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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How Can Ambien Dosage Be Tapered Down?

I am between doctors. Cannot see my new one until December 20 and will run out of my 5mg zolpidem before then. I have been taking the zolpidem for seven years . I do have some 15 mg restoril in the house. Can I cut my Ambien in half and take it with a restoril to taper down?
Tue, 16 Jan 2018
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi,
I can really understand your concern and would certainly like to help you out.
To begin with you will have to understand that it is not easy to get rid of Zolpidem which you are taking.
I 'd like you to follow a simple tapering method.
The tapering should be slow so if you are on Zolpidem 10 mg then in the first week take 10 mg for 6 days and 5 mg on the seventh day.
Continue taking 5 mg on 6th and 7th day in the next week and that is how you should do on subsequent weeks till the dose comes down to 5 mg once a week and then you can stop it altogether.
Yes in between when you feel the need to take a sleeping pill you can take Restoril once in a while.
I hope it helps.
Please feel free to ask more questions.
Thanks,
Dr.Prabhas Verma
I hope it helps
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How Can Ambien Dosage Be Tapered Down?

Hi, I can really understand your concern and would certainly like to help you out. To begin with you will have to understand that it is not easy to get rid of Zolpidem which you are taking. I d like you to follow a simple tapering method. The tapering should be slow so if you are on Zolpidem 10 mg then in the first week take 10 mg for 6 days and 5 mg on the seventh day. Continue taking 5 mg on 6th and 7th day in the next week and that is how you should do on subsequent weeks till the dose comes down to 5 mg once a week and then you can stop it altogether. Yes in between when you feel the need to take a sleeping pill you can take Restoril once in a while. I hope it helps. Please feel free to ask more questions. Thanks, Dr.Prabhas Verma I hope it helps