill) his nightly schedule was to get up at midnight, and 3:00 and 6:00 to check the elephants.  He has always continued to follow that schedule even though he hasn't cared for elephants for 7-8 years.  But he has forgotten that was always his schedule.  I remind him, but by the next day, he has forgotten again.

  Thanks for the insight.  This is helpful for us as we stagger down this road we wish we didn't have to take. 

Angie1953

 My doc prescribed me 10, 1 mg. Ativan to use when Anxiety would set in when laying down and trying to sleep. It used to happen to me once in a while. Ativan is supposed to be easier on the cirrhotic liver than other benzos. I was worried about the ammonia build-up so I switched to Trazadone which is non-addicting. It may dry you out, especially the next morning, but if your desperately seekiing SNOOZING, Traz might be the safe bet. I use 25 mg.'s when I am having sleeping problems. On the other hand, when you have this disease it can be very stressful physdically, mentally, psychologically and spiritually for the person who has it and the caretaker. I prefer not to sleep during the day, so I will not be up all night. Others sleep just to cope with this nightmare. There is nothing wrong with that, but abusing benzos might cause one to spiral into the ER. BostonMike.

Flexeril, does that help with cramping? Connie, that was going to my next question. The hospital gave that to my girl when she was in a minor fender bender with her car. Is Flexeril O.K. to take with liver disease? Then why is my doc prescribing Quinnalon (Quinine)  for my cramps? I would rather take Flexeril if it is less harmful and works better. I have been taking Quinnalon for 1.5 years or longer and lately I still wake up with cramps in the middle of the night.I called my hepatologist this morning. He usually calls me after 6:00 P.M. for non-emergency calls. I,m going to ask him about the Fexeril. Plus my insurance does not want to pay for the Quinnalon, so every 3 or 4 months there is a refill, there is a problem.

Mike, Flexeril is a muscle relaxant. It is usually taken 3 x a day. My hep doc and transplant team are fine with me taking it, though I only take 1 and sometimes 2 a night. You could try it along with the Trazodone and it might help you. Ask Veysey about it.

Hugs,
Connie